This Wednesday afternoon, around 5pm, a horse pulling a carriage collapsed in the heart of Manhattan in New York. In the summer heat (28 ° C), one of New York’s iconic carriage horses collapsed onto the scorching sidewalk as passersby watched in horror and animal lovers demanded a ban on horse-drawn carriages.
According to the subway website, the New York Police Department (NYPD) horse unit was quickly dispatched to the scene after a concerned passerby called emergency services.
Police arrived to find the horse “lying in the middle of the troubled sidewalk,” the department said Thursday. The mounted unit was able to help the frightened creature by bathing and cooling it with buckets of water and ice cubes.
Video taken by a passer-by and shared on Peta’s social media, shows a cheering crowd as the horse heroically rises to its feet. The mounted officers were able to guide the animal into a NYPD horse trailer.
The horse was then transported to a private stable, where police confirmed that he was conscious and awaiting veterinary treatment.
Ryder was sick
Pete Donohue, a spokesman for the transport workers union, told the newspaper that the horse was examined by a veterinarian who diagnosed him with equine protozoan myeloencephalitis, or EPM.
“It wasn’t hot, it wasn’t tired, it wasn’t overwork”, Donohue said. He noted that Ryder only made two trips that day. EPM is a parasite-borne neurological disease found in opossum feces, Donohue explained.
“The NYPD takes the health and well-being of our four-legged friends in New York very seriously and is delighted that our trained equestrian officers were able to assist you.” a police spokesman said. It appears that no arrests have been made at the scene and it is unclear if any animal abuse claims will be issued.
The transport union rep also confirmed that Ryder was eating, drinking and much better off in the barn. And to specify: “This horse is, in essence, a horse rescued from slaughter. Previously it belonged to an Amish breeder, where the horses have to travel more than 50km a day,” Donohue said.
He explained that Ryder was bought after it was auctioned earlier this year. He was taken to New York in April. “Horses at auction are regularly sent to abattoirs abroad”, Donohue said. This life in New York is therefore easier for Ryder.
The debate on the ban on horse-drawn carriages resumes
A local advocacy group, New Yorkers for Clean, Liveable, and Safe Streets (NYCLASS), is pushing for a ban on horse-drawn carriages altogether.
NYCLASS is also lobbying the New York City Council to pass the bill presented by Queens Councilor Robert Holden that would ban cars across the city and replace them all with electric vehicles by 2024.
NYCLASS has successfully lobbied city council to pass the “Carriage Horse Heat Relief Bill,” which prevents carriage drivers from working with horses when the temperature is above 32 ° C.
