My only knowledge of riding
with wolves is secondhand from our Mongolian foreign exchange student, Baagii. Mongolia has many, many wolves
even though they are legal to hunt and they are hunted primarily to keep the
numbers down because they kill so much of the livestock including the horses. Baagii told me most Mongolian horses die as mid-teenagers, likely as they become weak they are picked off by
the wolves. He & a group of cousins were tracked by a pack of wolves while
on a 4 day cross country trip on horseback. A 12 yr old cousin actually slept
on the horse at night as he was afraid he’d be eaten if he got off. Baagii, 14 at the time, was one of the oldest on the trip.
They were in fear of their lives only while off the horses and especially at
night while they slept, so they took turns keeping watch.
Kathy
The posts on cougars have
been very interesting, and I wanted to ask what I should know about riding with
wolves. Wolves have been spotted for the first time in years in the woods that
border my property and I wonder if they would ever bother me and my horse.
My horse is
not afraid of anything and is used to riding past coyotes, foxes, big dogs,
deer, and cows. She either ignores them or chases them... I'm assuming wolves
are no different. I've read that they're pretty shy, so I've assumed that they
will leave us alone. Is that right?
I do ride
with a little bell on her breastcollar (to warn
hunters that we're coming... I'm more worried about them than I am about wild
animals!!!) but I don't carry a weapon or anything
like that... just a can of rocks to shake at dogs.
