Six horses broke loose from their pen at about 6:20 p.m. Thursday and headed for the Veenker Memorial Golf Course on Stange Road.

The half-dozen horses took a stroll single file from the barns on the corner of Pammel Drive and Stange Road to the nearby greens.

Lt. David Kolker of the Department of Public Safety said it was not long before DPS was alerted to the runaways.

“They were just out there for a few minutes, and somebody called us right away,” he said.

Kolker said escaping horses are not terribly uncommon at Iowa State.

“They don’t usually make it this far, though,” he said.

One of the animals probably pushed over the fence, Kolker said.

Lauren Bennett, undeclared sophomore, was golfing when the horses showed up.

“I loved it,” she said. “It’s the greatest thing that’s happened all day. It’s a nice change of pace.”

Bennett had her friend take a photograph of her with the horses.

Kolker was the only DPS officer called to the scene, but Josie Booth, graduate student in animal science, also was called in.

Booth led the horses slowly back to the barns with the help of Jose Zuniga, junior in agricultural studies, who was “just a student who happened to be on a date with the wrong person,” Booth said.

Kolker drove the DPS help van alongside the horses, escorting them back to the barn.

“We figured if we get one hooked up, the rest will just follow,” he said.