Despite exhaustive efforts to save him, a Cape May carriage horse was euthanized after becoming stuck in the snow during Monday’s blizzard.
The Cape May Carriage Company said that a male horse named Diesel became extremely weak and was unable to stand after rolling in a muddy field.
“We were able to get the horse out of the hole he dug himself into, but he was extremely exhausted and unable to stand on his own at that time,” the company said in a Facebook post.
While coming to the horse’s aid, company workers made a bed for him using an 800-pound bale of hay in the hope that he would rest up and regain his strength overnight in the snowstorm. He was covered up with hay, straw and blankets to try to keep him warm.
“His temperature was monitored and he was not in the danger zone for hypothermia or anything like that. He was comfortable and resting peacefully. However, (in the) morning he was still unable to get himself up on his own. He tried & tried but still too weak. And at that point, the decision was made to have him humanely euthanized,” the company said.
Cape May Carriage Company called the city for assistance after trying for a few hours to get the horse to stand. The city, in turn, sent the fire department, police and the U.S. Coast Guard to help out, according to the Facebook post.
“We would never do anything to make any of our horses suffer, and we certainly did not want to make the decision without giving him a chance until we exhausted all options. We will miss him dearly as he has been a part of the carriage company for many years. And we were sad to see him have to go this way,” the company said.
Cape May Carriage Company has been a part of Victorian Cape May since 1983. It offers private horse-drawn carriage rides through the historic streets and seasonal tours of the holiday lights, according to its website.
In the summer of 2024, one of the company’s horses died while pulling a carriage of visitors in Cape May. A necropsy performed at Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center in Hunterdon County determined that the horse’s cause of death was either a blood clot or an irregular heartbeat.
