Community
Wiki Posts
Search

Service mini- horse on American Airlines

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Sep 2, 2019, 10:48 am
  #1  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: BA/AA/AS/B6/WN/ UA/HH/MR and more like 'em but most felicitously & importantly MUCCI
Posts: 19,719
Service mini- horse on American Airlines

The horse's name was Flirty.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/9844...ervice-animal/

According the the article, AA policy allows small horses in the cabin. They can weigh up to 250 pounds.

Now I've seen everything.
moondog, GTITAN and jhalapin like this.
BearX220 is offline  
Old Sep 2, 2019, 11:04 am
  #2  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Marriott 5+ BadgeAccor Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: NYC
Programs: AS MVPG, DL KM, Bee Six, Bonvoy Plat, Avis PC, Natl Exec, Greyhound Road Rewards Z"L
Posts: 16,700
It looks like this was a service animal and not an emotional support animal. The two roles are very different.

In terms of service animals (and not ESAs), miniature horses are some of the best. They are smarter than dogs and live much longer, meaning fewer animals to train and bond with over a person's lifetime. For someone who is mobility impaired, they can also lean on the horse which is a great benefit.

-J.
JDiver likes this.
GW McLintock is offline  
Old Sep 2, 2019, 11:09 am
  #3  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,632
Reading the subject line (before it was edited), I thought someone was using horse flies for emotional support. They take up very little space on a plane; on the other hand, they bite.
.

Last edited by SeeBuyFly; Sep 2, 2019 at 12:09 pm
SeeBuyFly is offline  
Old Sep 2, 2019, 11:17 am
  #4  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,033
I saw this on Yahoo yesterday, and wanted to post it on FT, but couldn't think of a good thread/home for it. I must say that I was quite impressed by the story.
moondog is offline  
Old Sep 2, 2019, 11:18 am
  #5  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: AA PLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,405
Seems like there is no end in sight to this madness. If someone can't even set foot on a plane due to whatever condition they have, maybe they ought to get that treated first.
no1cub17 is offline  
Old Sep 2, 2019, 11:21 am
  #6  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,033
Originally Posted by no1cub17
Seems like there is no end in sight to this madness. If someone can't even set foot on a plane due to whatever condition they have, maybe they ought to get that treated first.
Posts like this make emotional support horses sad.
moondog is offline  
Old Sep 2, 2019, 12:02 pm
  #7  
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: SAN
Programs: AA CK, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 839
I am assuming that the passenger and horse had the entire bulkhead row to themselves. If not, I wouldn’t want to be the guy in the middle seat in that scenario.
AA100k is offline  
Old Sep 2, 2019, 12:15 pm
  #8  
Moderator: American AAdvantage
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
This was a Service Animal horse, a miniature horse. Service (mi I) Horses are legitimate, service trained and necessary for their owners to successfully perform activities are daily living. American Airlines (and the Air Carrier Access Act, which applies to airlines in the USA) follow current Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines regarding service miniature horses. The most common use for a service horse is as a guide animal for people who are blind or have visual impairments. A Service Dog May live ~12 years, a Service Horse may live ~35 years.

A service animal is defined as an animal that ‘is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability’. In 2011, the only animal recognized as a service animal was a dog. However recently the laws have changed to allow miniature horses to be trained to work and perform tasks for someone with a disability. These are new and separate provisions from the ADA which allows both service dogs and service miniature horses to be recognized as service animals and support a disabled person.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the new regulations state that places and policies that are already in place must now permit miniature horses, where reasonable, to be treated the same as dogs.

The miniature horses should be 24 inches to 34 inches in height and weight around 70 to 100 pounds. There are four regulations provided by the ADA which work as assessment factors to determine where a miniature horse can enter a facility:
  • Whether the miniature horse is housebroken
  • If the miniature horse is under control
  • If the facility can accommodate the miniature horse’s size, weight, and type
  • Whether the miniature horse will not compromise safety requirements for safe operation for the whole of the facility and other members of the public
As miniature horses are much bigger than dogs, they have to follow more regulations to ensure they are providing a safe service to their owner as well as the people around them. Link.


We will retitle this thread and close it. /Moderator
aztimm and GW McLintock like this.

Last edited by JDiver; Feb 18, 2020 at 12:38 pm Reason: Open to copy
JDiver is offline  
Old Feb 17, 2020, 6:12 pm
  #9  
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: AA EXP; 1W Emerald; HHonors Diamond; Marriott Gold; UA dirt
Posts: 7,816
Service horse on American Airlines

In first class no less.

I wonder if the horse was given a PDB?

https://pix11.com/news/national/mich...s-first-flight
IADCAflyer is offline  
Old Feb 17, 2020, 6:34 pm
  #10  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: ORD, sadly...
Programs: AA Exec Plat
Posts: 599
Yawn...is this really newsworthy?

"Froese put months of work preparing for Fred's trip..." She could have ridden a real horse to CA in that amount of time.
GrumpyYoungMan is offline  
Old Feb 17, 2020, 6:59 pm
  #11  
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Rolling Lakes Yacht Club
Posts: 4,985
Originally Posted by GrumpyYoungMan
Yawn...is this really newsworthy

It ain’t. At first glance, I thought the thread was about Service w#ore$, but alas it’s nothing so interesting
DataPlumber is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2020, 2:44 am
  #12  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 255
Originally Posted by DataPlumber
It ain’t. At first glance, I thought the thread was about Service w#ore$, but alas it’s nothing so interesting
I’ve flown with those too.
Dallas49er likes this.
rumboj is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2020, 4:14 am
  #13  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Roswell, GA
Programs: AA EXP 2.8m,Lifetime PLT, Hilton Diamond, IHG PlLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 3,191
dont they have something called a horse trailer you can use?
GrumpyYoungMan likes this.
fotographer is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2020, 7:12 am
  #14  
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: OKC
Programs: IHG Spire, National Exec, AA Plat
Posts: 2,274
I'll be the evil person to say it: This crap really needs to stop. Why are the masses not outraged by this enough to make a big deal out of it until this is addressed?
boss315, T8191, Antarius and 7 others like this.
bchandler02 is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2020, 7:23 am
  #15  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Programs: AAdvantage PP
Posts: 13,913
I believe this is an older but yet true story. If they put a horse in the F cabin, no matter how small I would refuse to fly on that flight and require AA to rebook me. So horses can't be "house trained" like dogs and if the horse decides to let go at 35,000 feet it's going to be awhile before the plane can land.
MiamiAirport Formerly NY George is offline  


Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.