Onlookers were horrified on Wednesday after seeing an exhausted carriage horse collapse on the street in the extreme heat. It happened during rush hour near 9th Avenue and West 45 Street in New York City.The exhausted horse, 14-year-old Ryder, was clearly in need of help or hydration and was lying on the pavement, but his driver yelled at him and beat him repeatedly.As onlookers filmed the scene, the driver continued to command the horse to get up. But bystanders shot back. “What if I slapped you around like that, bro?” one person asked.Police arrived on the scene and began dousing the exhausted animal with water. The animal was eventually transported by the New York Police Department for assistance.But the entire incident really jarred those who witnessed it. “I saw the horse collapse,” said Uber Eats driver Kelvin Gonzalez. “He obviously was malnourished, dehydrated, hungry. The guy started whipping his horse and telling him to get back up instead of giving him water.”He continued, “I told him, ‘Yo, stop whipping him, give him some water. That’s a horse, not a machine.’”He also said that the horse was attempting to get up on his own but continued to collapse. That was, until police put “adrenaline up his butt” to get him back on his feet.
