§ 17-330 Regulations.
AC § 17-330
a. The commissioner, with the advice of the advisory board as hereinafter established, shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this subchapter and to promote the health, safety and well being of the horses which are required to be licensed hereunder and of members of the public who hire such horses. b.
1.Horses shall not be left untethered or unattended except when confined in a stable or other enclosure. When tethered, all horses shall be secured by the use of a rope attached to the halter, not to the bit or bridle.
2.Horse bridles and halters shall be used on carriage horses at all times when operating a carriage. c. Standing stalls for carriage horses shall be sixty square feet or larger, with a minimum width of seven feet, and shall be configured to permit a carriage horse to turn around and safely lay down within the stall. Horses shall be un-tied when stabled. A halter shall be on the horse or hung outside each stall at all times. d. Horses shall be adequately quartered. Stables and stalls shall be clean and dry and sufficient bedding of straw, shavings or other suitable materials shall be furnished and changed as often as necessary to maintain them in a clean and dry condition. Adequate heating and ventilation shall be maintained in stables as prescribed by the commissioner. e. 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. f. Owners shall not allow a horse to be worked on a public highway, path or street during adverse weather or 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. g.
3.For purposes of this subdivision, air temperatures shall be those measured by a state-of-the-art thermometer, as determined by the commissioner. Relative humidity shall be determined by a state-of-the-art hygrometer or any other device having the same capability to measure relative humidity, as determined by the commissioner. Air temperatures and relative humidity shall be measured by the commissioner or the commissioner's designee at street level at one of the stands designated pursuant to section 19-174.
4.If either of the limits set by paragraph 2 of this subdivision are exceeded during the course of a particular ride, at the ride's conclusion, but no later than one-half hour after either of these limits are exceeded, the operator must immediately cease working, move the horse to an area of shelter, where available, rest the horse and then walk it directly to its stable. All horses so returned to their stable must be unbridled and unharnessed and remain at the stable for at least one hour, and thereafter, until such time as the weather conditions shall once again reach acceptable limits.
5.No violation of this subdivision shall occur unless a written warning of violation is first issued by the authorized enforcement personnel to the operator advising that either of the limits set in paragraph 2 of this subdivision have been exceeded and directing that the operator cease working a carriage horse in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision. A violation of this subdivision may be issued if an operator fails to comply with the direction contained in the written warning of violation. Failure to comply with such direction shall not be construed as a separate violation. p. Every carriage horse required to be licensed hereunder shall be equipped with a manure catching device. Such devices shall be affixed or attached to the carriage and shall at no time be affixed or attached to the horse. q. Carriage horses shall not be younger than five years at the time placed into service in any rental horse business and licensed. No carriage horse older than 26 years of age shall be licensed to work in a rental horse business. Acceptable proof of age shall include a signed letter from a licensed veterinarian stating the horse's age, a certificate from an officially recognized national registry of horses stating the horse's age, or another industry approved method of certifying age. r. Owners shall insure that during the months of November through April every carriage is equipped with a heavy winter horse blanket large enough to cover the horse from crest of neck to top of rump. Such blankets shall be used to cover carriage horses in cold weather. Waterproof horse blankets of a lighter material shall be provided at all times to cover the horse from withers to tail during periods of wet weather when the air temperature is 55 degrees or below. (Am. L.L. 2019/203, 11/25/2019, eff. 1/24/2020; Am. L.L. 2020/080, 8/28/2020, eff. 8/28/2020) Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1989/089 and L.L. 2020/080.
