Carriage Tours of Savannah

08/23/2025

Hello horse fans!!! I know we’ve been quiet. Trust it’s not that we’ve given up, or given in. This past Wednesday the 20th was the deadline for the Mayor to veto councils vote to amend the heat ordinance to 85 degrees beginning January 2026. He did not. We are still very grateful for the support of Mayor Van Johnson, Alderwoman Estella Edwards Shabazz, Alderwoman Linda Wilder-Bryan 3rd District, and Alderman Detric Leggett.
So now we move forward. We have some information that is pertinent to the discussion of carriage horses not only in Savannah, but across the country. This information will surprise some of you to learn. There is a lot to get out, so I will have to share in parts. I want to be clear and concise with all information & we have receipts.
PART I
First, this recent vote was NEVER about the quality of care the carriage horses in Savannah receive OR their health and welfare as the Animal Rights Activists (ARA’s) purport. We ALL know that. Scroll through this page, come to the barn, the farm, City Market, see our friends over by the Hyatt Savannah Carriage Tours, our level of care is exemplary.
The City of Savannah veterinarian gave a recommendation in a letter (1) dated July 1, 2025 stating that it is his “considered medical opinion that the current City of Savannah ordinances regulating the medical care of working horses within the City are appropriate and protect the welfare of these horses”. Dr. Myran not only cares for the mounted patrol horses who work for the City of Savannah, but also cares for our carriage horses. His expert, professional opinion will seemingly only apply to the mounted patrol horses, as it is my assumption they will be working in temperatures in excess of 85 degrees in 2026.
In his effort to eliminate horse drawn carriages in Savannah, Alderman Nick Palumbo has openly been involved with radical National organizations such as P*TA, Carriage Horse Freedom (2). Using his official City of Savannah FB Alderman account (3) he has been involved in another national movement called BAN HORSE CARRIAGES (plug in a US City), by posting on the BHCS page (Ban Horse Carriages Savannah). The Humane Society of the US (this is not the same as your local Humane Society) was also present at the 8/14 Council meeting and had a speaker.
The Alderman was a sign carrying (4) member of a protest on July 5th against the horse drawn carriage industry in Savannah, and was involved in an unfortunate incident during that protest. In a July 8th issue of Savannah Business Journal, the Alderman made a statement that no apologies were made for this act by any of the trade industries. You can read about that and other false statements here: https://www.savannahbusinessjournal.com/news/hospitality_tourism/july-8---horse-drawn-carriage-temperature-ordinance-on-thursdays-council-agenda/article_cd03cbfd-a4aa-47ef-a266-cf806dae634d.html

The Tourism Leadership Council https:/www.facebook.com/share/p/1727nJybQ1/
and the Chamber of Commerce (5), both issued letters repudiating the act of the individual with the bucket the following Monday, July 7th.
In a response letter (6) dated July 9th to Mounted Patrol Officer Ann Sosbe (ret.), the Alderman claimed I “smiled” and seemed to “enjoy the assault of an elected official” and refused to “condemn violence against our democratic process”. This is false. After apologizing verbally, face to face to Alderman Palumbo, I issued a written statement on our page on July 5th as I stood in City Market, before the police even left, condemning the incident, acknowledging this inexcusable behavior https://www.facebook.com/share/p/171UD8CCLp/.
Our friends at Savannah Carriage Tours IMMEDIATELY FIRED the employee responsible for this act https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BDACuvJTY/ We did this all while listening to the Alderman promising to shut down our businesses within days. No one at any time, condoned the behavior of this single individual, acting of his own accord. It was deplorable.
To be Continued…..

Receipts in comments

08/15/2025

Good Afternoon everyone. We just needed some time to collect our thoughts, process yesterdays vote to potentially regulate us out of existence, by moving the temperature threshold to 85 degrees in 2026. For those of you who are “horse people”, you know horse ownership is not a low cost venture, and sadly, with 150+ days of the year reaching 85 degrees or more, carriage tours would not be sustainable. We want to thank everyone who came out in person to speak on our behalf yesterday, all of you are amazing. We had friends from the horse community, trade organizations like Savannah Association of Local Tours, Tourism Leadership Council, Savannah Area Chamber, Visit Savannah and the Tourism Advisory Council. We met active fans of our page face to face Lee Crowe, and made some new friends - Leah Ryals!

We would also like to mention the countless people who spoke for us, continue to speak out for us, sent emails, wrote letters, and watched the live stream when they couldn’t be here in person.

