NEW YORK — A carriage horse, thrust into the national spotlight after collapsing in the middle of a New York City street in August, has been euthanized, the sanctuary that took him in confirmed.
The Sanctuary at Maple Hill Farms stated in a news release, issued in cooperation with other nonprofits on Monday, that the 26-year-old horse named Ryder was “recently euthanized due to his medical conditions and age,” CBS News reported.
According to WABC-TV, videos of Ryder went viral after the horse fell on its side on Aug. 10 in Hell’s Kitchen, fueling animal rights protests and calls to ban horse-drawn-carriages in the city.
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The sanctuary stated that after Ryder was taken in following the fall he was taken to a farm outside New York City. His new owner eventually took him to Cornell Equine Hospital in Elmont, New York, where he was diagnosed with “serious medical conditions” that required him to be euthanized, CBS News reported.
“While Ryder is no longer with us, we find some comfort in knowing that Ryder’s new owner provided him the best possible care, utmost attention and long-needed love that he so deserved. Ryder’s new owner and many others involved are devastated by his loss,” the sanctuary stated.
Ryder’s body has been transferred to Cornell Equine Hospital for a necropsy to determine his cause of death, WABC reported.
“We are very saddened to learn of Ryder’s passing. We know that he received the best of care with his new owner and veterinary team at Cornell. We’re sorry that at the end of Ryder’s long life, he did not get to enjoy more of his retirement,” Ryder’s carriage driver Christina Hansen told the TV station.
Meanwhile, the Manhattan’s District Attorney’s Office is investigating Ryder’s previous owner for falsifying veterinarian records and lying about the horse’s age, WABC reported.
In a statement to CBS News, Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents the city’s 300 horse-carriage drivers and owners, including Ryder’s former driver, said on Tuesday that Ryder’s new owner indicated the horse was believed to have had cancer.
“Ryder appeared in good health in April when he arrived in the city and passed a mandatory physical exam. He then lost weight rapidly during the late summer. He should have been sidelined then and checked by an equine veterinarian,” the union said.