Example of a carriage horse.
© Scott Ash / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
(New York, NY) -A carriage horse collapsed and died in Hell’s Kitchen around 2:30 Tuesday (Aug. 5, 2025) afternoon at 51st Street and 11th Avenue. The horse, carriage, and driver all fell into the street, witnesses said. The carriage, with the horse still attached tipped over when the animal collapsed.
The horse, named Lady, was 15 years old, according to a union representative. She had been in the city for less than two months. Christina Hansen of TWU Local 100 says “It’s too early to speculate but a necropsy will be done by an equine pathologist. She added, “It seems like it could’ve been some sort of sudden event, like heart attack, aneurysm, stroke. These happen in horses just like they happen in people, without warning and very suddenly.”
Hansen said Lady had a complete physical in June when she started in New York City and “no abnormalities were detected.”
There’s been an ongoing citywide debate about the use of carriage horses, with advocates from PETA and Voters for Animal Rights saying the practice should be outlawed.
