Panicking horse

efreysson said:

I've never worked with horses so I guess I just want some tips on how a terrified horse behaves; for example, do they whinny?

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Not usually...not when they're just bolting, no. Whinnying is more like "HOLY CRAP I'm ALOOOOONE" or "IS THERE ANYONE ELSE HERE" etc. Herd-talk.

If it's bolting, it's bolting.

Before it bolts, maybe if it first sees the wolves slinking around from afar, it might stand stock-still with all its nerves bunched up and its ears pricked; it might make a long, low snorting noise--or a quick burst of air (deer do this, too, if you've ever heard it).

I agree, no whining. He will rear or pull against the rope restraining him and keep pulling until free. He will run over anything in his way as well. But if the wolves are near the people in the camp he won't run through the camp and toward the scary thing. He is going to turn away from that and RUN! One other thing, the horse and donkey are going to know the pack is there long before the people do.

First off, there's a finite limit on how big a wolf pack gets. You've got to balance a big kill (like a horse or moose) versus number of mouths to feed. Ten wolves is probably a good limit on the upper end.

Second, if you've got a donkey, you're probably going to have some dead wolves. Donkeys are used to guard sheep from predators. They'll kick and stomp a dog to death with a grin on their face.

Third, as Sheadakota says, the horse and donkey will know about the wolves way before the humans. The horse will be panicking way before the wolves show up to the humans.

Fourth is the horse will go away from the wolves. No way will it go any closer to the pack then it has to. And a horse can rival a mountain goat in ability to go places.

Fifth is if the horse was formerly wild, and has been well-trained, it might not bolt, but fight. I had a horse take on two German shepherds and reduce them to quivering masses. I had another horse that spent an hour chasing a dog around his pasture (dog was afraid of getting zapped by the fence again). The horse had a lot of fun. The dog a lot less so. If the horse is fresh and given some room, it's going to take out a few of the wolves too.

Wolf packs work on large prey by running them down, making them tired, before the attack. Otherwise, any of the large animals like cattle, moose, horses will do a lot of damage.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Wolf packs also usually don't attack humans. Are these unnatural wolves? Are they starving?

If the horse is at the back of the enclosed area tied to a bush and the only way out is to go towards the wolves, I wonder if it would do that or just strike out in place.

If the place is enclosed and the only way out is also away from the wolves then no problem.

Horse is tied to the bush with a head collar (halter) and lead line, I'd think. A trailing lead line can cause problems when it runs away.

Also, I think a terrified horse would squeal.

It depends on the horse, but for the most part they will certainly pull back and up and break their teather. They won't immediately run 'away' but will usually take off a short distance, reevaluate and if given chase or feel threatened, or if another horse is also coming, they will take off again.

The will try not to step / knock into anything or anyone on the way, but beware of well aimed kicks and the way a panicked horse can and will plow through something that tries to stop them.

Also, I'd second the point about donkeys - they are viscious little balls of evil and are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves against a couple of wolves. Personally I'd worry more for the humans who are with them.

shaldna said:

Also, I'd second the point about donkeys - they are viscious little balls of evil and are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves against a couple of wolves. Personally I'd worry more for the humans who are with them.

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LOL. Donkeys are frequently kept with livestock to protect them from predators.