Comments on: Take One Loose Horse, Add Traffic

By: CINDY HALE

CINDY HALE — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:34:12 +0000

I APPRECIATE ALL THE THOUGHTFUL COMMENTS. SOUNDS LIKE WE’VE ALL LEARNED THAT HORSES AND TRAFFIC DON’T MIX, HOWEVER, IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO CONTAIN A HORSE THAT REALLY WANTS TO GET LOOSE AND “GO FOR A DRIVE” ON ITS OWN. THAT’S WHY WE HAVE TO DO OUR BEST TO CONSTRUCT SECURE FENCING AND SHUT EVERY GATE, EVERY TIME.
I THINK THE MOST TROUBLING ASPECT OF THIS PARTICULAR EPISODE WAS THAT NOT A SINGLE DRIVER ON THIS FOUR-LANE STREET, WHICH IS A MAJOR THOROUGHFARE IN TOWN, BOTHERED TO STOP OR AT LEAST SLOW WAY DOWN.

By: jenni

jenni — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:20:04 +0000

when my mom was girl,she had tons of horses.Every day when she would come one would be gone.they lived near a highway and the horses would get out and get hit.

By: Stefani

Stefani — Sat, 29 May 2010 17:09:11 +0000

My friend used to have a pony that used to hunt before she bought him. They lived on a farm and he stayed in a field near some woods. One day a local hunt club passed through the field next to him at full speed with the hounds going crazy. They weren’t aloud on the property but for some reason passed through anyway. Oscar got really excited and jumped out of the field, went galloping down the road and almost got hit by a sports car but at the last second he jumped the hood and left two big hoofprints behind! All the kids were in school but would be released 5 minutes later. There was a construction site about a mile away from his field and luckily one of the guys had horses. He walked out in front of him and caught him then got some rope and made a halter. Luckily noone or the horse were hurt but it was rather scary to hear about the next day!

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 29 May 2010 15:51:35 +0000

Wow, I’m glad it all turned out okay!

By: Carly

Carly — Fri, 28 May 2010 21:40:40 +0000

scary! A year or so ago my mare freaked, dumping me, and jumped out of the arena then ran out of the ranch on to the high way (people going 45/55 mph) at a full gallop straight towards town, it was probably one of the scariest moments of my life as images of her colliding into a car entered my mind, I couldnt drive at the time so I just sat there waiting, and about a half hour later I saw the people who went after her had caught up were leading her back. Amazingly, all she suffered was a lost shoe, some little injuries from the asphalt and falling when she jumped the arena, and my tack wasnt in all that great a shape (the saddle had come loose and went under her belly) but I was still happy with the outcome, especially when I think about how bad that could have been.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:17:18 +0000

Glad to see such a great ending.

By: CINDY HALE

CINDY HALE — Fri, 28 May 2010 14:04:39 +0000

YES, I’M GLAD THIS EPISODE ENDED WELL, TOO, BECAUSE ONE OF MY TRAIL RIDING FRIENDS ACTUALLY SAW A LOOSE HORSE GET HIT AND KILLED ON THE VERY SAME STREET A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
YOU’RE QUITE RIGHT, SAMANTHA, THAT MOST LOOSE HORSES IN OUR TOWN OCCUR BECAUSE SOMEONE WAS EITHER PONYING WITH A PLAIN, SIMPLE ROPE HALTER (NOT A GOOD SAFETY IDEA AROUND BUSY STREETS, REGARDLESS OF HOW DEAD BROKE YOUR HORSE IS) OR THEY TIED THEIR HORSE INADEQUATELY TO THE HITCHING POST OUTSIDE THE LOCAL EATERY OR “SALOON.”
ONE BRIEF, MOMENTARY LAPSE OF JUDGEMENT CAN END SO TRAGICALLY WHEN HORSES ARE INVOLVED.

By: Kaitlynn

Kaitlynn — Fri, 28 May 2010 13:56:52 +0000

Nothing scares me more than seeing a loose horse running near a road. People today are on cell phones or texting and wouldn’t notice the horse anyways until they hit it. Glad you saw a happy ending.

By: Samantha

Samantha — Fri, 28 May 2010 00:11:45 +0000

What a story! I’m so glad it ended well.
I’ve posted responses to your articles before, and I too am in So Cal. One of the towns in which I work is a small horse community – and we’ve had more than our fair share of loose horses running down busy roads. I’ve managed to catch a couple, but some run past so quick that even if I’m mounted, I can’t safely catch up. Though sad to say most of the loose horses I’ve seen weren’t loose because of a fall, but from people who tie horses to unsafe objects or are trying to pony horses unsafely.