Houdini Horse’s Escape Antics Go Viral - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

YAHOO.COM - When you think of great escape artists, the names Harry Houdini and David Blaine likely come to mind. Both Houdini and Blaine are known for their amazing stunts and ability to get themselves out of seemingly impossible contraptions. Well, get ready to add a new name to your list, and it's an unexpected one.

Meet Mariska, aka the Houdini Horse. Her owners, Sandy and Don Bonem, say the 9-year-old Friesian mare has learned how to unlock almost every gate she has been put behind. In addition to her own enclosure, she also unlocks those of neighboring horses. The Bonems note that Mariska is particularly adept at getting into containers where food is stored.

Online, Mariska is receiving a lot of attention for her escape artist antics. A video featuring one of her exploits has climbed to over 750,000 views in a matter of weeks. Sandy Bonem wrote of her difficulty in keeping Mariska secure, "She learned each of these doors one step at a time. Then we added safety backups she is much too valuable personally and financially to let her just roam free. But she does force us to be very careful to make sure the backups are in place."

Commenters on YouTube think Mariska is incredible, with one person writing, "She's wonderful, bless her heart." Another admirer shared a story of an old mule his or her family used to have that would use a stick as a tool to get into the barn when it did not like the weather outside.

For those of you who suspect that the Bonems are teaching the mare how to get out, the Bonems deny having anything to do with her escapes.