A horse walks into a bar, grabs a stool and calls for the bartender. The bartender walks over and says, "Say, why the long face?"
It's a joke that Michael Duncan of Fort Worth hears all the time because he's often the guy who's riding the horse.
"We go in bars on Greenville [Avenue] and Deep Ellum all the time," Duncan says. "I've had him in 150 bars and nightclubs all over DFW. We hit the spots every week."
Duncan bought his half-Percheron/half quarter horse Sheriff at the Fort Worth Stockyards a year and a half ago. He says he's a fan of the TV western Yellowstone, "and I thought it looked pretty cool, so I got a horse."
He didn't intend to bring Sheriff into bars or even onto the city streets. Duncan says he started to learn how to ride the horse with a friend along the Trinity River and began attracting attention from some of the bars with patio seating.
"He took me down the Trinity River in Fort Worth, and we went by this place called The Woodshed," Duncan says. "We were on our horses, and they were like, 'Shoot, bring [Sheriff] in. We went to three bars that night, and it just grew into a thing."
Ever since, Duncan and Sheriff have been going to bars and clubs on weekends. One of their excursions on Greenville Avenue caught the attention of social media when a passerby filmed them going into The Old Crow.
Duncan also takes Sheriff to tailgate parties in the AT&T Stadium parking lots on Cowboys game days and once even took him into a Walmart. Videos of their trips have caught the attention of outlets like TMZ and even The Daily Mail in London.
"The greeter at Walmart didn't know what to say," Duncan says. "The policemen were outside daring me to do it."
Apparently, all of this is legal. There is nothing in the Texas Transportation Code that states horses can't go inside bars. Duncan says he always asks the owners if he can bring Sheriff inside.
"The way the law works is it's private property," Duncan says. "If I go in and they say I can't go in, then it's criminal trespassing, but I've never gone in without permission before."
Sheriff used to draw carriages at the Stockyards, so he's used to being around crowds of people, and Duncan says he's never misbehaved. He's even brought Sheriff into areas above street level, such as the time a business throwing an employee appreciation party on the eighth floor of the Renaissance Dallas Hotel invited Duncan and his steed to make an appearance so the boss could ride in on Sheriff.
"I've never seen him spooked," Duncan says. "We walked through big crowds for the Fourth [of July] during the fireworks, and he just walks amongst the kids just as calm as can be."
Duncan says he doesn't rent out Sheriff or make any money from the places where he and his horse belly up to the bar. He's happy to do it for the smiles the two put on people's faces.
"It's just something that's fun, and I wanna have a good time being there," Duncan says. "I've had bars text me and say, 'Can you come out to the Truck Yard?' Sure, we'll come out and have a good time."
