It can still be tricky. Colorado is a
fence-out state. If I want to keep livestock off my property, I have
to have at least a 3-strand wire fence, minimum of 4 feet high, around my
property. Otherwise, my neighbors' livestock can roam freely on my
land. Now, roaming livestock on a highway is different, and there are
different conditions -- in a marked "open range" area, livestock are loose and
the motorists is supposedly forewarned. It is their responsibility to
watch for livestock on the road.
If I own livestock that are normally fenced,
and the fenced breaks, letting them roam freely on the highway, I'd be liable if
someone hits them -- *unless* they are being driven down the road, in a
supervised condition - for instance, a cattle drive. Around here, ranchers
routinely move cattle along the roads to and from the high country
grazing. Livestock - horses and cows, sheep, etc. - have the
right of way in those conditions.
A loose horse that has gotten away from a rider, or
loose from a camp, or from its "usual fenced area," is a whole different thing
--- the owner of the animal would be liable if someone hits the loose
animal.
Personally, whether I was legally liable or
not would not be my uppermost concern, but it is something to think
about.
