Re: [RC] [RC] Snakes / Virginia??? - Barbara McCrary
Many years ago, four of us rode at a trot right over
the top of a rattlesnake. He was coiling and uncoiling trying to figure
out what to do and finally decided just to leave ASAP. More recently, I
rode past another rattler who was buzzing loudly on the trail. I said,
"Whoaaaaa" in surprise to my husband who was right behind me, and I stopped my
horse just to discover where this snake was in relation to me. I finally
saw him slithering across the trail into the brush and then we went on. My
horse could not have cared less. I was the one who was startled (though
not scared.)
I don't think you'll have to worry about seeing many snakes on
trail. I live in East Texas, and we have TONS of snakes here. I
love snakes, and am usually watching for them, hoping to see a neat one, and I
almost never see one. :( I think I saw two in all of the miles I
rode last year, and one of those was a small Texas rat snake laying off
in the grass and hard to see. As far as horses' reactions to them, don't
believe all the movies you see where horses see a snake and rear in
panic. Our horses have zero reaction to them. The other snake I
saw on trail was a copperhead that my husband rode right over without seeing,
and his horse never even saw it. I swerved around it, and my horse
didn't react at all. A couple of years ago, an Eastern Coachwhip (a very
fast black snake) shot across the trail right in front of my horse, and my
horse just glanced down and kept on going. It was just the movement that
caught his eye, not the fact that it was a snake.
Everyone has their phobia...mine is spiders. Uggh!
Dawn in East Texas (who loves snakes, but will freak out at contacting a
spider web)
