right, i grew up on a horse farm in bucks county PA, after watching this video.. i feel disgusted… not because of the very common horse getting spooked and tripping, but because of the dumb dumb with the video camera

TEAM THERESA!!

I feel horrible for these poor horses. I am sure there are some handlers who actually care, but for the most part these animals are simply money makers. They are forced to work in all kinds of weather conditions, sick or healthy. I admit, I’ve always been tempted to take a ride, but I just can’t support this kind of abuse. The horse drawn carriages of central park should be abolished and the horses should be sent to a refuge somewhere to enjoy the rest of their lives. If people want old world charm, they can head south to the Pensylvania Amish country…

She is a lunatic. The horse was clearly fine. She needs to seek psychological treatment for her intense rage and hysteria immediately. The doctors should check her husband and children to make sure they are not suffering from trauma from living in the same house with her.

Perhaps horses should not be in NYC, but the important observation here is that the woman still over-reacted from the get-go. Before the horse goes down, she’s freaking out when the horse is merely backing up, and not even that fast. People who over-react like that are not usually level-headed, and tend to exaggerate their stories and be overly dramatic. Please take that into account before you decide that her reaction was visceral and that it took courage for her to post in online. People who are used to creating drama don’t think their behavior is above and beyond the norm, so I doubt it was a stretch for her to post her video – she thinks she’s just fine. Her reaction probably scared her kid and the the horse even more, and might have further contributed to the incident. She needs a valium, and to leave NYC.

“You don’t treat an animal like that” Please lady, advocates have been trying to put a stop to the use of horses around Central Park for years but it’s tourist like you who keep these people in business. How about you don’t endorse it to begin with!

Even if she was obviously upset by what happened with the horse, my first reaction was that she totally ignored her son who was there. Her first reaction should not have been to selfishly scream and yell, no matter how she felt, but she should have not made a scene like that in person in front of her kid.

As a horse rider who has been around horses for years, I can tell you that they are quite rugged and can easily recover from a fall. Just like a human, all they need is to be dusted off and they’re allright. A horse will spook, though, at any little thing such as a small piece of white paper fluttering on the ground or a “suspicious” twig lying across the trail They’e easily frightened, as big as they are. It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with the horse at all. What it does mean, however, is that the rider (or carriageman) has to keep a sharp lookout for these kinds of strange objects and talk reassuringly to the animal to keep him from shying away from the perceived “danger”. He has to be encouraged to keep moving forward. If the horse continues walking straight ahead, and doesn’t shy sideways, tripping over the curb as this one did, there will be no problem. The rider or carriageman has to be vigilant.
This woman, I think, was “planted” to create a scene replayable for a larger specific audience. Her hysterical shrieking is just as phony as can be. The whole thing was a put on for some nefarious purpose. We should condemn her, and not the horse.

What a lunatic….I would be collapsing too if I had to pull her around!!

She hadn’t considered a law suit, but not a bad idea. Thanks.

The really sad part of the story: She Spawned.

And now the infestation of the gene pool continues.

Awww the tourist got upset. Its bad enough that the poor animal has to lug your lazy keisters around so you can live some outdated weirdo fantasy but they have to do it in all sorts of weather. Next time I hope the horse kicks you in the head. Maybe you’ll develop something called sense.

Gadzooks, imagine being married to that.

THEY’RE PART OF CENTRAL PARK ATTRACTION…I’M SURE THE WOMAN IS ALREADY LOOKING FOR A LAWYER..!! COME ON! I LOVE TO RIDE IN A CARRIAGE ON CENTRAL PARK !!

There are two issues, as I see it…One is the whole question of what happens to old or unwanted horses. The other is the woman’s reaction. Why is it OK for a woman to shriek like a banshee when something starts going wrong? She has a responsibility to remain calm so she can effectively protect her child. She may or may not have a right to be upset, to decompensate the way she did is irresponsible. I wonder that her wailing might not have upset the horse even more!

Seems pretty obvious that the woman Theresa had no idea what she was in for when she was getting on a horse drawn carriage ride. When the horse collapsed from what looks like exhaustion and or disorientation, she rightfullly freaked out. She is not “crazy” at all, and for the horse carriage operator to not only bring the horse right back out to work, without any kind of a break, and then to call a customer crazy just shows how little they care about anyone or anything. This industry is money driven and clearly does not care about the welfare of the horses in its custody, or at least not as much as they care about money. Therefore these attacks on Theresa are obviously coming from the industry, drivers, owners or maybe investors – no decent person would attack Theresa or call her crazy, an idiot, hypocrite, or any of the other rediculous accusations I have seen in the comments. The drivers and owners should have been focussed on taking care of a sick horse when they were not. They can tell themselves whatever comforting dillusions they’d like about how it is in their interest to keep the horses in good shape and well, but this video clearly demonstrates the opposite, and there is a reason so many New Yorkers are in favor of a full ban.

She is indeed an idiot. This is the last stop for these animals who, if they aren’t pulling carriages, will probably be consigned to the slaughterhouse where they will be converted into horsemeat for European and Mexican tables or just plain dogfood. There are two of these slaughterhouses in Mexico and one in Canada who would be very happy to increase their business with new arrivals of former Central Park carriagehorses. As presently operated, unwanted horses are cruelly packed into trucks and driven long distances without food or water to the slaughterhouse. There, they are killed by a steel bolt being driven into their heads (the cheapest method) before “processing”. I wonder if Mrs. Shaver would like to stand by and watch as this is going on. Would she consider it more humane than pulling the carriage? If her crazy acting gig bears fruit, this will be the probable outcome.

Shes a moron send her and her fat family back upstate

How many more spooked or dead horses will it take to remove 19th century horse and buggies out of 21st century midtown Manhattan?

The woman is clearly wearing an ASPCA wristband, notice at about 12 seconds on second video, where she’s screaming at the driver. Interesting that an ASPCA supporter would be taking a carriage ride, don’t you think?

Too bad the horse didn’t trip and fall on top of the shreiking witch!

I say both carriage horses and fat tourists should be banned from New York City.

This woman was NOT crazy and the horse did NOT trip. If you watch the video, you’ll see, something was wrong with the horse. Whether he spooked or was ill or both is not clear, but he collapsed TWICE. I’m not sure why Mr. Montone bought the lie from the industry that he “tripped.” Since the carriage horse industry was represented in this piece, so should Elizabeth Forel of the Coalition to Ban Horse Carriages, as well as veterinarians who review the footage. This is a brutal industry that needs to banned. Horses don’t belong in NYC traffic, period. If they don’t collapse and die of exhaustion or illness, when they are no longer “useful” to the industry, they are often sold at auction to slaughterhouse. That is their reward for a lifetime of working long hours in all
weather extremes, without adequate care at the hands of often inexperienced and uncaring drivers. This industry needs to be cast into the dustbin of history.

I think the lady exhaggerated but the horse did look tired and was going backwards as if dizzy! Any animal lover would react like that. The woman was scared and rightfully so, she was in the carriage. I feel sorry for the animal because it did appear ill and had to return to work. Abuse is abuse is abuse!

She’s an idiot and I am sure will need “compensation” for her “trauma”. Obviously she is not around horses very often.