Cab horses must be shielded from the sun

Owners of horse-drawn cabs have until the end of the week to cover their horses with a protective cloth when standing in the sun or risk being slapped with hefty fines.

A simple piece of cloth could reduce the temperature for the horse by up to 15°C, animal welfare inspector Manuel Buhagiar said.

As temperatures soar in summer, horses start getting uncomfortable and the scorching sun puts them at risk of potentially deadly melanoma, the worst form of skin cancer, apart from dehydration.

Mr Buhagiar said the Animal Welfare Act put the onus of the animal's well-being on the owner and violating the law could entail imprisonment of up to a year and fines of between €233 and €46,000.

"If they cover the horse with a piece of cloth, even the sort used to provide shade on roofs, it will make a huge difference," Mr Buhagiar, from the Animal Welfare Department, said.

Department director Mario Spiteri said the best type of material was jute (xoqqa) because it allowed the air to flow while protecting against the sun.

However, although horse-drawn cab owners seem willing to cover the animals, they believe this is not the ideal solution.

"Horses need proper shelter and not just a piece of cloth," Kevin Debono, from the Karozzini Association, said. There was just one tent in all of Malta, close to the Malta Experience in Valletta, offering karozzini shelter from the elements.

He said the owners still had to see whether horses got used to the covering or whether they resisted it.

Mr Buhagiar said the department was leaving the choice of material up to the owners because different horses might prefer different materials.

Moreover, a cloth covering was also practical because it could be removed when the karozzin was moving. Mr Buhagiar said horses should be covered in the sun whenever the temperature exceeded 25°C, which in summer was frequent.

Mr Buhagiar said covering horses was nothing new; in the past a wet piece of cloth used to be thrown over horses to keep them cool.