Did you hear the one about the horse that walked into Tesco?

You can bring a horse to Tesco, but you can't make him shop – apparently.

One intrepid shopper tried the ultimate shopping experience at Tesco in Ballinasloe in the middle of the October horse fair, the biggest horse fair in Europe which is continuing all week.

Arriving in a van with a trailer, he pulled up directly outside the shop at Harbour Road, mounted the horse and proceeded to enter the shop.

But he got no further than just a couple of yards inside the supermarket when he turned around and left, to the amusement of customers and staff.

A spokesperson for the shop said the arrival of the “shopper” on horseback left people in the shop bemused.

“He was only in the shop for a few seconds. He turned around and left without saying anything. There was no damage done,” the spokesperson said.

Niall Clarke, public relations officer for the horse fair, said he only became aware of the incident through social media, but stressed that it had nothing to do with the events of the fair.

“Tesco is at the other end of the town and well away from where our events are taking place. It had nothing to do with us. I have no idea what he was at,” Mr Clarke said.

The image of the horseback shopper was uploaded on social media by Ballinasloe native Peter Toplis.