Boston, Mass – A tragic slip caused a beloved carriage horse to die at a woman’s funeral last weekend. The 28-year-old horse, named Mr. Bee, was waiting outside of the Sacred Heart Church to pull a carriage hearse on Saturday morning when he got fidgety and slipped on a manhole cover.
When he fell, he struck his head on a curb and died shortly after. Mr. Bee’s owner, John Frost, with Remembrance Hill Carriages, believes his horse had a heart attack. He tells MassLive:
“We were waiting alongside the road for the funeral to be over. Bee was kind of fidgeting and he slipped on the manhole cover, his legs just kind of went out from under him, and he hit his head on the curbing. It happened in a matter of seconds. He didn’t suffer.”
After Mr. Bee’s death, Equi Evolution shared a social media post about the horse, who had been a part of their program in the past:
I am incredibly saddened to share news that a horse who was formerly a part of the Equi Evolution program, Mr. Bee, passed tragically over the weekend.
Sharing heartwarming insight:
Most often paired to drive with his best friend, Action; Bee absolutely loved his job! He was a fairly shy horse when it came to hands-on interaction with people so any of you who have had the pleasure of sharing intimate moments with him know what a special experience that was. I have so many fond memories of hanging with him on the farm and working together doing weddings.
Frost considered Mr. Bee to be part of his family, telling the Boston Globe, “He will be deeply missed.”
Rest in peace Mr. Bee.
(Representative images/not Mr. Bee or Remembrance Carriages)
Sorry to hear about Mr Bee
I’m sorry, but a 28 year old horse should have been retired, not pulling something heavy like a carriage or a hearse. Poor Mr. Bee deserved a kinder end.
I completely agree!
Make that 3 ‘completely agrees’. I lived in Boston for many years and a couple of time I did demonstrations to end the carriage trade with my animal rights group. It breaks my heart to see them pulling carriages and as was said, Mr. Bee should have retired by then. Loved maybe but still forced to work too long.
Agree completely. Why wait until the last days of a horse’s life to let him enjoy it? Let him or her enjoy as many years to enjoy doing nothing as they did in doing as they were made to do what the humans wanted them to do. They are God’s creations also. They deserve a “retirement”, not just a free life when no longer able to do human’s bidding.
I agree with your comment.
PLEASE GOD MERCY 🙏
Prayers for Mr Bee. You will be missed❤️
I wish they would stop all of these things like handsome cab rides and hiring out an elderly horse like Mr.Bee just so the owner can make a couple bucks leave the horses to roam in fields and graz we on there own terms RIP Mr. Bee so sorry for losing you this way.
When are people going to stop abusing Horses 🐴 and other animals! This Poor Baby! Never got a chance to rest his whole life. What a sad tragedy. Please if anyone wants to Stop 🛑 Horses from being Slaughtered Go Facebook to Horses in our Hands. There you will find on their page and posts to Sign there petition to Ban Horse Slaughter. Look at some of the posts and you will see where to sign . It’s called Pass the Safe Act for Horses. I am so sorry For this poor Babies Death. Mr. Bee was an Innocent Angel 😇 now he has his wings. RIP MR. Bee 🌹your in Gods hands now. 🙏😇🐴♥️🥰
RIP Mr Bee.
How many deaths and injuries have to happen before the horses pulling carriages are outlawed in cities. We had one die of exhaustion in the street, not long ago. STOP carriage rides permanently!
Horses should NOT be used to pull carriages, especially elderly horses.. Whether it’s rain, cold, heat… It’s just inhumane to treat horses this way
sorry, that was supposed to go on the main thread & this won’t let me delete
How disgusting to use horses to pull carriages in this day and age. He was fidgeting because he was probably uncomfortable, maybe in pain at his age, and probably BORED! I can’t take seriously people who claim to love the animals they exploit and profit from. That is not love! What a twisted mentality. RIP Mr. Bee, you deserved a better life than your exploiters gave you!
This horse as with all animals was exploited for money! Shameful! His death was senseless and I hope this use is stopped for once and for all. Let people use cars!!!!!!!! So sad this happened to this horse who should have been in pastures, not pavement! Shame on you for his death!
Some of the comments here are just ridiculous. The horse FELL while standing and waiting, and hit his head. ANY horse can do that. A lot of assumptions being made here by people on the condition of the horse and what his care has been. Pulling a carriage hearse occasionally is NOT comparable to pulling a tourist carriage in a city somewhere, or even the abuse this guy probably endured as a racing Standardbred early in life. Before jumping to stupid conclusions people should take a moment to read the write-up that the rescue home that gave him to the carriage company wrote about him. I HIGHLY doubt this horse was abused in any way, or incapable of doing his job.
Of course the write-up would be glowing. They do the same for obituaries for humans. They can be the meanest snake on the planet but then all of a sudden become angels upon death. A horse that age, I don’t care what breed or what their previous work life was like, DESERVES to be out in a field doing whatever he/she wants to be doing eating treats. They DESERVE NOTHING LESS!! This comes from one who now has 6 horses and a mule that are doing nothing but enjoying life and doing nothing. They deserve that. None of them have done any type of work for quite a few years. All they are doing is spending my money. LOL Let horses enjoy life when that old.
Should have been retired. Are you not aware of balance issues with aging??? 28 years & should have been retired from pulling ANYTHING.
You are correct! Horses hurt themselves all the time even in their own pastures and barns. Most of the carriage trade is very regulated as to how the horses are cared for,vet visits,vacation time on pasture and how much they can work. People don’t realize that along with destroying a a part of history, banning the carriages deprives both the drivers and their horses of a way to make a living. The people who want them just go live free on pastures are being totally unrealistic. most rescues and sanctuaries are full and struggling with expenses. Horses are expensive to care for! all that will happen is that many of these horses will end up at auction and likely go to meat buyers who will ship them to canada or mexico to a bad end.
So heartbreaking! Mr Bee was about 82 in human year’s & should have been retired enjoying his life!! 💔
That’s the owners fault, the little sniveling selfish fool. What is he doing pimping out a 28 year old horse. John Frost is a piece of shit and hopefully someone local to him clandestinely beats the shit out of him.
Ban carriage horse !!
And send those horses where?
Stop using horses for human pleasure….period!
So sad to hear about Mr Bee. Condolances for the horse and his owners.
It’s time to shift the dominant paradigm. It’s time to recognize and see clearly just how horribly humans exploit other species. Constant atrocities going on. Truly, it all needs to stop.
Stop abusing animals, that horse was shy DUH what a stupid ignorant comment. That horse was to old to pull a carriage the owner should be held accountable for the death of this innocent voiceless animal, Hoping Karma comes to this horse abuser/murderer sooner than later
REST IN PEACE SWEET HORSE MR. BEE!
SORRY, BUT I DON’T WANT TO HEAR HE LOVED HIS JOB! HORSE CARRIAGE RIDES, PULLS, AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT HAS TO DO WITH THIS NEED TO END! FOR GOOD! EVERYWHERE! PLUS MR.BEE WAS 28 YEARS OLD! WTF IS WRONG WITH HUMANS?!!?
So sad. Sorry for your loss of such a magnificent creature. Lots of memories. Rest in Peace, Mr Bee. 🙏🕊️❤️
Horses are not meant to walk on pavement….especially if they are shod they often slip. Unloading a horse from a trailer on pavement is also very dangerous. I’ve seen so many fall and hurt themselves. Always unload on dirt or grass….never on pavement.
If you can’t drive a carriage on the ground and not the road then you are taking a chance.
Sorry Mr. Bee. You were a happy horse and well loved. You lived a good long life. Rest In Peace pretty horse. God Bless You Mr. Bee. We all love you.
You can ride a good horse to death
Poor precious Mr. Bee….may he rest in peace….
RIP precious Bee. You have crossed the beautiful Rainbow Bridge into beautiful Animal Heaven. Bless you Bee. Love you.
“Frost considered Mr. Bee to be part of his family” – Mr. Frost, do you make other members of your ‘family’ pull heavy corpse carriages around the hectic paved streets of Boston? I doubt it. Had this horse been walking on soil and grass and been in his natural environment, he would not have slipped on any manhole covers and had he received proper veterinary care, any heart condition may have been detected and treated before this poor horse dropped dead on the streets. Mr. Bee was already 28 year old, which in human years equates to well into retirement age. This would be like forcing a 75-year-old man to go to the strenuous job of a 25-year-old. The very fact that Mr. Frost makes his living by exploiting and using horses is disgusting. Him calling his slaves ‘family members’ does not make it any better and in fact, makes it worse. His website ‘story’ says “I mean, you try not to smile when you’re riding in a horse-drawn carriage…go ahead, I dare you.” Well, Mr. Frost, that is a dare that I do not need to engage in to prove you wrong. Horses should not be the slaves of humans. They have been exploited since the dawn of man and scum like you continue that horrible tradition while you hid behind the guise of ‘luxury’. Honestly, you look like a weak little nothing of a man and Mr. Bee was a far kinder soul than trash like you could ever hope to be.
TORTURE THE MOTHERFUCKING ANIMAL ABUSERS!!! 💪🇺🇲RENEE CARIGLIA