Old Sacramento Carriage Horse Ride FAQs: Questions and answers about horse-drawn carriage rides in and around downtown Sacramento and the Capitol

Carriage horse rides are in Old Sacramento are unnecessary. Read the FAQs. Please come up with a conclusion on your own. The horses will thank you for it.

Old Sacramaneto Carriage Horse Ride FAQ

Q. The carriage horses are bred to do this work. They are draft horses. Why are you trying to stop this?

Indeed there are many draft horses and work horses ( such as a Percheron ) that are bred to work. But this does not mean that the carriage horses in Old Sacramento should be exposed to the unnecessary dangers of traffic, noise, exhaust, accidents or even animal attacks. See our links to carriage horse incidents on the homepage or just Google 'carriage horse accidents'.

Remember, the horses are harnessed in. They cannot easily escape or avoid any dangers that they can or cannot see.
Furthermore with the rapid rise in smart-phone usage, drivers can be more and more distracted as they drive even around carrriage horses.
Q. The carriage horses are closely monitored and have yearly vet checks. They are healthier than wild horses. What is your problem?

The Sacramento carriage horses are indeed required to have yearly checks and permits. But that does not mean they are monitored frequently. Furthermore no amount of yearly vet checks can reduce the accident exposure, or exposure to noise pollution, exhaust pollution or any other risk. This is simply an issue of forcing a carriage horse into working within and around traffic which is potentially dangerous. Learn about the Sacramento carriage horse issues or just Google 'carriage horse accidents'.
Q. All horses require stimulation. Whats wrong with allowing the horses to pull people?

Horses do not need to do work many hours a day pulling carriages to get stimulation. Furthermore, it is not necessary for the carriage horses. Horses in general can be exercised, groomed and ran to provide stimulation without forcing them to pull carriages for hours at a time in the hot sun. Note: in the summer months, Old Sacramento carriage horses endure high temperatures in the upper 90's. Here are the downtown weather charts which the Old Sacramento carriage horses endure as provided by the National Weather Service which show the temperatures.
Q. The horse-drawn carriage have been in Old Sacramento forever. Why do you want to change that?

In our opinion, history is just that. We do not need to continue putting horses at risk. Every city already enacts laws to protect the citizens and animals. And these rules change over time.
Carriage horses are working in harsh conditions ( pulling a carriage and people for hours at a time in heat in the upper 90's ) and in potentially dangerous conditions as cars and pedestrians weave around them. There have been accidents and animal attacks in the last 4 years and other cities that have horse-drawn carriages have experienced similar unfortunate incidents. We feel this is unnecessary.
Q. What about the carriage horse drivers. Won't they be put out of work?

What carriage horse companies do for weddings, funerals, parades, etc, or on properties not involving high traffic is not our concern. Our primary concern is for the safety of the horses as the horse-drawn carriages are operated in high trafficked, high pedestrian areas specifically Old Sacramento and their Capitol routes. Another one of our concerns is that we feel the carriage horses are working too long in high heat without adequate shaded breaks.
Q. So whats the big deal? The carriage horse ride operators are not breaking any laws.

Incorrect. We have monitored and recorded horse-drawn carriage operators frequently running stop signs on their routes. This would not be allowed by cars, bicyclists or motorcycles. Running stop signs puts the passengers, the horse, the driver, and the other vehicles nearby at risk.
Furthermore, laws aside, we consider horses working hours in the hot sun ( upper 90's ) in warm months, as unethical. Laws often do not take into affect the ethics of the conditions that the animals work under. Note: in the summer months, Old Sacramento carriage horses endure high temperatures in the upper 90's. Here are the downtown weather charts which the Old Sacramento carriage horses endure as provided by the National Weather Service which show the temperatures.
Q. You are bunch of whackos just trying to force your issues on us and raising this issue to get donations.

Incorrect. We do not want any money. You will not see any donation button or requests on these pages. We are a bunch of individuals who care for the well-being for animals and we feel the need to educate people and politely request that people do not take carriage rides in the Old Sacramento and nearby areas or wherever they are put unnecessarily in danger.
We are guessing that you do not want to put animals in danger and that is why you are taking your time to read these faqs. We thank you and the horses thank you.
Q. Why are you trying to get people to stay away from Old Sacramento?

We are most definitely not trying to do this! We want you to visit Old Sacramento and enjoy all of the cultural and entertainment venues that it and the great city of Sacramento provides. We are hoping that this website convinces you that the carriage horse rides are unnecessary and potentially dangerous to the horses to the point that you do not take a ride. The horses will thank you for it!
Q. Why should we believe you at all?

First, go see for yourself. Go visit Old Sacramento on a hot day and watch the carriage horses working in the sun for a few hours. Watch the cars and motorcycles go around them. Watch them walk behind cars at slow speed with the exhaust and ask yourself if this is ok.

Note: We do not encourage you standing in the sun for hours and please do not walk behind vehicles for any prolonged period of time. Breathing exhaust for prolonged periods is not safe for any animal ( human or horse ).

Second, read about some of the serious accidents. See our links to Old Sacramento carriage horse accidents on the homepage.
We don't make these accidents up. Theses incidents and accidents are reported from Sacramento news sources.

Third, ask yourself "Is this necessary for the city of Sacramento or the horses?". If your answer is yes, then we will not be able to convince you of this. If you feel that carriage horses is necessary in Old Sac, we hope you reconsider and remember this: a huge percentage of cities in the US do not have horse-drawn carriage rides, and they seem to be doing fine without them. The cities with carriage horse rides have problems with animal welfare issues regarding the horses as well as traffic accidents. ( For example Carriage accidents in NYC ).

If you feel carriage horse rides are necessary from a purely budgetary financial issue for the city via attracting tourism, then we believe you need to ask yourself why. Any animal form of entertainment in Old Sacramento can be replaced with ongoing Vaudevillian / period-piece forms of human entertainment such as character actors, plays, puppet shows, kids days, fake gunfights, old arts/crafts demo such as blacksmithing or hat making, as well as many other forms of entertainment for kids and adults alike.
The entertainment value of quality live performance can easily liven up the day or night tourism and thus the carriage rides can be eliminated.

If you agree that horse-drawn carriages are unnecessary then please do not take carriage horse rides and please discourage others when the topic arises. The horses thank you.

Old Sacramento and the Capitol offer many animal-free forms of entertainment. If you are considering a horse-drawn carriage ride please consider an alternative form of entertainment.

Feel free to contact us regarding any comments on Old Sacramento horse-drawn carriage rides in Sacramento