Southwest Airlines to allow miniature horses as service animals in new policy

[mystery-ak]

Posted: Aug 15 2018 07:04PM EDT

Updated: Aug 16 2018 11:10AM EDT

PHOENIX (KSAZ) -- Come September 17, people will be able to carry miniature horses onboard Southwest flights as trained service animals, according to airline officials.

Officials announced the policy change, via a statement on its website on Tuesday. In the statement, officials name miniature horses, along with dogs and cats, as some of the most common service animals that will be accepted onboard. Passengers, however, will need to be able to provide credible verbal assurance that the animal is a trained service animal.

In addition, the company announced other changes, such as formally accepting Psychiatric Support Animals (PSAs) as trained service animals, after accepting them informally as such in the past, and will also limit each passenger to one Emotional Support Animal.

Passengers with an ESA will, according to the statement, still need to present a complete, current letter from a medical doctor or licensed mental health professional on the day of departure.

http://www.fox5ny.com/news/southwest-airlines-to-allow-miniature-horses-as-service-animals-in-new-policy

[rustynail]

Neigh.

[mirraflake]

You can train a dog to hold in it's pee and poop. Not so much with horses. We have horses, they make serious gassy farts that are super loud and wait until it poops and pees. People will be vomiting over the smell.

[thackney]

This blatant sizism is unacceptable.  There is no reason my Belgian Draft Horse, my emotional support animal, should be denied access on the plane.

[Millee]

Ridiculous. 

[mountaineer]

This blatant sizism is unacceptable.  There is no reason my Belgian Draft Horse, my emotional support animal, should be denied access on the plane.

This really is getting to be quite ridiculous. How about you people just learn to cope?
I really don't want to experience a manure-filled plane ride. Flying is uncomfortable enough.

[goatprairie]

This really is getting to be quite ridiculous. How about you people just learn to cope?
I really don't want to experience a manure-filled plane ride. Flying is uncomfortable enough.

"How about you people just learn to cope?"

Now you're being unreasonable. Expecting adults to act like adults??!!! What is wrong with you?
Just because the business of air travel has survived for many decades without service animals is no reason to condemn people who want to bring a "comfort" horse on a passenger plane.
The person with the horse must be accommodated no matter the discomfort of all the other passengers. So what if the horse relieves itself on the plane.  All the other passengers rights are nil when it comes to satisfying a mentally disturbed...er....a passenger in need of comfort.
I'm bringing my pet elephant with me on my next flight. They must accommodate me. It's my right.  (snicker)

[Ghost Bear]

Mini horses have been used as service animals, especially guide animals for the blind, for nearly 20 years now. And yes, they are house-trained. They have a big advantage over dogs in that their average lifespan is 30 years, meaning that their useful service once trained can be measured in decades rather than single years. Wiki has more about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guide_horse.

[thackney]

Mini horses have been used as service animals, especially guide animals for the blind, for nearly 20 years now. And yes, they are house-trained. They have a big advantage over dogs in that their average lifespan is 30 years, meaning that their useful service once trained can be measured in decades rather than single years. Wiki has more about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guide_horse.

Finally, the horse is housebroken, generally an easy process because of horses' natural aversion to depositing fecal waste indoors.

- - - - - - - -

We have horses.  It greatly depends on the horse.  Greatly!

We have a gelding that won't pee in the trailer.  He has gone 6 hours in there.

We have a mare that has repeatedly pooped in her own water.  Even after moving the water to another place in the stall.

[Ghost Bear]

Finally, the horse is housebroken, generally an easy process because of horses' natural aversion to depositing fecal waste indoors.

- - - - - - - -

We have horses.  It greatly depends on the horse.  Greatly!

We have a gelding that won't pee in the trailer.  He has gone 6 hours in there.

We have a mare that has repeatedly pooped in her own water.  Even after moving the water to another place in the stall.

I understand that. But what I think people on the thread are failing to understand is that these are trained service animals. If the animal can't be housetrained, then it flunks out, and isn't used as a service animal. 

[mountaineer]

I understand that. But what I think people on the thread are failing to understand is that these are trained service animals. If the animal can't be housetrained, then it flunks out, and isn't used as a service animal. 

Not necessarily. The thing now is for people to take all kinds of animals on a flight - untrained or not - insisting they are service animals, and then making the rest of the passengers endure it. If the airlines object, they're branded as insensitive. Frankly, I don't care. If you have to take a horse on an airplane, you're nuts - and it's not my problem.

