Tom's Corner Archives - Palmetto Carriage Works

In response to Dave Munday’s “What can be done to head off trouble for Charleston’s started carriage horses” original published as an article in The Post and Courier.

During the years spanning from 2014 – 2017 that Dave Munday referenced in his “spooky story,” 120,000 carriage tours WERE conducted by Charleston horse carriage companies. However, right now we’re sitting at a 99.99% rate of tours that were conducted without the type of negative occurrence he cites in the article. We are constantly evaluating and improving everything we do. All animals undergo a formal training process that is structured, documented and has hour minimums . The same is true with driver training. A potential driver passes through several levels, each with a minimum hourly requirements.

In addition to training, we address safety in our daily operations. Every day the driver of each carriage completes a checklist inspection of both the carriage and harness. All carriages return to our premises after each tour. The driver advises the barn staff of any irregularities with either the carriage or the animal and they are immediately addressed. Palmetto Carriage Works’ requirements far exceed every city regulation Mr. Munday referred to. One would not get the correct impression of policy and procedure already in place by reading Mr. Munday’s story. He poses the question while hiding the answer.

Munday goes on to identify reports as “sketchy,” setting the tone for another paragraph. I provided Mr. Munday with a report we had provided days before, and it was nothing like he described. For this incident and all serious incidents (including those like the Big John fall), the Tourism Enforcement Officers and veterinarians are informed immediately. For this particular incident, the owner was also on scene and wanted a police report. The police came, wrote an accident report documenting a broken mirror and the next day filed the incident report.

Twenty-four hours is the time we have to complete and turn-in the incident report to the city. This gives us a period of time to talk with everyone involved, examine all of the equipment and animals involved, and reach the best conclusion we can as to what happened and how we can avoid it in the future. Immediate notification when it’s called for, 24 hours to file the report. What exactly is unreasonable with that? If no clue is given as to why the horse is spooked, then there is no reason that we can identify. Most of my driver accounts are handwritten, like a handwritten confession. Just like the one I provided Mr. Munday. Brief, direct and to the point is not sketchy.

When there’s no new carriage news, we’ll talk about old carriage news, ponder the future, and ignore the ever evolving steps we take to insure the safety of both our passengers and animals. The unfounded claims in this article are the result.

-Tom

The horse carriage industry is a staple of Charleston. Not long ago, you could pick up the Post and Courier and read editorials written by locals that were in favor of horse carriages. So, where has that support gone?

In fact, the majority of local publications have turned extremely anti-carriage. In just a few short years we’ve gone from being City Paper “Best Tour in Charleston” to the subject of an editorial calling for our ban.

At the same time, the care and treatment of trip horses and mules is infinitely better today than it has ever been in history. As late as the last century, horses were still used in wars. Although that is no longer a common practice, horses are working animals and have worked alongside people throughout history.

Touring the city is a breeze for our animals compared to the tasks they were bred to do and allows us to be able to financially care for them.

In Charleston, a lot of effort has gone into changing the media view of us, and a lot of that stemming from misinformation.

In addition to better, modern care, the Charleston horse carriage industry is held to extremely rigorous standards to ensure that our animals are being taken care of. Few businesses, if any, in the city of Charleston are subject the same level of regulations that carriage tours are.

Part of these regulations include the way that we are required to report incidents.

The level of reporting that we are held to is far above that of other businesses. Incidents on private property, incidents that resulted in no damage or injury to another party, incidents that are easily handled with the aggrieved party now must become public record. This higher standard results in a higher level of incidents. Most of which are not even related to the well-being of our horses and mules.

We are a company and an industry that cares for our animals although the media is making it increasingly difficult for our side of the story to be heard.

We need your help to preserve the heritage of the horse carriage in Charleston.

Sign our petition and stay up to date on the facts on our Facebook page.

Thank you for your support!

-Tom

In Response to Munday’s Article in The Post and Courier…

The Truth About Horse Carriages in Charleston