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On Sunday, the Cal Poly Equine Center faced several incidents of students trespassing into the horse enclosure located on Grand Ave. and Slack St. These incidents included one student climbing onto the back of a yearling – a young horse – and getting bucked off. Several other students also climbed over the fence into the enclosure. Anti Climb Fence Panels
Child development sophomore Cecilia Dunbar witnessed the student climb onto the back of the yearling. When she initially saw the students trespassing into the enclosure, she noticed the yearlings were already running around in a “stressed-out way.”
“It seemed like they were stressed about people being in [the enclosure], like there were already horses that were like running around full speed,” Dunbar said.
Dunbar spoke up once she saw the student attempting to get onto the back of the yearling.
“Her friend, like, boosted her leg up so that she could get on to the horse,” Dunbar said. “As soon as she started doing that, I started yelling across… ‘Don’t do that, don’t do that,’…The horse took maybe like two steps and then started bucking. She flew off the back of it and then it ran away.”
According to a written statement from Cal Poly CAFES Director of Communications AnnMarie Cornejo to Mustang News, the physical health of the horses currently appears to be fine following an inspection by a veterinarian.
“Our veterinarian assessed the horses, and all seem to be without physical injuries,” she wrote. “However, any sort of mental hurdles resulting from the incident may still be seen in the future as these horses mature and students begin working with them.”
Following the student getting bucked off, the group trespassing was not in a rush to leave the enclosure, according to Dunbar.
In an Instagram post by Cal Poly CAFES, the department expressed how the public is not allowed in these enclosures without expressed permission and any trespassing is illegal. The post included a video of the student trying to ride the yearling, which was initially posted on @calpolybarstool, but was quickly taken down.
“They DEFINITELY don’t want you climbing on top of them. They are nowhere big enough to bear a human’s weight on their frames…We DO NOT want you climbing on top of them. It is extremely dangerous,” read the post.
In the comments of CAFES’ post, several commenters speculated members from the Sigma Kappa sorority and Zeta Beta Tau fraternity were involved in the trespassing and included names of alleged students who were trespassing in the enclosure. At this time, both Greek life organizations have yet to respond to Mustang News for comment on this situation.
University spokesperson Matt Lazier confirmed that this matter was forwarded to both Cal Poly Police Department (CPPD) and the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities (OSSR) for further disciplinary actions.
This was not the first instance of students trespassing into livestock areas. CAFES urged for more awareness around trespassing into the units after a few instances earlier this year. Last summer, a horse was injured by a fishing lure lodged in its neck after someone was fishing in the reservoirs near the unit.
“There have been a number of instances in the past that have been alarming from a safety perspective – for both our livestock and to the campus community…This past weekend’s events are just one example,” Cornejo wrote. “The actions of these students jeopardized not only the safety of the young horses in the pasture but of themselves.”
Cornejo asks the local and campus community to report any further unusual or concerning instances to campus police immediately at 805-756-2281.
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Kaitlyn Knopf is a news reporter and journalism major. She got involved in journalism her freshman year of high school. Since then, she has enjoyed learning more about important news in the community and... More by Kaitlyn Knopf
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