Video footage of a driver leading a pony from his or her car window while driving on a major road has gone viral online.
World Horse Welfare is among those to have criticised the “extremely dangerous” practice, which was caught on camera this week.
Unbelievable!Uploader: This has got to be the most idiotic thing I’ve seen this year. A43 in Northamptonshire, the driver holding up traffic to walk his horse for well over a mile and a half on the main A43! Back seat passenger camera footage!Posted by Idiot UK Drivers Exposed on Wednesday, February 21, 2018
The film shows the coloured pony on a long rope, which goes in through the driver’s window, being led at a fast trot on the A43 in Northamptonshire.
In what appears to be early evening, as the light has faded enough that the cars have their lights on, the car – and pony – are shown approaching a roundabout.
“Whatever the context of this video, the practice it is showing is extremely dangerous and should never be attempted under any circumstances,” World Horse Welfare deputy chief executive Tony Tyler told H&H.
The car has its hazard lights on but traffic behind was unable to overtake as there was a solid line of traffic approaching.
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Farrier Mark Johnson, who filmed the incident, said: “When I saw the elevation; the height his little legs were reaching, then slamming down on the tarmac – I’ve got no words to describe what I saw.
“I have worked on a few animals who have been though this and their bodies are wrecked – and I mean wrecked.”
The pony may have been involved in a harness race when it collapsed and died on a public road
Mr Johnson said horses he has seen who have been raced on the roads are generally very stiff and reluctant to pick their feet up or hold them in a position in which he can work on them.
“You’d have to speak to a bodwork practitioner, but their backs are also very strange and their hocks and stifles very stiff,” he added.
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
