How long do the animals work every day?
Our average workday is five hours, but is limited to eight hours, six days a week.
Our average workday is five hours, but is limited to eight hours, six days a week.
A mule is a hybrid of a male donkey and a female horse. We use mules because like draft horses, they are bred for “pulling” and also have a very calm temperament that enables them to work well in an urban setting. The mule has been the work animal of choice for centuries in the [...]
We use mule teams or single draft horses on the larger carriages and single mules or horses on the smaller carriages.
Our animals see a veterinarian a minimum of three times a year. There is also a strict system in place to ensure that each animal’s temperature is taken after every tour, all year long.
In most cases, yes. Each animal is different, so always ask the driver or staff first before touching an animal.
Our barn is always open to the public, though we urge respect for the animals and follow strict safety guidelines to keep the animals and our guests safe.
Our animal welfare program offers a second career to animals that would often end up as another “unwanted horse statistic.” We follow a comprehensive carriage animal welfare program. They have a 100 percent success rate with their heat related animal welfare program, as measured by city veterinarians and the City of Houston.
We use approximately 275 tubes of de-wormer each year and approximately 12,000 bags of shavings for stall bedding each year, which helps to provide the animals with comfortable living conditions.
We use approximately 3,500 square bales, 225 round bales of hay, and 61 tons of feed each year.
Vintage Horse Carriage “herd” is made up of 35 mules, 20 horses, two goats, and six chickens. Our barn in downtown Charleston comfortably holds up to 28 animals in large box stalls.