NYC carriage horse handler's animal cruelty trial gets underway amid calls for a ban
The horse, named Ryder, collapsed in Hell's Kitchen during the summer of 2022. The video of the horse on the ground on 45th Street and Ninth Avenue went viral, and renewed calls by animal rights activists to ban horse drawn carriages in the city.
The Manhattan DA's office said Ryder collapsed after working a full day in 84 degree weather, and that Ian McKeever, its handler, repeatedly tried to force the animal to stand, and at no point offered any water.
McKeever, 56, is charged with overdriving, torturing and injuring animals as well as failure to provide proper sustenance. Prosecutors allege McKeever, who has worked in the industry for decades, ignored signs Ryder was struggling.
Wednesday, a witness told the jury Ryder seemed to be in "major distress."
"He looked emaciated. I could see all of his ribs," another witness testified. That same witness said Ryder's teeth looked really worn down.
McKeever's defense attorney said the horse was well taken care of, and that it was on the ground because it tripped and fell.
"Ryder's fall is heartbreaking, but the evidence in this case is not going to show that Ryder fell because Ian overdrove him," the defense attorney told the jury.
McKeever is expected to take the stand in his own defense.
The Manhattan DA's office says the horse had a variety of health issues and was sent to a farm upstate. It was eventually euthanized due to those various health issues.
The manager of the Manhattan stable where Ryder was kept told the jury he bought the standardbred in Pennsylvania for McKeever's brother in April, 2022, and that he was checked out by a vet. Over the next few months, the horse lost a a little bit of weight, the manager testified.
During cross examination, he testified standardbred horses are skinnier. During re-direct, the manager said again that it's the driver's responsibility to monitor the horse's condition when it's working.
Member of the animal rights organization NYCLASS are attending the trial as they push for the passage of Ryder's Law, which calls for electric carriages to replace carriage horses.
"Named after Ryder that would phase out the operation of horse-drawn carriages as so many other worldwide cities have done. For exactly the reasons, it is cruel and in a modern day city. It's wildly unsafe," said Edita Birnkrant, executive director of NYCLASS.
Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents about 300 carriage horse drivers and owners, did not comment directly on the case, but blasted NYCLASS.
"They have failed in their mission because their wild claims of widespread neglect and abuse are simply not true. Most of us are in this business because we love animals, want to spend all day with horses, and care deeply about them. NYCLASS has cruelly pursued the vilification of all carriage drivers in an effort to advance their animal rights agenda," Christina Hansen of TWU Local 100 said.
McKeever has pleaded not guilty. He faces up to a year behind bars if convicted.
The trial is expected to last a week.
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