More than a year after a frail and sick horse collapsed on a Manhattan street, a carriage horse driver was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Defendant Ian McKeever, 54, was accused of overdriving, animal torture and injury, or horse “Rider” on August 10, 2022, when the horse “Rider” collapsed and lay down during evening rush hour. He was charged with failing to provide adequate food for treatment. on the road.
A video released by the New York Post showed McKeever pulling on the rider’s reins and whipping the horse with a whip.
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Mr McKeever told police that Ryder was 13 years old, but a veterinarian who later examined the horse estimated his age to be 26 and said Ryder suffered from conditions such as pancytopenia, which causes low blood cell levels. He said he had health problems.
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According to the criminal complaint, McKeever had been working as a rider since 9 a.m. when the horse collapsed in 84-degree temperatures.
Prosecutors said McKeever did not give the horse water after the rider collapsed.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a news release that officers removed Ryder’s harness and doused the horse with ice and cold water for 45 minutes until it stood up.
Mr McKeever told police that Ryder was 13 years old, but a veterinarian who later examined the horse estimated his age to be 26 and said Ryder suffered from conditions such as pancytopenia, which causes low blood cell levels. He said he had health problems.
“As has been said, Ryder should not have been working on this hot summer day,” Bragg said. “Despite his condition, he was out for hours and worked until he collapsed.”
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Ryder was in poor health and was euthanized two months later.
McKeever’s attorney, Raymond Loving, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Ryder’s death became a rallying cry for animal rights activists who have long pushed for a ban on horse-drawn carriages that carry tourists around Central Park.
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio promised during his 2013 campaign to retire the carriage horses, but the carriages remain in operation.
