Free Republic

A 26-year-old West Ashley woman was ticketed Friday after Charleston police said she caused an accident by scaring two carriage horses with a Tyrannosaurus rex costume. Nicole Wells of Ashley River Road was cited on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and wearing a mask or disguise on a public street, a city code violation, police said. Wells was released after turning herself in Friday morning, spokesman Charles Francis said. She was not jailed. The incident was reported shortly after 5 p.m. on Thursday near Tommy Condon's restaurant on Church Street. Two Palmetto Carriage Works horses, named Yogi and Boo...

A startled carriage horse took a jaunt around Central Park without any passengers or its driver. The horse became detached from its bridle on Monday evening and ran into the Manhattan park, following its usual route, the union that represents carriage drivers said. It was unclear what startled it. […] Advocacy agency NYCLASS, which is seeking to end the carriage horse industry, released a statement saying carriage horses and city streets don’t mix. “It’s time to retire the carriage horses and replace them with something that doesn’t spook or dart dangerously through traffic and pedestrians,” it said. …

They used to hang horse thieves — now they elect them mayor. As many know, New York City’s new commandant, Bill de Blasio, has sworn that one of his first acts upon taking office will be to ban Central Park’s iconic horse-drawn carriages. He claims that forcing horses to work in downtown Manhattan is inhumane, but is he really just kowtowing to a big real-estate developer who heavily supported his campaign? Interestingly, there was a time when de Blasio was more blasé about these animal-rights concerns. In fact, when he had the chance as a City Council member to support...

Mayor Bill de Blasio is pulling back the reins on his plans to quickly get rid of New York City’s horse-drawn carriage industry, stung by a recent outpouring of support for the colorful coaches that have clip-clopped their way through Central Park for more than 150 years. A campaign pledge to take on the horses during his first week as mayor was eclipsed by other issues. […] What changed? For one, a media blitz led by actor Liam Neeson has portrayed the horse-drawn carriage industry as an iconic, romantic part of New York that provides about 400 jobs, many to...