Horses on the loose

When we saw a couple of horses, apparently tied up to graze on the small strip of grass between lanes on 3rd St. in Ipiales, Kim wanted to take a picture but wasn't able to get her camera out in time as we zoomed by in a taxi.  When we passed by the same spot a few minutes later on foot, the horses were gone.  However, we spotted them a little while later from the window of the home where we had gone for a visit.  They had either not been tied up when we saw them or they had escaped from their bonds and were enjoying their freedom as they wandered the streets of the city unencumbered.  We saw them pass by a couple of times, and then the were gone.  I wonder how long it took for their owner to catch up with them!