Carriage Tours: Yay or Neigh?

We’ve all seen them. Heck, some of us have even been on them. (Guilty!)

I'm talking about carriage tours pulled by mules and horses throughout our historic downtown streets. "What’s the big deal?" some, like me, might think.

I grew up around livestock and worked in an Amish community during my college years, being around horses and mules pulling large objects never really bothered me—it’s what they’re bred for! But, like my friend Bob Dylan once said, “The Times They are A-Changin’”.

The Charleston City Council met on Tuesday, March 28 to discuss and approve a plan focused on the welfare of downtown’s working animals.

Since the new plan was approved during the meeting and before peak carriage season, carriages will be pulled from running their usual routes once the temperature rises to 95 degrees Fahrenheit or an 110-degree heat index, as opposed to the current 98-degree/125 degree heat index limit.

90-degree summer temperatures, millions of visitors during peak travel season, added on top of bumper to bumper car fumes during those heated hours, do you agree with the city’s new bill of lowering the heat limit for our downtown working animals?

Image by Margret Wood