Better start wearing your hip waders!
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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.

No service animals in the same compartment as human beings! C'mon, people - this is absolutely ridiculous!

https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

Straight from the horses mouth!

Last paragraph:

In addition to the provisions about service dogs, the Department’s revised ADA regulations have a new, separate provision about miniature horses that have been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. (Miniature horses generally range in height from 24 inches to 34 inches measured to the shoulders and generally weigh between 70 and 100 pounds.) Entities covered by the ADA must modify their policies to permit miniature horses where reasonable. The regulations set out four assessment factors to assist entities in determining whether miniature horses can be accommodated in their facility. The assessment factors are (1) whether the miniature horse is housebroken; (2) whether the miniature horse is under the owner’s control; (3) whether the facility can accommodate the miniature horse’s type, size, and weight; and (4) whether the miniature horse’s presence will not compromise legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operation of the facility.

quote:

Originally posted by synthplayer:
No service animals in the same compartment as human beings! C'mon, people - this is absolutely ridiculous!

Yeah! Screw blind people that want help getting around! And epileptics that want warnings when they are about to seize! And diabetics that want warnings when their blood sugar is getting too low or too high! Screw 'em all!

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:

quote:

Originally posted by synthplayer:
No service animals in the same compartment as human beings! C'mon, people - this is absolutely ridiculous!

Yeah! Screw blind people that want help getting around! And epileptics that want warnings when they are about to seize! And diabetics that want warnings when their blood sugar is getting too low or too high! Screw 'em all!

I sure get a kick out of folks like you - folks who single in on ONE exception to a rule, then state that the exception negates the rule.

But, yes - why can't a blind person have his ACTUAL service animal ride in the luggage compartment? And, if you won't go for that, how about the fact that dogs can be trained not to poop just anywhere, while miniature horses can not? How does a service animal help a diabetic?!

Ah - maybe you're right, maladat. Maybe we should have our airplanes be like the buses in third world countries with chickens, goats, and every other kind of livestock with the poop and the urine accessible to all!

It’s all cool until the horse shits all over the plane.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by wcb6092:
https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

"Straight from the horses mouth!"

Quite interesting reading.

Inquiries, Exclusions, Charges, and Other Specific Rules Related to Service Animals

When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed.
Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform.
Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.
Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people using service animals. When a person who is allergic to dog dander and a person who uses a service animal must spend time in the same room or facility, for example, in a school classroom or at a homeless shelter, they both should be accommodated by assigning them, if possible, to different locations within the room or different rooms in the facility.
A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from the premises unless:
(1) the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it or (2) the dog is not housebroken.
When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, staff must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence.
Establishments that sell or prepare food must allow service animals in public areas even if state or local health codes prohibit animals on the premises.
People with disabilities who use service animals cannot be isolated from other patrons, treated less favorably than other patrons, or charged fees that are not charged to other patrons without animals. In addition, if a business requires a deposit or fee to be paid by patrons with pets, it must waive the charge for service animals.
If a business such as a hotel normally charges guests for damage that they cause, a customer with a disability may also be charged for damage caused by himself or his service animal.
Staff are not required to provide care or food for a service animal.

quote:

Originally posted by synthplayer:...
Originally posted by maladat:...
Originally posted by synthplayer:...

Look. We will allow this one thing, and nothing else. The sandstorm is most ferocious, and in consideration, we will allow the camel to slip his nose into the tent, so he may breathe easier, but that is where we draw the line...

So - how miniature is miniature? Do they define a size and weight limit?

My neices Appaloosa would be considered miniature compared to a Draft Horse.

quote:

Originally posted by synthplayer:
I sure get a kick out of folks like you - folks who single in on ONE exception to a rule, then state that the exception negates the rule.

You made the statement "No service animals in the same compartment as human beings!"

"ONE exception to a rule" like ... people who have major quality of life or personal safety improvements from the presence of a service animal? Which is the whole point of service animals?

"Emotional support animals," which have gotten a lot of media attention over the last few years, are not service animals.

quote:

Originally posted by synthplayer:
But, yes - why can't a blind person have his ACTUAL service animal ride in the luggage compartment?

