We have to say that we weren’t the only people that stopped to stare at these ponies, which are chained up and part of a living “ride” in Coney Island. The five ponies and the ride are ostensibly part of a petting zoo set up on developer Joe Sitt’s property. Whether one considers the attraction and the sight of ponies chained to such a device and forced to endlessly walk in circles depends on one’s perspective. We know that someone will say that such rides are found everywhere and are no big deal or any different than horses pulling carriages. Us, we’re not liking it so much.
14 responses so far ↓
1 Brenda from Flatbush // May 27, 2008 at 4:19 pm
It’s pretty damn depressing; don’t know if a pony feels the psychological difference, but then the carriage horses are not living much of a life, either.
2 Jessica // May 27, 2008 at 5:08 pm
I saw these ponies over the holiday weekend. How utterly depressing to see such a display. Your post reminds me to contact the appropriate authorities. These animals did not look well.
3 Anonymous // May 27, 2008 at 5:31 pm
These ponies are at every fucking street fair and should be banished.
4 Lumi // May 27, 2008 at 6:08 pm
This is just a horse walker (an excersize machine for horses, see http://www.hotwalkers.com/4_horse.html) turned into a ride.
This isn’t any worse than the regular pony rides where the handler gets to lead around the pony and some dumpy child. Actually, the walking machine is probably safer.
This is only cruel if you think that ponies shouldn’t be ridden and be turned out to run free to fend for themselves in the wild. In that case, bringing ponies into an urban environment is the issue, not the walker.
And how is this more cruel than trailering Dondi the trick elephant into DUMBO for the amusement of bystanders? [See, http://gowanuslounge.blogspot.com/2007/09/dondi-does-dumbo.html%5D
5 loose stool // May 27, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Lumi is right, GL, you were pretty flip when you talked about that poor elephant. I saw that thing after they put it in the trailer. It was still making that painting motion standing in the dark. Your need to paint Joe Sitt as a ruthless developer and animal torturer is laughable and only dilutes your concern about Coney Island.
6 DW // May 27, 2008 at 8:40 pm
“We” have too much fugging time on our hands, don’t we??
7 Red Hook // May 27, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Neither the ponies or elephant were appropriate.
While I don’t like Joe Sitt’s real estate plans, he seems to be trying to be responsive.
Mr. Sitt, please remove this attraction. I believe most people in Brooklyn find it in poor taste and probably not in the best interest of the animals. Since I seriously doubt you care one way or the other, it should be an easy decision to make!
8 Anonymous // May 27, 2008 at 9:30 pm
In the original Luna Park, an elephant was “senteneced to death” for trampling 2 men. They hooked him up to all the wattage that lit Luna Park and fried him. Joe Sitt is just following suit. Pony rides suck. Ya want a horse? Go to the country.
9 loose stool // May 27, 2008 at 11:21 pm
that was Edison demonstrating the dangers of Nikola Tesla’s AC current you moron. Topsy killed 3 men including her trainer who had fed her a lit cigarette.
10 Lumi // May 28, 2008 at 4:43 am
Whether or not one thinks that pony rides are sad, these ponies are in good weight and appear to be rather healthy. The bitter truth is that their owner’s ability to make money off of them insures their survival, for now.
So, as sad as a bunch of city slickers get about a pony ride, it’s nothing compared to how you’d feel if you knew about the uptick of herd seizures of emaciated horses because owners can’t afford to take care of them or the jerks who dump their geriatric horses at auction or offer them on Craig’s list for free so some kill buyer need only pull up a trailer. (For a dose of reality, see, http://fuglyhorseoftheday.blogspot.com/2008/03/enumclaw-auction-report-3208.html)
[For those of you who keep up, yes, there’s a ban on slaughter in the US, so now horses get to endure a long trip to Mexico or Canada before being slaughtered.]
In the end, you really can’t judge from this one ride: the operator might be a saint who gives his ponies a home for life by retiring them after their working years, or he might be a jerk looking to make a buck, who will dump his ponies when they are no longer useful.
11 Fredini // May 28, 2008 at 10:44 am
Give me a break you humaniacs. Can you imagine a childhood without getting a pony ride? Go find something else to get up in arms about. Aren’t there some lost puppies somewhere?
12 AprilK // May 30, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I also saw the pony ride this past weekend and felt that the animals did not look happy. The whole sight looked pretty sad along with sirens blaring and constant noise that might be disturbing to them. I think these new attractions look pretty sleepy compared to the batting cages and go karts from before that are no longer there. By the way, I never had a pony ride as a child. I did ride a horse in the country where I could see how it lived and was cared for and that was part of the joy of the experience.
13 A.M. // Oct 13, 2008 at 2:50 am
I regards to the person aksing how life would be without riding a pony…well I never have and I am still breathing! Wow, are you shocked? Come on dude, it is cruelty you idiot and I think the human race will live on quite fine with out pony rides!
14 sa // Jan 5, 2009 at 1:14 am
Those ponies do look cared for and at least they are not lead around by disinterested persons creating the ponies to nip and develope bad habits.
It is very generous of this guy to provide the children with a very unique opportunity to ride a pony, to be able to breifly share the wonderful relationships and their magical auras that keeps up avid horse lovers coming back for more.
The horse has amazing healing powers so embrace that your children have that opportunity as it will soon be gone.