§ 4-05 Working Conditions.
RCNY § 4-05
(a)Control. It shall be the responsibility of owners, drivers, and riders to protect the horse and, when under their control, to ensure that the horse is not left to roam freely and possibly cause harm to the public or itself.
(b)Environment.
(1)Owners shall not allow a horse to be worked on a public highway, path or street during adverse weather or other conditions which are a threat to the health or safety of the horse and the public. Adverse weather conditions shall include but not be restricted to snow, ice, heavy rain or other slippery conditions. A horse being worked when such conditions develop shall be returned to the stable by the most direct route as soon as practicable.
(2)Whenever the air temperature is 90 degrees Fahrenheit or above and/or the wet bulb temperature is 85 degrees Fahrenheit or above all rental horses must immediately cease working, be offered shade when available, be rested and cooled off, and then walked to their stable. All horses so ordered to return to their stable must be unbridled and remain at the stable for at least one hour and until both the wet bulb temperature is less than 85 degrees Fahrenheit and the air temperature is less than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
(3)During the winter months, horses stationed outdoors while awaiting riders or passengers shall be covered with blankets.
(c)Work and rest periods.
(ii)Carriage horses – fifteen minutes for every two pulling hours.
(d)Permissible riding paces. Carriage horses shall not be driven at a pace faster than a trot. Riding horses may be ridden at a canter but shall not be galloped.
(e)Physical condition. A horse required to be licensed pursuant to these regulations which is lamed or suffers from a physical condition or illness making it unsuitable for work may be ordered to be removed from work by the Commissioner or his designee or by an agent of the ASPCA or a veterinarian employed or retained by such Commissioner or ASPCA to inspect licensed horses. 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 the 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 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 hour period.
