The other night I was out in pasture with my horses. It was about 10 PM, a beautiful night with a little rain falling lightly. I decided to bring a flake of hay out to the back of the pasture and let my guys eat next to the side of a hill. It was quite and I was enjoying listening to the horses eat and chew in the quite night. It was very peaceful and relaxing. Then in a second everything changed. As I stood in between my two horses, rubbing them both on their backs, I saw a shadow appear on the hill. I was looking at the stars and my horses were both relaxed, head down and eating some good mixed grass hay. As I saw this shadow, I could not make it out, but knew I saw movement. I also knew that I and my horses were the only ones in the pasture, so I thought. I got focused on the area where I saw something. I forgot about my horses soothing chewing noise and I was not relaxed anymore. My heart rate went up and I was straining to hear and see what I could not. Then I found it. It was a coyote. A very large, not skinny and very healthy coyote. My first thought was “Holy crap, it’s a coyote.” As I watched him, he watched us.

After my initial, "this ain’t good" reaction, I started thinking. I though, my horses have not seen this guy yet and when they do, I am screwed since I am in the middle of them. Self survival kicked in. I knew my horses could take this guy out with one kick, but I did not want to be collateral damage in the middle of their reaction. So I slowly and calmly stepped back and moved away from their charge or escape path, as to not get trampled in the reaction I was sure was going to happen. As I moved, I kept my eye on the coyote and he kept his eyes on me. Did I mention that this coyote was only about 10 yards away during this natural encounter?

So after I got to a position where I felt safer (not safe), I started wondering why the horses have not spotted this guy yet. So I checked the wind direction to see if his scent was being blown towards the horses or away from them. Oddly enough, it appeared as it if was being blown towards them. So now I not thinking completely calm but I am wondering if my horses are idiots, are they too engrossed in the good hay to be paying attention or if they were so domesticated that they didn’t realize the danger I was seeing. So now about 15 seconds have passed and it seemed a lot longer, yet no reaction from my horses, not even a head raise. I am thoroughly confused now. How can these horses, perfectly designed for survival, not see this clear threat, which I saw over a half of a minute ago?

Then the coyote, decided to get a better look at us and he came a step or two closer, down the hill and towards us. I am thinking, this coyote must be crazy, he sure is bold, maybe he has friends and something bad is about to happen. Then, to my amazement, my Mustang calmly lifted his head half way, pinned his ears and gave that “don’t come any closer look”. To my surprise the coyote seemed to understand the message. The coyote stopped in his tracks, turned away and went back up the hill. I was in shock, here I was, second guessing these marvelous creatures and the entire time, they knew exactly where the coyote was and what he was doing. As my Mustang told the coyote to leave, my Quarter horse lifted his head slightly, looked at the coyote and calmly looked at the Mustang, as if to say “I saw him too” and then they both went back to eating. Simply amazing I thought. Once again, I was so caught up in me, thinking I was smarter, I was being so aware, I am the superior being and all the while, they knew. They knew he was there before I saw him, they knew he was not a threat, they watched him as they ate and they knew when to warn him. What a great experience.

I was so proud of them. Here they were, their own little herd, looking out for each other, being alert and aware, knowing how to handle the situation perfectly without panic, running, kicking and just the right amount of action. All of this without my help or interference. Wow, once again I have to remind myself, horses know! They know what is going to happen before it happens. They are more aware than any of us can imagine. They are the ultimate survival animal. They are not mean and do not attack. They only want to be horses and avoid conflict. They know, because their life depends on it.

So after big hugs and favorite scratches for both of them, it was time for me to leave this perfect herd and go back to my reality. Then it hit me. I was never really threatened by the coyote. I knew that my horses could take this guy on with no problem and I felt safe being with them, part of the herd. After the warning given by my Mustang, the coyote did not come any closer, however he did walk around us a few times before wondering off. And when he left he walked the same way I had to walk to get back to the barn. This changed things for me. With the herd I felt safe, now I had to walk back, alone, in a dark pasture, in the same direction that the coyote did, after seeing this rather brave coyote circle us as if he was checking us out and searching for weakness.

As I walked back alone, since my herd was not going to leave their nice hay I had brought them, I felt uneasy and vulnerable. I was walking and looking around quickly. I was not relaxed. I was not paying attention to much of anything, but constantly searching for that rather large coyote. As I got further away from my horses my uneasiness became greater. I took my hat off and waved and swatted at mosquitoes in an attempt to appear bigger and maybe scare the coyote, that I could not see but was sure was out there. Somehow the walk back seemed much longer than the walk out. As I got back to my truck without an encounter (that I knew of, maybe I was being watched) I suddenly got a better understanding of how horses live each moment of their life. Always uneasy, always watching and looking, rarely relaxing for fear they may miss something and always with that fear of being eaten if they drop their guard, fail to pay attention or get into a position where they can’t run or defend themselves.

I am sure that everyone reading this at one time or another in their life, they were in a situation where they were scared, fearful and felt uneasy. I hope they can remember this and gain a better understanding of how horses live each day. And maybe the next time their horse pulls, runs away, accidentally steps on them, reacts to a scary sound or the horse eating baby stroller or bicycle, they will have more patience and understanding that the fear to a horse is real, never ending, deeply instinctive and never done to be mean or bad.

Happy trails,

Rick
thinklikeahorse.org