A horse ran loose on the motorway and posed “a significant safety risk” on Thursday morning.
National Highways confirmed the closure of the M4 in both directions between junction 12 at Theale and junction 13 at Chieveley Interchange in Berkshire from 10am.
The bizarre incident left the motorway closed for around an hour, causing travel disruption for many motorists.
National Highways traffic officers assisted Thames Valley Police to resolve the incident.
The horse was safely moved out of the way of the roads before the motorway was reopened at 11am.
I’m just behind the police car that stopped at 10am; there is a horse the other side of the barrier, 55 mins later & there literally is STILL just 1 policeman just staring at the horse, now with miles of stationary traffic in both directions. I’m sure there’s a better solution pic.twitter.com/hbiVxP4sVc
— Mandy Stevens (@mandystevens22) November 13, 2025
A picture from the scene shows a horse standing behind a road barrier while a worker stands across the other side directing it to safety.
National Highways East shared a post on X (Twitter) with the message: “Animals on the road. Take extra care. Delays possible.”
They later shared an update to say that the horse had been “safely moved from the side of the road”, and the M4 was reopened in both directions.
They added: “Long delays remain in the area but should now start to ease. Thanks for your patience this morning.”
