A Wild Mustang Ran Loose for 66 Days. Now Outlaw Is Calm Enough to Wear a Saddle

For 66 days, a wild mustang ran loose near Liberty Reservoir in Carroll County, Maryland. Neighbors worried about the horse and about drivers on busy roads. School traffic made the risk worse.

Then a patient rescue team brought him in — and a October update from Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue shows how far he has come: Outlaw calmly wearing a saddle for the first time.

Spooked by a Lawnmower, Loose for Months

According to CBS Baltimore and WMAR, the mustang jumped a fence toward the end of June after being scared by a lawnmower. Baltimore City’s Department of Public Works, which manages Liberty Reservoir, confirmed that account. He was a BLM mustang, and he ended up roaming the woods and roadside near Deer Park Road.

Neighbors spotted him dozens of times. Jaime Limoges, executive director of the Humane Society of Carroll County, told WMAR the horse came out morning and night to feed on grass along the roadway — exactly the behavior that made drivers nervous. One neighbor even put up a warning sign.

Local coverage does not report the mustang’s prior name from his owner. After the rescue, he earned a fitting new one: Outlaw.

A Capture Built on Patience, Not Panic

Carroll County Animal Control coordinated with Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue in Mount Airy, professional horseman JR Raulerson, and Baltimore City Environmental Police. Because Outlaw was a mustang with a history of being corralled in the wild, the team also consulted the Bureau of Land Management on trapping methods.

Raulerson tracked him with trail cameras, a drone and on-foot scouting. An early idea — using another horse to lead him into a pen — was set aside after experts warned it might fail. Instead, Raulerson placed a pen in the woods near where Outlaw had been staying and used hay and other food to lure him closer while watching his patterns on camera.

CBS Baltimore reported that on September 3, crews built a chute from 59 fence panels, each about 10 feet by 10 feet, cleared debris for a path, and guided Outlaw toward a trailer. Law enforcement helped pause traffic. Officials said he walked through the chute and onto the trailer without incident. The Humane Society of Carroll County said the whole roadside operation took roughly three and a half hours.

Safe at Gentle Giants

Outlaw was taken to Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue in Mount Airy. Coverage from the capture day said he unloaded into a round pen and walked into his stall on his own. Ownership was surrendered to the Humane Society of Carroll County, which worked to transfer him to Gentle Giants.

Lorin Grey, Gentle Giants’ director of growth and development, said in the rescue’s September press release that the horse had survived more than two months on wild instinct — and that the team’s job was to respect those instincts while slowly teaching him that people can be trusted.

Public donations for food, veterinary care and farrier work were encouraged through Gentle Giants. Exact age, sex confirmation beyond “he” in local reports, and full veterinary findings were not detailed in the stories we reviewed.

The October Update: A Saddle, and Settling In

On October 7, CBS Baltimore published a new update. Gentle Giants shared a photo showing Outlaw wearing a saddle for the first time. The once-elusive mustang, officials said, is safe and settling into his new home.

For anyone who followed the weeks of sightings near Liberty Reservoir, that image is the quiet payoff. A horse who would not be rushed into a trap is now calm enough to accept tack. That does not mean the work is finished — Gentle Giants described a careful process of trust-building — but it does mean Outlaw is no longer dodging cars on Deer Park Road.

What Patient Horse Rescues Teach the Rest of Us

Wild and unhandled horses are not pets you can simply approach with a halter. A few reminders from Outlaw’s rescue:

• If you spot a loose horse near a road, do not chase it. Call animal control or local law enforcement and keep traffic aware from a safe distance.
• Patience beats panic. Trail cameras, food lures and a proper chute protect both the horse and the people trying to help.
• Specialized rescues like Gentle Giants exist for a reason. BLM mustangs and other unhandled horses need handlers who understand wild behavior.
• After the drama ends, the bills continue. Food, vet care and farrier work are how a capture becomes a real second chance.

Sixty-six days on the run. One careful plan. And an October photo of a mustang who finally let people close enough to set a saddle on his back.