A horse fainted from exhaustion on a New York road.
The horse-drawn carriages spotted around Central Park is a beloved activity for tourists, but for Max, this time proved one too many.
Max the horse collapsed
The poor horse fell before trying to get up but with no success.
A passerby had the presence of mind to capture the scene on their phone in order to send them to NYCLASS, an association that fights against horse-drawn carriages on the streets of New York.
The driver of the carriage is defensive
In response to the criticism levied at him by the associations and animal-lovers, the driver of the horse-drawn carriage, Chris Emanus said that his horse had simply tripped.
According to him, Max's hoof had gotten briefly stuck in a pothole in the road, which caused his fall. This apparently happens often when horses have new horseshoes.
Two organisations fight to the stop these carriages
NYCLASS, however, remains sceptical as to Mr. Emanus's claims. They argue that Max has been exploited and was fatigued due to the work that was forced upon him ever day.
John Collins, spokesperson for NYCLASS, pointed to the fact that horses don't trip with their legs in this manner and that the authorities should lead an inquiry into the health of the horse, with an independent veterinary to examine him.
A second organisation, the Humane Society of The United States (HSUS) is also fighting for horse-drawn carriages to be outlawed because in their eyes it is animal cruelty in the name of tourism.
Animals are not slaves
The advisor of HSU, Marty Irby, reminds that this is not the first incident of its kind to occur on the streets of New York. Over the years, many accidents involving horse-drawn carriages have been reported.
"Our modern society should not tolerate animal exploitation of any kind, and even less so for pleasure. This is not ancient Rome, this is 2017," said Marty Irby.
The horses work for around 9 hours every day, covering dozens of kilometres between the cars and the fumes from their exhaust pipes.
It is important to travel intelligently and not participate in the exploitation of animals.
For the moment, Max is resting but will continue to work unless the organisations can prove that he is not in good enough health.
What do you think about this activity?
Maria W