Fire department arrives

Shock in Vienna: Horse-drawn carriage horse suddenly collapses

On Friday, a horse suddenly fell on Rennweg in Vienna and remained on the ground. The street was subsequently temporarily closed.(Bild: Leserreporter, Krone KREATIV)

Huge shock on Vienna’s Rennweg: On Friday, a horse-drawn carriage horse suddenly collapsed in the middle of the street. This blocked the roadway, causing the tram to stop and forcing passengers to continue on foot. Several passersby gathered around the animal and appeared deeply distressed.

Shocked passersby immediately rushed to the animal’s aid. According to police spokeswoman Anna Gutt, the horse had suddenly collapsed around 11 a.m. while being driven down the street and lay helpless on the ground. A pedestrian tended to the animal, which could barely lift its head in her direction, while she stroked it until emergency responders arrived. Meanwhile, another woman calmed the second draft horse.

Mare in stable condition
The coachman remained seated in the carriage for safety reasons and advised the passerby to let the horse lie down for the time being: “If she wants to get up, she’ll do it anyway,” can be heard in the video. There is a clear reason for this: “As a purely precautionary measure, the horses are trained to stay down until they are helped up,” explains Silvia PAUL Fiakerbetriebs GmbH to the “Krone.”

At the same time, the company issues a clear appeal to passersby: Petting the animals is not a trivial offense, even if well-intentioned, because the situation is still dangerous. The mare was subsequently treated by a veterinarian and is in stable condition.

The animal fell on the street and remained lying on the ground.(Bild: Leserreporter, Krone KREATIV)

Passersby tried to help and calmed the animal.(Bild: Leserreporter)

The approaching tram had to stop temporarily.(Bild: Leserreporter, Krone KREATIV)

Street temporarily closed
Traffic came to a standstill for about 30 minutes due to the incident, and the street had to be closed in both directions. According to Gutt, the access road from Marokkanergasse and Salesianergasse toward Rennweg was also closed.

Fire department arrived at
According to a “Krone” reader reporter, the police were on the scene within minutes. Shortly thereafter, the fire department also arrived but left again a short time later. In the meantime, the horse-drawn carriage service was notified; they arrived quickly, helped the horse to its feet, and transported it away for medical care. Once the animal was back on its feet, the roadblocks were lifted at 11:30 a.m., officials said.