Andrew Lichtenstein / Corbis via Getty Images
In New York, horses pull carriages mainly for tourists (illustrative image)
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HEAT WEATHER – “Horses don’t belong in town. » animal welfare association PETA shared a viral video of a cheval horse-drawn carriage, Ryder, collapsed on the asphalt in full Manhattan Wednesday August 10 “probably because of the heat”. He remained on the ground for more than an hour before getting up.
The images were posted by the association on Twitter. “This horse collapsed while pulling a horse-drawn carriage in New York City, likely due to heat exhaustion, and has been down for over an hour. Horses have no place in big cities where they are constantly endangered by cars, humans, weather, etc. »wrote PETA in the tweet accompanying the video.
BREAKING: This horse COLLAPSED while pulling a carriage in NYC, likely from heat exhaustion, and has been down for… https://t.co/IQCXCxljBz
— MAP (@map)
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That day in New York, it was up to 31°C. According to the media including NBC, Ryder, 14, collapsed. The carriage driver allegedly whipped him to get him up. ” Get up ! Get up ! Get up ! Come on get up », he would have insisted. In distress, Ryder remained on the ground. He was then detached from the carriage and the police officers who arrived on the spot sprayed him to cool him down.
The horse-drawn carriage debate revived
“The NYPD [police de New York]takes the health and well-being of our four-legged friends in New York seriously, and we are delighted that our equestrian officers were able to help”, police said after the incident. Some footage also shows a pillow being placed under Ryder’s head, who was taken to the vet.
According to a spokesperson for the Transport Workers Union, which represents horse-drawn carriage drivers, the veterinarian diagnosed Ryder with equine protozoan myeloencephalitis, a neurological disease caused by a parasite. It can be cured with medication. The union did not mention the heat or the exhaustion of the horse.
In addition to PETA, other associations have denounced the mistreatment of animals, in particular carriage horses. The presence of these carriages has also been debated in the Big Apple for many years. The former mayor Bill de Blasio had tried to ban the practice, without success.
See also also on The Huffpost: Fuel Prices Rising, He Rides to Work
