(A) Any person owning or operating a horse-drawn carriage for compensation shall, in addition to other requirements of this chapter, comply with the standards of this section.
(B) All working horses shall be provided daily with food and water, free from contamination. Such food shall be wholesome, edible and of sufficient quantity and nutritive value to meet the normal daily requirements for the condition, size and species of the animal.
(C) All horses shall have adequate shelter.
(1) All buildings and sheds used for stabling horses shall be well-lit and ventilated. The building must provide adequate protection from the weather and be kept clean and in good repair at all times. Manure and urine shall be removed daily.
(2) Any enclosures where animals are kept shall be graded and raked as to keep the surface reasonably dry.
(3) Clean bedding must be provided.
(D) Flies and other insects must be controlled through general sanitation and necessary means.
(E) All horses used in a carriage horse business must weigh at least 800 pounds and be considered in generally good health. Any owner or operator who desires to use a horse for this purpose which does not weigh 800 pounds must apply in writing to Animal Services for approval.
(F) Any horse working for a carriage horse business must be examined, not less than every four months, by a veterinarian, who shall certify the fitness of the animal to perform such work. Horses exhibiting any of the following shall be deemed unfit for work:
(1) Sores or abrasions caused or likely to be aggravated by the bearing of services, girth, harness or bridles, unless padding could be utilized to protect the area;
(2) Serious injury or illness; and/or
(3) Obvious signs of emaciation, malnutrition, lameness or exhaustion.
(G) Horses requiring veterinary care shall not be moved, ridden or driven, except for the purpose of humane keeping, pasturing or obtaining medical care.
(H) Horses shall be properly shod and the hooves shall be kept trimmed.
(I) Horses shall be kept clean, particularly in the areas in contact with a harness or other tack.
(J) Horses shall not be worked for more than two hours without being given a total of 30 minutes of rest. The maximum working period for any one animal is ten hours out of every 24 hours.
(K) No horse shall be overridden or driven to result in overheating or exhaustion.
(L) Horses shall not be worked when the temperature of the workplace reaches or exceeds 95°F. Animals which are on heat stress-preventive treatment that has been prescribed by a veterinarian may be worked while under such treatment on contracts entered into prior to the beginning of such treatment.
(M) The speed at which any horse is driven shall not exceed a slow trot.
(N) Horses shall be provided water at the loading site and on routes at all times they are working.
(O) All harnesses and bridles shall be kept oiled, cleaned and in good repair.
(P) Carriages must be kept properly lubricated and wheels must spin freely.
(Q) Animal Services may order quarantine on the entire premises where the animals are being stabled or any part thereof or on any particular animal for any of the following reasons:
(1) Excessive parasitism, diagnosed by a veterinarian, which would cause the animal to be unfit to be ridden or driven;
(2) General malnutrition, as diagnosed by a veterinarian; and/or
(3) Presence of contagious or transmittable disease, as diagnosed by a veterinarian.
(R) Owners and operators of a carriage horse business shall not permit unsanitary conditions to be present on any road in the county, animal rest area or any area where the animals are kept. All such areas shall be kept clean and free of conditions which might harbor or be conducive to the breeding of insects or rodents.
(S) No horse shall be made to perform by means of any prod, stick, electrical shock, physical force or by causing pain or discomfort. Any whip or riding crop must be used so as not to cause injury to the animal.
(T) No horse may pull a carriage carrying more people than it is designed to carry by the manufacturer, nor shall a carriage be pulled by fewer animals than provided for by design.
(Ord. 3-1-20, passed 5-6-2020) Penalty, see § 90.99