Why can't you check all your luggage? Why should anyone be allowed to have carryon luggage on airplanes? The amount of time it takes for everyone else on the plane to deal with their carryon luggage while getting on and off the plane certainly inconveniences everyone.

quote:

Originally posted by synthplayer:
And, if you won't go for that, how about the fact that dogs can be trained not to poop just anywhere, while miniature horses can not?

Again... "No service animals in the same compartment as human beings!"

You're taking a stance that service animals shouldn't be allowed on airplanes because a tiny, tiny fraction of service animals are miniature horses that can't be housebroken.

Remember "folks who single in on ONE exception to a rule, then state that the exception negates the rule"? You're literally doing the exact same thing.

Oh, and to make it even better - miniature horses CAN be housebroken, so the basis of this statement isn't true to begin with. http://www.guidehorse.com/housebreaking.htm

quote:

Originally posted by synthplayer:
How does a service animal help a diabetic?!

You either don't have much experience with type 1 diabetes or you don't know much about the capabilities of a well-trained dog.

I have a couple of diabetic friends. Each of them has come very close to death on multiple occasions from things like insulin pumps failing or eating something that had a lot more or less sugar than expected. "Close to death" meaning in a coma they wouldn't have woken up from if they hadn't been found by a friend or family member who got them immediate medical attention.

Hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia can both come on quickly, without really being noticed by the individual experiencing them. As it gets worse, so do the symptoms, but one of the symptoms is confusion and diminished mental capacity - which can make it difficult or impossible for the diabetic to recognize that there is something wrong or what to do about it.

A service dog can be trained to recognize the onset of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia and then perform a variety of tasks like alerting the diabetic, alerting bystanders, retrieving a blood sugar tester or insulin shots, or calling 911.

quote:

Originally posted by synthplayer:
Ah - maybe you're right, maladat. Maybe we should have our airplanes be like the buses in third world countries with chickens, goats, and every other kind of livestock with the poop and the urine accessible to all!

Again with "folks who single in on ONE exception to a rule, then state that the exception negates the rule" - but this time you're using service animals as the exception to the rule, instead of the rule.

I am SO glad that I no longer have any need to travel by airline. Animals. TSA. Insane passengers. Oh, wait, I'm repeating myself.

Well, you can take them on the school bus

Noah's ark

Beyond ridiculous

Check the signature line

I have to insure my laptop bag is securely stowed under the seat so as not to become a projectile in an emergency. How do you secure a fucking horse in an airplane's passenger cabin? Ridiculous

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
How do you secure a fucking horse in an airplane's passenger cabin?

My answer has been and shall remain:

tubes

Now, getting a human into their flight tube, that's easy; they just climb right in. A horse? Miniature or not, I want to see someone try to get a horse into a narrow tube.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
How do you secure a fucking horse in an airplane's passenger cabin?

My answer has been and shall remain:

tubes

Now, getting a human into their flight tube, that's easy; they just climb right in. A horse? Miniature or not, I want to see someone try to get a horse into a narrow tube.

Well, I tell ya what....we go down in the Andes and I don't get clipped in the head by a hoof as Trigger bounces down the aisle, it's grilled horse burgers and tiny vodka as soon as the coals get hot. Ok, maybe sliders.....

Never felt the need for a service horse, but there was one flight out of Atlanta that really made me miss my teddy bear.

Anyone ever see a farm animal like a horse or cattle fart...projectile poo for nearly 10 yards. I had to ride on aircraft with some dumb woman holding her safe space poultry. Luckily I got sat next to the crying baby instead. Flying has become a flee circus. I'll drive to anywhere before I fly if I have an option.

If I needed a service animal I’d be at the forefront of a movement to create extremely strict training and licensing for legitimate service animals and the people who need them.

These mother fuckers. Oh my. Now I want to certify my Maligator for SAR just so I can take her with me on the plane. But don’t worry I wouldn’t do that to y’all or strangers because it’s bullshit. If she flies she flies in cargo. These fucking people make me sick. If I made the rules, veterans suffering from PTSD get to take their support animals onboard, everyone else can fuck off.