How do you Handle a Runaway Horse in the Wilderness?
A horse doesn’t have to be running to be a runaway – whether a horse became separated from its rider or wandered away from an overnight camp, a loose horse in the wilderness can be a scary situation for both horse and rider. No one intends to find themselves in this predicament, but it happens – whether the horse ran off due to bad behavior, spooked at something scary (real or imagined), or merely got loose is irrelevant once the horse is on the run. It pays to have a plan and take precautions for handling all emergency situations with horses, including a loose or runaway horse.
Keep calm (both horses and humans), and first see if the loose horse returns to the group. If the horse is causing other horses to panic, riders should dismount. Don’t imagine the worst-case scenario, rather handle the situation in front of you, and try not to think about the “what ifs.”
Stay in a group to encourage the loose horse to return to the herd. If the horse is still nearby and not running away but also not returning, slowly turn and leave with the whole group. The horse may decide to follow rather than be left behind.
Call 911 if the horse does not return within a few minutes, and inform both law enforcement and the local ranger station of the incident and give them the last known location of the horse. Give them your contact information, so they will know who to contact in case someone else finds the horse and calls it in. If there are roads nearby, emergency responders can warn traffic in order to prevent an accident – which would be considered the fault and responsibility of the horse’s owner or rider. Caution them not to chase the horse, but rather try to contain it in a smaller area if possible, in order to prevent the horse from running further or injuring someone who may not know how to properly approach a horse.
Phone home. Horses have a strong sense of direction, and will often return to wherever the ride started; a trailhead, trailer parking, campground, or home. If there is someone at that end, call to inform them that the horse may be arriving on its own, and ask that they keep an eye out and a halter handy.
Do not chase the horse. If the horse did not come back in the first place, the horse may not want to be caught, and chasing the horse may result in the horse taking off again, running even farther away, and/or injuring itself or others. Chasing the horse with another rider on horseback can turn into a race, putting the second rider at risk as well. Chasing a horse on foot is simply a race we cannot win.
Approach the horse if it is walking or standing, on foot or on foot while leading another horse, speaking in soothing tones. Avoid looking the horse in the eye and try to get its attention so that it looks at you with both eyes. If it takes one step towards you, stop and wait for it to approach or continue walking parallel rather than directly towards it. Offer treats if you have any, or shake a hand as if you have a handful of grain to offer the horse, to encourage it to approach you.
Track the horse if it has disappeared completely. Look for hoof prints or trampled grass indicating the direction of travel. Horses tend to stay on the trail if they can, unless they are tempted by an inviting wide-open space. Once off the trail, they tend towards open meadows or grassy areas, and might even stop to graze. Horses are more likely to travel uphill than down, and are inclined to avoid deep woods or brush unless it’s the only way to reach drinking water. If multiple riders and/or people on foot are available, fan out to look for tracks or evidence of the horse. The longer the horse has been gone, the more possible routes for it to have taken. Make sure no one gets lost while tracking the lost horse.
If the horse is hindered by tangled reins or tack, or is dragging an object it pulled loose or was tied to, try to detach, loosen, or cut away the object before catching the horse. If the horse spooks, it can injure itself or others, and a horse shaking with fear is more likely to panic.
If the horse is not found within several hours, it is time to start putting up posters at trailheads, postings online, and announcements in the local paper or radio, with photos and contact information in case someone finds the horse.
Prevention and Precautions
Horses are inherently unpredictable, so there is no way to completely guarantee that this situation will never happen, but there are measures that can be taken to minimize the risk.
Training at Home
o Make sure your horse can lead, tie, pony, and can be ponied well.
o Teach your horse to be readily caught.
o Accustom your horse to trail riding and trail conditions. Start with short trail rides close to home and work your way up to longer rides, farther away.
o Spend time desensitizing and sacking out your horse, to curtail spookiness.
On the Trail
o Never let horses loose completely – even grazing horses should wear a halter, hobbles, or other form of control. Pony horses with a good rope, rather than trusting pack horses to follow without a lead line.
o Keep identification on your horse – a tag with the name and contact information of the rider, an emergency contact, and the contact for either your stable, campground, or location you are riding from. If you are camping overnight, braid a tag into the horse’s mane so it will be worn even when the horse isn’t tacked up.
o Keep your cell phone on your person rather than on the horse, in a backpack or fanny pack, along with GPS locator of some sort and/or a map.
o Ride with a piece of rope just large enough to use as an emergency halter.
o Use bells, hobbles, and other devices while grazing to prevent horses from wandering off, and to be able to find them if they do.
o Double security overnight – if leaving horses out overnight, use two forms of containment if/when you can, such as a highline or hobbles AND an electric corral.
Have you experienced this frightening situation? How did you handle it? What do you know now that you wish you had known then? How did you eventually catch the runaway horse? Share your experiences in the comments below.