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Chattanooga council approves first‑reading ordinance tightening rules for carriage horses
Summary
On Dec. 16 the Chattanooga City Council approved on first reading an amendment to city code that sets age and health limits for horse‑drawn carriages, adds semiannual veterinary checks and new temperature and identification rules for geriatric and pregnant horses.
Chattanooga’s City Council approved on first reading an ordinance Dec. 16 that tightens protections for horses used to pull downtown carriages, including age caps, increased veterinary monitoring and limits on when pregnant mares may work.
The ordinance, introduced by Councilman Henderson and explained by Christopher McKnight of the city attorney’s office, adds a definition of “geriatric” horses at 20 years of age and requires those animals to receive examinations by a licensed veterinarian every six months rather than annually. “We bumped the requirements for checkups to twice a year instead of once annually,” McKnight told the council. The amendment also states a horse diagnosed with chronic cardiac, respiratory or musculoskeletal conditions may be removed from service and effectively retired.
The code change lowers the maximum ambient temperature at which geriatric horses may work from 95°F to 90°F and raises the low end from 20°F to 30°F (using ambient temperature or wind‑chill, whichever is lower). The ordinance also prohibits geriatric horses from pulling carriages at speeds faster than a walk and requires that geriatric horses be identified by a silver stripe on both sides of the bridle to help handlers and inspectors “identify which horses are subject to these restrictions,” McKnight said.
The amendment adopts a Henneke body condition requirement of 4–7 for working horses (a standard scale of 1–9 used to rate body fat and condition) and requires handlers to take a horse’s body temperature after each tour. McKnight told the council that if a horse’s body temperature is 103°F or higher, the animal must be removed from duty until the temperature returns to 101.5°F or less; if it does not return within two hours the owner or handler must take the horse to an emergency veterinarian for suspected heat stroke.
The ordinance also restricts pregnant mares: carriages shall not be pulled by stallions or by mares more than 180 days pregnant, nor by mares within 180 days after foaling. McKnight said these limits reflect veterinarian guidance and reviewed scholarly literature.
Council members asked about enforcement and who oversees compliance; McKnight said enforcement would fall to the passenger vehicle‑for‑hire board. Council discussion noted the changes were the result of a carriage owner raising concerns and of research by the city attorney’s office. Councilman Clark cited abuse reports from other cities during busy holiday periods and praised the proactive approach.
The council moved, seconded and voted to approve the ordinance on first reading; the motion passed. The ordinance will follow the city’s regular ordinance process for subsequent readings and formal adoption.
