Ponies standing in makeshift tents beneath a Baltimore City highway overpass are enduring cold winds, standing water and limited grazing space, according to animal advocates.
Dozens of horses used in the city?s tradition of “Arabbing” ? hawking produce from horse-drawn carriages ? have been housed by city officials on a desolate lot beneath the Monroe Street Bridge in southwest Baltimore since Dec. 13. City officials said Wednesday they plan to replace the ramshackle tents with a permanent 28-stall stable on the property, sandwiched between an abandoned railroad and a trash-strewn slope.
“It?s distressing,” said Stacey Segal, an equine protection specialist with the national Humane Society. “By all reports, it?s in a very dangerous neighborhood, there?s debris, there?s water.”
A construction timeline has not been determined, said Cheron Porter, spokeswoman for the city?s housing department. The property has been donated by the nearby B&O Railroad Museum and will be developed using city staff and resources, she said. The city has committed $450,000 to the project along with $90,000 from the Baltimore Development Corporation.
A security guard Wednesday manned the padlocked chain-link fence surrounding the tents, and puddles of standing and partially frozen water dotted the property. The guard denied The Examiner access to the ponies.
While the site is not “ideal,” Olivia Farrow, the city?s assistant commissioner of environmental health, said the site is adequate on a temporary basis. The city in August condemned a government-owned stable in West Baltimore for structural problems and filth.
From there, about 50 horses, some used for arabbing, were moved to tents in the parking lot of Pimlico Race Track. Farrow said the new location offers better protection from the wind and elements.
“The owners are supposed to be taking care of their animals, putting down adequate layers of straw,” she said.
Humane Society officials said they offered to find the horses homes before they were relocated to Pimlico.
Keith Dane, the society?s director of equine protection, said the city has not included advocates in discussions and said he believes Baltimore has intentionally excluded the society from the process.
City officials said they try to work with the Humane Society as often as possible.
“We have a good working relationship with the Humane Society, from the dogfighting task force, to this issue and others,” said Sterling Clifford, a spokesman for Mayor Sheila Dixon.
