A horse forced to pull a carriage through busy traffic collapsed yesterday morning in New York City. Local anti-carriage group NYCLASS shared the heartbreaking footage online to call for an end to this archaic form of entertainment.
HORSE COLLAPSE! This carriage horse collapsed in 59th St traffic at 9:45am today after the driver raced around the corner at Columbus Circle to get to the hack line. We don’t yet know the condition of the horse. We urgently need to protect these horses—please ATTEND THE HEARING TOMORROW at 1pm at 55 Water St and speak in support of moving the horses OUT OF TRAFFIC on 59th St and into car-free Central Park! You can also email in a statement of support to rules@dot.nyc.gov Details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/2156171298003985??ti=ia
Posted by Stopping NYC Horse Abuse on Tuesday, October 2, 2018
The horse fell while on 59th Street, amid a heavy stream of cars. Pedestrians looked on, shocked, as the animal struggled to move.
This collapse is the latest incident in a string of tragic accidents.
In Charleston, South Carolina, a horse was allegedly forced to keep pulling a cart loaded with passengers after losing a shoe and injuring his hoof. An unidentified person reportedly worked quickly to clean up the pools of blood that he had left behind. Zoë Bergmann posted photos of the abuse to Facebook, leaving many outraged.
Today there was an incident on the corner of Meeting street and south market street. Classic Carriage Company. A horse…
Posted by Zoë DuPriest on Sunday, August 28, 2016
Also in Charleston, a horse pulling a carriage full of passengers collapsed in the street, apparently from exhaustion. Check out the heartbreaking video:
https://www.facebook.com/ccha.join/videos/1848770848681060/
In New York City, a horse named Max collapsed while pulling a carriage through Central Park. The carriage driver said that the horse simply “tripped” and that this “happens all the time with horses.” Max was back on the streets less than a week later.
Central Park carriage horse collapses in street, prompting NYCLASS to demand investigation https://t.co/lylaOwz3dP pic.twitter.com/TRC6a6sY4B
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) February 27, 2017
These are just a few examples of numerous incidents involving horse-drawn carriages. Making animals pull heavy loads such as carriages is cruel and can lead to avoidable accidents and suffering.
Accidents have occurred in nearly every city that allows carriage rides, and some of them are taking note. Earlier this year, the city of Montréal moved to ban all horse-drawn carriages. Many cities—including Biloxi, Mississippi; Camden, New Jersey; Key West, Palm Beach, Pompano Beach, and Treasure Island, Florida; and Salt Lake City—have already outlawed horse-drawn carriages. We should all follow this lead and work together to ban this cruel form of entertainment.
Don’t Get Taken for a Ride
Horses don’t give consent to be exploited for their labor. Please, never ride in a horse-drawn carriage. If you live in a city where carriage rides are still allowed, contact your local legislators to ask if they’ll sponsor a ban. Click the button below to urge Charleston Mayor John J. Tecklenburg to ban horse-drawn carriages. Be sure to be polite.
Whether you’re a local or a tourist, Central Park is a vast landscape that offers visitors many interesting and fun things to do. Check out these 10 cruelty-free activities that you can enjoy the next time you find yourself in the park:
