His little pony: what happened to Ken Houston's urban horse?

In April 2023, a chestnut brown pony with a long-flowing mane trotted unescorted on an East Oakland street near Hegenberger Road. Residents contacted the city’s animal services agency after seeing the riderless animal. Ken Houston, who led a nonprofit focused on cleaning up illegal dumping, posted online that the pony, named Hotshot, had escaped his yard. The pony was later returned to a private lot near a Denny’s restaurant on Hegenberger. Complaints continued over the following years, with animal services officers called to check on Hotshot and require veterinary care and other services. Houston denied mistreating the pony and said he cared for it well, describing how he obtained it on a whim to provide a community event attraction for local students.

"In April 2023, East Oakland residents were surprised to see a small pony trotting on a city street, riderless, unescorted. The animal, with a chestnut brown coat and long-flowing mane, wandered near Hegenberger Road. Locals quickly made calls about the pony to the city's animal services agency."

"Houston, who at the time led the Beautification Council, a nonprofit that cleans up illegal dumping, posted on social media later that same day, jokingly, that the pony, named Hotshot, belonged to him. "HotShot! Snuck out the yard when my back was turned! Bad Pony! Lololo," he wrote. Houston included a photo of Hotshot standing in the middle of a street."

"The horse was eventually led back to its yard - a private lot near the Denny's restaurant on Hegenberger. It wasn't the first time - and wouldn't be the last - that complaints surfaced about Hotshot. Over the next few years, animal services officers would be called on to check on the horse and demand that Houston provide it with veterinary care and other services."

"Houston, in an interview, denied mistreating the animal, saying he'd cared for it well. He came to be the owner of the pony, grazing it in backyards and abandoned lots in East Oakland, on something of a whim. Houston, who today represents District 7 on the City Council, is a well-known animal lover."

Read at The Oaklandside