A woman on horseback got into trouble in Whitefield, England, on July 21 when she tried to use a McDonald's drive-thru. The British public broadcaster BBC reported the incident.

According to the media outlet, the woman on horseback entered the McDonald's drive-through lane with a girl on a pony. However, McDonald's staff refused to provide drive-through service to the woman based on the company's corporate policy. The woman entered the McDonald's restaurant with the horse in tow and attempted to place an order, at which time the horse defecated.


A McDonald's spokesperson described the incident as follows.

'The horse droppings caused distress to the customer and disruption to the restaurant. Police issued the woman with a fixed fine notice."

Police in the Greater Manchester area described the situation at the scene at the time as follows.

The look and smell of the horse manure was clearly distressing to people and was causing distress to customers and restaurant staff who had come to dine."

A spokesperson for McDonald's explained the reason for not allowing customers on horseback to use the drive-through as follows.

"Protecting the health and safety of our customers and employees is a top priority for McDonald's. For this reason, we do not allow pedestrians, bicyclists, or horseback riders to use the drive-through.

So, what is the reaction of the British public to this? Here are some of the posts on the Greater Manchester District Police Facebook page.

Opinions in defense of women (and horses)
Horses have been here since before the birth of the automobile. McDonald's should show some respect for horses."
McDonald's eats cows. In a sense, the restaurant is full of cows. Why is it wrong to have horses?"
Who ordered the woman to be fined? It's not right at all.

Opposition to the above opinion
What an idiot. Drive-throughs are for cars, and pedestrians and people on horseback are not even covered by insurance. This is common sense."
I can't believe there are so many crazy people out there who think it's okay for smelly animals to enter food-related buildings. The world is crazy."

Some people have taken advantage of this discussion and started to say something different.
I think that people who are filthy and smelly are worse to deal with than animals. I think it is people who are filthier than horses that should not be allowed in food-related buildings.
There are hundreds of mounted police officers in London, and their horses defecate everywhere. But the policemen leave their horse manure on the streets."

■ A bit of that opinion
I once walked into a drive-through and placed my order. I walked into a drive-through once and ordered without any problem. Just for the record, I am not a horse.
"I wonder what would have happened if it had been an elephant that walked into the store instead of a horse?"