Managing hundreds of horses is not easy — take it from me, someone who, before journalism, worked in barns as a groom, exercise rider, and manager. Although I have never ridden in a parade, I can tell you from my years of traveling to and participating in them that a lot of work goes into these events, with a particular focus on horse and human safety.
So, when the Independent published an op-ed critiquing the parade and its lack of horsemen input, my eyebrows raised.
From talking with people in the horse community, the main concern is the turnaround. Horses do not like standing still, especially in large groups and in unfamiliar urban environments. Even when they are in a trailer, horses tend to paw and kick when stopped, and putting the vehicle in motion usually settles them down. They are grazing prey animals that like to keep on the move.
Previous iterations of the parade left horses and carriages waiting for 30 minutes to an hour, stopped on Cabrillo Boulevard by the Hilton. This lack of motion invites trouble. Coupled with pedestrians and bicyclists weaving through the stopped animals to reach their cars, that turnaround could easily have become dangerous…