I’ve seen some strange things while driving on highways that I wished were recorded on camera, from the just disappointing like discarded furniture sitting on the shoulder to the absurd like a tow truck centipede. Yes, a tow truck towing a disabled tow truck towing another disabled tow truck. However, I’ve never seen an unattended horse on an active highway. Now, I have.

Drivers in Taunton, Massachusetts got a rude awakening during their morning commute last Tuesday. On Massachusetts Route 140, 30 miles south of Boston, a horse was spotting galloping down the road alongside traffic. A motorist even took out their phone and recorded a video of the loose horse.

During the video, someone in the car says, “Hey, horsie. What are you doing, bud?” I can’t lie; I let out a bit of chuckle while watching the video because that’s what I would do in the same situation. Partly out of curiosity and partly out of concern for the horse, I’d slow down and talk to the horse like a lost family pet. Law enforcement responded to the situation and was thankfully able to coax the horse safely off the road.

The horse is a 6-year-old Shyer Cross draft horse named Max. He was only in the care of his new owner, Liz Norton, for a week when he escaped Norton’s farm. , “He broke through the fence over in that corner and he just got loose and went for a jaunt.”

Norton assured the local independent TV station that she would take more measures so Max wouldn’t escape again. The horse had broken through a wooden fence during his escape, but Norton said that she would install more electric fencing around her farm. Max, stay safe and avoid highways if you get out again.