Yesterday morning a carriage horse got loose while being bathed outside the stables on W 37th St, leading to a police chase along 11th Ave, as reported by the NY Observer, amongst others.
A driver managed to film a bit of the slow-moving action:
Without wading too far into the politics surrounding the carriage horse industry in the city, animal rights groups are understandably saying the incident is yet another example of the problems with the practice (especially considering the horse was being hosed down outdoors in 45º weather). NYCLASS issued the following statement after the event:
This is the latest example of why horse-drawn carriages are not just inhumane but entirely unsafe in a city congested with cars, trucks, and buses. It is time for the City Council to act and get the carriage horses off the streets of New York City.
DeBlasio famously promised that banning the horse carriage industry in the city would be his first action on his first day in office, but that never happened. Last month, however, he followed up on that saying he will be introducing legislation to do just that “soon”, so stay tuned for that.