A message from President & Founder Susan Wagner:
Dear Friends,
On this day, 15 years ago, an urgent phone call from Elizabeth Forel of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages led us to expedite one of our most significant rescue operations. She informed me that a former New York City carriage horse was in a kill pen at a New Holland, PA, slaughter auction. The good news was that he could be purchased through a special “broker-owned horse program,” which was extremely unusual but presented the opportunity to save him from dying in a Canadian slaughterhouse.
With funds raised quickly by Forel and Friends of Animals to help expedite the mission, I immediately went to work by purchasing the horse over the phone before the 5 PM deadline. However, we could not pick him up until the following Monday, which gave me enough time to find a hauler to ship him to New York. I wanted to name him Bobby II in honor of a Long Island carriage horse we had rescued years before, who had recently passed. Forel wanted to add the word “Freedom” – hence his name became Bobby II Freedom.
“I am eternally grateful to Susan for providing a wonderful home for Bobby, who, as she said, became the best ambassador ever to expose the cruelty in the New York City carriage trade. But here we are, fifteen years later, and this business continues in the most traffic-congested city in the country. Why? Lack of leadership! We’re still fighting the good fight. Please read our most recent Substack: THE NYC CARRIAGE HORSE ISSUE and CENTRAL PARK – Like a Bad Penny – it keeps popping up.“
-Elizabeth Forel, Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages
Bobby turned out to be one of the best ambassadors ever to help expose the cruelty of the New York City carriage horse trade and the sad lives these horses are forced to lead. He became famous as his dramatic rescue from slaughter was told in print and on TV, and he was immortalized in several portraits by the iconic graphic artist Peter Max, who was inspired by his story. Click here to read a complete and detailed account of Bobby’s rescue.
Bobby passed away on June 14, 2022, at the ripe old age of 32. That in itself was a miracle since we had sent him to Cornell for an extensive examination and MRI when he first arrived at the sanctuary, and the results were quite disturbing. The soundness issues with his feet and legs were serious and degenerative. His weakened condition and injuries were the reasons why he ended up being dumped in a kill pen by the carriage horse operators and drivers who made money off of him for years, only to dispose of him when he was no longer sound enough to work and generate profits for them. We provided him with lots of love and the best of care to manage those problems, which is why he lived a long life.
This lovable, feisty, and absolutely adorable horse was a favorite among our visitors, many of whom came from all over to meet him. He was adored by children, teenagers, and adults alike, as Bobby loved to hold court and be the center of attention. Most importantly, they all learned where he came from, how badly he suffered, and what his terrible end would have been had he not been rescued.
Former urban carriage horses from New York City are not all as fortunate as Bobby was. While carriage horse operators and drivers insist they do not send their horses to slaughter, Bobby was proof that they did. My opinion, and the opinion of many others, is that they do send horses to slaughter, either directly or indirectly (by laundering these horses through the Amish, Mennonites, and horse dealers).
For the 12 precious years that he was with us, Bobby helped change the way many people viewed the use of horses to pull carriages in crowded cities like New York, Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, and others across the country. Because we learned from official documents that his birth year was 1990, but did not know his exact birthday, we celebrated June 25th as Bobby’s Re-Birth-Day, meaning the day he was rescued and started his new life here at the sanctuary.
I miss and think of Bobby every day. He was such a big part of all our lives at Equine Advocates, and it is impossible to pass the stall he occupied in the Main Barn and not picture him there.
Most sincerely,
Susan Wagner, President & Founder