A horse made its way into a bar in Chantilly, France, and things did not go well. Luckily, no one was injured, but the horse managed to destroy some tables and chairs, and it caused customers to flee in terror. After a few seconds of mayhem, the horse made its way back out of the establishment and was eventually apprehended in a nearby parking lot.
It’s worth noting that this was not just any bar. This was a betting bar where customers go to wager on horse races, so maybe that’s what the animal was so upset about. In fact, the horse in question had escaped from a training facility near Chantilly’s racecourse. “Between the track and the stables, his rider fell,” Jean-Marie Béguigné, the horse’s trainer told Ouest France. “The filly escaped by going on the road and crossing a roundabout before entering the bar.” She also noted that the filly has “a penchant for escape.” (Translated by Google.)
As you can see from the video, frighted customers did their best to stay out of the horse’s way. “She came in, pushing the door. She raced all the way to the PMU corner,” bar owner Stéphane Jasmin told the publication. “Then, the filly turned around, breaking a table and chairs.”
Since no one, including the horse, was injured, people were having a good time with the whole “a horse walks into a bar” premise on Twitter.
…so the barman says "why the long face?" 😂
— elsie jr (@el_cjr) October 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/johnfromconn77/status/1046922032867414019
https://twitter.com/Kanube1/status/1046915234533990400
A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Aaahh!!!”
— Vaughn Fry (@VaughnFry) October 1, 2018
https://twitter.com/Randy74660040/status/1046918529986023424
https://twitter.com/RedgmanNyc/status/1046912239997988864
Why did I actually think I could get the first "why the long face?" Joke in?
— Name cannot be blank (@ilysayitback) October 2, 2018
Obviously, when you hear about a horse walking into a bar, everyone is thinking of the same joke, but you might as well save your breath. Even if you have some meta, off-the-wall take on it, chances are someone has already covered that angle.
Certainly, Family Guy had one of the best takes on it. And BoJack Horseman spends nearly all his time in bars.
And, although it’s only tangentially related, John Mulaney explaining why Donald Trump is like “a horse loose in a hospital” is one of the funniest analogies of all time.
So if you think you have a new spin on a horse walking into a bar, you should probably do a quick Google search. Chances are someone has already made the same joke, and there’s no point in beating a dead horse.
As for this particular filly, you’ll be happy to hear she’s fine. The trainer says she wasn’t traumatized from the event, which is probably more than can be said for some of the people at the bar.