Video: Horse in Carriage Industry Escapes, Runs Loose in Manhattan
A horse who is forced to pull carriages through New York City’s congested, noisy streets bolted over the weekend while being bathed on the sidewalk, raced up 11th Avenue in Manhattan with police cars in pursuit, and shocked pedestrians and motorists who were looking on.
An eyewitness, Jonathan DeMuth, captured this video of the incident:
In the video, the horse runs through a busy intersection tailed by a New York Police Department cruiser as another car makes an unsuccessful attempt to cut off the horse’s path by pulling in front of the animal.
This is just the latest in a string of similar incidents that have put horses and the public in danger. In April, a horse was spooked by a bus and fell, becoming pinned under his carriage and sending another nearby horse running. In June, a horse named Pumpkin spooked and bolted, causing pedestrians to run for safety. Later in the summer, a witness reported seeing the disturbing aftermath of a collision between a horse and a taxi. And the list goes on and on.
New York’s notorious horse-drawn carriage industry also came under fire recently after carriage drivers were caught working horses in 90-degree weather despite a mandatory heat suspension, drinking on duty, making racist and sexist slurs, forcing a horse to work for four days with a serious leg injury, and more.
What You Can Do
As Mayor Bill de Blasio prepares to unveil plans to remove these dangerous carriages from the streets of New York and retire the exhausted horses, celebrities, including Lea Michele, Tim Gunn, Wendy Williams, and Alec Baldwin, are rallying behind him. If you live in New York, please contact your City Council member and urge him or her to support the mayor’s plan.
