Melbourne carriage driver's response to fallen horse riles up bystanders

The driver of a horse-drawn carriage in Melbourne has riled up bystanders with his response to a fallen horse who was unable to right herself.

The horse, named Tuesday, slipped in the middle of the road and was unable to stand due to her harness.

Footage taken by a witness shows the unidentified carriage driver yelling at Tuesday as bystanders attempted to help the animal.

"Get up. F***ing lazy b***h," the driver said angrily as he tried to lift Tuesday's head.

A woman intervened as he appeared to kicked the horse, telling him to "please stop kicking her".

The man then directed his frustration at the bystander.

"Love, I know what I'm doing. Get out of the way," he said.

Melbourne carriage driver's response to fallen horse riles up bystanders
Photo credit: 7 News

Veterinary nurse and fellow bystander, Krista Knight, told 7 News that people were trying to explain to the carriage driver that Tuesday couldn't get up as she was harnessed to the carriage.

"The horse could not physically get up as she was attached to the carriage," Knight said.

"[His response] was completely unnecessary. All it did was make the situation worse."

Employer Dean Crichton has defended the driver's reaction.

"It is out of character but it was a very stressful situation. I don't condone his language but at times like that, help is better than negative comments," he told the outlet.

"It's a horrible look... we do our best. The horses are very, very well looked after."

The incident has caused outrage on social media, a number of people calling his response "aggressive", "cruel" and "unnecessary".

Horse-drawn carriages have been banned from Melbourne's CBD due to ongoing campaigns by animal activists to shut down the industry.

Tuesday was left with no lasting damage and was back to work on Sunday.