A horse pulling a couple to their wedding venue on their big day, has been pictured collapsing under the heavy weight.
The horse collapsed
Animal charities are threatening to sue after a horse collapsed while pulling a bride and groom on their wedding day, Metro UK reports.
The couple arrived to celebrated their nuptials on a horse-drawn carriage when the horse collapsed as a result of heat exhaustion.
A video shows the groom trying to help the horse get up after it collapsed outside the church in Borgetto, near Palermo, Sicily.
Other members of the wedding party, dressed in traditional attire, can also be seen attempting to help.
Traffic through the town was blocked off by the fallen horse and the carriage, which had been decorated with feathers.
Moments before falling down in the searing sun the horse had climbed a steep stretch of road, pulling the carriage containing the bride and groom behind him.
The horse was allegedly pulling a weight of 881 lbs when it collapsed in the middle of the street.
Video footage shot from a neighbouring flat was later posted onto the internet.
Italian animal rights charities are now threatening to file a lawsuit in relation to the case.
A spokesman for the Italian Nucleus Operational Protection of Animals said: ‘We have already written to local authorities to ask them to confirm the current conditions of the horse.’
Watch the video below: