Re: [RC] Riding amongst wildlife - Barbara McCrary
While managing the Applegate-Lassen ride one
year, I was driving along a road when a pronghorn antelope came from a
sagebrush flat, jumped over a fence the bordered the road and ran alongside of
my truck for about a mile before it jumped back over the fence and off into the
sage again. I'm just about sure that it was playing with me, as obviously
it wasn't afraid, nor was it challenging me, it was just running along as fast
as it could go. I stayed with it, rather than try to pass it, since I
didn't want to chance hitting it. It was quite an experience.
I've had several exhilarating wildlife experiences while out on the trail,
and won't forget any of them:
- was out on a conditioning ride, and while full-out sprinting up a fire
road with a friend of mine, a silver fox dashed out onto the trail in front of
our horses and ran hit little butt off in front of us for awhile before
finally diving off the side for cover. He was adorable. I haven't
seen a fox since.
- was just leaving the barn where I used to board (hi Heather!) and rode
through a small clearing, where there in our path was a litter of bobcat
cubs. Don't know where mom was, but I'm sure she wasn't far. They
stared at us for a few seconds and then scrambled up the hillside into the
brush.
- was trotting along another stretch of fireroad when a doe bounded up from
the hillside below onto the trail in front of us - maybe 100 feet ahead, and
she loped along with us for quite a while. My horse didn't care and the
deer seemed unconcerned...she didn't seem like she was running for her
life. Just a nice easy bouncy deer-lope. Very cool.
- last one wasn't while riding. Was in Oregon, four-wheeling on a
logging road, when a bobcat went screaming across the road right in front of
us. We screeched to a halt to watch him, when hot on his tail came
a ticked off doe! The DEER was chasing the BOBCAT! LOL! We
think he must have come close to her fawn or something.
As an aside, my horse never spooked at the incidences above. He just
spooks at loose dogs that startle him and then run right toward him with no
fear. :)
Jennifer
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