Woman Brings Miniature Support Horse on American Airlines Flight

Gary Trock

The practice of bringing cuddly pets on airplanes as emotional support animals has taken a new turn after a woman brought her mini horse onboard a flight.

The incident went down last week, when Abrea Hensley was spotted at O'Hare International Airport with her service horse, Flirty.

Onlookers posted photos of Hensley and her horse all over social media, and even Barstool Sports posted a video, that has since amassed almost 2 million views.

Turns out, the horse has her own IG account with 8,000 followers, and posted about the flight -- especially since the pilots even posed for a photo with Flirty.

Flirty is actually small, even when it comes to mini horse standards, she only stands 28 in tall, which is about the size of a full-grown Bullmastiff dog.

Many followers thought bringing the horse onboard was no problem, however others thought a horse counting as a service animal is too far.

"What a joke! This is NOT why service animals regulations where created. Total unconvinced to other passengers and a complete safety hazard in an evacuation," someone wrote in the comments on Flirty's Instagram page.

Someone else scoffed that, "I mean it's absurd and ridiculous to me. I have PTSD so I struggle a lot. Maybe because of that I'm the last person that this should strike as absurd but it just does."

"They were fantastic and kind and very excited to see Flirty on their flight! Even the pilots had to come out to say hi," the support animal organization wrote on Flirty's account.

Another felt bad for Flirty, writing, "You need to find another way to travel. That poor horse."

Not all the criticism of Flirty was negative, as one lady wrote, "I think it’s great that Flirty was welcomed on your flight. I also love how positive you are towards the ignorance that is floating around social media. I love that Flirty is your service animal. God bless you both!"

Hensley, who reportedly suffers from PTSD, does not care about the haters and is continuing to live her best life with her 7-year-old mini horse.