A carriage horse fell on a street in Philadelphia this past weekend, and almost before it hit the pavement, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media reported the fall with photographs showing the white horse lying on the ground and appearing to be dead.
More controversy over carriage horses
When a carriage horse fell this past weekend, almost before it hit the pavement, observers on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media reported the fall with photographs showing the white horse lying on the ground, appearing to be dead.
In less time than it takes to count to ten, the fallen horse's image and news of its supposed death had circled the globe.
Fortunately however, the horse had simply slipped and fallen, possibly tripped by a manhole cover, and was not dead at all. The handler of the horse was aided by animal care control officers and was able to get the horse upright and into a trailer to take it back to the carriage company where it was met and examined by a veterinarian who said that the horse was fine.
The fact that the horse was fine didn't stop the controversy over horse carriages on the streets as many people let their thoughts be known on social media. Many people believe it is cruel to horses and dangerous to drivers and pedestrians to have horse drawn carriages on the streets of metropolitan areas.
One animal advocacy went so far as to send out a news release: "Weekend Carriage Accident Cover-up in Philly?