The horse is thought to be in a stable condition after catching a bus to safety (Picture: @SWP_Roads)

Police were saddled with a tricky task when a horse was spotted on the loose on one of Cardiff’s busiest mane roads.

The equine animal decided to stirrup trouble and put motorists in an unstable situation as it ran around on the A48 Eastern Avenue yesterday evening.

But the horse was eventually reined in and ushered on to a Cardiff Bus heading to the University Hospital Wales.

The creature was having a bit of a mare when Harley Paige and a friend stopped their car and halted oncoming traffic.

In a Facebook post she said the animal looked ‘soggy and shaken’ in the central reservation before they calmed it down with the help of ‘lovely’ members of the public.

A bus driver then offered to give the horse a ride to the depot, free of charge, before it was led off the vehicle.

Seeing the funny side on social media, South Wales Police said: ‘A loose horse on the “mane” A48 Eastern Ave decided it wanted to “stirrup” a little trouble but in doing so it risked falling “foal” of the law.

‘It then decided to alight an Cardiff Bus which was on it’s way to the Heath Hostable! Road now re open.’

The horse is now believed to be in a stable condition.