Distressful tradition Why horses don't belong in a carnival procession 01/27/2025 from Nadine Carstens

But for the horses themselves, such events have absolutely nothing to do with pleasure. Whether as riding horses for riding corps or as draught horses for the magnificent carriages - in the midst of boisterous crowds, loud music and flying sweets, bouquets of flowers and other throwing material, such carnival parades are much more stressful for the sensitive flight animals. "It is also problematic that they are repeatedly touched unprepared and from all sides by strangers without being able to refuse to be touched. And when they pull the often heavy carriages and floats, the constant stop and go is a feat of strength for the animals," explains Andrea Mihali, vet and Head of the Interdisciplinary Issues Department at the German Animal Welfare Association. "The horses are exposed to many stressful influences all the time, which can lead to fear and flight reactions."

For the horses as well as for the riders and bystanders, the use of the animals poses an incalculable safety risk. This was demonstrated by a serious accident during the Rose Monday parade in Cologne in 2018, in which five people were injured, four of them seriously - apparently horses from a carriage had run away. In Sonnenwalde in Brandenburg, the horses of a carriage also ran away during a carnival procession in 2023. The coachman was seriously injured. And in 2017, an accident also occurred during a parade in Bonn. A team of horses and carriage fled uncontrollably and collided with parked cars, among other things. While the Bonn Carnival Festival Committee drew conclusions and has refrained from using horses since 2023, the carnival stronghold of Cologne and other cities are not moving away from this so-called tradition. In Cologne alone, a total of 234 horses took part in the 2024 Rose Monday parade.

Proponents rely on certain training methods to desensitize the animals and stricter controls before and during the parades. In 2023, for example, the Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection in North Rhine-Westphalia introduced stricter guidelines for the use of horses in carnival parades. These include the following requirements:

• Horses must be removed from the procession. Among other things, it must be possible for responsible veterinarians to remove horses at several points along the route of the procession.
• Horses only at the start/end of the train. If possible, the animals should only be positioned at the start or end of a train and not near a band.
• Carriage attendants for carriages. At least four additional carriage attendants are required for a carriage team.
• Preparation of the horses. Those responsible should regularly prepare their horses for their duties - for example, by getting them used to certain stimuli associated with such events, such as projectiles or fluttering ribbons.

"However, all these efforts are not enough," warns Mihali. "No matter how experienced the horses are and how prepared they are for stressful situations, such events are still a major stress factor for the animals and the audience remains uncontrollable."

In order to ensure the safety of both the animals and everyone involved, we appeal to all those responsible, cities and festival committees to refrain from using horses altogether in future. The use of horses in carnival is a tradition that is associated with dangers for animals and humans and should be a thing of the past. This would make it possible to celebrate in a truly carefree way - without any animal suffering.