For many, horse-drawn carriages seem romantic and quaint. They bring up positive associations and thus, are popular tourist attractions. However, horse-drawn carriages are anything but enjoyable for the horses involved.

Horses that are forced to pull carriages work for around nine hours each and every day in the noisy, stressful environment of big cities. They have tight bridles around their head and carry up to 2,000 pounds. Many are hit by cars, collapse from exhaustion, suffer respiratory issues from car exhaust, walk on extremely hot asphalt during warmer months. They don’t even get enough breaks to rest or drink an adequate amount of water. When they are not pulling carriages, these horses are kept in tiny, dirty stables without any time in a pasture. Their life expectancy is low and many suffer a multitude of health issues due to the grueling work.

Source: The Humane Society of the United States/YouTube

Fortunately, more people have been waking up to the horrors of this cruel industry and demanding change. Multiple cities have banned horse-drawn carriages, including Montreal, Chicago, and Rome. It’s time that other major cities follow their lead! Sign this petition to urge the popular tourist cities of Los Angeles and Madrid to ban horse-drawn carriages on their streets!

To continue speaking up, sign these other petitions as well:

• Protect Carriage Horses
• Ban Horse Racing in the U.S.

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