A man is riding a horse on the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago. With an escort of motorcycles.
He was trotting, then galloping, now slowly trotting. No apparent intention to leave the expressway, he’s passed a bunch of exits. And no banner, sign, etc. to let the public know why he’s doing this.
Seven miles so far, the Channel 7 announcer just said.
It’s over. He got off the expressway in the 90s and the State Police stopped and arrested him.
Did they arrest the horse too? He may try to say that it was all the horse’s idea.
He’s been spreading the word about census participation in Chicago recently.
People my also have heard of this guy during the George Floyd murder protests in Chicago. If you recall the “OMG! Black, Black, REALLY Black guy stole a CPD horse and is riding it up State Street! OMG!”
I wonder why he was on the Dan Ryan?
Also, [nitpick] that was a canter, not a gallop, they’re two different gaits [/nitpick]
I just heard on the scanner a bit of traffic between a news chopper and ground control: “They’re doing an evaluation on the horse right now.”
quietly raises hand
I saw the video and was telling people about the guy that stole a police horse. I stand corrected but, I mean, he was saying it himself.
Yeah, Hollingsworth is big on attention-getting. He may have overstepped himself this time.
Apparently the horse suffered some injuries. The pictures I saw looked pretty minor - animals, like humans, get cuts and the freeway often has debris on it. I’m sure they authorities will be looking for a way to charge him with animal cruelty or neglect or some such in addition to anything else they can throw at him.
A bunch of bikers were with him - wonder if any of them are being arrested, charged, etc?
Yes, I have read that the horse has saddle sores and a few bloody hooves. I would like to be on official SDMB record stating that this is not cool. I’m not a horse person, and don’t know how long a trip down the Ryan is too long for a horse. I would expect that Mr. Hollingsworth, horse owner, would be aware of that.
Horse owners: How common are saddle sores and bleeding hooves?
Saddle sores can happen with poorly fitting saddles, new saddles (they’re leather and need to be broken in), and too much riding. Think of a blister from a shoe. Of course, the horse doesn’t control having a saddle on his/her back, it’s up to the rider to watch out and prevent such injuries.
Bleeding hooves can occur due to cuts or, worse, a split hoof. (One reason for horseshoes is to prevent hoof splits, especially on hard surfaces like pavement).
As living beings, horses can be injured. Even conscientious riders might discover a saddle sore on a horse. Horses can encounter sharp objects on the ground.
A lot depends on the size of the injuries and how many.
The only thing I saw was some blood above one hoof which could have been from a cut from road debris, something any horse ridden on a road ever is at risk for. It didn’t look particularly bad to me, but a shot from a hand-held cell phone isn’t really sufficient to pass judgement. The horse did not appear to be favoring any of its legs, which leads me to think that any cuts were relatively minor but as prey animals horses often conceal the extent of their injuries if they can out of instinct.
In other words, I don’t know enough to pass judgement, especially in a situation where the authorities seem to be looking for every little thing they could use as a violation of some sort.
I’m not a horse expert, so I’ll refrain on commenting on the advisability of riding a horse at a canter on asphalt. I will point out, though, that slow-moving traffic on an expressway is very dangerous for the horse, the rider, and drivers. Broomstick says the horse was cantering, which means 10-17 mph. On the Dan Ryan. Not safe.
Fortunately, traffic on the freeway slowed down and thus reduced the traffic danger. Normally, I’d be concerned about a horse spooking in traffic, but Hollingsworth has ridden his horse on the streets quite a bit so for that particular horse traffic and city noise are not new sensory inputs.
The horse was, in fact, clocked at 17 mph. An actual gallop wound have been around 25-30 mph for a typical horse (up to the low 40’s for Thoroughbreds, and quarterhorses can hit 45-50 for short distances). A true gallop is much faster than a canter, but higher risk for the horse and rider.
There’s no doubt in my mind Hollingsworth is a good guy with a great cause and an excellent reputation. Some of his horseback riding “Children’s lives matter” appearances have been at Mayor Lightfoot’s request. And from all the videos and photos I’ve seen, his horses look well-cared-for.
However, even with traffic slowing down (It’s more or less forced to.), 17 mph is dangerous. First, it inevitably causes lane changes for traffic behind it, and lane changes in those circumstances are more likely to cause accidents. Second, unless Hollingsworth maintained a consistent speed, traffic behind him would slow down and speed upNor was Hollingsworth riding in the far right lane the entire ride. The video he live-streamed shows him in a left lane. The speed limit on the Dan Ryan is 55 mph, though traffic was probably moving more slowly than that at rush hour. Driving that slowly is dangerous, period. That’s why it’s illegal.
Again, horses are not my area of expertise, but the Chicago Tribune reported that the horse was shaking with exhaustion and collapsed at the shelter. Also, there was a hoof injury (not the bleeding hoof, though that was more than a trickle of blood and looked painful) allegedly caused by the horse not wearing shoes while being ridden on asphalt.
