A Lesson In Horse Sense
A veteran trail horse’s unusual behavior leads to an important discovery—and a lesson in equine instinct.
Not long ago, I had a lesson in “horse sense,” courtesy of my Quarter Horse gelding, Bull.
I had been wanting to try my younger gelding on a trail ride, so one day I invited a friend to join us aboard Bull, an experienced trail horse. We headed up a path that Bull and I had taken many times. But at the top of a short hill Bull spooked. My friend encouraged him to move forward, but still he balked.
Jeanne Mitman was surprised when her normally steady mount, Bull, repeatedly balked at going up a familiar trail. (Mary Phelps)
Not wanting to have an accident with either horse, we turned off the path into a field of corn stubble. Once away from the hill, Bull settled down and his normal demeanor returned: He was once again a steady but alert trail horse. But I had no clue to what had set him off. So, although my green horse had handled the ride satisfactorily, I knew I would need a session with the older horse.
The next weekend I headed out alone on Bull along the same route. Again, at the top of the hill, he spooked and spun. Bull and I had handled these situations before, so I kept him pointed forward and tapped him with my whip. He took a few tentative steps. I still could not detect the source of Bull’s anxiety, but I suspected he was reacting to the scent of a decaying carcass.
A shocking discovery
Slowly, haltingly, we approached the section where the path crossed under high-tension wires attached to large utility towers. Then I heard
it: a definite hum or buzz from above!
I looked up and saw one of the wires was frayed, possibly from a lightning strike or an errant shot from a hunter’s rifle. Luckily, the wire was high enough for us to safely pass below it. So, I encouraged Bull