Maybe they’re assuming that the horse is carrying a 200-pound tourist, and the bear is real hungry?
Good point, ETBW–would a bear go after peeps, or a horse? And if the bear chose the peeps, who’d be faster?
Somewhat off topic, but similar–
I was looking through my Merck Vet Manual, and in the back they list normal ranges of things like heart rate, respiration, urine quantity, etc.
The horse is the most efficient domestic animal, with a heart rate nearly the same as an elephant. It has more efficient kidneys, and its respiration rate is the lowest of the animals listed.
So you see, the bear is a sprinter, but the horse is a stayer. If it avoids the first rush, it’s home free.
Unfortunately the book didn’t list mooses, bison or hobson. 
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Anne FS:
“Running Speed: Bears can run uphill and downhill and on flat ground. Lean bears can run faster than 30 miles per hour. Fat bears in their winter coats overheat and tire quickly when running.”<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Well then I’d make sure not to race a bear i the summer but in the winter when they are fat! Lol. Good lesson to remember, never ever race a bear on a horse. HaHa!
when we were riding in the wind river range in wyoming, i asked the leader.
and he said yes. i said that i thought bears were huge slow lumbering creatures. and i doubted it when he said they could run as fast as a horse.
he said actually with predators, how fast they can go or for how long has very little to do with it. it is not so much the speed of the predator, as how good the predator is at putting himself in a position where he can get the horse.
which, in the bear’s case, he said, was very, very good. bears are extremely intelligent and they set themselves up very well.
yea, yea, sure. but how do brown bears do in dressage?! hummph. 
“The man is only half himself, the other half is his expression.”
– Emerson “The Poet” (1844)
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Inverness:
yea, yea, sure. but how do brown bears do in dressage?! hummph. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
And what about the jumping phase? Or the rest of cross country? I mean so far it only looks like the bear has the edge in roads and tracks. What will happen to the poor bear if those get eliminated???
Enquiring minds need to know!
[I]“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.”
Albert Einstein (1878-1955)[/I]
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by hobson:
Maybe they’re assuming that the horse is carrying a 200-pound tourist, and the bear is real hungry?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes, but what would the moose be carrying? 
BigBay- bear wins hands down in a sprint. A reasonably healthy and fast horse can run away from a bear over a distance, but in a nose to nose OH SH**! situation, you better hope the bear goes the other way. Black bear generally will, if a cub is not involved.
For those of you taking those tree climbing recommendations seriously, I personally am sitting here going 
I had to hit the brakes coming out of Aspen a couple of nights ago, as a black bear was headed past the Hickory House restaurant ( this was a real bear, not the bronze on the roof, for those of you who have skied here) and toward the road at a good clip. That sucker did not cross the road in front of me as I was expecting, but he did gallop on up an old pine tree right next to the van. No slowing, just change of directions to a vertical. Took a GOOD look at that tree yesterday in the AM light, and from the claw marks, that bear is up that tree a LOT! I would also take the twelve foot recommendation with a BIG grain of salt,since that bear was that high in an eyeblink.
Moose are a bit testier and more likely to charge than a black bear. People who live where both are common walk real careful in moose territory… and are more likely to warn the tourista about the moose than the bear 
And buffalo ‘ranchers’ regularly loose horses to p***** off buffalo. We are talking race and ranch bred QH’s here, and the buffs are faster. AND they have more endurance than the QH sprinter. Irritated buff is a bad proposition to be around.
Do you all have ANY idea what kind of razzing you are in for when you call in late to work because there is a bear in the yard? EVERYONE wants to know if you appreciated their hard work and sweat in dressing up like a bear!
Horses don’t all spook off into a runaway at sight of a bear. Most do, especially if unused to other large animals. (My horses are cattle/ deer/ elk/ coyote proof) But an ol lead mare is likely to keep a close eye on that bear, and follow it at a bit of distance.
Lovely, I not only have horses that track mule deer and hunters on nearby slopes, I have to have one that tracks bear! I am off opening gates AWAY from the bear, and my horses are following it! Mare is a smart cookie, she was staying outside easy sprint and catch distance for a bear.
MY husband says if it’s a grizzle your toast. However, only if you’re not running downhill. Apparently, bears have a balance issue downhill.
SO, if you and Trigger meet Smokey in the woods you should head downhill if given the option!
Also here in Tennessee some guy got a citation this weekend by attacking and throwing a (obviously small) black bear to the ground. The tourist was not happy that said bear was in the processes of procuring a veal venison snack. The bear ran off and didn’t get the snack, the fawn had to be put down because of it’s injuries and the tourist I hope was shown the stateline–what does he think bears eat anyway?
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I mean in general, not a really fit bear racing a an old or sick horse.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I don’t know why reading this sentence made me almost snort my coffee this morning - I must be easy to amuse.
What about if the bear had one hand tied behind his back & gave the horse a head start?
My body is a temple - unfortunately, it’s a “fixer- upper”.
I remember going on a hike in grizzly country in the foothills of the Montana Rockies, and reading the bear warning signs. It advised that if I was approached by a bear, I should quickly climb up a stout tree, as high as possible, to at least 12 feet. I glanced around the windblown, hostile landscape, and noted that ALL of the trees were hunched over, with few actually exceeding 8 feet. 
Breaks down coming out of the starting gate
Friendship is Love without his wings
-Lord Byron
I’m assuming that a bear can outrun a horse on a flat track if it came to that. But, can a bear be as nimble and turn on a time like a horse?
For any of you that have seen Lord of the Rings, when “the white horse” is running from all the black ones some to mind. Sorry, I can’t think of any of the names. But those flying changes!
Anyways, I would think that a horse would win, but then again, I’ve never meet a bear.
I think, therefore I am single
I’m beginning to be very thankful that in my part of Virginia the most dangerous predators are the New Yorker drivers on their way to Florida! These moose (moose, mooses, meese?), angry bison, bears, racing peeps, etc. sound quite scary!
-Anne, the owner of a PrettyFilly and a WildArabianStallion-
“Change is inevitable…except from a vending machine.”
when I read your race card!! WAHAHA!!! I am glad that there are none of the aforementioned on Long Island !!Having lived on the Eastern shore of MD for several years if in fact the PIG SMELL is like the BEAR SMELL well I can understand why manyhorses d not like Eau du bear puuuuuu!
breezymeadow, riverpup must know us well. I can well imagine rp getting lots of posts back about, well, if the bear was a Rambo-bear and the horse was ancient and decrepit with stringhalt, sure, and then the thread would be off and running (like the bear) (or like the horse)and that would be that.
Actually, Moose pose a much greater threat. Out in Montana I was surprised to learn that Moose attacks on humans consistently outnumber all other animal attacks combined.
“The man is only half himself, the other half is his expression.”
– Emerson “The Poet” (1844)
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by hobson:
Maybe they’re assuming that the horse is carrying a 200-pound tourist, and the bear is real hungry?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Besides, how many top racehorses are out in the wilderness meeting really fit black bears? All these horses they talk about are probably broken-down rent-a-trail-horse grade horses with a “rider” who has only ever done pony rides. Statistics always forget that some people CAN ride nowadays. It’s not an old west phenomena.
-Anne, the owner of a PrettyFilly and a WildArabianStallion-
“Change is inevitable…except from a vending machine.”
Thanks so much everyone for the lively discourse! I have learned a lot and hope that I never am put in a situation that tests your answers. My husband will be smug.
