The big blue statue of a rearing mustang at Denver International Airport drew praise and hatred from the very beginning.

“Mustang,” the giant sculpture by Luis Jimenez, who was crushed by the horse during its construction, turns 5 on Feb. 11, which is an important milestone for public art in Denver. Petitions to remove artworks aren’t accepted for the first five years, a rule meant to keep public art installations from being torn down rashly.

Standing on hind legs at the gateway to the airport, the towering horse makes an aggressive first impression.

“He looks like he’s going to kill me,” Jennifer Newson said in the DIA terminal. “It’s not really settling when you’re driving to get on a flight and then you see the ‘demon horse.’ “

She’s one of many who wouldn’t mind giving the horse the boot for its fifth birthday. Others are perfectly content to keep the horse around, saying they view it as a symbol of the West.

“Keep it, please,” said John Newman, who was visiting Colorado from Boston. “It’s part of the landscape. I like how the eyes light up.”

The eyes. Oh, the eyes. That’s the part the horse-haters hate most.

“Paint the eyes,” Newson suggested. “Make him look like a friendly horse.”

That may be unlikely since the eyes meant the world to the artist.

“His intent was to honor his father, who was a neon-sign maker,” said Matt Chasansky, who heads the art program at DIA.

The piece keeps people talking — which is what public art is supposed to do, Chasansky said.