Carriage horse collapses in Central Park, sparking outrage

NEW YORK – The collapse of a New York City carriage horse in the streets of Central Park has sparked outrage, leading to cries for an investigation.

The New York Daily News reports the horse, Max, fell Tuesday morning near the famous Tavern on the Green restaurant.

Chris Emanus, Max's driver, claims the horse tripped and fell, but a New York animal rights group disputes that version of the story.

“Horses don’t just collapse. Something happened, and the city should get to the bottom of it and make sure it never happens again,” NYCLASS spokesman John Collins told the Daily News.

Emanus says Max was fitted with new horseshoes since returning from an eight month rest at an upstate New York farm.

“He tripped. His foot got stuck on a little crack on the pavement. He went down,” Emanus said. “That happens all the time with horses. With new shoes, sometimes they’re not comfortable.”

According to Emanus, Max is doing fine and was not injured.

The position of NYCLASS is to no longer allow carriage horses to operate in the city.