Tacoma gone wild, horses coralled after racing down city streets

TACOMA, Wash. — Two horses escaped from a Tacoma ranch and took deputies on a wild chase Tuesday night.

Deputies responded to McKinley Avenue and 72nd Street after two horses were seen trotting along the street.

KIRO 7 spoke exclusively with the horses’ owners, who helped deputies corral the speedy steeds.

“We were ready to go to sleep and we get a call, the horses got out. It was a night we didn’t expect,” said Enrique Velasco.

Enrique and his cousins, Luis Velasco and Josue Delgado, tell us the horses broke down their stall doors.

“We got another call and they were like ‘Hey they’re on the road’ and we’re like ‘Oh this is bad. This is not good at all,’” Luis said.

They say the horses that escaped were 3-year-old Niño and 4-year-old Chuché. Bodycam video shows the horses startled and spooked.

“They see the cop lights and start running everywhere and getting scared. So we’re trying to calm down as much as possible and get them corralled in one circle so we can get them. But yeah, it was tough,” Luis said.

It was a team effort, running after the steeds who seemed to be full of energy. The boys said it was tiring, but fun trying to track them down.

“These horses mean everything to us. They’re like, they’re like our kids. They’re like our family. Pretty much the horses are another part of the family,” Luis added.

Through that close bond, the boys were able to calm the horses down and corral them, especially thanks to Josue’s lasso skills.

“Since he [I} was little, he’s [I’ve] always been with horses and practicing lasso and cows and everything,” Josue explained.

Niño and Chuché are back in the barn and they’re grateful for deputies efforts to keep them from running further.

“They were a lot of help and we appreciate everything they did helping out and being there to keep us safe to keep everyone else safe, too,” Luis said.

They told KIRO 7 they’re double locking the stall doors to keep the horses safe and out of trouble.

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