NEW YORK — A New York City carriage horse was euthanized two months after his caught-on-video collapse on a Manhattan street sparked outrage from animal rights advocates, according to the farm where it had been relocated.
The horse, named Ryder, fell to the asphalt on Ninth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen on Aug. 10 in front of crowds of bystanders, video shows. Ryder’s carriage driver was seen whipping the horse and yelling for him to get up before police and veterinarians arrived to cart the horse away.
Ryder “was recently humanely euthanized due to his medical condition and age,” said a statement issued by Maple Hill Farms, an upstate horse sanctuary where he was taken following his collapse.
The horse had over the last two months been diagnosed “with a variety of serious medical conditions that required for him to be put down,” according to the statement. The farm operators did not detail what those conditions were, citing an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney into the horse’s collapse.
Ryder’s former owner initially reported to police the horse was 13 years old, but he was later revealed to be 26. The discrepancy drew outrage from the animal rights group NYCLASS, which argued the horse should not have been pulling a carriage in the first place. The group has long called for the abolition of carriage horses in the city.
“This tragedy was not caused by an act of god,” said NYCLASS executive director Edita Birnkrant. “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.”
Carriage horse drivers and their union have in response to the controversy proposed building a new stable in Central Park that provides more space for the working horses. The union — Transport Workers Union Local 100 — also called for the city Health Department to fill an open veterinarian position to look over the horses and requested more training for carriage drivers.
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