The horse, named Deniz, collapsed and died on Tuesday evening near 72nd Street and Central Park West while pulling two passengers.
According to his owner and caretaker, Nurettin Kirbiyik, the 16-year-old animal had just been cleared by the vet back in March.
Kirbiyik said he is devastated by the animal's sudden death.
"I really feel like I lost someone in the family," he said. "He was a beautiful horse. The best. Very friendly with kids. Everyone loved him and wanted to take pictures with him."
Kirbiyik said he spent part of nearly every day with Deniz since purchasing him 10 years ago. He said there were no signs Tuesday that he was ill and he was eating, drinking and acting normal.
Officials plan to re-introduce the bill known as Ryder's Law before the City Council on Wednesday.
The bill was originally introduced back in 2022. The proposal was named after a horse that died months after collapsing on a city street and would ban horse-drawn carriages in New York City.
After the most recent incident, the Central Park Conservancy said they believe that horse carriages pose a public safety risk.
They say in the past year, New Yorkers have witnessed seven separate incidents where horses became spooked and either broke free or caused injury to their drivers.
"It's time to end this practice. You cannot watch these videos or read these stories and believe that New York City government should allow this practice to continue," a spokesperson for the conservancy said. "Let's pass Ryder's Law and join the rest of the world in banning horse carriages from our busy urban streetscape."
The carriage horse stables are closed Wednesday in honor of Deniz.
"We are all in mourning," TWU Local 100 Shop Steward Christina Hansen said.
Deniz will be taken for a full necropsy by the pathology department of Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine to determine the cause of death.
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