Horse Illustrated Magazine

A horse named Stryker and a mule named Hank are said to be doing just fine after they took a dangerous jaunt on the highway near San Francisco on Monday, March 27.

The equine pals reportedly escaped from their enclosure at their home in the town of Walnut Creek, about a mile away from where they were ultimately rounded up. Their early morning escapade snarled commuter traffic but provided some entertainment for bemused motorists, many of whom caught the pair on video and shared the unusual sight on social media.

California Highway Patrol shut down the section of I-680 while they rounded up the pair. Hitting the road is certainly a risky activity for equines. Besides the obvious hazards of sharing the road with cars and trucks, taking a canter along a paved road inflicts a lot of abnormal concussion on the horse and mule’s hooves and legs. However, Hank and Stryker’s on-foot road trip was brief, and they’re said to be doing well after they were successfully caught by CHP and returned to their owner around 8:30 Monday morning.

An Associated Press story about the event quotes Steve Burdo of Contra Costa County Animal Services as placing the blame for the equine’s misadventure on Striker, the horse. Hank the mule is more of a follower, according to Burdo.

Leslie Potter is a writer and photographer based in Lexington, Kentucky. www.lesliepotterphoto.com