Parades and horses

By The Gazette Editorial Board

Horrific images quickly betrayed the festive holiday mood during Bellevue's Fourth of July parade:

Two horses pulling a buggy suddenly bolt, crashing through spectators and children picking up candy tossed along the route.

The buggy smacks a combine and a road sign and the hitch comes undone. The driver's wife is hurled toward a concrete driveway. Her husband somehow hangs onto the reins, desperately trying to slow the horses as he's dragged down the street.

Finally, the horses collide with a float, go down, and bystanders pile on to hold them down.

The rampage's toll: one person, the driver's wife, dead and 24 others injured. The horses sustained minor injuries.

A tragedy, for sure. A life was lost. At least three other people, including a child, suffered serious injuries.

Reason enough to ban horses from parades?

No. By all accounts, this was a rare event, a sad, unfortunate accident.

Police, who are still completing their investigation, say the horses spooked after they rubbed heads, knocking off one's bridle. One such incident shouldn't require the end of a popular tradition that so many enjoy.

But the runaway horses and the resulting pain, fear and loss also serve as grim, important reminders to parade spectators, organizers and participants alike: Follow safe, sensible practices.

Parents should restrain candy-seeking kids from dashing into the parade, where they might bump into a moving vehicle or startle a marcher or, yes, a horse.

Those giving out candy and other freebies should refrain from tossing the items, which invites children to scramble into the street. Instead, hand out the goodies along the sidelines.

And organizers should screen entries to be sure horses or other animals are well-trained and will be handled by experienced operators.

No matter how experienced the driver may be, or how familiar with public events a horse may be, an animal can be unpredictable. That appears to be the case in Bellevue. Police, still completing their investigation, say the horses spooked after they rubbed heads, knocking off one's bridle.

We humans must always maintain a healthy respect for animals. Use a dose of precaution. Common sense practices help keep our cherished traditions alive.