AS a long standing campaigner against landau horses being used on the Promenade, I must say I am 100per cent behind Preston-based Captive Animals Protection Society (CAPS) when they say it is time to scrap them (Citizen 6/5/04).

They are not an attraction which enhances the Promenade any more, like they did in the past, but just a pitiful sight to feel sorry for as they weave their way in and out of heavy traffic, breathing in deadly exhaust fumes for hours on end. Their efforts to do a complete turn on the Promenade, taking in its full width to do so, is nothing short of heart stopping to say the least!

The horses may be vet-checked yearly, but this does not alter the fact that they are working in dangerous conditions. It is high time they were segregated from the traffic for their own safety and that of their passengers if they are going to be kept going.

If the landau owners have been running them as family businesses for generations, then why are they so blinkered to the fact that traffic has got heavier and heavier over the years and why is there not an established sanctuary for the horses to retire to when their working days are over like in the Isle of Man. After all these years, their fate is still like a game of Russian Roulette. A small minority stay with the owner like Dianne Marriot's horses, or go to a sanctuary like Easterleigh, but sadly, the majority go to auction and an uncertain fate.

Hardly a fair reward for all their hard work and money earned for their owners, you must agree!

Mrs J Harwood, Moor Park Avenue, Bispham