Carriage horse 'Lady' collapses and dies in Hell's Kitchen, officials say

A horse collapsed and died in Hell's Kitchen on Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

The NYPD said officers responded around 2:30 p.m. to the area of West 51st Street and 11th Avenue, where the horse was found unresponsive. The department’s mounted unit has been investigating. No arrests have been made.

Christina Hansen, a spokesperson for the carriage horse industry, confirmed that the 15-year-old horse, named Lady, died at the scene. She said Lady had recently passed a veterinary exam and would undergo a necropsy at Cornell University to determine the cause of death.

“This was a tragic and sudden loss,” Hansen said. “She was in good health, and something like this is more likely a heart attack, aneurysm or stroke.”

A City Hall spokesperson said officials were reviewing the incident and emphasized that the administration is committed to keeping both New Yorkers and the city’s animals safe.

Fousseni Eroune, who witnessed the collapse, said the horse suddenly fell after stopping at a light. He described its leg twitching briefly before it stopped moving entirely, calling the scene “shocking” and “sad.”

"I never see that like that,” he said. “Oh my gosh, that scared me."

The incident happened not far from where Ryder, a carriage horse, collapsed in the summer of 2022. The viral video of that horse struggling in the street reignited debate over the city’s horse-drawn carriage industry.

Last month, a Manhattan jury found the driver in that case not guilty of animal abuse. Prosecutors argued he forced Ryder, who was old and in poor health, to keep working until the horse collapsed from exhaustion. The defense said Ryder tripped and may have suffered from an undiagnosed neurological condition. The horse was euthanized two months after the incident.

Animal rights groups said the latest collapse underscores the need for City Council to pass Ryder’s Law, a stalled bill that would replace horse-drawn carriages with electric ones. Union leaders representing carriage drivers have said they support reforms but oppose an outright ban.

Edita Birnkrant, executive director of NYCLASS, said Tuesday's incident is the latest example of what she called the city’s failure to protect horses from abuse.

“New Yorkers are sick and tired of seeing horses worked to death on our streets,” she told Gothamist at the scene.

This is a developing story and may be updated.