Budweiser Clydesdales get tangled up, fall during showing at rodeo

SAN ANTONIO (Gray News/TMX) – A team of iconic Budweiser Clydesdales got tangled up while hitched to a wagon at a rodeo in Texas on Sunday, with some of the horses ending up on the ground.

A video shows the demonstration going awry when the two lead horses turn around for unknown reasons. One of the wagon drivers immediately starts running to the front of the pack as the lead horses plow into the rest of the squad.

At least one horse goes down during the pileup, and several handlers come running to help.

All the while, the announcer narrates the action to the audience, noting that in the rodeo business, “when you’re working with animals, you never know what can happen.”

The announcer assures the audience that the crew is a team of professionals who travel with the horses all over the world. Nevertheless, he calls on the audience to “think positive, cross your fingers, cross your toes.”

After a few minutes, the two lead horses and a third horse are freed from the pack to create space around the downed horse. When the animal finally tries to rise to its feet, the crowd roars, but the horse doesn’t quite make it.

The horse tries to stumble up a couple more times before giving up and lying down again. The announcer tells the audience that the handlers on the scene have not yet called for the emergency animal care unit, likely indicating “they still have full faith that the horse is fine.”

The handlers begin removing all the harness kit from the horse, and after it is freed, the horse finally rises to its feet, prompting cheers from the crowd.

The handlers worked for nearly 10 minutes to disconnect the horses.

The San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo kicked off on Feb. 9 and runs through Feb. 26.

Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. TMX contributed to this report.