We also want to thank Mayor Van Johnson, Alderwoman Linda Wilder-Bryan 3rd District and Mayor Pro-Tem Alderwoman Estella Edwards Shabazz and Alderman Detric Leggett. Your support in keeping not only our horses out of harms way, but also our staff, “the hearts behind the harness” is deeply appreciated. You stood up for us, and we will continue to operate in a way that will make you proud to support us.
We are strong, and will continue to fight for our herd. They deserve all we’ve committed to provide for them, and we take that responsibility very seriously. We may ask all of you for something at some point, but for now, thank you guys, and know we are in our bliss, working with our horses every day. Hoofs & Kisses friends 🐴😘

08/15/2025

08/14/2025

For those of you who can’t make it today, here is the livestream of the city council meeting.

08/13/2025

As many of you know, tomorrow is August 14th, the anticipated council meeting where the heat ordinance in Savannah could be revised.
WHAT WE WANT- NO CHANGE
We feel since there has been no change in the science, the horses are all well cared for & handle our summer temps just fine (if a horse does not manage heat well, they get the summer off). We are in complete compliance with no heat related incidents or violations - we bring our horses in before thresholds are met. Our current ordinance is in line with other cities in our region with commercial carriage operations, including Charleston, New Orleans, St. Augustine to name a few.
Add to that, we have been completely left out of any conversations about a revised ordinance, a precedent the City of Savannah set in 2017, when we were included, and came up with our current ordinance.
If you would like to help, there is still time. If you can’t be there in person (which would be AMAZING) message one of us, and we will tell you what you can do!
Thank you to all of you who continue to support & know that all of us together, are the Hearts behind the Harness. Hoofs & Kisses 😘🐴

08/12/2025

Did a little browsing in the cute shops on Broughton Street yesterday. Found these in just one of many stores🐴❤️

08/12/2025

Thank you Rich Burkhart & Savannah Morning News for giving us the opportunity to be heard. We are truly so grateful 💙🐴

Please share this article so that everyone can have the opportunity to read it!

Summer heat has been a big part of the conversation when it comes to horse-drawn carriage tours in Savannah. The current heat regulation is 95 degrees or a heat index of 110.

08/09/2025

Just 8.9 miles from downtown Savannah, Harold & Marshall are on a 6 week sabbatical. Shoosies off & bellies full ❤️🐴

08/08/2025

Our dear horse friends,
We have been waiting to post about the loss of a lovely carriage horse named Lady in NYC this week. We are of the belief one should have all of the facts before expressing opinions, sharing information, or expressing a call to action.
Just as the operators in Savannah do, NYC carriage operators love their horses. When they lost Lady, everyone in the barn was heartbroken. We know this, because we have a friend and peer that sits on the C**A (Carriage Operators of North America) Board with two of our staff members. We want to share the official press release from the NYC TWU Local 100 (Transportation Union) regarding the Necropsy conducted at Cornell University, one of the country’s leading veterinary institutions, following Lady’s death.
We stand with our friends in NYC, and mourn this loss with you. We believe we all need to do better as humans, treat one another with respect, and not rush to judgment without having all of the scientific facts to consider. We are so sorry that instead you came in to work on Wednesday morning to find the words “Killers” scrawled across the sidewalk in front of your barn doors. It isn’t true, and you don’t deserve that, and we’re sorry that there are people who think that is acceptable. “There was zero wrongdoing or negligence here,” Dr. Gabriel Cook, Lady’s veterinarian As you will read, Lady passed from an aortic rupture which is a “silent killer”. Lady’s physical exam in June showed no evidence of any heart murmur or other cardiac condition. This is a sad, tragic unforeseen loss, and in no way related to lack of care, work load, or heat (it was 85 degrees that day). Sending love and support to NYC and hugs to all of our horse people out there. Squeeze your ponies a little tighter today for us ❤️

08/01/2025

Photo dump!
What’s been happening here this week during the extreme heat?

🌾🐴More hay just arrived from Central VA (Lynchburg)—this time round bales for our farm horses! Zoey went along to be sure things went smoothly 🐶It's a nice mix: 60% orchard grass, 20% Timothy, and 20% fescue. We also picked up a little treat for Buster on the way home, thanks to our friend Bridger Medlin! 🤩

The horsie committee had quite the Monday meeting! A curious snail made an appearance, and a pup sporting booties and doggles took a little tour. We even had “afternoon raccoon” visit with what seems to be two friends (possibly a mom and her two babies!). 😄

Murph got a surprise blessing from a bird—though he’s not convinced it’s good luck! Koa was busy doing his barn dog duties while we set up two new shelters downtown. Cabbage thinks they’re pretty spectacular! 🏠

And can you believe it? We had a second committee meeting this week! I’m not sure what the gossip is, but it must be pretty juicy to warrant so much discussion! 🐴🙊💬