As the seventh largest in the country, the city of San Antonio proudly welcomes over 40 million tourists every year. Home to the heritage-rich Alamo and the iconic Riverwalk, San Antonio has much to offer in its lively cultural scene. However, some residents are sad to see a signature tourist attraction leaving the downtown streets of San Antonio.
These carriages have been operational in the City’s center since 1865, providing the people of San Antonio a deep sense of historical importance for well over a century. Under current permitting, only five carriage companies each operate five carriages.
Horse-drawn carriages have been a staple for tourists in many cities for the last 150 years, such as New Orleans, Nashville and Memphis. These carriages offer enjoyable transportation to must-see spots within cities, while also giving the chance to reminisce on days gone by and take a step-back from the technology filled world that has become our everyday. Many tourists often seek out attractions such as this, but beneath these charming and old fashioned notions lies the cruel reality for the horses. Daily exposure to extreme noise and pollution, constantly surrounded by heavy traffic, no pastures to roam and endless hours spent bearing heavy loads of passengers on hard pavement in the blistering Texas heat. These facts raise serious concerns about the health and welfare of these beautiful horses, prompting some residents to advocate bringing an end to this practice.
The city of San Antonio’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee began polling residents in a survey late July to determine the public’s opinion on horse drawn carriages downtown. The results of the survey were shared at the Committee’s meeting on August 16. More than 50,000 people participated, 52% of which are in favor of transitioning to electric carriages while only 30% said they preferred to keep the horse-drawn carriages downtown as is.
The policy proposal to phase out horse-drawn carriages was initially written in 2022 by District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran. However, the proposal had largely gone unnoticed up until this last month.
The American Veterinary Medical Association recommends that horses be periodically maintained on soft surfaces (i.e. pasture), to avoid damage and facilitate circulation within the hoof. However, in most urban settings, horses are not given regular access to pasture for the majority of the year.
Carriage horses, particularly in heavily congested urban settings, spend much of their day breathing exhaust fumes from cars directly in front of them. The horses also spend hours walking through a miasma of oil, road salt and other roadway pollutants. Long-term exposures to these elements lead to many respiratory conditions, including bronchitis, rhinitis, inflammatory airway disease and reactive airway disease.
Even still, San Antonio carriage operators sought unsuccessfully to loosen some of the city’s rules prohibiting horse-drawn carriages from running when the temperature is above 95 degrees or when an Air Quality Health Alert has been issued.
After the results of the survey were presented and many council members shared their concerns over the wellbeing of the horses, the owners of the horses were also given a chance to speak.
Stephanie Garcia, the owner of Yellow Rose & H.R.H Carriage Company, spoke to the council committee before the vote on Monday, urging them against banning the industry. “To phase us out or move us out of the downtown area will bankrupt my family,” Garcia said.
Garcia defended her business by stating her horses were perfectly healthy, sharing that they had all been inspected according to city regulations and passed with flying colors.
Despite these testimonies, the City Council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted unanimously to create a one to three year plan to phase out horse drawn carriages in downtown San Antonio. Council members say that more research is needed to formulate a detailed plan on how to transition from the status quo to a beneficial solution for all parties involved.
Some options consist of providing them tour guide occupations, a new position through the city’s Ready to Work development program and support for other entrepreneurial opportunities through the Launch SA and LiftFund programs. Others suggested restricting horse drawn carriages to parks in San Antonio, similar to New York City’s rides in Central Park following a 2022 tragic animal abuse incident.
Another possibility would be training the carriage operators on new electric carriages. Electric horseless carriages are starting to be used in Mount Dora and Fernandina Beach, Florida, and are currently being tested in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though, according to state regulations, the carriages are not authorized to work on city streets in any of the three cities. These carriages are said to cost approximately $20,000.
Horse-drawn carriages in urban settings are purely for tourism—not a necessity. Given the many documented health and welfare issues for the horses, the sensible solution would be to ban them from use on downtown streets. San Antonio City staff will present a transition plan to the full city council before Oct. 31 where a final vote will be held on the proposal. As informed constituents, the responsibility to make our voices known to the council members that will be voting in October lies within each individual. Residents are encouraged to contact City Council via email at – [email protected] or find your council members contact information Here. For those around UTSA it would be District 8.a
