Plymouth

Why'd the Horse Walk Into Walmart? To Get a Bag of Carrots

"I was trying to think of a safe place to really put her because, of course, Walmart does not have horse parking," Zaccaria Dickerson said

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This Sunday, Zaccaria Dickerson hopped on his horse, Nugget, to get some lunch.

"The original ride was actually supposed to be a Chick-fil-A ride," the 21-year-old recalled.

It was a four-mile journey from the stable in Plympton, Massachusetts, up to Plymouth. But Chick-fil-A was closed and the horse was hungry.

"I promised Nugget some carrots and so we ended up going to Walmart instead," Dickerson said.

The man and his horse are no strangers to field trips.

"Normally we'd go to Dunkin Donuts and people at the Plympton Dunkin Donuts, they absolutely love when Nugget comes over," said Dickerson. "Everyone gets to feed her, they give her a donut."

A driver in Taunton filmed a horse running down Massachusetts Route 140 on Tuesday.

This time, though, their trek took them to Walmart, and Dickerson and Nugget rode right in through the front doors.

"I was trying to think of a safe place to really put her because, of course, Walmart does not have horse parking," Dickerson said.

A bewildered crowd started to gather. Shopper Nicole Hepinstall got out her phone and started rolling.

"I was exiting and I was sad I didn't have my children with me when I saw what was in front of me," said Hepinstall. "There was a horse -- where's John Wayne?"

As he went to buy the carrots, Dickerson left Nugget with a shopper who said he had experience with horses.

"There's not a lot of people that have horse experience these days," said Dickerson. "So I used it as a teaching moment to show kids and folks that are not familiar with horses how to feed her."

He said most people enjoyed the unusual visitor, despite a few negative comments on social media.

But he nevertheless posted an apology.

"I do apologize to Walmart, that was very unprofessional of me, and I will not go inside Walmart again with my horse," he said.

The two-hour journey through trails and backroads right into the Walmart vestibule was an experience he won't forget, Dickerson said.

"I wouldn't do it with any other horse and I trust Nugget that much," he said.

A manager at the Plymouth Walmart said she's surprised that anyone would try to bring a horse into the store and that only service animals are allowed inside.

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