A carriage horse that collapsed during the summer in New York City has been euthanised.
The 26-year-old horse, known as Ryder, was put down due to serious pre-existing conditions he could not overcome, the Maple Hill Farms sanctuary said in a statement.
“[Ryder] was given a dignified and peaceful passing. He had many days of green grass and sunshine in his final two months,” the release read. “While Ryder is no longer with us, we find some comfort in knowing that Ryder’s new owner provided him the best possible care, utmost attention and long‐needed love that he so deserved.”
Ryder garnered national attention after he suddenly collapsed in Midtown on 10 August, prompting renewed calls from the public to ban horse carriages. An investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office was launched after a veterinarian determined Ryder was 26 years old and not 13 like his previous owner reportedly told the NYPD, according to the New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets (NYCLASS) association.
The horse was relocated to an upstate farm for his retirement, where he was said to be safe until news of his death was announced on Monday by the Equine Rescue Resource, Maple Hill and the Unbridled Heroes Project. His body will be sent to the Cornell Equine Hospital for a necropsy.
According to the statement, Ryder’s new owner retained a team of veterinary experts for his care after he was rescued in August. Ryder was sent to Cornell Equine Hospital for an evaluation and he was eventually diagnosed with a variety of serious medical conditions.
Ryder’s health conditions will not be released at this time pending the DA’s investigation, the statement noted.
“We are devastated to learn that Ryder has died. His horrific collapse, after years of abuse, inspired tens of thousands of people from across the globe to stand up to carriage horse industry cruelty,” NYCLASS executive director Edita Birnkrant told the New York Post in a statement.
“But make no mistake: this tragedy was not caused by an act of God — Ryder’s death was the result of savage cruelty and greed. To make a profit, the horse carriage industry would have literally worked Ryder to death if it weren’t for viral videos and the people who exposed their endless lies and cover-ups.”
“Their mistreatment of Ryder is the reason he is dead two months later.”
Ryder’s collapse was recorded by passersby who witnessed how the NYPD doused him with water on the hot summer day. The DA’s office initially found that Ryder “was malnourished, underweight and suffers from the equine neurological disorder Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM),” according to the Post.
A spokesperson for horse carriage owners told NBC that EPM, a neurological disease caused by possum droppings, had made Ryder trip and fall.
However, NYCLASS has denied the claim, saying that experts at Cornell Equine did not find evidence that he had EPM when he was first checked, and that his health ailments were the result of abuse.
During a hearing last month, the city Health Department accused Ryder’s previous owner and his brother, Ian and Colm McKeever, of forging documents to lie about the horse’s age, NBC reported.
