Background
The Cart Horse Protection Association (CHPA) was founded in 1995 to stop the abuse of thousands of cart horses living and working around Cape Town.

The Cart Horse Situation
Cart Horses are commonly found working in these areas:

• Epping
• Uitsig
• Netreg
• Valhalla Park
• Kalk Steenfontein
• Philippi
• Lansdowne
• Elsies River
• Southern suburbs

Horses in these areas are used to deliver scrap metal to dealers. Small sums are paid for scrap metal: barely enough to feed a family, never mind a horse. Thousands of horses are used to pull carts. Their lifespan is halved, due to excessive work and neglect. If their source of income is interfered with by the public or local authorities, Cart horse owners will threaten and may act on their threats. The Public is advised not to approach cart horse owners or drivers, but to report unsatisfactory conditions to the authorities listed below.

Cart horses endure the following:

• Harness sores and injuries from poorly-fitting harnesses.
• Lamenes from bad shoeing by unprofessional, hometrained "farriers".
• Illness from poor feeding, rendering them unable to perform their work properly which usually results in their being worked harder.
• Beatings, violence and extreme handling methods.
• Long working hours with no rest, water or food.

Cart horse owners often do not understand the complex needs of a horse. Feeding, stabling, veterinary and farriery costs run into hundreds - very few can afford these costs and horses go without. It costs, on average, R500.00 per month to feed and care for a cart horse properly.

Events