As much as I admire Hollingsworth, his decision to ride his horse on the Dan Ryan during rush hour despite the refusal of a permit (because it was illegal and dangerous) was unfortunate. I’m not ruling out extraneous charges and am hoping there’s an investigation, but there’s no way that ride didn’t pose hazards.
Can this even be possible?
“In court a prosecutor told the judge, that Hollingsworth whipped the horse when it slowed and it was injured from an ill-fitting saddle and running miles on concrete.
The prosecutor told the court the horse was extremely dehydrated, overheated, suffered cuts and sores and is now in critical condition.
The horse can never be ridden again and may be euthanized, the prosecutor said.”
Never ridden again, and euthanized?
Or the animal was stressed and fearful, without humans it was familar with, and was shaking for that reason.
Yes, I’m being devil’s advocate here and I repeat that I do not have personal knowledge of the particulars. However, Hollingsworth pissed off some powerful people and they’re going to make him pay for that, and his horse might well be part of that price.
OK, that might be a serious problem. As I mentioned before, horse shoes were invented to protect hooves. Horses evolved to carry their own weight on grasslands. They did not evolve to run on artificial stone while carrying a full grown human male on their backs. That is why horseshoes and some other forms of hoof protection pre-date the use of iron - they’re a Bronze Age invention, they’re that old.
If the horse was barefoot and running for an extended distance on asphalt and/or concrete yes, that could have caused a serious injury. Foot injuries in horses are not to be taken lightly.
Was it a “whip” or a “riding crop”? A LOT of people do not understand the using a crop which is not to whip the horse but another means of signaling/communicating with the animal. Unfortunately, there is a subset of riders who don’t understand that, either, and will use one as a whip.
As for the saddle - again, can’t tell from the video available, but I can see that the horse had a saddleblanket as well as a saddle. Saddleblankets, like socks on your feet, reduce friction and help prevent things like saddlesores. The images of the horse being loaded into a Chicago police horse van for transport did give a view of its back and I can see no obvious saddle sores, but it’s not like we get a close up. The horse is spooking while being loaded, which is normal horse behavior in a new/unusual circumstance around unfamiliar equipment (even if it has been in a horse van before, this van is not a familiar van) and people the horse doesn’t know.
Overheated could be a result of being held in place after running instead of being properly walked for a cool-down.
I would like to know on what basis the Prosecutor - whose job, after all, is to portray Hollingsworth in a bad light - makes these accusations and assessments about the horse.
IF there has been actual mistreatment of the horse then yes, Hollingsworth should suffer the consequences BUT I question whether or not this is a way of discrediting and silencing yet another protestor. I especially want to know about this “can never be ridden again” thing in detail. What injury(s) did the horse sustain as ascertained by a qualified veterinarian (as opposed to a lawyer) that would lead to that diagnosis? The horse stable I used to work at had a number of rescue horses that suffered very nasty injuries (how they became rescues) who nonetheless recovered and lived many years afterward.
From what I could see in the video footage I could find the horse does indeed appear to be barefoot. So, yes, it is possible it suffered significant or even severe injury cantering for several miles on pavement carrying a person on its back. That doesn’t mean it did, just that it is possible.
I also really think there needs to be an impartial third party assessment before killing the horse who, really, is an innocent party to the affair and should not suffer death because of disputing humans.
A devil’s advocate is a mighty necessary thing to have around!
Do horses collapse for that reason, as well? (Serious question.) I can’t find anything that says they do, so I’m hoping you know. I’m also hoping at some point we get the views of the people who run the shelter.The report in the Tribune said the horse was overheated.
I would like to know on what basis the Prosecutor - whose job, after all, is to portray Hollingsworth in a bad light - makes these accusations and assessments about the horse
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The prosecutor’s job is not to portray Hollingsworth in a bad light. I don’t know the prosecutor but do know enough about Chicago politics, having grown up there, to know corruption and politics too often permeate court cases. That said, I also wouldn’t assume the prosecutor is out to get Hollingsworth. As I said, Mayor Lightfoot has requested Hollingsworth’s participation before. If the prosecutor is anti-Lightfoot, that might be a motive, but Lightfoot has said Hollingsworth was wrong to ride on the Dan Ryan. Either way, one assumes he gets his information from the shelter. If not, I expect we’ll soon find out.
As stated by the prosecutor in a hearing today:
35-year horse owner here. No, they don’t collapse from fear. They collapse from exhaustion and injuries. Like people, horses have to be fit enough for the job they’re doing. This horse doesn’t look muscled. Also, even if he had shoes, the concussion from running on pavement likely caused a lot of damage. I’m thinking bowed tendons, at the very least. There’s a whole lot going on in that poor horse’s body.
I have no problem judging this man. He overworked his horse to the point of abuse.