September 2023 Issue

Page 32 September 2023 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Go ahead... Ask da Mare Dear Mal… Last week I was driving along a two-lane road near my house, and as I came around a bend, I had to slam on the brakes. There was a horse, just walking along the road. I was stunned, and confused. Then I was frightened. What is the right thing to do in this situation? I have only been on a horse couple of times, at a local farm. But I knew I didn’t have the skill to do anything other than to stop traffic. I wanted to make sure other drivers saw the horse, while I called the police. I turned on my blinkers and pulled my car into the center of the road. Soon I saw cars coming toward the horse from the other direction. I started waving my arms, frantically and the horse seemed agitated. The other car stopped and the driver got out. Traffic started piling up in both directions. It was really unnerving, waiting for the police and hoping the horse didn’t suddenly bolt. When the police arrived, they took control of the situation quickly—they even had halters and a lead in their car. They just walked up to the horse, put the halter on him and then— this really amazed me!—they called someone, described the horse and in a couple of minutes they were on the phone with the owner! I live in suburban Phil- adelphia, and there are a lot of farms around. I asked one of the officers how he knew whom to call. He said that their dispatcher has a sort of informal database of horses that live nearby, and the horse people regularly meet with the local police. The police have even taken some classes from the horse people. The horse was safe, the police were wonderful, and the event ended happily. I’m thinking this doesn’t always hap- pen this way, does it? -Amazed in the Suburbs Dear Amazed… How wonderful was that? You participated in a humane and competent rescue. And you are absolutely correct that it doesn’t always happen that way. Some- times people just drive around a horse that is wandering on the road, and hope someone else will do something. Sometimes an in- nocent horse becomes the victim of an incompetent and—tragi- cally, cruel—attempt at traffic control. You did the right thing: stopped traffic, called the police, alerted other motorists. And your local police department deserves a special round of applause. They recognized that the area they pa- trol has a lot of horses, they made sure to reach out to the people who own horses and they learned how to take care of horses that get away from their farms. A great story with a happy ending, and you were part of it! Caring Police Help Escaped Horses (Continued on page 46)