Sealth Horse Carriages

Our family used their service yesterday and it is a miracle that we are still alive /​uninjured and the horse was not seriously injured. I am scared for other customers and the well being of these animals. This company needs to be shutdown.

Horse carriage rides are animal abuse.
Every year, the list of accidents involving horse-​drawn carriages grows, and horses continue to endure pain and suffering because of this outdated practice. The only way to end this cruelty is to ban it permanently and give these horses the freedom that they deserve.
Forcing horses to pull oversized loads isn’t romantic – it’s cruel. Horses are forced to toil in all weather extremes, dodge traffic, and pound the pavement all day long. These gentle animals suffer from respiratory ailments because they breathe in exhaust fumes, and they develop debilitating leg problems from walking on hard surfaces. In some cases, horses have even dropped dead from heatstroke after working in scorching summer heat and humidity.
Here is a photo of a downed horse in Seattle RIGHT NEXT TO WESTLAKE CENTER on a night where it was 20 degrees outside, the horse had NO BLANKET, and the horse was so skinny the hip bones were protruding from its back.
I witnessed the horse lunging to pull a cart that was too heavy for it. The horse fell forward, collapse and was laying in the street for over 45mins, and you tell me this is what they are meant for? The horse had given up, it was not even trying to stand on its own. I have a VIDEO to prove it!
The driver admitted the horse has been doing this for 35 years.
A SLAVE for 35 YEARS!
… making a buck for the OWNER who was not even there, and had to drive out to get the Horse from the carriage driver.
Disgusting.

My daughter, like most 4 year old girls, happens to be quite interested (obsessed) with princesses, disney and otherwise, and dressing up/​play acting is her favorite thing to do these days.
We try and spark her imagination and interject other ideas into the standard ‘princess fairytale’ but Cinderella’s story seems to be her favorite.
Enter Sealth Horse Carriages. Downtown, right in front of the Westlake Center, most weekends in the warmer months at least and at Christmas, you’ll find a white ‘Cinderella style’ carriage with a driver, willing to take you on a half hour ride around town for $ 40. My daughter saw him on a recent ‘errands’ trip downtown and was thrilled, instead of instant gratification of a ride, I suggested we invite her favorite friend to dress up, go out to a tea party and then come down and have a carriage ride.
We got our timing wrong– apparently, the driver gets there around 1:30, stays until 9:30 on Saturdays and Sundays, so we were a bit early, but nonetheless, when he arrived and we got on, my daughter was soooo excited.
The driver was really gracious, offering to take numerous pictures, reminding the girls to wave so people would wave back and giving a clearly rehearsed lecture about the landmarks as we passed.
We spent just over 40 minutes on the normally ½ hour ride as ‘Sweet Pete’ always is slower on his first ride of the day.
The girls got a carrot to feed Sweet Pete and pet him after the ride, and again, the driver was really great about the whole trip.
Overall, if you have a princess of your own– a preschooler or a romantic grown up– this is a wonderful way to remind her that she’s royalty, sitting, all dressed up, waving to the people on the sidewalk and in cars.