Seven animals escaped

Fire hazard: Horses crossed the “Highway to Horn”

Joint animal rescue: Police officers Kevin Zimmermann and René Litschauer, employees of the road maintenance department and caretakers of the horses led the animals back to the paddock in front of the Horn "skyline".(Bild: Polizei Bezirk Horn)

A driver raised the alarm with the police after noticing horses running loose on the Bundesstraße 2. Seven animals were crossing the main traffic route from the northern Waldviertel to Vienna. They had escaped from the paddock opposite. The grass on the other side of the road must have been too tempting.

Had the horses, which were in the Waldviertel pasture next to the Bundesstraße 2 near Groß-Burgstall, already studied the traffic rules so well that they would have obeyed them? Attentive drivers did not have this confidence, of course - one driver alerted the police at around 4 p.m. on Monday, who arrived there as quickly as possible and closed the road.

Seven horses crossed the main road
Seven horses escaped from their paddock and crossed the busy "Highway to Horn". Police officer Kevin Zimmermann from Horn police station was on duty and tells of relaxed gourmet horses: "When we got there, the horses were just eating the fresh grass. It was growing in a ditch about eight meters away from the road."

The fresh greenery must have smelled much more tempting than the familiar willow grass on the other side of the road. According to stories, the nags had already escaped in the past. However, they still shied away from the other side of the Bundesstraße 2.

Police officers Kevin Zimmermann and René Litschauer in front of the paddock from which the animals escaped.(Bild: Polizei Bezirk Horn)

Working together in the rescue operation
Police officers from the Brunn an der Wild police station hurriedly closed the road, and Zimmermann's colleague René Litschauer and he, together with employees from the road maintenance department and horse handlers, brought the extremely peaceful horses back. Understandably, there was probably only excitement among the drivers of the "motorized steeds", while the horses enjoyed their "gourmet excursion".

How the animals got away was quickly clarified. After checking the fencing around the paddock, a damaged section at the back was discovered, which the horses were able to use to escape. As the paddock is close to nature, it is suspected that a wild animal had damaged the fence.