Horse 1 - SC 0

[DesignFox]

I've been to Assateague, too. and I loved seeing the ponies!

The signs are pretty prominent. They also remind you not to try to feed or pet the ponies because they are just that...wild ponies! Anyone who knows anything about horses knows what kind of hurtin' a horse can dish if it wants to. Especially stallions... I shudder to think what would have happened to the guy had he been dumb enough to try to stop the pony himself. Those ponies are generally calm, too, (as far as I've seen)... must have been quite a sight to see one trashing a car...why didn't the Jag dude just think to turn off the alarm in the first place? (not that he should have been dumb enough to even have it on) Like you really need a park ranger to say, "Hey, the alarm is freaking the horses out, just turn it off, and they'll go away" ?

[Sofar]

But what if our precious Jag gets stolen? 'Cause you know, when the police hear a car alarm they just come running.

[captainvegetable02]

This reminds me of a story my boyfriend told me about his best friend's dad. It basically went like this:
BF: "...so anyway, Adam's dad hit a Mustang...while he was DRIVING a Mustang!" *laughs*
Me: "Oh my gosh, was the other driver okay?"
BF: "There was no other driver...he hit a MUSTANG." *sits there grinning and waits while it dawns on me*
Me: *takes a few seconds to get it* "Oh! He hit a Mustang HORSE while he was driving a Mustang CAR! That IS ironic! Haha...oh my god wait, was the horse okay? I can't believe I laughed!"
BF: "Yeah, horse was fine. Car wasn't."

[Witch of Endor]

PWNY!

I don't think Marguerite Henry ever wrote about that.

[IT Grunt]

Another guy learns, startled wild animals are not to be taken lightly. I hope that hurt in the wallet department. A lot.

I went to Assateague back in high school for a school trip. We took several of the available educational tours while we were there. Memorable moments from the trip:

We took one of the tours of the inland shallow areas. While we were walking around, we came across a pair of horseshoe crabs, and they were... ahem... making little horseshoe crabs. We all got a laugh out of that one, including the ranger.

We also took a tour of the beach with the rangers, during which they pointed out the various seashells, what animal they would have come from, etc. During the walk, I came across something that shouldn't have been on the beach. A set of dentures. So I asked the ranger in a joking manner, "So, ah, which kind of seashell is this?" We all shared a good laugh.

Crab fishing! I had a blast with that. We caught a good bucket full of them from the bay side of the island and had a crab dinner that night. It was my first taste of crab, and I found that I really liked it.

Mosquitoes! Man, that place was loaded with them. If you didn't have on repellent, it was like ringing the dinner bell for them if you walked past a bush. The morning we were about to leave, I forgot to put it on while I was taking my tent down, and I kid you not, 50 of them swarmed my leg when I walked past a bush. On the way out, I bought a water bottle that said, "I gave blood at Assateague Island." with a picture of a big mosquito on it.

The chemistry teacher got sun poisoning on his feet. I felt for the guy, but it was pretty funny watching him walk to the bathroom on his heels going, "Ow.. ouch.. ow... ow!" I didn't have much to crow about, though, I had some nasty sunburns myself.

Ah, memories...

[protege]

Another guy learns, startled wild animals are not to be taken lightly.

One of my grandmother's friends said once... that he had "no idea a Belgian workhorse was so big...until a hoof came through his windshield"

Years ago, we had plenty of problems with cattle. The damn things would get out and get onto the highway simply because the guy renting the land did a half-assed job at keeping the fences fixed. Let me tell you, it was pretty dangerous driving along that road at night--dark cattle are *impossible* to see, even with high-beams, and usually don't signal their intentions. Oh, and if you hit one, you can easily total your car!

[LewisLegion]

If I ever own a horse, I want one of the Assateague ponies they sell at auction. They're gorgeous, and good on that idiot for getting his car creamed!

[Jester]

My friend has hit not one, but two deer. Totalling her car both times.

It seems the deer in Minnesota have it out for her.


Tasteless segue: I tried venison for the first time a couple weeks ago. Yummy!

[AFpheonix]

But I digress. I wonder what Jaguar guy would have done if the ranger shot the horse? "Hmm, thank God that the horse attacking my Jag is dead! Now I just have to figure out how to get 1200 pounds of dead horse off of my car..."

Lord knows, even a 2 month old baby horse carcass is freaking heavy and difficult to move. Hope I never have to do that again....

I had a gelding in high school and part of college who was rather destructive. My trainer let him loose in the arena while her pickup was parked near a gate. He managed to put nibble marks alllll along the hood clear down to the metal. This was after he pulled the phone off the hook from around the corner (he was bendy) and chewed the cord, and strained himself to get ahold of a jacket on a hook outside the arena and stomped it into the ground.
I don't know if my trainer's forgiven me yet for the truck incident....

[tollbaby]

friend of mine hit a bear a few years ago. How the hell do you hit a bear? You travel along a quiet Ontario highway at night when a lazy-ass black bear has decided to take a nap ON the road. (NOT kidding). Jesse's car was totalled, and he was hurt as well (not badly, but his neck and back gave him problems for about six months afterwards). The bear? walked away. I kid you not.

[Melxb]

I just like the idea of federally protected ponies. Who knew there was such a thing?

[Sonoma]

I had a gelding in high school and part of college who was rather destructive.

My friend's gelding had his own destructive tendencies. One day as we were at my house getting ready to go for a ride (back in the day were you could actually ride a horse down the street where I lived), Bear took a big bite out of the railing of the front porch. That missing chunk was still there when we sold the house - sure was fun trying to explain that.

Nowadays, you'd be insane to even think about taking a horse on those roads. Back then, we'd always ride down to the residential area down the road where we could graze the horses & snack on blackberries.

Now I'm ready for spring so I can ride my horse again.

[AFpheonix]

When I lived in suburbia, I used to ride around the neighborhood. It was dangerous sometimes because dogs would come out to chase, and sometimes nasty little boys would throw rocks at me.
There was one time I had my old appy gelding out, and some moron in a minivan drove up right next to me to show his kids the spotty horse or something. I was almost in the ditch, and Lad was not amused. He swung his hip over and bumped the side panel. So moron followed me home to bitch about the little dent.
Hello? Don't get so close to a large powerful animal, then!

[DesignFox]

AFphoenix-
I hate when people do that crap! My barn is along a somewhat busy road. I like to ride out in this big grassy field, and the fence line runs along the road. There was a time, just two years ago, that we could even have our lessons out in the field, but now the traffic is just bad enough that you can't hear the instructor over the cars. It's still ok for just hacking out...except when these morons come tearing up the road, and honk their horn at you!!! WTF???? I'm riding a HORSE! a live animal, dammit! you mind not startling it??? Thankfully, our horses are USED to these dumbasses and don't react...but jeez. I know when someone comes up behind me and honks the horn- it startles ME. I don't care to think how loud that must be in my poor horse's ears...

(it would be totally different if I were sitting along the fence line and waving at people...but these morons do this while I'm riding around minding my own business...and that's what annoys me, just to clarify)

[Sphinx]

Oooohhh I've always wanted to go there!!!!! ANd one day when i am not working 7 days a week I will!!!