I saw the picture of the saddest thing today: a horse pulling a wedding carriage. He had some fluttery white bow on his bridle — which, as many horse people know, would be a risk for freaking the horse out — and a long-suffering look on his face.

I’m not a big fan of horse-drawn carriages. For one thing, walking on concrete for hours every day is extremely harmful to horses’ feet and legs, and breathing in exhaust gases all the time — after all, they have to walk in traffic in many places! — is also damaging to their health. Secondly, they are typically forced to work like this in extreme weather. And thirdly, this kind of existence just doesn’t allow a horse to be a horse — no running and playing in a pasture or running at all, really, just plodding around all the time pulling a carriage full of ignorant people.

Although I do not live in New York City, I am a huge supporter of a ban on horse-drawn carriages. However, I would also take it one step further, and ask that people in various industries that have dealings with the horse-drawn carriage industry think hard about what they are doing, and hopefully reconsider their connection to this form of animal mistreatment.

Especially wedding planners. A lot of brides and grooms like to leave in a horse-drawn carriage — it’s supposedly romantic and beautiful and all that. And maybe it is — but at what price?

There are so many better ways to plan a beautiful, romantic wedding, and I hope you will steer your clients in those directions. Castle weddings are very popular — a castle makes a beautiful backdrop for any wedding, and much more romantic (I think) than having a horse drag you around.

Thankfully, for people who are having their weddings in Michigan, not many of them choose a horse-drawn carriage — it is more of a tradition in New York City and similar places. But I hope all of you will consider my request, and if you approve, spread the word — even if you don’t have a chance to make a difference directly, maybe you could sway other wedding planners who could.

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