Wanted!
The Portland Horses are disappearing!
Someone is taking the ponies. If you know why this is happening, please let us know. We'd rather not lose any more if we can do something to avoid it.
Kate Gawf learned about one horse thief (8/19/06) Check out her story here: RideMyHandlebars Blog (August 06 archive)
Read about the Pearl Bakery Horse!
If you happen to see someone removing the ponies, ask them why and tell us or send us a picture of this incomprehensible act. We will protect your identity! Or you can post anonymously to our guest book. We would really like to understand the why, but we will keep putting our horses out until and unless we can work out some compromise. We have had a report of one horse thief (from a guest book entry - since lost) in the Lloyd Center area. I can just picture a homeless camp with a stash of toy horses. Everyone needs pets, but... Hopefully if the police ever find a bunch of horses that seemed to be displaced, they'll give them to us, rather than throwing them out. We'd love to put them out again! I'll update this space if I get more information about this or other horse thieves. Stay tuned.
Notice in this picture the wire ropes left from a couple of previous horses (arrows pointing down)? Also, the cable has been upgraded - let's see if this helps. This is a popular spot for the ponies and for the thieves!
Unfortunately, a couple of days later this one was gone also. At least they must have had to work harder to get thru the wire. This isn't the only place where the horses are disappearing, it just happens to be one that I can keep a close eye on. I'll have to watch even more carefully.
This one didn't last long either. Look at all those cut cables! There are horse thieves loose in Portland!
Although the horses in downtown seem to be cut from their tethers, there are many that disappear in other areas leaving the loops intact. In those cases, it is quite possible that the horses are being damaged by cars and humanely removed.
I have found a picture that shows how this could be happening. Be careful before checking this next link - it is a bit graphic (in a plastic-horse sort of way) and may be disturbing to some sensitive, horse-loving souls. Disturbing example.
We have a hard time understanding why anyone would deprive the majority of Portlanders of the fun of these horses by taking them for themselves. There has been so much positive feedback from people of all ages, that we believe the sidewalk ponies are a hit. People might think they are a bit silly, but they seem to like them anyway. These horses are another quirky reason to love Portland. We think we're doing our part to keep Portland weird.
In August, Kate Gawf (see the link to her blog on the right side and top of this page) asked for suggestions from her readers for a phrase to discourage thievery. A reader named "thisrabbit" came up with the winning phrase "here on purpose...", "...just like you". We have used this phrase in several places. The pictures below show one such horse.
Horse Project in the News