Horse owners in Philadelphia, Pa., will be subject to new inner-city horse keeping regulations if a bill introduced into the City Council in December becomes law.

Bill sponsor Councilman William Greenlee said that, if passed, the proposed ordinance would regulate various aspects of horse keeping, including the amount of space required to keep a horse in the city. The ordinance would also require that horses kept in the city receive regular exercise. Ordinance scofflaws would be subject to $300 in fines for each violation.

Greenlee said the bill responds to public health and animal welfare issues that crop up periodically.

"It’s not something that happens a lot, but over the years there are some instances when a horse is not being well taken care of, or that is causing problems for neighbors," he said