changing gani attribute in an npc

[prozac424242]

with what should be a very simple command to set the gani attribute
of a horse to the desired horse image (in a showcharachter clientside class npc):

PHP Code:

setcharani horse,ride2.png; 


all that shows up is the oval shadow. It moves correctly and I hear the gani sound, but no horse image.
The ride2.png is on the server, I checked.

How do i get the horse image into the gani on the level?