Dr. Lauren Lindner (psychologist/sanctuary owner) testifies remotely supporting ban

Checking to see if you can hear me or not.

Yes, we can.

And please keep it to two minutes.

We have a lot of people waiting to testify.

Thank you.

I shall.

This is Dr.

Lauren Lindner.

I'm in support of the bill.

And I'm a native New Yorker, grew up riding horses in Central Park from the age of seven, Claremont Stables, Dixie Do in Queens, been riding and caring for horses all my life.

I moved to California to complete my graduate school education.

And I'm going to turn my video on.

And also because I wanted to start a horse sanctuary based on the love that I developed for horses as a child.

I want to provide two different perspectives.

One is that as a sanctuary owner and as an ethologist, an animal behaviorist, I know what it takes to provide an ideal life for a horse.

I have studied equine behavior, equine ecology for the past 40 years.

Horses may be bred to pull carriages, but that doesn't mean that's what they want to do day after day in an environment that is simply not conducive for horses, albeit their ability to adapt, reluctantly or not, with blinders and curb bits and whips,

to many of the things humans ask them to do.

Once you have the land, however, and the pasture and barn and fencing and all the other appropriate infrastructure, it does not cost more than $6.

$1,000 a year for a reliable and reputable sanctuary to provide a home for a horse.

My sanctuary is willing to provide homes for several of the horses from the carriage industry, and their former owners are welcome to continue to visit with them should they so desire.

The other perspective that I want to offer is that I'm not only an animal behaviorist, but I'm also a human behaviorist, a licensed clinical psychologist.

And as a child, I was personally traumatized by seeing the horses in Central Park pulling carriages.

I didn't understand how they were allowed to be in the sun, in the rain, on concrete, with feed bags.

I never saw them getting water.

I was in Central Park several times a week.

I asked my parents repeatedly why this was allowed.

And I've found since that others, children and adults, are also distressed.

Time expired.

Please summarize that.

Summarize the end.

My summary of that, yes, ma'am.

Traditions are often changed once we recognize the cruelties behind them.

Let's go ahead and change this one.

Thank you so much for your testimony.

Next is Cynthia Bathurst.

You may begin.

Cynthia Bathurst.

Cindy Anthony Favia.