City Council has carried the motion for horse-drawn carriages on Saskatoon streets.

The topic was originally brought to Councils attention at the December 2nd meeting last year where a request for a business license to operate a horse-drawn carriage on City streets was made by Horse and Hockey. Horse-drawn carriages are considered an “unregulated vehicle” under Traffic Bylaw 7200 meaning they can’t go on Saskatoon streets, hence the need for City Councils approval.

After Administration had made a report, the topic was reintroduced at the Regular Business Meeting on December 17 last year, and later on December 29, was approved as a pilot program until May 31 this year.

Thursday’s meeting saw an update to the topic using the information from the pilot program, as well as heard concerns regarding safety be brought to the table by Legislative Affairs Manager with Animal Justice Alexandra Yaksich.

She says having no provision in place can create dangerous working conditions for people and for the horses.

In regard to human safety, Yaksich brought concerns about a horse’s flight response.

“Because they have such a powerful flight response, sudden noises, traffic, or unexpected movement can frighten a horse into bolting. A horse pulling a heavy carriage can collided with vehicles and even overturn the carriage.”

For horses, Yaksich brought three concerns to Councils attention. Concern one was with injuries and the physical toll pulling carriages all day can have. The second was in regard to weather. She says hot weather could lead to potentially fatal heat stroke, and winter leaves the risk of horses slipping on the icy roads. Finally, was fatigue since the only current restriction is allowing horses to pull from sun rise to sun set, which can last up to 14 hours in Saskatoon in the summer.

To handle welfare concerns, she referenced other municipalities, such as Quebec City.

“They set clear welfare standards, they require annual vet exams, they limit summer work to nine hours, they stop work in extreme weather, they also require incident reporting and have fines for any violations.”

At Thursday’s meeting City Council approved horse-drawn carriages with regulations in place. As well, City Council has requested amendments be made to Bylaw No. 7200, The Traffic Bylaw, to allow for the motion.