Though common sense would say that taking a horse on a passenger train is not allowed, one dude from Austria wanted to see if this checked out in reality.
It did. Benni, as he’s identified in the local media, tried to board his horse Frieda on 2 trains in Steyr, Austria, destination Attnang-Puchheim. The conductor of the first train wouldn’t even let him and his horse on board, while the second refused to leave the station until the unlikely pair was off, the Daily Mail reports.
While fellow passengers weren’t upset by their strange companion, as you can see in the video at the bottom of the page, the rules say that, on trains, you can only take small pets like cats and dogs. They must be kept in enclosed carriers, and have leashes and muzzles, in the case of larger breeds of dogs.
Benni made sure he got a friend to tag along with a bucket and a shovel, in case Freida needed to go number 2, but it wasn’t enough. He must have expected this kind of reaction, because he stepped off the train without incident and without putting a fight.
While passengers joked about the incident on social media, sharing photos of the surprise “guest,” the Austrian Federal Railways stresses that bringing large animals on board can be dangerous.
“The transport of horses on our trains is not allowed. In this case the tame but uninvited guest was asked to leave the train - but it was an amusing afternoon,” a spokesperson for the company says.
“We hope this will stay a one-off,” the spokesperson continues, adding that the animal could have endangered passengers in case of an emergency – like, for instance, if the train braked suddenly.
So while this may be amusing to watch, remember: leave your horse at home if you have to travel by train.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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