LOS ANGELES — The Griffith Park Pony Rides have been in operation in Griffith Park since 1948, and they are now facing scrutiny from animal rights activists.

Close to 160,000 children per year visit the site and ride the 45 horses and ponies housed at the park, which also has a petting zoo.

Zohra Fahim is the founder of the Los Angeles Alliance for Animals and said she has witnessed the horses and ponies being neglected during hot days at the park. She claims to have seen the horses go without water for extended periods of time.

“That can create a lot of issues for the horse,” she said.  

Fahim also claims the horses in the Pony Go Round, a merry-go-round style attraction, are overworked.

“These horses and ponies are tethered to that chain on the turnstile for almost seven hours a day. With the long lines on the weekends, they are never taken off that line to have a break. That is a concern of mine. I call it complete animal abuse,” she said.

The group also claims that all the horses are routinely overworked and not given proper breaks. Fahim said one of the horses regularly giving rides, has gait issues. However, the owner of the Griffith Park Pony Rides, Stephen Weeks, denied the claims have any validity.  

Weeks bought the operation five years ago and runs it.

“We do a lot to protect our animals. We, first of all, have a very aggressive feeding program," he said. "We have tons of alfalfa out by the barn. We have 80 feet of water available to them all day long. We have two vets on 24-hour call.”

Weeks said if the Griffith Park Pony Rides were to be shut down, it would be a huge loss for the city.

“We have four generations of Angelenos that have come out here to the Pony Rides. It’s very well known. It’s an important pony ride operation. It gives the kids of LA such pleasure – that’s what we are all here for,” he said.

Weeks also refuted the claim that the horses and ponies do not get enough rest.

“On hot days, the ponies get 15 or 20 minutes breaks between rides,” he said. 

After receiving multiple calls from the public reporting abuse at the pony rides, City Council Members, Nithya Raman and Paul Koretz filed a motion calling for a third-party assessment of the facilities.

The motion states:

“The Department of Recreation and Parks and the department of Animal Services have continuously gone out to inspect the facility and have found no violations. In response to concerns brought forth by residents and animal rights groups, however, RAP has initiated a process to bring on a third-party equestrian expert to review and report on the policies and practices of the operation to ensure the horses are being well cared for.”

The motion was filed on Dec. 8, and the Council has asked the Department of Recreation and Parks to report back within 45 days.