This breaks my heart. This horse is SO thin. Does anyone check in on these to make sure the animals are being treated humanely? This video is too similar to what is seen in the middle east, but its not the middle east it’s NYC.
Poor poor horse. They are trying to say EPM caused this. Give me a break.
I think this is one of those things where there is a big disconnect between the impressions of an every day person and the horse-person.
The horse person would know that this horse is in danger and needs to be moved, ASAP. Worse, it collapsed on asphalt/pavement. In a heatwave being on asphalt like that is a direct danger to the horse because they cannot cool their body temperature if they’re on a hot surface; the longer he is down the less likely he would get up. I would also be doing everything in my power to move this horse off the street. That might require physical force.
There are a lot of emotionally charged words in that article and the video, upsetting as it is, doesn’t show someone whipping the horse. It certainly doesn’t show the horse being “flogged”.
He is too thin, wonder if something sudden or if he has looked like that a long time. From a bystander perspective I’d suspect heat exhaustion, and dehydration can make any horse look like absolute crap. They did the right thing by removing his gear and hosing him off; what I am shocked about is that they don’t have a halter or equipment for emergencies in the carriage…? Are the drivers not horse people?
And why over an hour for a vet, is that true? Do Mounted Police Units not have training in hooking up IV? Glad they were there to at least know to hose him off and keep his head elevated.
From a horse welfare standpoint, maybe it’s time to consider it unethical to work horses during heat waves. I don’t ride my horses when the heat + humidity index is over 95F. I’m sure there is some limit that can be put into place that protects the horse from situations like this.
Yes I ignore the writing in the article because its NYP, I saw the original story on twitter. The horse is very very thin. It’s seriously concerning. I don’t know if the driver is a horse person, he certainly didn’t seem to care. The way the horses legs just crumpled under him says it all. That’s not normal.
Agreed, I didn’t think horse person either. Which surprises me - I’d assume the person driving the horse would have working horse knowledge…no?
I hope that poor thing has a nice soft stall and lots of hay in front of him while he recovers from whatever it is that has made him too thin. Maybe he does have EPM but the collapse was genuinely heat related. I am in the NE and we have had historical heat waves the last three weeks. My horses are willingly standing under hose beams in their paddock, so you know it’s hot.
NYC carriage horses are highly regulated and it is illegal for them to work when it is over 90 degrees.
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/caring-for-horses-working-in-nyc.page
The high was 87 degrees yesterday.
I would be doing everything I could to get the horse off the pavement as well.
I understand that harness horses are in fact trained to lie still and be docile if they slip and fall in harness. They wait until the harness is off and they get a signal to stand up. That can make it look to bystanders like the horse is seriously injured. But it’s actually to prevent them struggling and getting caught up in harness.
I’ve only heard of that with regard to Standardbred racers, but perhaps I’m misinformed.
Some of the drivers in NYC are horse people, some are not. It’s a real mixed bag of care and you can tell when you look at the hack line. That being said, a horse person would be able to tell the signs of EPM and know enough to not work their horse if they have it.
I don’t know if there is an equine vet in NYC. Maybe on Long Island, or over in Jersey. Might have taken a while to get one into the city, or convince a local small animal vet to show up.
According to my SO who has been in the STB business for 50 odd years, yes, you are misinformed. Usually someone will put a knee on their neck right by their head so they can’t get up (or more depending on the size of the person) until it’s safe to do so.
Perfect, thank you. I heard it from one of my old h/j trainers…B.S. a specialty.
Yeah, that happens. 
It would be nice if you could train one to stay put when they fall, harness horses running amok on the track without drivers is very alarming.
Skinny horses working that hard and collapsing looks bad. Someone should be checking the condition of those animals more often. In fact, they should be policing each other and aggressively report any animal that looks unfit because all of them could be banned. I know many of the carriage horses in big cities are older because it takes experience to be able to deal with that sort of traffic. As such, they should be inspected a lot more often because older horses can be a challenge to maintain. That’s still no excuse, though. That skinny horse didn’t just happen.
I would bet the closest is Dr. DiCicco at the Ark at JFK or one of the track vets from Belmont or Aqueduct (the latter of which is still in NYC proper).
As someone who lives here, I’m normally pretty agnostic on the carriage horses - most look fine and are doing a job that, for better or worse, is someone’s livelihood - but this horse definitely looks bad.
It has been way too hot lately for these horses to be pulling these carriages. I don’t care what the regulations say, have some compassion for the animals. The woman who was interviewed that mentioned the horse may have EPM said nothing about how thin he is. If your horse has EPM, why the hell is he pulling a carriage? Sometimes these carriage people don’t do themselves any favors. I am sure there are those that take great care of their horses but this owner is obviously not one of them. Sad for the horse.
It is shocking how thin that horse is. I hope he’s okay. Any follow-up?
That horse looked rough, no way should have been working.
Sad situation for all the other carriage drivers that take proper care of their equines.
This is shameful. Photo is from the NYP, taken at the stables. The hay in the background looks like dirty bedding. Ugh.
The horse’s name is Ryder.
Yikes, he looks even more terrible up close. Ex-Amish buggy horse, probably a standardbred? Honestly, the condition of this horse is disgraceful. A horse does not get that thin overnight. And if he truly does have EPM, he should not be pulling a cart.
As for the dumpsters full of dirty bedding, I won’t judge too hard. I doubt a stable in Manhattan would be allowed to have a muck pile, and the manure probably has to be carted off.
No, I don’t mean the dumpsters, I was talking about his pile of hay surrounding what I assume is a water bucket.
Every protocol I’ve ever read about for feeding a starving or very thin horse includes alfalfa because of its higher protein content and low carbohydrates. That hay might be fine, but it sure looks poor.
It’s possible his emaciated state is due to some other problem. He doesn’t have hay hanging out of his mouth and it doesn’t look like he’s eating, so maybe he has tooth problems, cancer, or something else, like the EPM that they are claiming. Or maybe the hay is awful. I just can’t get my head around the idea that they are working a horse that looks like that.
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