Attack Of The Killer Pony! Or Not. Newslink

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

Ah! Those deadly, 20 yr old ponies!

You can’t trust any of em! Better Dead than Pony!

Newsday | Long Island's & NYC's News Source

The girl, Sarah Friedson, 17, walked her chocolate-colored pony, Cocoa, to the school Friday, to celebrate the last day of classes before final exams. She held sign that read “Save Gas” on one side, “Staples 2008” on the other. Her father, Ronald, drove behind them with his blinkers flashing.

The school called police, saying they were concerned for the safety of students.
Ronald Friedson said the pony is docile, 20-years-old, and blind in one eye.

“Overkill would be an understatement,” Friedson said Friday night. “This is a 25-year-old pony, who is only dangerous to a carrot.”

Only Godzilla can stop Killer Coco!

AMERICA! WATCH YOUR CARROTS! DAY AND NIGHT! KEEP WATCHING THE CARROTS!

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

Not a lot of sympathy here, sorry. I’ve been kicked and bitten in my time by some extremely elderly equines. Horses don’t lose their genetically hardwired need to panic, kick, bolt, and just generally behave like a four-legged dumbass at the slightest prompting just because they’re geriatric.

Also, in my experience, horses that are blind in one eye can have a tendency to spook even easier, since they’re mainly vision-oriented, and if they think they see something that spooks them but can’t really get a good look at it, they may just shrug and hit the big red panic button just on general principles.

Just because someone did something similar in the much less litigious 1970s doesn’t make it desirable to do nowadays. And she had been told, repeatedly, not to bring the horse to school, precisely for those litigation-aware reasons. Somebody gets kicked by her horse, the school has to lawyer up. Sucks to be her, I guess, but really. If TPTB tell you not to do something, and you go ahead and do it anyway, guess there’s gonna be consequences. Welcome to the Real World.

ETA: http://www.courant.com/news/local/fc/hc-westhorse0607.artjun07,0,2311265.story

*When they reached the high school parking lot, Friedson’s friends flocked to the pony to pet him. *

Uh huh. Somebody could have gotten kicked or knocked over when the pony, suddenly surrounded by shrieking, giggling high school girls, bolted. Just because a horse is quiet and manageable on its home ground doesn’t mean you can extrapolate perfect behavior in any situation.

[truthbot]

The “Save Gas” logic doesn’t take into consideration the fuel required by tractors to cut, turn and bale the hay it takes to keep the ‘hay-burner’ trotting merrily along to the school grounds. Or the gas the farrier uses to make it out to the farm to trim/shoe the pony. Ditto for the vet.

For the record, I have a 35 year old Arabian mare that is sweet as pie. You could put a baby on her back without a worry, almost. But if a horsefly came buzzing by, all bets are off. The mare (and baby) would be in the next county in a heartbeat. And my sweet-as-pie mare would gladly stomp a dog to death, just for the fun of it. Other than that, she’s really a sweet ride.

And don’t get me started on my mini-mare. 37" tall, and she thinks she’s a Clydesdale. Totally a boss mare. She rules my herd of horses with her widdle toofies and hoofies. Even my TB geldings are terrified of her. Daily I watch her chasing the other horses from one end of the pastures to the other. It’s almost embarrassing.

So, no; I don’t believe in perfectly docile 20/25YO ponies. I know better. And if the school warned her about bringing Pwecious Pony, as a responsible horse owner, SHE should have known better. Not to mention her father. And did they think to bring a pooper-scooper with them? Probably not. Thoughtless dumb-asses.