Old Montreal: the horse that collapsed would in fact “asleep”

Photo courtesy
In the video, you can see three people déharnacher the horse and try to meet it.

QMI agency

Tuesday, 5 September 2017, 22:54

UPDATE
Tuesday, 5 September 2017 22:59

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The images received by TVA News.ca a mare who collapsed in Old Montreal on Monday have made the rounds of social media. In an interview with the issuance of Denis Lévesque, the caléchier experience Luc Desparois states that the beast would be “asleep”.

“As a result, I was not on site to see it. What I know is that the horse [called a Slut] was simply asleep,” said the owner of the stable, Lucky Luke.

According to witnesses, the beast would have remained nearly eight minutes on the floor.

“The box could not be attached to it. In normal times, it is seen that the horse lies down when he is sleeping. It can stay up and sleep downright standing. But often he will fold to the ground. When he arrives to earth he bends his knees and goes to bed,” said the owner of the stable, Lucky Luke.

Mr. Desparois said that it is normal to see horses falling asleep.

“The season is over and work slows down. She is used to being able to do nothing, that is why she fell asleep, perhaps. This mare has worked on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday only a small shift. It emerged on Monday with its box,” explained Mr. Desparois.

“A horse, it lives outside”

Each horse is monitored by inspectors of the City. After the incident, checks were carried out as early as Monday and even this morning.

“We have a medical record. It is because of blood tests. Everything is checked so that if an accident happens, people don’t say the small things or things that are not true,” said the owner of the stable.

With over 30 years of experience in the world of horses, Mr. Desparois affirms high and strong that there has never been a horse that has suffered a heat stroke in Montreal.

“Never a horse was not bothered by the temperature. A horse, it is made to live outside, 12 months a year. It is an animal outside. It can live at -20°C and it is going to survive,” continued Mr. Desparois.

In the video, you can see three people déharnacher the horse and try to meet it. They are trying also to put it back on the foot, by encouraging them verbally and by putting a carrot under the nose. The beast, however, remains lying on its side during the move.

Several passers-by and tourists stopped to watch and film the scene, which took place on the rue Saint-Jacques, not far from the Notre-Dame basilica.

According to the new regulations on horse-drawn carriages, it stipulates that horses can only move when the temperature reached 28 degrees Celsius (without taking into account the humidex factor).