[Ghost Bear]

Not necessarily. The thing now is for people to take all kinds of animals on a flight - untrained or not - insisting they are service animals, and then making the rest of the passengers endure it. If the airlines object, they're branded as insensitive. Frankly, I don't care. If you have to take a horse on an airplane, you're nuts - and it's not my problem.

Right, because you must be nuts to want to fly on a plane if you're blind.

The first line of the article says they are accepting trained service animals. Yes, I understand people are claiming all kinds of things as "support animals", but that isn't what Southwest says they will accept on the plane.

But continue on complaining about that if you want.

[thackney]

Right, because you must be nuts to want to fly on a plane if you're blind.

The first line of the article says they are accepting trained service animals. Yes, I understand people are claiming all kinds of things as "support animals", but that isn't what Southwest says they will accept on the plane.

But continue on complaining about that if you want.

The fact that they use the requirement of trained and included "cats" makes me believe the whole thing is a hoax.

[Ghost Bear]

The fact that they use the requirement of trained and included "cats" makes me believe the whole thing is a hoax.

You're right about cats, they're not used as trained service animals. But they are often used as support animals, and I suspect the person writing the press release probably included them without thinking of that distinction.

My main peeve was with the people reacting ignorantly about the mini horses, when those are actually trained to perform as service animals.

[mountaineer]

But continue on complaining about that if you want.

Who was talking about guide dogs for the blind? Not me. But as long as you're giving me permission to complain ... thanks!

[Right_in_Virginia]

They should at least diaper the animal ... or everyone on the plane is going to need emotional support.

[Right_in_Virginia]

My main peeve was with the people reacting ignorantly about the mini horses, when those are actually trained to perform as service animals.

The horse isn't a seeing eye horse ... it's an emotional support horse.  This may work for one person, but why subject a plane of hostages to it?

[Ghost Bear]

The horse isn't a seeing eye horse ... it's an emotional support horse.  This may work for one person, but why subject a plane of hostages to it?

Which horse are you talking about?  I'm talking about mini horses actually trained to be seeing-eye animals for blind people, as the Southwest Airlines policy is also talking about: trained service animals.

[Ghost Bear]

Who was talking about guide dogs for the blind? Not me. But as long as you're giving me permission to complain ... thanks!

I'm talking about guide (mini) horses for the blind.  Have you heard of those? They exist.

You're welcome.

[goodwithagun]

Oh come on! I don’t like flying either. You know what my emotional support is? Vodka.

[bigheadfred]

This blatant sizism is unacceptable.  There is no reason my Belgian Draft Horse, my emotional support animal, should be denied access on the plane.

"on" being the keyword here.

[thackney]

The horse isn't a seeing eye horse ... it's an emotional support horse.  This may work for one person, but why subject a plane of hostages to it?

The Guide Horse Foundation
http://www.guidehorse.com/

Our mission is to provide a safe, cost-effective and reliable mobility alternative for visually impaired people.  The Guide Horse Foundation is committed to delivering Guide Horses at no cost to the blind, relying on un-paid volunteers and charitable donations to pay all travel and housing expenses for the blind handler's on-site training.

[mountaineer]

The posted article isn't about guide animals for the visually impaired, though. It's about "emotional support" animals, which I consider a huge imposition on the other passengers who already have had to endure a TSA rectal exam just to be crammed into a little airplane seat about the size of an infant's highchair. Surely there's some other way for the emotionally fragile to get through a flight than ruining several dozen other peoples' flying experience.

[thackney]

The posted article isn't about guide animals for the visually impaired, though. It's about "emotional support" animals, which I consider a huge imposition on the other passengers who already have had to endure a TSA rectal exam just to be crammed into a little airplane seat about the size of an infant's highchair. Surely there's some other way for the emotionally fragile to get through a flight than ruining several dozen other peoples' flying experience.

From the article:

Officials announced the policy change, via a statement on its website on Tuesday. In the statement, officials name miniature horses, along with dogs and cats, as some of the most common service animals that will be accepted onboard. Passengers, however, will need to be able to provide credible verbal assurance that the animal is a trained service animal.

I don't see how you read that and interpret it is only emotional support animals.  Trained service, not just something you need for hugging.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

This blatant sizism is unacceptable.  There is no reason my Belgian Draft Horse, my emotional support animal, should be denied access on the plane.

Ever been on a plane that experienced serious turbulence?

That's one serious projectile.