The infamous 3 moose ride.
Halt-near-x.com has an interesting take on encountering moose while riding.
Here's the story of the infamous three-moose ride.
A couple of summers ago we went for a ride in the late evening. Summer was nearing an end and we were enjoying those last few evening rides to their fullest. We'd been on a rather long tail ride, high up in the mountains.
No fences, no roads, just open fields. To return home we had to follow a short stretch of dirt road with fenced pastures on each side.
We realized that a bull moose was standing right in the middle of the road, leaving very little room on either side to pass him. Instantly the horses realized this too and were not too happy about the situation.
Knowing that we had to get home before dark we bravely decided we'd just have to pass the moose as quickly as possible.
Then things got worse. Another bull moose appeared from behind a tree and charged the moose on the road. We were in the middle of a moose duel.
The thought of passing by two mad moose was almost unbearable, but it was the only way home and we were running out of daylight.
Just as things seemed as daunting as possible a third moose appeared on the scene. We now had three dueling moose, two frantic horses and one skinny road.
Since I was on Pharoah, with whom fear = flight , I was sure that one of us (probably me) was going to get thrown, at which time the moose would become interested in me and give me a good chase.
I tried to sound confident, as I told Maddy the plan. "We'll just calmly ride by and everything will be ok." I didn't believe a word I was saying.
We set off and drew near to the three moose, who were by this time quite worked up. Pharaoh felt like he was going to explode under me. He's a powerful horse, but I don't know that I've ever been more aware of that fact than at that moment. Lady had her "moose face," which she gets whenever she sees a moose and is beside herself.
Just at that moment we noticed a truck making it's way up the road toward us. We were saved! We decided to use the truck as a wall between us and the moose, and timed it so that the truck would drive in between us and the moose.
It worked perfectly, and we made it home in one piece.
I'm not sure how it would have gone if the truck hadn't come.
We love our mountains and wildlife, but let's just say we'd prefer enjoying the moose from a nice distance, like a few miles.
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Reader Comments (4)
What a cool testament to your horses!