We must put an end to the inhumane horse-drawn carriage industry

- New York, USA -

~ Update: July 22, 2025

On Monday, July 21, 2025, in Manhattan Criminal Court, carriage driver 57-year-old IAN MCKEEVER (pictured), was found not guilty of overdriving Ryder, a 26-year-old, emaciated, cancer-stricken horse, who collapsed in August 2022 at W45th Street and 9th Avenue.

A six-person jury took less than an hour to acquit MCKEEVER of a misdemeanor charge of overdriving, torturing and injuring an animal, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail.

During the five-day trial the jury heard civilian witnesses who described Ryder as visibly underweight and struggling in the hours before his fall. Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office argued that MCKEEVER had ignored warning signs of Ryder’s exhaustion and overworked him in high heat.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that prosecutors presented “a thorough case based on the facts and evidence” and added that his office would “continue to investigate and bring cases where animals are harmed and mistreated.”

NYCLASS, a nonprofit organization, rightfully called the verdict “disappointing.” Part of a Facebook post published by the organization read: “This verdict is a disgrace — and it proves just how broken, outdated, and ineffective New York’s animal cruelty laws are.”

NYCLASS’s post goes on to say: “But what happened after the verdict was explosive.🚨A juror, visibly conflicted, spoke to reporters outside the courtroom — a rare and extraordinary move. He said the Department of Health and the City should have been on trial for allowing such a sick horse to be cleared to work in the first place.

This confirms what we’ve been saying for years: the Department of Health, the City Council, and Mayor Adams are enabling this cruelty. They know elderly, unwell horses are being forced to work — sometimes collapsing, sometimes dying, often suffering silently with every step.

Ryder was licensed to work by @nychealthy with a completely clean bill of health, despite being emaciated, elderly, and riddled with cancer!”

NYCLASS advised they are calling on Council Member Lynn Schulman, Chair of the Health Committee, to immediately schedule a hearing and pass Ryder’s Law — the bill to ban this cruelty once and for all.

~ Update: October 19, 2022

A joint press release by Equine Rescue Resource, Inc. (ERR), The Sanctuary at Maple Hill Farms, Inc. (SMH), and The Unbridled Heroes Project (UHP), announced the passing of Ryder, the 26-year-old horse who on August 10, 2022, collapsed in the street at 45th and 9th in Midtown Manhattan after working in the summer heat wave for the damn horse carriage industry.

You may remember that after the incident, Ryder was moved to a private horse farm outside of New York City and according to the release, his new guardian “immediately engaged a variety of veterinary professionals and subsequently brought him to the Cornell Equine Hospital (“Cornell”) for further evaluation and treatment where he spent many days. During his time at Cornell, Ryder was cared for by a team of veterinary professionals that have been consistently recognized as world-wide leaders in equine medicine and one of the best equine hospitals in the Unites States.”

Despite all the care and medical attention, Ryder “was recently humanely euthanized due to his medical conditions and age,” stated the release.

The release further stated that while Ryder was at Cornell Equine Hospital, he “was diagnosed with a variety of serious medical conditions that ultimately required him to be humanely euthanized.” Ryder is back at Cornell where a necropsy is being performed.

Due to the ongoing investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office into Ryder’s collapse, further details are not being released at this time.

Update on Voice For Us Facebook page

~ Original story:

Following the collapse of a 14-year-old horse named Ryder, the animal law advocacy organization Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) is encouraging people to sign the petition: “Stop Horses from Suffering for NYC’s Carriage Industry.”

The organization published a heartbreaking video that was recorded by a witness on August 10, 2022. The video shows Ryder collapsing in New York City and nearly dying “in the street at 45th and 9th in Midtown Manhattan after being worked in the summer heat wave”, reports ALDF.

The carriage driver, whom the New York Post identified as IAN MCKEEVER, can be seen whipping Ryder as he lays on the sidewalk visibly exhausted and can be heard yelling to Ryder: “Get up, get up, c’mon!.” MCKEEVR then can be seen trying to force Ryder back up on his tired legs.

One of the bystanders, Kelvin Gonzalez, told NBC New York that he watched the scene in horror and told MCKEEVER: “……Don’t whip your horse. He obviously needs some water.”

Kelvin said that Ryder looked dehydrated.

Officers with the New York City Police Department responded to the scene at about 5:00 p.m. They placed a pillow under Ryder’s head and cooled him down with a hose.

In a video published by the New York Post, the concerned crowd on the scene can be heard clapping and cheering when Ryder was finally able to stand up.

Ryder was then taken to a stable about 10 blocks away where he received medical care.

An initial examination found Ryder to be underweight, emaciated, and suffering from the equine neurological disorder EPM (Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis). According to the American Association of Equine Practitioners, EPM results from a parasite that attacks the central nervous system and “can cause devastating and lasting neurological damage,” reports the New York Post.

According to FOX 5 New York, subsequent blood tests revealed a low white-cell blood count and the veterinarian put Ryder on antibiotics while considering other courses of action.

FOX 5 New York further reports that Ryder has been retired and moved to a private horse farm outside of New York City and has gained some weight.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is looking into the incident its spokesman Alvin Bragg said: “Animals should be treated humanely, and we take any incident of animal cruelty extremely seriously.”

The Animal Legal Defense Fund said in a recent Facebook post: “Join Rooney Mara, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and a growing list of other celebrity supporters in calling for a ban on horse-drawn carriages in New York City! Time and again, horses have suffered and died in New York City’s notoriously inhumane horse-drawn carriage industry. Most recently, an elderly, emaciated horse named Ryder collapsed on a Manhattan street in August. This is more than a case of overdriving a horse to the point of collapse on one particular day, but rather a longer history of neglect and cruelty. It’s long past time for an end to this dangerous and inhumane industry.”

To those lazy, heartless, and soulless individuals who continue to ride horse-drawn carriages I want to say that you are responsible for Ryder’s collapse!!!! You contributed to the senseless death of all those innocent horses who lost their precious lives as a result of being abused to please you!!!!

It sickens to my very core to read articles about Ryder that refer to him as a “carriage horse”!

Animals are not a means of transportation!!!!

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Please note that details may be removed or new information added should updates become available.

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