A carriage horse collapsed and died in Central Park on Tuesday, leaving park visitors shocked. This incident has reignited calls from advocates to completely ban horse-drawn carriages in New York City.
Edita Bernkrant, the executive director of New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets, reported that the horse was seen struggling on the ground with its tongue out around 7:30 p.m. near Strawberry Fields.
According to Bernkrant, the horse passed away roughly ten minutes after it fell. It remains unclear if there were any passengers in the carriage when medical help was attempted.
The horse’s remains were found near West Drive and 72nd Street in the park. The New York City Police Department confirmed that emergency services were on the scene to handle the deceased animal by Tuesday evening.
Video footage showed several brown and white horses on the sidewalk, with a man believed to be the horse’s trainer making a phone call nearby.
Witnesses, visibly distressed, gathered around the horse and comforted each other following the tragic event.
“That horse clearly died in pain in front of everyone, and it’s a sight people won’t forget,” Bernkrant mentioned.
She added, “Horrific incidents happen every couple of months. Horses fall over, have to work when they’re unwell, or run amok—we don’t want these scenarios unfolding in our parks.”
Details about the horse’s age and the cause of death are still unknown.
Just weeks earlier, another carriage horse became frightened and collided with another carriage, injuring its driver in Central Park.
This tragic incident occurred less than a day before animal rights advocates and city council members were set to rally at City Hall in support of the Rider Act, which seeks to phase out horse-drawn carriages in the city.
The bill is expected to be reintroduced to the City Council on Thursday. It is named after a horse named Ryder, who collapsed on the job during a hot day in August 2022 and passed away months later, per the NYCLASS director.
The City Council Health Committee declined to remove the Rider Act from consideration in November, despite backing from equine activists and the former Mayor.
“It’s disheartening that incidents like this persist and that the city council and the mayor continue to put these horses through this,” Bernkrant expressed.
She emphasized that “Horses can stumble at any moment, get startled at any time. We shouldn’t have them navigating through the busy traffic of Manhattan and Midtown day and night. We’ve had enough.”
