(WellBeing International, November 2, 2023)
By Janet White
Crowded 21st-century city streets carrying high-speed traffic are inappropriate places for horses. This seems obvious, but 2,000-pound horses may still be observed weaving through heavy traffic daily in cities across the US and worldwide, to the peril of themselves and all the pedestrians, motorists, and cyclists surrounding them.
Horse-drawn carriages were historically the prime mover of people and goods. There was no other option until the internal combustion engine became popularized a century ago, and horse-drawn carriages were replaced by automobiles (originally called “horseless carriages”) and trucks. Their replacement was driven by new technology and evolving cultural values emphasizing efficiency, sanitation, safety, and animal welfare.