The Neighs Have it

Let me start off with saying I have a unwarranted fear or horses, probably bought on by cowboy movies and Ben Hur where they kick, bite and roll over on people. On a 6 mile bike ride, I made an unexpected turn into an area of a state park that I didn't even know existed and started to climb up to the top of the hills, I became exhausted and decided to walk my bike up the rest of the way. It was then that I noticed a large group of unsupervised horses off to the side, eating grass. I figured as long as I didn't startle them, they would freak out and trample after me. I slowly and silently walked passed them. And then, one of them (the leader?) gives a horse neigh sound. Suddenly, they all started walking behind and to the side of me, like the Jets, ready to pounce. I managed to keep my cool because, maybe like dogs, they can smell fear. On the trail, separating different area is a barbed wired fence and a metal cow gate for entry. I figured out that these horses think that I'm leading them to exit through the cow gate so that they can go somewhere else and eat more grass. Most likely, this is a routine that their owner does during the day. The top of the hill was a lot higher than I wanted to go so I decided to turn around and go back. Unfortunately, at this time, the horses are blocking my path. Like a scene from the Birds, I cautiously walked my bike pass these gigantic human rolling-over animals.

 Thing are going smoothly until this large white one comes right up to me. Like an alien meeting a human for the first time it examines me and my bike so close that I thought I might as well touch it. I reach out my hand, quite prepared for it to bite it off and  it lets me touch it right between the eyes, then it let's me pet it. I walk my bike around it and it and a few others start to follow me down the hill. The white horse starts licking and trying to eat my bicycle seat. The horses figure out that I'm not some horse wrangler come to liberate them and they trotted off back to where they were before. I rode home vowing to never eat horse meat.