INHERENTLY CRUEL PRACTICE

To the Editor: Your recent article, "Fairytale Ride or Cruel Practice?" (Sept. 18), tries to present a balanced view, although your writer got several facts wrong (the Coalition has 30,000 signatures, not 10,000). I don't know how there can be a balanced view on a practice that is inherently cruel. It's like trying to present a balanced view about a tiger in a cage: sure, he gets food and water, but he's so miserable that he would commit suicide if he knew how to do it. Horses on the hack line are not allowed to be horses. What part of their day is natural for a horse? We have never seen proof of their getting pasture. A picture of two brown horses in a pasture is no proof. Christine MacMurray Vice President of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages Editor's Note: The coalition's website reports that the petition has 10,679 signatures, which was the basis for the number included in the Sept. 18 story. However, the coalition reports that they have 30,000 signatures. Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.