HN Safety Tip of the Week: Don’t ride wild animals
As we pointed out yesterday after the “manatee-riding woman incident” in Florida, people are idiots. Which brings us to this week’s safety tip:
Don’t ride wild animals.
You might think it’s common sense–because it is common sense–but there are more people out there trying to ride wild animals than you might think.
Like this dimwit, who snuck into a rhino enclosure and jumped on a rhino while his buddy filmed it:
Or this moron, who is running around a field trying to hitch a ride on a baby giraffe:
Perhaps you’ve seen this viral YouTube video of the blockhead who jumped on top of a shark and rode it some 15 feet:
Hmmm.
As an equestrian, you may have some semantic concerns. Like, say, what if your own horse is behaving in a wild manner–are we telling you not to ride it?
Absolutely not. In fact, we think you should ride the crap out of it. What we’re talking about are animals that have not been domesticated, that are still intrinsically “wild.”
There is a difference between your overenthusiastic OTTB, for instance, and the Assateague ponies that were the topic of this NPR story last year.
The report expressed concern about clueless tourists who thought it was OK to feed the wild ponies hot dogs and place small children on their backs.
Direct quote from the story:
‘A lot of them like to put their child on the ponies, if they could, to have a photo-op,’ [a park patroller] says. ‘They don’t recognize that these ponies really are wild.’
And then these same people express surprise when they get bitten, kicked or bucked off.
What we’re trying to say is, Horse Nation:
Don’t ride wild animals.
Seriously.
We’ll think less of you if you do.
Be safe, and Go Riding!
Check out Horse Nation’s previous safety tips, including:
Don’t Let Your Horse Fall in a Swimming Pool
When Transporting a Horse, Always Use a Horse Trailer
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