A tragic incident unfolded in Central Park on Tuesday evening as a carriage horse collapsed and died, leaving park visitors shocked and reigniting calls from animal rights advocates to ban horse-drawn carriages in New York City.
According to Edita Birnkrant, Executive Director of New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets, the horse was seen struggling and thrashing on the ground near Strawberry Fields around 7:30 p.m., its tongue visibly hanging out.
Despite efforts to help, the horse succumbed approximately 10 minutes after collapsing. It remains unclear whether the carriage was occupied at the time of the horse’s medical emergency.
The incident occurred near West Drive and 72nd Street, with emergency medical services arriving on the scene shortly thereafter, as confirmed by the NYPD.
Footage obtained by The Post captured the scene, showing the lifeless brown-and-white horse on the pavement. A man, presumably the handler, was seen making a phone call beside the fallen animal.
Witnesses, visibly disturbed by the event, gathered around, offering support to one another as they processed the distressing sight.
“That horse, without a doubt, had an agonizing death right in front of everyone. People will never forget seeing that happen,” Birnkrant told The Post.
“Every few months there’s a horrific incident … We can’t have this happening in the park, whether it’s horses dropping dead or being worked while sick or injured, or running wild.”
The cause of the horse’s death, or its age, is not yet known.
Just weeks ago, a coachman was injured when a spooked carriage horse charged into another horse-drawn carriage and caused it to overturn in Central Park.
The horrific death comes less than 24 hours before animal advocates and council members are slated to gather for a rally on the steps of City Hall in support of Ryder’s Law to phase out the city’s horse carriages.
The bill is set to be reintroduced to the City Council on Thursday.
The legislation’s name is a nod to a carriage horse named Ryder who tragically collapsed while working on a hot August day in 2022 and died months later, the NYCLASS director said.
The City Council’s health panel refused to advance Ryders Law out of committee in November, despite support from equine activists and former Mayor Eric Adams.
“This is a disgrace that this is still happening, that we are letting the city council, the mayor, is letting these horses be worked to death,” Birnkrant said.
“Horses can collapse at any moment, they can spook at any moment. We can’t have them maneuvering through Manhattan, Midtown traffic day and night through the increasingly congested and busy park,” she said. “This is enough.”
