Horse and carriage rides are a popular tourist attraction in New York City. But not many people think of how pulling tourists along the city streets all day affects the horses.
It was too much for a horse Max—he collapsed in the middle of the street.
Max was pulling tourists around Central Park on the day he fell down on the hard pavement.
Tourists stopped and began photographing the sad sight, and their pictures quickly spread online.
Soon a veterinarian arrived to examine Max, who was apparently unharmed. The horse eventually got up on his feet again, and before long, he was put back to work.
According to the New York Post, Max’s carriage driver said that he collapsed because he hadn’t worn shoes for eight months and wasn’t used to walking on asphalt.
“The day it happened, he tripped on a little crack in the pavement. That happens sometimes, they trip on a crack. He tripped and went down, but not hard,” the man told the New York Post.
Animal advocates suspect, however, that the incident was caused by fatigue—because horses don’t fall over and just lie there.
“Horses don’t just collapse. Something happened—and the city should get to the bottom of it and make sure it never happens again,” John Collins, of the animal rights organization NYCLASS, said, according to the New York Post.
NYCLASS is calling for an investigation into the incident. We hope that the city listens, and we also hope that NYCLASS brings enough attention to this problem that the city shuts down horse and carriage rides once and for all.
This must end. Share to increase awareness and help prevent the horses from suffering any further!
Published by Animal Bible. Please like.
