I just returned from a cruise from the Bahamas. Our ship spent a day in Nassau. As we exited from the ship, we saw several horse buggies carrying tourists. The horses were in bad shape; some had foaming and twitching mouth, others were limping. They were all dirty and very thin. Some had skin conditions that looked like rain rot..
The buggies were lined up under a long holding area. At some point I counted 11 horses in the line. Each "stall" area had a red watering dish attached. I walked up to see if there was water in the dishes, but they were bone dry, most filled with garbage. One dish had some dirty water in it.
Unfortunately the horses were moved thru the line so fast, that they did not get a chance to drink from the one dish that had the water. I asked a young man - one of the buggy's rider - why there was no water out for the horses in the other watering dishes and he said that they give them enough water. It was clearly not the case.
I was so disgusted and disturbed, that I had to go back to the ship. From the ship I could see the area and saw that the same horses were ridden from 8am (when we arrived) until 4:30pm. There was no food or water and they barely were able to stop to rest. As the hours passed they became even more lethargic, hanging their heads and were dragging themselves.
Even though it is December and the temperature was only in the 80s, the horses looked hot and thirsty. I can’t even imagine how they feel during the summer months!
I am wondering if anyone keeps an eye on these poor creatures. It was just horrible to see that so many people watched them, but did not see their suffering.