Multiple incidents of the Cal Poly and greater SLO communities trespassing onto the Equine Center’s private land have caused livestock experts to push for animal safety awareness on campus.
Over the summer, a horse from the Equine Unit was badly injured by a fishing lure that was left behind by someone fishing in the reservoirs by the unit. The lure got caught in his neck and the horse had to be medicated before it was surgically removed by a veterinarian to ease the pain the animal endured, Equine Unit Manager Irini Pateras said.
“That was a huge part of affecting the horse’s safety and wellbeing,” Pateras said. “One thing we strive to do is protect the animals as well as protect our students, Cal Poly students, the community.”
The department has a list of regular trespassing instances, including petting and attempting to feed the horses, sheep and goats scattered across campus and most notably the pasture on Slack Street and Grand Avenue. Without the proper training and knowledge it takes to care for these animals, according to Pateras, unsupervised encounters pose harm to both parties involved.
Since the horses kept within the unit are younger, large carrots and other popular treats that trespassers feed to them can get lodged in their throats. Pateras mentioned that a horse might also get confused between a carrot and a finger.
“[The tresspassing is] not malicious,” CAFES Communication Director AnnMarie Cornejo said. “I don’t believe it’s intentional at all, I just believe it’s a lack of awareness.”
There are also local bikers who unknowingly ride from state land onto Equine Center land, which is private Cal Poly property. This may startle the horses and possibly cause injury to students interacting with them during riding classes and labs, Pateras said.
Faculty and staff of the equine and sheep operations are happy to see the community excited about their animals but are disappointed in the disregard for their wellbeing.
“We understand the passion because that’s why we’re here, but some of those animals can really hurt you,” Equine Veterinarian Kim Sprayberry said.
Some Cal Poly animals, particularly the sheep and goats, contribute to maintaining the campus.
“Right now we’re creating defensible space around the dorms so that if a fire came through campus, the vegetation would be reduced,” Sheep and Goat Supervisor Beth Reynolds said. “And when we’re not doing the firebreak, we’re just on campus grazing areas with invasive weeds around some of the reservoirs to maintain the units.”
All on campus animal units are led by students, meaning their safety is also in jeopardy when people trespass, Cornejo said.
This student-forward approach to animal sciences leads to plenty of opportunities for students outside of the major, or even individuals who don’t attend Cal Poly, to meet and interact with the animals under safe supervision. Some examples Cornejo provided were two open houses for the animal units and the annual Performance Horse Sale, which will be held at the end of spring quarter.
Participation in animal enterprises and classes without prerequisites is encouraged by staff, along with tours scheduled through the animal science department.
“Even non-animal science majors can get involved and do one better than just coming to look at the horses by joining a class, like Mare Care, where you need zero experience,” Pateras said. “You can come out here and learn how to be safe around horses and get to know them, help them grow.”
If a student is walking on campus and sees someone trespassing or interacting with an animal without supervision, they can call the non-emergency line for campus police. They will not respond with handcuffing or citing, but will rather contact the student manager for the unit where the incident is happening.
“We’re trying to strike the right note with understanding how attractive it is to go interact with and get close to the animals and wanting to inject some common sense that we can’t have people walking in through the animal enclosures,” Sprayberry said.