Happy Handwalking....and Coyotes

Spring is here!

I've gotten really behind on our adventures - which I guess is what happens when you're not used to having adventures and then suddenly life gets a little interesting. 

With Truby's injury, I wanted to handwalk her at least 30 minutes twice a day. And 30 minutes walking around a ring is boring! I was bored, Truby was super bored. Combined with the fact that she was sore and her face hurt, it was a pain keeping her walking. We'd walk around the barn, then a lap around the ring, then down the drive, back around the ring, etc. That was okay...for a day. 

So we tried the backyard trail. That was pretty nice! Truby was much more eager to keep moving. But then we ran into a problem...

Canis latrans

This was about 8 am. We got almost to the end of the trail when we spotted a coyote. Watched her for a bit...and then realized she was walking RIGHT TOWARDS US. We turned right around and started walking away. I kept glancing over my shoulder...and the coyote keep following us. Yikes. Then she turned off the trail and went on her merry way. She probably wasn't following us, just heading the same way. Probably. 

We tried the trail a couple more times at different times, but always ended up running into a coyote. So the backyard trail was out. Soooo....why not try the community loop trail? Truby and I had already schooled the gate, and Truby was fine with that. We'd been on the trail a few times. Why not?

Good choice

This was a great plan. Truby was happy to have something interesting to go, rather than circles in the ring. The loop has just enough variance in terrain to interesting and require some thought, but nothing too strenuous. It's just over a mile, giving us a nice 30 to 45 minutes of walking. The footing is great, used shavings on top of the desert. We both really enjoyed it! Plus is gave us a nice groundwork for when we could eventually ride instead of walk. 

This was going really well. For almost two weeks. Then one evening I took Truby out to the Loop. She was okay walking down the road, but as soon as we got to the trailhead, she spooked at a rock. I rolled my eyes and we walked on. She was really jiggy...swinging her head around, dancing at the end of the lead, charging ahead. I couldn't believe she was being such a brat! We did some reminders of Leading Like a Good Horse, but it didn't seem to help much. I couldn't believe she was being so naughty! 

Sound on for coyotes

Coyotes vocalize oddly, and one coyote sounds like 3 coyotes, 2 coyotes sounds like 5 coyotes, and a pack of coyotes sounds like every coyote on the planet. This certainly explained why Truby was so edgy. Not being bad, nervous about pack hunters out hunting. We were still just a quarter of the way through the Loop, and the coyotes sounded like they were right behind us. So I decided to keep going. I don't know if that was the best idea, but I didn't want to walk into a couple of coyotes. 

Oddly enough, Truby seemed to want to plunge into the interior of the Loop. Not in a fearful way, but a very purposeful way. We kept going, and by the time we were approaching the last part of the Loop, she was fairly calm and well behaved again. The last quarter of the Loop walks past the ring, turnouts, and barn of the property's barn. The far edge of that is their hay storage. We got just past that when our trail was blocked. 

It blends in really well, but that's 

a big ol' coyote

There was a big coyote square in the trail. It had caught something small, and was started to eat it. Maybe a ground squirrel? We turned RIGHT around. No way I was going near a coyote in the middle of a snack. Plus our coyotes are well fed, sleek, glossy coated, and big. Luckily the driveway for the barn slices right through the last corner of the Loop. It would get us past the coyote, and be quicker. I was more than ready to be home at this point. 

We had just cleared the barn and were heading home...when the snacking coyote started a high pitched howl. Yikes. I was really glad to be on the driveway getting home just a little bit faster. The coyote was behind us to the south. 

And then, ahead of us to the north, I heard something that made my blood run cold. Another coyote returned snackin' coyotes howl. 

So we were between at least two howling coyotes. They were clearly talking to each other. I don't know a lot about coyotes. Were they saying "hey man, I got a squirrel snack!"  or "Hey, there's an injured horse and a slow human, let's get 'em!"? I really did not want to find out. I urged Truby into a powerwalk. I knew better than to run, but what should I do? They kept howling to each other. Would they attack us? Should we go to the safety of the barn? I rarely get cell service, so what would we do? It was already almost sunset. We could hole up, but the coyotes would stll be out there. No one was at the barn. I didn't know if anyone was going to be back that night. 

So we kept walking. And I started to pick up rocks. Just in case. Since I always carry treats or carrots on the trail, I slipped Truby the last few cookies I had. I didn't want her to start to panic. I also didn't want her to think trails were scary. I was terrified. I could hear both coyotes calling to each other, but now they were behind us. Were they going to come at us from behind?

I was never so happy to see the end of the trail. Truby had kept her cool, but I was still pretty freaked out. As soon as we left the Loop and hit the road I breathed a huge sigh of relief. As we walked up the driveway with the last of the light, I apologized to Truby. Profusely. I had assumed she was bad. I assumed she was being a naughty pony for the sake of being naughty. Even though we'd walked out there almost every day for close to two weeks, and Truby was good as gold, happy and relaxed...then suddenly, she was completely different. It was wrong of me to assume she was being a brat. I didn't trust her enough to look for another reason for her behavior. Truby didn't hold a grudge against me, because she's a the best little gray horse, but I felt like an ass. 

For sure sometimes horses will be bratty if they're in a mood, or testing boundaries, or whatnot. But we -I- need to remember is that sometimes they act differently if they're in pain, or scared, or even just worried about something. And maybe if you take your horse out for a walk in an open area where there are coyotes hunting....