Report Abuse

Help protect cart horses

Keep an eye out for:

  • Colour of horse & name or ID number (click here to see common horse colours)

  • Any distinctive markings on the horse such as a blaze, a star, white socks

  • How many men are on the cart?

  • What colour t-shirts are the men wearing, are they wearing anything distinctive such as hats or beanies?

  • What road did you see the horse on and in which direction was the horse going?

  • What is the closest intersection?

EMERGENCY NUMBER

Call or SMS 082 6 566 599

or Office hours: 8am-4.30pm, Mon-Fri

Call 021 535 3435

Cart Horse Abuse can be classified as one of the following: overloading, whipping, untreated injuries/lame horse, horses with ribs highly visible, reckless driving, ill-fitting harnesses or the horse needs new shoes.

Overloading – It is best to look at the horse and judge whether the horse appears to be straining against the weight of the cart, if the horse looks tired or the drivers need to go to extra measures in order to get the horse to move forward, then you know there is a problem. Sometimes carts are packed high but with light materials, and sometimes there are only 3 items on the cart but they may be solid and heavy. So always best to look at the horse first.

Whipping – Please ALWAYS report whipping. There is no need for the cart horse drivers to ever whip their horses.

Injury/lame/bad condition – If you see a cart horse who appears to be in terrible condition, lame (limping) or has an injury which looks untreated, please call us immediately.

Reckless driving – Cart horse drivers should follow all the rules of the road. Please report reckless driving where the well-being of the horse is put at risk.

Ill-fitting harnesses/shoes – Check for badly fitted, damaged or broken harnesses which could be hurting the horse. Horses with loose shoes or hooves that require attention should also be reported.

Other information: If you are reporting a case of abuse, don’t let the cart horse drivers know. Once they suspect you have reported them, they are adept in disappearing down side roads so that the inspectors or CIDs will not find them.

If there is any chance you are able to take a picture – PLEASE DO! Pictures of abuse are invaluable when it comes to court cases and a history of abuse would just make our case stronger. A picture also says a thousand words. With one picture – Cart Horse Protection will know who the horse is, who the horse’s owner is and who the drivers are.

In terms of the Animal By Law there is no legal age specified to drive a cart. The Road Traffic Act also has no age specified but it does say that the animal drawn vehicle has to be operated by a competent driver. This is something that we need to change in the By Law. We are not issuing E53 permits to anyone under the age of 16 years.

If you do see a horse that looks like the driver is not controlling properly, please send us the ID# and we will contact the owner to find out more about the driver.

Facebook should be your last option in a case of abuse as we are not always online so might only view your comment hours after it was posted.

Aside from the above, if you see anything at all that makes you uncomfortable or doesn’t feel right – please call us. We are always happy to chat to cart horse supporters!

Please note that we only work within the provisions of the Animal Protection Act and we cannot respond to calls for dumping. This has to be handled by law enforcement. People can report dumping to 021 596 1999. Taking photo’s when the dumping is taking place is always helpful and is evidence.

cart horse cape town

To report abuse (cart horse in bad condition, lame, overloaded or being worked too hard) or any violation of the City of Cape Town by-laws (illegal dumping, traffic violations or illegal activity) involving a cart horse call our Patrol & Call Out Officer on 082 65 66 599 during office hours and 082 65 99 599 after hours.

When reporting the case, take note of the following:

  • the number and name on the yellow ID plate affixed to the back of the cart,
  • size and colour of the horse (here are some examples of the basic horse colours)
  • any markings
  • road, area and direction the cart horse is travelling
  • how many people on the cart
  • what they are wearing and a description of the load, if any

How do you know if a cart is over loaded? Here are some guidelines:

  • Small pony (11-12hh) – a maximum of 600kg’s
  • Medium pony (12-13hh) – a maximum of 750kg’s
  • Big pony and horses over 13hh – a maximum of 1000kg’s

The above mentioned guidelines include the cart, passengers and load.

Do not give hot, sweaty cart horses water, this can result in severe colic and can sometimes be fatal. The horse must be cool and breathing normally before it drinks water.

When the season changes from winter to summer, the cart horses still have their winter coats, due to this, even at a walk, they will sweat; this must not be mistaken for abuse or overworking. Rather take note of the horses breathing to ascertain the above. It should not be panting like a dog.

Do not get into a heated discussion with the ‘carties’, rather call the numbers above in order for us to deal with the situation.

Do not give the ‘carties’ cash for feed or shoes. If you would like to ensure that the working cart horses receive these services, support us by purchasing Cart Horse Coupons which the ‘carties’ can redeem at our daily clinics for feed and access to our farriery services. For more information about our Cart Horse Coupons call the office on 021 535 3435.