Would a horse that is used to dogs react differently to meeting a wolf for the first time? Or would the horse just see the wolf as another dog? In this case, the wolf is tamed and used to horses, so it just ignores the horse for the most part. Maybe it's a silly question, but it's kind of important to my story. I'd appreciate hearing from people who have experience with horses.
Posted by Rick Norwood (Member # 5604) on :
The horse would freak. Horses shy at anything unfamiliar. I once had a horse named Doc who thought red cars were out to get him. If he saw a red car, even if it was parked by the side of the road, he would skitter sideways to the other side of the highway, even if it meant crossing in front of an oncomming truck. The Phantom's horse, Hero, gets along fine with The Phantom's wolf, Devil. I can't be absolutely certain of this, but I strongly suspect that all other horses, if they see or smell a wolf, will go absolutely crazy.
Posted by J (Member # 2197) on :
There are better equestrian experts than me around here, but my experience is similar to Rick's. Horse will freak at anything unfamiliar, and sometimes they just take a dislike to something. Once had to deal with a horse named "Crash." He got his name because he was pathologically afraid of cement, of all things. Somebody forgot to tell one of the grooms one day, and they tied his halter to a ring in a cinder block wall. He was found wandering the grounds, dragging his halter, a steel ring, and a chunk of cinder.
[This message has been edited by J (edited November 06, 2007).]
Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :
I've never tried it out, but I seriously doubt that a horse would confuse a wolf for a dog. They are suspicious creatures (survival mechanism) and as has been mentioned don't take to anything new. Now if a horse had been raised around a wolf (like the in the Clan Bear sequel) they might be all right with one. Otherwise, no. It's extremely unlikely.
Posted by spcpthook (Member # 3246) on :
Like so many other questions, the answer here would be 'it depends.'
I have horses that will chase dogs of any size and variety. I have a friend that raises hybrid wolves in pens right next to her horses. Farmers keep donkey's in fields with cows to protect newborn calves from coyotes and other preditors. Some horses I've ridden don't care what's going on around them. Others are capable of seeing new things and assessing the danger without a lot of snorting and dancing, and yet others will freak and try to run if the wind blows too hard from a new direction.
It also depends largely on the rider, if there is one. Horses are very sensitive to nervousness in their humans. I had one horse who flipped out in traffic when I was young and from that point on any time a car passed I'd tense up and she'd be looking for dragons so of course when the dragon approached she'd flip out every time. When I learned to control my reaction she began accepting traffic as though there'd never been a problem.
Don't know if any of this helps, but I guess what I'm saying is you can realistically build any result you want. You just have to lay the groundwork for temperament of animal.
Sandra
Posted by annepin (Member # 5952) on :
Nice. Thanks guys, this helps a lot.
Posted by kings_falcon (Member # 3261) on :
It depends. Most horses don't freak at "just anything" but it depends on thier training. If the wolf is ignoring the horse, most likely the horse will stop when it first sees the wolf and then ignore it. If it is a well trained horse, it will ignore the wolf unless the rider indicates that the wolf is a threat.
Horses are prey animals so they consider anything new a threat. I suspect J's horse didn't fear concrete so much as something happened near concrete and the horse associated it with the event.
If there was a lone wolf and it was threatening the horse, a stallion or a mare with foal along side is more likely to stomp it than to run from it. Otherwise, they might keep an eye on it or ignore it all together.
Sandra is absolutely right that conditioning/training and the rider's response is going to be key.
So what's your horse's personality?
Posted by DebbieKW (Member # 5058) on :
I'm chiming in late, but I agree with spcpthook and kings_falcon that "it depends." I also have a horse that will chase any dog he sees. (When he was young, a friendly dog spooked him by coming up from a blind spot and my horse has never forgiven the entire species.) If the horse is very well trained, I'd guess the horse would be tense and very wary until the wolf proves (long term) not to be a threat. If the horse is just a normal riding horse, though, with minimal training, then there is a pretty good chance that it will spook and run if it can. As has also been noted, the reaction of the rider and their level of riding skill also plays a big role.
[This message has been edited by DebbieKW (edited November 07, 2007).]
Posted by Rommel Fenrir Wolf II (Member # 4199) on :
well few of us wolves find horses as friends etc. we see them as food or gust a good game of run it till it dies. horses see us as enimes in any way. i highly dought that a horse that is not trained to be with us wolves that it will ever be confortible.