Horse runs loose on West Side of Manhattan

NEW YORK (WABC) -- It was an unusual scene in Manhattan Tuesday, as a horse ran freely on the streets of the West Side.

"Goldie" the carriage horse apparently got loose on West 54th Street and 12th Avenue just before 5 p.m., and ran through traffic towards 9th Avenue when someone was able to grab its reins after a few minutes.

"Goldie" bucked and fled the stable east on 52nd Street, made her way uptown to 9th Avenue, and then hung a right on the West Side Highway.

"I was scared, the horse looked like it was coming across the street and it was going to jump near me, and I jumped back a little bit. I saw one of the guys try to wave the horse down, you know, trying to get its attention, and when the horse realized where it was at, I guess she turned around and ran back home," an eyewitness said.

The horse was then brought into the stable on 52nd Street and 12th Avenue.

There were no injuries.

"The horse came home, and didn't have enough exercise, and ran around for a couple blocks, and then ran back to the stable and went and ate her hay," said Basil Northam, carriage driver.

"Of course Goldie wanted to run. Goldie never sees grass. Goldie lives on concrete on this poorly converted stable on the West Side Highway," an animal activist said.

Animal rights activist have been fighting the Carriage Horse Industry for eons. This incident is their latest evidence of an industry, they claim, exploits animals for bottomless piles of tourist dollars.

For her part, Goldie didn't seem too bothered about the whole ordeal. An only in New York curiosity, at the height of the evening rush.

"We're seeing a Broadway show later, I feel like we've already seen the show!" a tourist said.