If you’ve ever found yourself stuck behind a slow-moving car on the interstate, spare a thought for commuters on Maine’s I-95 who, early Wednesday morning, had to make room for a rather unconventional road user—a horse apparently executing its own pre-dawn escape. According to UPI, calls started coming in to the Bangor Regional Communications Center around 3 a.m., reporting a horse running north in the breakdown lane near mile marker 145. The equine’s sense of adventure didn’t stop there; by the time troopers arrived, the horse had crossed the median and was making good time southbound, cutting a figure in the passing lane near mile marker 143 in Burnham.
A Midnight Ride (No Lanterns Required)
There’s a running theme in “odd news” of animals popping up where you least expect them (snakes on planes, deer at the beach, bulls finding creative routes home from rodeos). Yet, as outlined in NBC Boston’s coverage, the notion of a horse confidently striding down the highway—at the sort of hour usually reserved for truckers and the profoundly restless—feels like the start of an American folk ballad.
Police told the outlet the horse managed to cover at least two highway miles before surrendering to law enforcement intervention. It took a rope, some nimble footwork from Trooper Andrew Peterson and Specialist Hailey Fleming, and the unlikely sight of a cruiser bumper serving as hitching post to bring the four-legged commuter to a standstill. Fortunately, the horse was frightened but uninjured, as both UPI and NBC Boston report. For those interested, police didn’t share the horse’s name, leaving at least one detail to the imagination.
The Great Pittsfield Getaway
As 92 Moose recounts, the horse’s owner, a Pittsfield resident living on Snake Root Road, was quickly summoned to retrieve the escapee. The running theory, according to the outlet, is that the horse pulled a “Houdini” sometime during the night, silently embarking on this unsanctioned sojourn. One can only imagine the surprises in store for the driver who spots headlights reflecting off a horse’s mane instead of a deer’s eyes—or the mild existential crisis that comes from watching a thoroughbred overtake you in the fast lane.
Notably, the response wasn’t limited to the professionals. Troopers, an animal control officer, and several Good Samaritans worked together to corral and calm the rattled horse. When was the last time your morning commute involved an impromptu team effort with strangers and law enforcement, all for the benefit of a runaway farm animal?
Points for Style (and Timing)
If this weren’t a classic slice of Maine life, it could easily be a scene from a Coen brothers film. As noted earlier in UPI’s roundup of odder happenings, animals crossing into unexpected territory isn’t all that rare, but the governing tone here isn’t chaos—it’s a sort of bemused community resourcefulness. There’s something disarmingly wholesome about a police department giving “cowboy skills” a workout in 2025. No injuries, a safe return, and, at least for now, a horse with a reputation as the most infamous commuter of the morning.
Many might ask: how does a horse manage such a daring nocturnal expedition without setting off a barn-wide alarm? Do other animals at home sit in awe, plotting their own hypothetical adventures, or is this a one-off renegade with a penchant for high-speed asphalt? We may never know, but it is fun to wonder.
Epilogue: Just Another Morning (Sort Of)
Whether you see in this the spirit of independence, barnyard boredom, or just a reminder that life takes unexpected detours, there’s an admirable unpredictability to roadside encounters like this. The next time you roll your eyes at morning traffic, remember—it could always be weirder. Sometimes considerably so.
And somewhere in Pittsfield today, there’s, presumably, a horse content to be back in its paddock. Or maybe just quietly plotting its next great escape.
