To the Members of the Savannah City Council:

I am writing not as a politician, not as a lobbyist, but as someone who wakes up before dawn to care for the horses that carry the spirit of this city in every hoofbeat.

Your recent vote on the new heat ordinance for horse-drawn carriages feels like a slap in the face — not just to those of us who make our living honestly and lovingly, but to the very animals you claim to protect.

You have stood before cameras and spoken about “animal welfare” and “public safety,” yet not one of you has stood beside me in the barn at 6 a.m.

Not one of you has watched a horse lean into the halter for a good morning scratch, or seen their eyes close with trust when we brush them down. You don’t see how they perk up at the sight of the carriage — because they like their work, their routine, their purpose.

We know these horses better than anyone. We’ve cared for them through heat, rain, cold, and storm — not because a law told us to, but because love did.

We have systems, safety checks, thermometers, and common sense. We’ve stopped tours when the weather turned dangerous long before this ordinance was even dreamed up.

So when you pass laws like this without listening to us — the people who actually know and live this life — it doesn’t feel like protection. It feels like punishment.

You’ve taken the word of activists and outsiders who’ve never held a lead rope, never walked a horse into the shade, never felt the steady heartbeat of a partner who trusts you with their life.

And yet somehow, you’ve decided you know better.

This ordinance isn’t rooted in compassion — it’s rooted in politics. It’s about optics, not understanding. It’s about appearing righteous instead of being reasonable.

And in the process, you’ve hurt small business owners, drivers, barn workers, and families who depend on this work — and who would never harm their animals.

We love these horses. We love this city. And all we’ve ever asked is to be treated with the same respect and fairness we show to the animals in our care.

You can regulate temperatures and write fines, but you cannot legislate heart. You cannot replace the bond between human and horse with bureaucracy.

And you cannot silence those of us who will keep standing up for what is true: that our horses are healthy, happy, and loved — and we will always fight for them.

Respectfully but firmly,

A Proud Savannah Carriage Driver