NEW YORK — A horse-drawn carriage driver was charged with animal cruelty on Wednesday, more than a year after his frail, sick horse collapsed on the streets of Manhattan, prosecutors announced.
Ian McKeever, 54, was charged on August 10, 2022, with speeding, torturing and injuring an animal or failing to provide proper nutrition for his treatment of the horse Ryder, when it collapsed and lay on the ground during the evening rush hour. on the street.
A video published by the New York Post showed McKeever pulling on Ryder’s reins and whipping the horse.
According to the complaint, McKeever had been working at Ryder since 9 a.m. when the horse collapsed in a temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once Ryder got down, McKeever stopped giving the horse water, prosecutors said.
A police officer removed Ryder’s harness and put ice and cold water on the horse for 45 minutes until he could get up, District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a news release.
McKeever told police Ryder was 13 years old, but a veterinarian who later examined the horse estimated his age at 26 and said Ryder suffered from health problems including pancytopenia, a condition that causes decreased blood cell levels.
“As alleged, Ryder should not have been working on this hot summer day,” Bragg said. “Despite his condition, he was out of the boat for hours and worked until he collapsed.”
Ryder was euthanized two months later due to his poor health.
McKeever’s attorney, Raymond Loving, did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment.
Ryder’s death became a rallying cry for animal welfare activists who have long pushed to ban the horse-drawn carriages that transport tourists through Central Park.
Former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio promised to retire the carriage horses during his 2013 campaign, but they are still working.