I took care of her every day of her life she had left, and was by her side as she passed peacefully into the next world.
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This is Amish horse 101!
An old Amish guy I knew just trained horses, mostly started them. They were considered “broke” when
they crossed the train tracks and would stand at the tracks.
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Other animals: Surprise Llama (horse had never seen one, neighbor got one for his sheep and I wasn’t aware. Everyone was surprised.), black bear, pigs (horse had never seen), turkeys (wild and domestic), turkey buzzards flying up from Dead Thing, deer exploding out of shrubbery, six “free range” angus beef cows in the woods, unsecured dogs barreling at us without an owner in sight. (My guy is pretty good about dogs, but when they run at him in full-throated bark like they’re going to eat him, he’s somewhat concerned because the dogs he KNOWS do not do that.)
Vehicular hazards: Guy peeling out in muscle car inside covered bridge. (We could hear him but not see him. Excitement ensued.) Guy on ATV looking for his missing six Angus Beef Cows (see above). Tractor towing running farm equipment, approaching from behind on the hard road, Semi truck (milk hauler) deploying air brake, school bus, garbage truck (fine) with garbage man on foot handling trash cans (not fine), motorcycle with Ape Hanger handlebars, bicycles of all sorts, strollers with balloons on them.
Environmental hazards: Dark stumps, light rocks, puddles (streams are fine, rivers are fine, lakes are fine, puddles are dangerous), fluttering plastic bags in unexpected locations, people in bow-hunting camo who do not know to talk to us. (Bow hunters, when we say “Hi, how’s it going?” we want you to make words so our horses know you aren’t a mobile tree.)
Yes, I do ride an Arab. Why do you ask?
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The plastic bag one reminded me of a time I was riding my very sane, professional trail horse on a group ride in Eastern WA. It is a pretty much deserty area full of sage and rocks and as we were riding across, way off in the distance was a bag hung up on a sage brush. My horse was staring at it as we got closer and closer and just as we drew abreast, he spooked sideways. What a dope! He felt a little stupid when he realized it was just a bag when I went over to take it off and pack it out.
Trail skill:
Turning around on a very narrow trail that drops off on one side;
Carrying a bicycle across a river for a lone bike rider;
Sliding down the side of a canyon/ravine into a creek bottom when the trail leader took a wrong turn and this was the only way out. I was on my three year old but she handled the situation like a champ, slid down the side on her rear end and never lost her head. There had to be at least 15 riders on that one and we had to cut our way out of the canyon.
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If he had a bow with him he may have been nothing more than a hunter taking a break along the trail on his way ( to or from) hunting. Sounds like he got the clothing right if nobody noticed him.
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I’m sure he was hunting, my memory has it as it was reasonable for a hunter to be there probably wondering if he should announce his presence or wait for us to move it along and we were there so long it got awkward. haha
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Trail skill:
Getting chased up the trail by a very angry mama grouse. LOL “Run Zephyr, run away!”
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How about a pissed off skunk…well actually 2 annoyed skunks! One was all white and I just thought it was a piece of paper (was at night) so I approached it. Uhhh nope!! I saw the other skunk, omg run Larry run! The both of them did chase us off 
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Yesterday, riding in the mountains, my friends and I were challenged and followed by three different young bulls. Even though our horses have all been around plenty of cows, having bulls come up and snort and paw at us as we passed had all the horses on high alert. But the mature and huge bull we passed? He didn’t bat an eye or care one bit that we were passing by.
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Late to the party, but:
Normally blase (at least on familiar trails) TB, spooks under me while DH & I are standing at a park with a conveniently fallen log we take turns jumping.
Small kid running up from behind us waving a whifflebat 
My Skunk Story:
(apologies, I know I’ve posted this before)
DH & I on a trail shared by dogwalkers.
Guy has his dog off leash & dog starts following us. He is calling for dog, but apparently dog has no recall, so I tell DH to stop & stand so guy can get his dog.
He does… Then proceeds to scream at & beat the dog with the leash.
I would have said something, but guy was so furious I chose not to.
About 1/2h later, as we’re coming back down the same trail, we smell skunk.
I tell DH to watch for the skunk as I don’t want to be sprayed if it’s still there, still scared…
We see same guy, now red-faced & looking
?slimy/sweaty?.
Dog is on leash & in a patch of brush at the side of the road.
As we get nearer, skunkstink increases & it’s apparent both dog & Asshat got sprayed full on.
The slimy/sweaty is skunkspray 
My guess is dog found the skunk & got it riled, guy wasn’t smart (or fast) enough to prevent Close Encounter.
Pity.
Bonus Points as this park was not near any homes, people drove there.
