About horses...

[felixia]

I was wondering, how horses react when they get spooked?
In something I'm writing, lightining will strike a tree, which I just *assume* would scare a horse....It would, right? So, how would the horse react, and what would be ideal to overcome it? Any kind of way, it's barely planned so there's room for any scenario...
Thanks!!!

[Einna]

Hmm...I assume someone's riding the horse at the time.
The horse would whinny and back away from the tree, possibly rear up and/or try and throw the rider. May try and run.
Best way to calm the horse down is just by talking quietly to it.

That's all I remember from when I was a kid and the horse I was on got spooked by a car. Anyone with more experience or expertise feel free to correct me or add.

[Aimless]

They instantly slip into fighting stance, forelegs raised to intercept incoming attacks.

[Tundra]

... i was wondering why i suddenly had "My Lovely Horse" from Father Ted stuck in my head... i saw this thread.

[phage2004]

The replies are correct, although if lightning actually struck within any close distance, I'm guessing you wouldn't be able to calm it down anytime soon, and you might not want to ride it again that night, depending on how good a rider you were, and what the personality and reaction of the horse was.

Horses are like people though, we're talking about the average reaction of the average horse. My father's advice in an incident like that was to allow the Horse to be by itself for a bit, then come get it and walk it back to the stables. (Not too ride it.)

My bet is, that if lightning struck, the horse would thow its rider, and then run away from the lightning strike. It could easily hurts its rider unintentionally. I don't know if you've ever been near where a lightning bolt touched down, but they are very frightening for people, more so for animals. Yes it would scare a horse.

[felixia]

Ooooh, cool. Thanks so much!