Quebec trucker subdues runaway injured horse on Highway 40

Quebecers are used to congestion headaches on Highway 40, but Saturday’s hold-up was nothing if not out of the ordinary: a horse broke free from its transport container and ran free in the fast lane.

Marco Lelievre, a trucker, stopped his vehicle while driving through Repentigny, Que. after he saw the runaway horse.

“I don’t know how it got out of the trailer,” he said. He followed it.

Lelievre posted photos online of the animal – a medium sized, white steed. It was injured, with a significant wound on its left hind leg.

“I hesitated at first,” he said. “But I knew it was a dangerous situation, not just for the horse, but for the drivers as well.”

He said he had to act quickly or risk the horse running to the other side of the highway into opposing traffic, where vehicles were still travelling quickly.

As he got closer, it started to slow down.

An injured horse was subdued by motorists after escaping from its trailer and running on Highway 40 in Repentigny on Saturday, May 27, 2023 (Photo courtesy of Marco Lelievre)

“I did the same thing, I started to walk more calmly,” he said.

Eventually, motorists were able to block its path, and Lelievre got close enough to “trap the horse by hand.”

After the horse calmed down, its owner arrived to collect it. Quebec provincial police arrived at the scene shortly after to take stock and clear the road of stopped vehicles.

Lelievre shared images of the animal to social media later that day, writing, “I never thought I’d chase and trap a horse on the 40.”

No motorists were injured, police confirmed.