Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

One of my horses was attacked by a cougar in 2001 (abrasion on the withers
and a long "scratch" down his left side, but no other injuries) and watched
a group of bears tear up his metal garbage can full of supplements which was
at the end of his paddock by the gate.  You're never going to convince him
that either of those animals is harmless.  He knows the smells of the cats
better than the sight, but he knows bears by smell or sight.  It's a bit
scary riding him in a forest once he's gotten scent of either of them.  He
tries REALLY hard to control himself, but you can feel him welling up and
looking under each leaf for the monster.   At a ride he really wants to go
alone.  But, he needs companionship to get him through the scary parts.
He'll fall in with a group sometimes even for 5 minutes just to let his
nerves rest.  Then he'll take off again and try really hard to be brave.  No
amount of ground work or other training can convince him that cougar or bear
are ok and he's safe.

Unfortunately he also teaches the other horses in his pasture the same thing
:-(  I don't think we've had bears on the property, but our resident cougar
comes every few months as best I can tell.  


From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of k s swigart

If your horse hasn't been attacked by a mountain lion, then it doesn't know
a mountain lion from a mule deer (big, tawny, and moves really fast). If
your horse thinks that there is a difference between a mule deer and a
mountain lion, it is probably because YOU think there is a difference and
are communicating that to the horse.



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