After a St. Charles carriage horse plunged into the icy waters of the Missouri River Wednesday night, an attorney who has previously criticized the local carriage horse industry had harsh words for the city and the company operating the service."This is a horrific tragedy that was entirely preventable, if only a government agency had just done its job and regulated this industry to protect the horses and protect the public," said Dan Kolde, a St. Louis lawyer who often works on animal abuse cases.
The horse, a thirteen-year-old named Cash, apparently got spooked while being loaded into a trailer at the end of a day's work, around 9:30 p.m. He bolted through a parking lot, hitting several cars, before plunging into the river with his 1,300-pound carriage attached.…