A carriage horse reportedly collapsed along the busy street of Manhattan on Wednesday evening, believed to be a result of dehydration and hunger among others.
Multiple people in public witnessed how the horse collapsed. But even more appalling was the fact that the driver repeatedly struck the animal and tried to force the horse to get up.
In video footage captured, it could be seen how the horse’s knees buckled with the driver trying ways to get it back on its feet on 9th Avenue and West 45th Street in Hell’s Kitchen, the Post reported.
“Get up! Get up! Get up! C’mon, get up,” the driver could be heard saying at the busy avenue.
His actions drew criticism from onlookers, most giving him a piece of their minds.
One of them told the driver: “What if I slapped you around like that, bro?”
There was also another woman who said: “Stop slapping him.”
In response, the driver replied: “I’m trying to get him up, alright.”
Despite getting flogged, the horse laid down on its side and rested his head on the street. The driver would eventually remove the carriage with help from an unnamed pedestrian.
Police later arrived and doused water on the fallen horse. After more than an hour, they were able to help the horse get back on its feet.
From there, a mounted unit of the NYPD transported the horse somewhere for treatment. The whole scene left many horrified since it happened just after a brutal extended heatwave that ended on Wednesday.
“I saw the horse collapse. He obviously was malnourished, dehydrated, hungry. The guy started whipping his horse and telling him to get back up instead of giving him water,” Uber Eats driver Kelvin Gonzalez said to the outlet.
“I told him, ‘Yo, stop whipping him, give him some water. That’s a horse, not a machine,” he added.
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