A blog that focuses on our unique program that teaches natural horsemanship, heritage breed conservation, soil and water conservation, and even folk, roots, and Americana music. This blog discusses our efforts to prevent the extinction of the Corolla Spanish Mustang. Choctaw Colonial Spanish Horse, Marsh Tacky, and the remnants of the Grand Canyon Colonial Spanish Horse strain.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Even If Your Horse Is Not Afraid of A Deer, It My be Scared of a Scared Deer
The coveys of quail of my youth that used to spook my ponies and put me on the ground are nearly gone. We now have turkeys and a loudly flushing turkey can test a horse's nerves. Few things make the racket of a small band of deer jumping up in a thicket within a few steps of your horses. These things can rattle even an experienced horse.
Do not fall into the trap of thinking that deer will never be a problem because your horses see deer on a regular basis and even graze with them.
The sound of panicking deer scares horses, but many people do not realize that the smell of panicking deer triggers a reaction in many horses, especially those who have lived int the wild.
On scores of occasions I have watched deer calmly cross a path a hundred yards or more in front of me. When I reach the spot where the deer crossed, my horses often to not even alert on the smell. One the other hand, when I have spooked deer as I approached and they flanked the path only to dart across the path, again, hundreds of yards from me, yet still afraid, I have had horses react strongly to crossing the spot where the panicked deer had crossed a few minutes earlier.
Obviously horses can detect and interpret the smell of other prey animals when those animals are terrified.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment