(1) Rental and Carriage Horse Licenses.
(a) No person shall use or offer the use of any horse in a rental riding or carriage horse business unless such horse shall be licensed by the Department of Licenses and Inspections. The Animal Control Agency in conjunction with the Department of Licenses and Inspection shall promulgate regulations for the licensing of rental and carriage horses, which regulations may from time to time revise the annual license or renewal fee to reflect the costs incurred by the City in regulating rental and carriage horses under this Section. Unless otherwise provided by regulation, the annual fee for a license or renewal of a license shall be twenty-five dollars ($25) per horse. No license shall be transferable. All applications for a license or the renewal of a license shall be accompanied by a health certificate signed and dated by the examining veterinarian. 32
(b) Horses shall be sold or disposed of only in a humane manner. The Department of Licenses and Inspections shall be notified of the transfer of ownership or other disposition of a licensed horse within ten (10) days of the transfer or disposition. Upon the transfer of ownership of any horse to a new owner, the new owner shall obtain a license for such horse within fifteen (15) days after the date of the transfer of ownership.
(c) Each horse licensed pursuant to this Section shall be assigned an official identification number by the Department of Licenses and Inspections. The identification number shall be displayed on the horse, in a manner provided by regulation, at all times the horse is being worked. 33
(d) The certificate of license shall at all times remain at the stable where the horse is kept and shall be available for inspection by animal control officers of the Animal Control Agency or persons designated by the Animal Control Agency to enforce this Chapter.
(2) Working Conditions.
(a) Owners shall insure that appropriate and sufficient food and drinking water are available for each horse and that while working each horse is permitted to eat and drink at reasonable intervals, provided however that horses shall not be allowed to drink in large quantities unless first rested.
(b) Owners shall not allow a horse to be worked on a public highway, path or street when the temperature is over ninety-one (91) degrees Fahrenheit, or when the wind chill factor is less than twenty-six (26) degrees Fahrenheit, or during other dangerous conditions which are a threat to the health or safety of the horse. A horse being worked when such conditions develop shall be immediately returned to the stable by the most direct route. The Animal Control Agency shall promulgate regulations specifying how the temperature and wind chill factor shall be measured for purposes of this subsection, and how persons working horses shall determine that the temperature is not within the permitted range. 34
(c) Carriage horses shall not be in harness for more than nine (9) hours in any continuous twenty-four (24) hour period. Riding horses shall not be at work for more than ten (10) hours in any continuous twenty-four (24) hour period. Riding horses shall be rested a minimum of fifteen (15) minutes for every riding hour. Carriage horses shall be rested a minimum of fifteen (15) minutes for every pulling hour. Daily records shall be maintained as prescribed by regulation of the Animal Control Agency, indicating the time and daily activity of a rental horse and shall be available for inspection by animal control officers or others authorized by the Animal Control Agency. 35
(d) Carriage horses shall not be driven at a pace faster than a trot.
(e) Saddles, blankets, harness, bridles and bits and any other equipment shall be properly fitted and kept in good repair. Blankets, bridles and bits shall not be used by another horse unless first disinfected.
(f) A rental horse or carriage horse which suffers from any physical disability may be ordered to be removed from work until such time as deemed appropriate by a veterinarian authorized or retained by the Animal Control Agency.
(g) Horses shall not be left untethered or unattended except when confined in a stable or other enclosure.
(3) Medical Care.
(a) Every horse required to be licensed under this Section shall be examined by a veterinarian prior to its use in a rental horse or carriage business and thereafter at intervals of not less than once a year. The horse shall be examined and treated for internal parasites; for its general physical condition, which is to include inspection of teeth, hoofs, and shoes; and for its physical ability to perform the work or duties required of it. The examination shall also include a record of any injury, disease, or deficiency observed by the veterinarian at the time, together with any prescription or humane correction or disposition of same. A health certificate provided by the Animal Control Agency and signed by a veterinarian shall be maintained at the stable premises at which such horse is located, and shall contain the identification number, age and condition of the horse, as well as the maximum number of hours a day that, in the opinion of the veterinarian said horse should work. A copy of said certificate shall be filed with the Animal Control Agency.
(b) Horses shall be kept clean and in an ectoparasite control program. Carriage horses shall be trimmed or shod as often as necessary or appropriate.
(4) Removal from Work. A horse required to be licensed under this Section which is lamed or suffers a physical condition or illness making it unable for work may be ordered to be removed from work by an Animal Control Officer or other designee of the Animal Control Agency. A horse for which such an order has been issued shall not be returned to work until it has recovered from the condition which caused the issuance of the order or until such condition has improved sufficiently that its return to work will not aggravate that condition or otherwise endanger the health of the horse. In any proceeding under this Section, it shall be presumed that a horse which is found at work within forty-eight (48) hours after the issuance of an order of removal and which is disabled by the same condition which caused such order to be issued has been returned to work in violation of this Section. Such presumption may be rebutted by offering a certificate of a veterinarian indicating suitability to return to work prior to the expiration of the forty-eight (48) hour period.
(5) Further Regulations to be Promulgated. The Animal Control Agency shall promulgate such further regulations which may be required to carry out the intent of this Section, or to further safeguard the health and humane treatment of rental and carriage horses.
Notes
| 31 | Added, 1986 Ordinances, p. 840; amended, Bill No. 110210-A (approved May 25, 2011). |
| 32 | Amended, Bill No. 000217 (approved August 11, 2000). |
| 33 | Amended, Bill No. 000217 (approved August 11, 2000). |
| 34 | Amended, Bill No. 000217 (approved August 11, 2000). |
| 35 | Amended, Bill No. 000217 (approved August 11, 2000). |