Highway traffic in a small B.C. town experienced a temporary slowdown on Wednesday after a herd of horses escaped its pen.
Around two dozen horses could be seen walking, trotting and stopping traffic on Highway 3 in Osoyoos before the animals were safely rounded up.
The horses belong to Indian Grove Riding Stables, an Osoyoos-based business that, when asked to, captures wild horses, retrains and rehomes them.
Aaron Stelkia of Indian Grove Riding Stables told Global News he didn’t know how the horses escaped, but said it’s possible a new horse somehow opened a gate by unhooking the chain.
The horses travelled around three kilometres before Stelkia, with help from others, including area rancher Wayne Pedergraft, rounded up the herd.
“We were chasing them through orchards and trying to get ahead of them to turn them around and get them home,” Stelkia told Global News.
Stelkia said rounding up the horses took 30 minutes or so.
Not only does Indian Grove Riding Grove capture unwanted horses from area First Nation lands when asked to by others, but it also offers pony and trail rides.
In a ride named We Ride for the Children, Stelkia took 30 horses to Kamloops to honour the children whose buried remains were discovered at the former residential school there. Some of the horses that escaped on Wednesday took part in that ride.
More information about Indian Grove Riding Stables and Stelkia Ranch is available on Facebook.