Coughs, Farts and a Bear

I experienced a fun and exciting trail ride with Teddy this week. An equestrian mom friend and I organized a trail ride at my barn. (Her horse's name is Freddy and she actually almost bought my horse when he was for sale). So we set off with Teddy and Freddy.

There have been sightings of bears on the property and surrounding trails. I knew the day would come that I would meet a bear on the trail and was a little nervous about how my horses would react. My barefoot trimmer told me bears are terrified of horses so that eased my anxiety a little bit.

We started on our trail ride late in the morning, it was already a very hot and dusty day. Teddy and I took the lead because we know the trails in the area. Most of the trails are flat but there are some little hills here and there. After about half an hour of riding we climbed an up hill section of the trail. Teddy started coughing from the dust on the incline. And when Teddy coughs, he farts. Poor Freddy got blasted in the face behind us! His forelock was parted and pushed to  either side of his face. Luckily he didn't spook from the sudden blast of noise and air. We had a really good laugh about that and continued on our trail ride.

Soon we came to another uphill section of the trail. Teddy of course starts coughing and farting. This time Freddy was a little further back as he learned to keep his distance. Then I hear a rustling in the bushes and a bear goes running out on the trail in front of us then jumps off the trail and down the mountain side. I was surprised by how fast and agile she was. I was also relieved that she choose flight instead of fight. Thankfully Teddy's farts were a loud warning that we were coming. And that was my first close encounter with a bear.