Lea blogs about horses on Alicia Silverstone’s site

My name is Lea and I grew up in New York. Growing up, I was the little girl who always wanted to save the animals. I even would ask my mom to buy me stuffed animals that looked sad because I felt bad for them. When I was about 10, I found a box of kittens someone had left on the beach. I tried my best to care for them, and while some were able to be saved, many were taken from their mother too early and we didn’t get to them fast enough. To this day it’s still sometimes so hard for me to not get overwhelmed by all the animals out there that need help.

My biggest trouble these days are the poor horses in Central Park. Living in New York City, I see them sadly standing on the sides of busy streets with their heads right in the asses of the horse right in front of them! They walk in the rain, snow, and heat, pulling people all day long, rarely getting proper food, water or care.

I know people may not understand – maybe they just want to take their kids for a ride through Central Park, but trust me, you’ll do better for you’re kids if you take them for a walk! Sometimes I wish I could just go and set them free on some sunny field somewhere where they could just roam free and run around all day. I know that sounds cheesy but if you saw them, trust me, you would want to do the same.

If you live in New York, next time you’re walking down Central Park Blvd. and you see tourists considering going for a ride, suggest to them that they take a stroll through Strawberry Field instead–the horses cant go through there-or rent a bike…or now they even have people who ride bikes and have seats for people on the back! It’s so much more fun!

Like I said, some people just don’t understand the severity of this situation so it’s our job to spread the word in a loving way.  If you’re traveling to NYC and see these sweet creatures, give them a pet and send them some love, and hope that this will end soon.

So that’s all for today.

Much love…