Horses and Ponies: Not Hothouse Flowers

Ridiculous Animal Extremist Uproar About Griffith Park Ponies Choosing to Stand in the Rain

Horses are naturally herd animals and have existed in the outdoors with no shelter for thousands of years. They are uniquely equipped to tolerate harsh, cold temperatures as well as wet, even boggy, conditions. For horse owners, one of the standard head-scratchers is the warm, inviting barn stall filled with fresh, dry bedding and your horses are outside in the rain, sleet and snow.

It should come as no surprise that the animal extremist group targeting the Griffith Park Pony Rides are now circulating a video they took of ponies standing out in the rain on Monday, December 27, 2021 in 50° weather, and claiming abuse.

Facts Don’t Matter to Them

Facts are not important to Los Angeles Alliance for Animals because facts don’t support their narrative. The fact that there is a covered shelter in each of eight pony corrals doesn’t mean anything to them. Nor does the fact that 1/3 of the pony herd, those who are older and thus might be affected by cold, wet weather, were inside the barn, protected from the elements. They also don’t seem to understand that these ponies, Shetland and Welsh ponies, are descended from ponies in Scotland and Wales.

Shetland and Welsh Ponies

The Shetland Pony is hardy and strong, in part because it developed in the harsh conditions of the Shetland Isles. It has a heavy double coat (thick undercoat, covered by long guard hairs) and short,