A Central Park carriage horse dashed directly into busy Midtown traffic last week after it had gotten spooked, according to shocking video footage obtained by The Post.
The frightened animal bolted down Sixth Avenue near Central Park South Thursday after reportedly being left unattended, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Video shows the steed running through multiple lanes of traffic and colliding with about five vehicles, including a yellow cab, before coming to a stop at about 11:20 a.m.
No injuries were reported, police said. An NYPD investigation remains underway.
“Forcing nervous prey animals, hardwired to bolt when frightened, to drag open carriages in chaotic Manhattan is reckless endangerment,” animal advocacy group NYCLASS said of the incident.
“While cities around the world have banned this, NYC is still gambling with lives in 2026,” the group said, renewing calls for a full City Council ban on carriage horses.
A representative for the Transport Workers Union, which represents Central Park’s carriage drivers, said the group is “evaluating” any penalties against the individual carriage driver.
“Carriage drivers have the highest responsibility to care for their horses, and this falls far short of our standards,” the rep said, noting the driver claims he was standing “near” the horse.
“We believe the horse was startled by a fast-moving Amazon delivery vehicle: an e-bike with a cargo trailer,” the rep added.
Edita Birnkrant, executive director of NYCLASS, told The Post the horse drivers illegally leave the animals unattended “consistently because there’s no enforcement of that law.”
The incident is the latest in a string of cases of carriage horses running wild in Gotham.
In 2025 alone, at least four horses took off — sparking a call from then-Mayor Eric Adams to rein in the industry.
Before leaving office Dec. 31, Adams signed an executive order mandating the city’s fleet of horse-carriage drivers to have their animals undergo a city-hired veterinarian inspection – probing for drugs, injuries and potential abuse – or risk losing their coveted licenses.
That executive order was revoked when Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office and repealed all orders Adams made after his indictment on charges connected to a since-dropped federal corruption case.
Nevertheless, Mamdani has still signaled “support removing horse carriages from Central Park” as recently as days before he was sworn into office.
“I plan to deliver on that,” he said.
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