Horse-drawn carriages are a common sight in downtown St. Augustine, especially during the annual Nights of Lights holiday celebration. | Photo courtesy of Carly Zervis
Published on January 14, 2026 at 4:13 pm
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A confirmed case of a highly contagious upper respiratory disease in a horse has closed a St. Augustine carriage company for the rest of the month.
Archie, a horse owned by Country Carriages, was diagnosed by a veterinarian last week with a case of strangles, a bacterial infection spread by close contact between horses. The case was then reported to Florida’s Department of Agriculture, which maintains a map of reported diseases.
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Additional information collected by the Equine Disease Communication Center — an organization built out of national efforts to collect data about equine disease outbreaks — notes that as many as 22 horses may have been exposed. Only one case has been confirmed.
Speaking before the St. Augustine City Commission this week, Country Carriages co-owner Jennifer Cushion confirmed that her barn is quarantined and that the horse is on the mend.
“We have done everything required by the vet, by the state,” she said. “We are following all their rules.”
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According to a University of Florida report on the disease, strangles “is one of the most commonly diagnosed contagious diseases in horses worldwide.” Fatalities are uncommon, as is transmission of the disease to humans.
“Fortunately, although strangles is highly contagious and can affect many horses on a farm, most horses with infection recover without complication,” the report states. “Studies report complications to occur in approximately 20% of strangles cases.”
In horses that experience complications, chances of fatalities become more likely.
Florida’s Department of Agriculture requires that owners quarantine their sick horses for a minimum of three weeks after symptoms subside.
Cushion said that, at the start of February, the state is allowing her to have a few of her horses tested for strangles at the University of Florida. If they test negative for the disease, those horses will be stored away from any sick animals and be used to resume tours.
Horse health and animal activists
The news that a horse at a carriage company operated in downtown St. Augustine disturbed animal rights activists who have, for years, called for an end to horse drawn carriages in the city.
Activists have previously accused carriage company owners of mistreating horses, including one documented incident when Country Carriages owner William Cushion punched a horse in the nose.
When St. augustine police interviewed him about the incident in 2023, Cushion said the horse was being unruly, but he admitted that he may have gone “overboard” when he struck the animal.
Now, with the case of strangles confirmed, activists once again called for the city to stop horses from pulling carriages up and down city streets.
Activist Heather Wilson said she doesn’t believe the city-leased stables where Country Carriages operates are sufficient for quarantining the horses. She questioned the Cushions’ ability to sufficiently care for their animals.
“It is time that the city stops leasing valuable land to the Cushions with their never-ending revolving door of horses that are forced to pull heavy loads on busy streets, robbed of all of their natural instincts and desires,” Wilson said Monday during the City Commission meeting.
Co-owner Jennifer Cushion rejects that framing, arguing that her stables are fixed up.
“The conditions are not what they make it out to be,” she said.
In addition, other carriage company owners stress that one sick horse does not pose a threat to the rest of the horses in the city.
Aaron Jockers, the owner of A Legacy Carriage, says his horses, along with those owned by other companies, like Old City Carriages and Coastal Carriages, have not come into contact with the Cushions’ sick horse.
“I encourage anyone with concerns to reach out to knowledgeable individuals and large-animal veterinary sources for accurate information,” Jockers said.
