By
Elisha Fieldstadt
-
NBC News
New York police came to the rescue of a horse that collapsed while pulling a carriage on a hot Manhattan street on Wednesday, prompting new calls from citizens to end this controversial tourist attraction.
A crowd gathered around 5 p.m. at the intersection of Ninth Avenue and 45th Street in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood when the horse fell to the ground and the driver whipped the reins to get it up.
"Get up!
Get up!
Get up!
Come on, get up,” the carriage driver begged him to the dismay of onlookers.
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Kelvin Gonzalez, who was passing by, told the NBC News New York affiliate station that he watched the scene in horror: “She started whipping him and saying 'get up, get up,' and he recalled thinking something like, 'Brother, no. whipping your horse, he obviously needs some water, he looks dehydrated."
NBC New York
The horse ended up resting its head on the pavement and the driver unhitched it from the carriage.
"Upon arrival, officers observed a horse in trouble lying in the middle of the road," authorities said in a statement.
The policemen, mounted on horseback, sprayed the animal with a hose to lower its body temperature.
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In a video that was taken at the scene, the horse's head is seen on a pillow that someone placed for him to help him.
Officers took the animal to a veterinarian 10 blocks from the scene.
The animal was conscious on Wednesday night.
“The police take the health and well-being of our four-legged friends very seriously, and are glad that our equestrian officers have been able to help you,” authorities said.
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Aug. 10, 202201:56
The use of horses to pull carriages has caused contentious debate in New York for years.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio promised that one of his first acts as mayor would be to ban horse-drawn carriages.
He didn't, but he did push through an animal protection law that prohibits owners from making them work when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wednesday's high temperature was 87.
