Louisiana Deputy Bareback Mounts A Runaway Horse And Safely Rides It Home

A Louisiana sheriff’s deputy has become a viral sensation after he bareback mounted a runaway horse earlier this month.

The Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office said the “unusual traffic hazard” unfolded on June 19, when Deputies A. Middleton and K. Edwards responded to reports of a horse running loose on Interstate 49 north of Cypress. They arrived to find the horse “wandering” near the highway.

The deputies quickly got to work trying to “prevent a potentially dangerous situation for both the animal and motorists,” the sheriff’s office said. Meanwhile, they also learned where the horse belonged.

All that was left was to secure the horse, and that’s when Deputy Middleton cowboyed up.

“With a little patience, some cowboy skills, and perhaps a few persuasive words, Deputy A. Middleton climbed aboard,” the sheriff’s office said.

A photo shared by the sheriff’s office, which has since gone viral, shows a smiling Middleton sitting atop the horse bareback, using ropes as reins. He safely rode the horse back to its home on Old Highway 494 near Cypress.

The sheriff’s office reminded livestock owners to regularly inspect their gates and fences to prevent animal escapes.

“While deputies are trained to handle a wide variety of calls, ‘mounted patrol on Interstate-49’ was not on today’s schedule,” the sheriff’s office said. “Thankfully, Deputy Middleton was able to get this four-legged traveler safely home before it could attempt to merge into traffic or apply for a job with the Mounted Patrol.”