Safety

Better Equines means you will not find us with a over burdened, over worked, underweight, or lame carriage horse.  If a horse were to start feeling ill, or become lame during or before an event we will not hesitate to shut down operations. While we have been operating for decades without issue should it happen our horses well being always comes first.

Better Safety means you will not ever find us walking away from our horses while hitched to our carriages for any reason whatsoever. Our horses will always be properly attended by a driver seated and footman at the head. We will have our horses under direct hand control at all times. Both a driver and a footman come with every rental.

 You will not find us loading passengers until our driver is seated with lines in hand. You will not find our drivers getting off the carriage while passengers are still inside the carriage. We do not take vanity pictures of our horses unattended, Our horses mean way too much to us to needlessly risk their well being for a photo. 

After over four decades in the industry we understand that just because you could, doesn't mean you should. We follow all tried and true carriage driving safety protocols. For your safety, our equine partner's, and ours too. 

Better Turnout means we will always be properly attired, our horses will be immaculately groomed with properly adjusted and cleaned harness. Our carriages will be clean and detailed with custom silk floral's for unique photos and to match your event. 

We pledge to bring you the finest horse drawn carriage experience available anywhere. We pledge to operate by the highest safety protocols, and we pledge to always engage in honest and ethical business practices. Hire a B.E.S.T. operator and forget the rest. You will be glad you did! 

Q- How much weight can a draft horse pull? A- a typical 2000 lb draft horse can pull  3 to 5 times his body weight (6.000-10,000 lbs) for 4-8 hours on a flat surface depending on his/her level of fitness.

Q-How much do carriage's weigh? A- Carriages typically weigh between 1000 and 1400 lbs. A 1000 lb carriage fully loaded with six 200 lb people will weight about 2400 lbs and is well within the abilities of a very out of shape draft horse, much less a fit one. 

Q- Why do your drivers not get off the carriage to take our picture like they will in some other places? A- Because it's not a safe thing to do. Should a carriage horse startle while the passengers are in the carriage and the driver is off the carriage the passengers find themselves in a runaway carriage with no captain at the helm. This has happened and continues to happen in places where this foolhardy safety breech is common. We take your safety way more serious than that. The driver should always be the first person on and the last person off a carriage. 

Q- Why do you carry a whip on the carriage? A- a rider has control of his horses hips and sides through the use of his legs. A person driving a horse carriage has lost that important ability to communicate with the horse. This is remedied through the occasional use of a whip. It is a communication tool and never a weapon. Carriage drivers touch the horse to tell him/her to move left or right, or to step up the pace.  

If you have another question not answered here please feel free to call us at (501) 232-4102 or shoot an email to karen@princesscarriage.com. To learn more about B.E.S.T. carriage operations see: www.bestcarriagepros.com

TESTIMONIAL: 

Natalie Cooper, DVM Honey Hill Veternarian Hospital, Searcy, Ar. We enjoyed working on the "gentle giants" yesterday! Thanks for being such a great horse owner, your horses are so well cared for! :)