So Asshat & dog had to drive home.
I hoped he had leather seats in his car 
Karma?
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Nothing like seeing your dog approach a skunk to make you glad you invested the time and effort in a good recall!
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Or a porcupine!
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Or a bear…
Recall is a good thing!
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This is a fun thread; lotsa unsung trail skills 
I would like to comment that it really ruffles my feathers to hear someone say “Oh; he’s just a trail horse.” Yeah right; a solid trail horse is the very apex of “Well Trained”, and “Unflappable”. At least you’d better hope so. Nuff said 'bout that.
Heres an unusual trail skill for your amusement. George and I were leading a club ride at a local OpenSpace park; maybe 1/2 dozen riders. We had just come out of a patch of ScrubOak, when a Bicyclist comes screaming around the corner in front of us, sees George, slams on the brakes, and does a perfect somersault over the handlebars, landing right at Georgies feet with his bicycle on top.
George said “Oh Wow” and stepped back a pace. Meanwhile the rest of the riders stack up behind us, and the riders girlfriend pulls up in front. By now, the grounded rider has recovered his dignity a bit, but is still laying sprawled in the trail with a Mule standing over him, and a bunch of other Equines glaring down at him.
I gave George a good pat and said something to the effect of “It’s OK George; just a Bicycle; you can stomp him now if ya wanna . . .”
Of course we did no such thing; just stepped off of the trail and walked around, with the rest of the team following suit, and the guys girlfriend still astride her bike and trying very hard not to laugh.
But I’ll bet the story got a totally different slant when retold at the bar that evening. “How a team of Horses knocked me to the ground and tried to stomp me . . .”
However “He who laughs last laughs best” and we giggled about it all of the way home.
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Two days ago I was riding at a spanking trot down a steep rocky trail when my saddle began to slide to the side. I’m here to tell you that at a certain point there is nothing you can do to right a slipping saddle while still in it. It reached that point in about three strides and I bailed off the other side rather than go under my horse. It was caused by a newly washed mohair string girth that I couldn’t tighten enough when saddling up.
Anyway my mare was panicking about the saddle on her side but – and here is the good trail horse part – she listened to me saying easy girl easy girl I got you, and stood still while I righted the saddle and hopped back on and continued our ride.
I routinely get into rather hairy situations out riding alone – a fallen tree we have to bushwhack around or limbo under, fording dubious streams, running from angry wasps … and while my horse is no George The Mule, she does trust me, look to me for help and guidance, and comes when I call.
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Oh that reminds me of once we had a pack slip on our good old pack horse, I let my sisters in law pack him (we were on a girl pack trip and some were more experienced than others) and they strapped a guitar on as the top pack. At the top of the first set of switchback the whole thing rolled under his belly. Guitar girl freaked out and ran in to save her guitar but good ol’ Dozer just took it as an opportunity to get some snacks while we untangled him. Guitar and everything else survived and we switched from a box hitch to a diamond for that load…
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Fledermous, you have touched upon what is, IMO, probably the very most important skill a rider can possess: The ability to calm and reassure your partner.
Everything you do comes back to that point, over and over again.
“It’s OK, Horse-o-Mine; it’s just a Fire Breathing Dragon, and it doesn’t care about us. Walk-on.”
“Phew. OK Human; I trust your judgement. Let’s git gone.”
This really, really, reallyreallyreally applies to a trail horse.
George taught me that. “George; you’re scarin’ your daddy.” “Quit yer whining, Human; I got this. Sit down, shut up, hold on.”
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The biggest difference between an arena and a real trail is the negotiation. If you trust your horse to try hard to get through something, when they say no, it’s time to listen. No Trail Course Committee put together that trail, and sometimes your horse does, in fact, know best.
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Every Spring on our first ride on the Rails to Trails my horse has to stop and stare at bicyclists. By the third ride she pays little attention to them. This year a family was riding towards us; that was ok. But then they stopped and everyone got off and left their bikes to read a historical marker. Free range bicycles! Escaped from their riders! Normally she likes to lead the riding group but she insisted somebody else walk past those loose bikes ahead of her.
I think at every trail competition the rider should have to stop, dig out their cell phone and take a photo. The only time my horses refuse to stand still is when I want to take a picture.
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My horse hates aggressive dogs. He will offer to chase them away, head down, neck snaked, ears pinned to invisibility. This freaks dogs out, even if they have been thinking just seconds before “Oh let’s chase these horses!”
He will do this in pasture on the thankfully rare occasion that an aggressive dog gets loose out there. He will do it on trail rides and ask me to let him go after them. He just can’t stand being challenged by a dog.
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