Miami nightclub shut over horse stunt

The white horse appeared to buck off its rider in front of shocked partygoers

A nightclub in Miami has lost its licence after a scantily clad woman rode a horse on the premises.

Video from the Mokai Lounge in South Beach showed the white horse being led into a throng of clubbers. The animal then appears to trip or dip towards the floor, throwing off its rider.

The footage captures screams, followed by cheering as the animal is led away.

The club is under investigation for possible animal cruelty and endangering public safety.

Miami Beach Police tweeted that they had traced the horse and performed a welfare check.

Jimmy L. Morales, city manager for the City of Miami Beach, said he was "disgusted and offended that any legitimate businessperson would think this was an appropriate action to take".

"Animal cruelty is an abhorrent and vile act," Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said in a statement.

The club's owner told CBS Miami that he had been unaware of the stunt in advance and was co-operating with the authorities.

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The incident may recall a famous 1977 photograph of Bianca Jagger astride a white stallion in the New York nightclub Studio 54.

The black-and-white image shows Ms Jagger posing on the horse in an off-the-shoulder gown.

There is no suggestion that that animal was in distress when the photo was taken.

Animal rights advocate Ms Jagger sought to contextualise the picture in a 2015 letter to the Financial Times, writing: "I made the foolish decision to get on it for a few minutes. The photographed image went around the world, giving rise to the fable - that I arrived at Studio 54 on a white horse."

"No doubt you will agree with me that it is one thing to, on the spur of the moment, get on a horse in a nightclub, but it is quite another to ride in on one," she added.