Cause of Death for Central Park Carriage Horse Revealed As Calls To Ban the Rides Intensify
New York City's iconic Central Park made tragic headlines earlier this month after a 16-year-old carriage horse named Deniz collapsed and died in the middle of a ride with passengers.
Onlookers were stunned and heartbroken to see the carriage horse incident unfold near East 90th Street in Manhattan on June 9, but it didn't take long until shock turned into questions. What caused the Central Park carriage horse death, who is to blame, and is this a sign that carriage rides should end for good?
@abc7ny The death of a carriage horse earlier this month in Central Park was caused by a nonnative toxic plant, according to a necropsy publicized by the union representing carriage drivers. The union says the horse, Deniz, was giving a ride near East 90th Street when he paused to eat a shrub along the curb. A short time later, the horse collapsed and died. #fyp#animals#news#horse#abc7ny
original sound - ABC7NY - ABC7NY
The late horse's necropsy revealed that his death was a horrible accident resulting from ingesting a poisonous plant-Japanese yew. He had stopped to nibble on a shrub on the curb shortly before colapsing, according to The Transport Workers Union of America, while giving a ride to two passengers.
Japanese yew is toxic to horses, dogs, cats, and even humans, yet it's found all over Central Park, as well as across the United States. Livestock and wild animals like deer, elk, and cattle are also susceptible to its toxins, though some species have a slightly higher tolerance than others. Horses, unfortunately, have the least tolerance to the yew family of plants.
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The working horse's passing is the 7th incident in 13 months involving Central Park carriage horses. Since the carriage horse incident occurred, more and more people have been calling for a ban on Central Park carriage rides, but the TWU published Deniz's necropsy results to make it clear to activists that the horse's death was not caused by neglect or abuse.
Still, the TWU and The Central Park Conservancy cannot come to an agreement on who is to blame.The conservancy claims that horses are not allowed to eat any of Central Park's plants, and Deniz only ingested the toxic plant because of the carriage driver's negligence. On the other hand, the TWU believes the conservancy is negligent for not removing, or at least labelling, the toxic shrubs.
Reactions To the Central Park Carriage Horse's Death
Naturally, viewers are heartbroken to learn of the horse's death, and they also have strong feelings about what led up to it. @rupedoop felt concerned about the horse's condition, writing, "Only hungry horses will eat toxic plants."
Others were just as angry that a poisonous plant is so prevalent in a busy place. "If that is harmful to humans, dogs, and horses, why wouldn't they not remove that instead of talking about banning the carriages?" asked @jamal.thomas60. "Either way, it's harmful to us and animals, so why would it still be there? What happens if that happens again, this time not a horse or a dog, but a person?"
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"That doesn't change the fact that these horses are over-worked and it's a practice that shouldn't continue," @tvibes3.0 disgreed. Regardless of one's feelings about Deniz's necropsy and who's to blame for his death, anyone can agree that this was a horrible tragedy that warrants a closer look on all sides.
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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 4:45 PM.