Emotional Support Horse? Not in Walmart, Say Louisiana Police

Four young Louisiana men have been arrested after recording themselves and the reactions of other shoppers as the four men rode through a Walmart on horseback.

A Walmart Horse Ride For Emotional Support?

Last week Walmart shoppers in Baker, Louisiana were shocked when they heard the clops of horses, only to turn around and see four men riding on top of horses, inside of Walmart.

Of course, the men were told by Walmart staff to leave the store, but not before they and everyone else in the store managed to pull out their phones and film the madness.

WBRZ in Baton Rouge shared one of the videos of the men while asking for people to assist the Baker police in identifying the men.

The men have now been identified as 3 young adult men and one young juvenile, and all have either surrendered to or turned themselves in to the police.

One of the young men was interviewed by WBRZ, and he explained it was just an attempt at harmless fun.

Mason Webb explained, "We always ride to Baker, and we just wanted to do it that day, that's my emotional support animal."

Is An Emotional Support Horse Legal in Louisiana?

Sadly for Mr. Webb, he and his friends are being charged with disturbing the peace and unlawful posting of criminal acts for publicity.

Possibly even sadder for Mr. Webb is that the "emotional support animal" defense won't hold up in a Louisiana court.

Louisiana follows the ADA federal laws on service animals, which defines a service animal as a dog that's been trained to help assist someone suffering from a disability in daily life.

There is no ADA definition of an "emotional support" animal, the closest thing the ADA recognizes are service animals trained to comfort people with debilitating depression or anxiety disorders.

So assuming Webb does suffer from a serious emotional disorder, it is plausible that could have a certified service animal, but not a horse. The ADA only allows for dogs to be legitimate service animals.

So no, even if your horse gives you emotional support, that doesn't mean you can take him to Walmart.