Horsing Around

by Christina Oulton

A horse tethered on a piece of University-owned land escaped last week for the second time in a matter of months. The ‘campus horse,’ usually chained in the Siward’s Howe field opposite New Vanbrugh, was found miles from its home in the early hours of the morning.

Last week the horse reportedly broke free from its chain and was spotted trotting down Fifth Avenue, which is about a mile from Siward’s Howe. To have reached this point, it has to have travelled down University Road and crossed Hull Road, one of the busiest roads in York.

An onlooker reported that it seemed as if the horse was trying to get into the nearby playing fields.

Second-year student Russell Joyce expressed relief: “[the] horse is lucky it didn’t wander onto campus… if it had drunk any of the lake water, it could have
died.”

The police were called to deal with the situation at around 1.10am, and released a statement confirming that the horse was “under control and secure” by 2am.

Although horses are frequently tethered at Siward’s Howe and do occasionally escape, the last time a formal complaint was made and a horse was removed by the RSPCA was around three years ago. Just last term, however, an escaped horse from Siward’s Howe was spotted charging through campus towards Wentworth College, with University porters and security in hot pursuit.

A University spokesman initially intimated that tethered horses are removed only if a complaint is received, though later released a written statement to say that, “[The University] do[es] not allow horses to be tethered on our property and we take appropriate action whenever this is spotted or brought to our attention.

“Security has received no reports of a horse loose on campus.”

YUSU Welfare Officer Laura Borisovaite noted that, “Personal safety is paramount, and owners of any animals should ensure they do not hurt people.”