The moment a New York workhorse collapses in the heat and is rescued amid cheers

A horse-drawn carriage rider collapsed near the intersection of West 45th Street and 9th Avenue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan around 5:00 pm Wednesday.

According to onlookers, the driver began "whipping" the exhausted horse in an attempt to get it back on its feet and out of the traffic.

A New York City Police Department (NYPD) mounted force was dispatched to the scene at 5:04 pm after a concerned bystander called his 911 number.

Police arrived and found the horse "lying in pain in the middle of the road," he told Metro.co.uk on Thursday. Mounted units were able to help frightened creatures by hosing them down to cool them down.

One video of him filmed by a bystander showed the crowd Cheers and applause are shown, as the horse bravely rises to its feet. Mounted officers were able to lead the animal to a NYPD horse trailer.

The horse was then taken to a private stable on West 38th Street, where police said it was conscious and awaiting veterinary attention. I confirmed that

"The NYPD takes the health and welfare of his four-legged friend in New York City very seriously, and we were pleased to have a trained equestrian officer to assist." said a police spokesperson.

No one appears to have been arrested at the scene, and it remains unclear whether an animal cruelty subpoena will be issued.

According to the National Weather Service, the temperature in Central Park yesterday was between 82 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

Horse-drawn carriage drivers in New York City are represented by the Local 100 of the Transportation Workers' Union. Union spokesperson Pete Donahue told his Metro.co.uk that the horse had been examined and diagnosed by a veterinarian. With equine protozoan myeloencephalitis, or EPM.

"I wasn't hot, I wasn't tired, I wasn't overworked," said Donahue.

He noted that Ryder only made two rides that day.

EPM is a neurological disease transmitted by parasites found in possum feces, he explained, Donohue.

"I would like to thank the NYPD, and I would like to thank the concerned New Yorkers who stepped up to help and expressed their sincere concerns," Donahue said. "You wouldn't want to see people or animals on the ground."

The union also confirmed that the riders were doing much better, eating and drinking in the stables. 42}

"This horse is essentially a rescue horse. Previously owned by someone on an Amish farm, the horse must trot up to 30 miles a day." says Donohue.

He explained that the Ryder was purchased after it was put up for auction earlier this year. He was taken to New York in April.

Donahue explained that auctioned horses are routinely sent to slaughterhouses abroad.

"Without the carriage industry, this horse might have died," he said.

However, a local advocacy group, the New Yorkers for Clean, Liveable, and Safe Streets (NYCLASS), is pushing for a complete ban on horse-drawn carriages.

NYCLASS is lobbying the New York City Council to pass legislation introduced by Rep. Robert Holden of the Queens City Council. The bill would ban vehicles citywide and replace all vehicles with electric vehicles by 2024.

NYCLASS was successful.

He lobbied the City Council to pass the Wagon Heat Abatement Bill, which prohibits drivers from working horses when the heat index exceeds 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2019, he ran for office with a pledge to ban horse-drawn carriages, but failed to do so for two terms.

Metro.co. uk reached out to NYCLASS for further comment on the incident and proposed legislation. and participated in a rally calling for a proposal to ban horse-drawn carriages.

"Just weeks after a New York City carriage horse collapsed and died in a stall, another collapsed yesterday and lay on Ninth Avenue for over an hour without veterinary care. , during which the driver reportedly slapped and whipped him." PETA director Ashley Byrne told Metro.co.uk:

“For years, the city's carriage trade has been plagued by complaints of horse abuse and overwork. We are asking.”

Neither NYCLASS nor PETA have commented on the horse's EPM diagnosis.

The TWU Local 100 opposes both the horse ban and the proposed switch to electric vehicles.

Union spokesperson Pete Donahue called the proposed bill "terrifying."

"New Yorkers have been fighting to keep cars out of Central Park for decades," he told his Metro.co.uk. "No one wants this except those with a financial stake." @metro.co.uk

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