Coyotes and horses. Should I be worried?

We have obvious signs of coyotes here. I've seen one real close to the barn and supposedly you never see them! Plus we can hear them. I leave my quarter pony and ottb out at night. Should I be worried?

We have Coyotes go through our pastures all the time....they mind their own business and don't bother the horses.

Good to know. Thanks. And while on topic, a friend was talking about a black bear attacking a horse around here. I have never heard of such a thing and find it very hard to believe... Thoughts?

A bear could attack. It all depends on what the food is like for the bear at that point. Or if the horse threatens the bear/her cubs at all.

Coyotes scare me. We had a pack of them, very close to us this spring. I contacted the DNR about it. They were "so helpful"...NOT. I came to the conclusion, anyone I see threathening my animals...will meet a bullet. DNR did say they don't stay in one spot long typically, and a few weeks later, they were gone. Havent seen signs of then in awhile.

Years ago, I rounded the backside of my barn, in the horse pasture and came 10 feet away from a coyote. We stared at eachother, I was freaked out, but it turned tail and ran. Thank God.
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I wouldnt worry. I've seen coyotes walking right up to horses and they were no threat. Also, they're pretty harmless when alone but even in packs they prefer to go after smaller prey (a foal perhaps or calves). Less risk of injury and an easier take down.
As for the bear, i've never heard of one, especially a black one, attacking a horse. Most bears are scavengers or go after smaller prey. Typically a black bear that does attack like that is a young one, usually male and probably very hungry.

We have LOTS of coyotes here, we see them all the time. We haven't had a problem yet *knocks on wood* but I do have one horse who gets nervous if left in a certain pasture by himself, so if he is there, I put a buddy in with him, and he's fine. Of course, this is the horse that runs the fence all day long if we take the other horses and leave him behind, so he's prone to be a bit nervous anyway.

Coyotes are not a big worry around horses (I assume there are no new born foals on the place) but if they are close to the barn, they can be a grave concern with regard to smaller creatures like chickens, cats, little dogs so keep an eye out for that.

The best thing to do would probably be put up electric fencing but then my kids would just shock the sh!t outa themselves.

I second this. I never worry about coyotes. They are pretty small to go after a horse. Now dogs, cats, and chickens are another matter! They WILL kill your small animals. But I think a horse is more a threat to a coyote than a coyote is to a horse.

People worry wayyyy too much about wildlife. We are in a wooded area with coyotes, foxes, bears, mountain lions, etc. The foxes are the biggest pest because I have chickens. Coyotes would take a chicken if they could but never infiltrate the coop fencing. I've seen a few bears in the 13 or so years we've lived here but never had a problem with them. And I've NEVER seen a mountain lion. They are at the top of the list of animals I would like to see in real life.

We have one that, for some reason, regulary stays with the herd. He's never been a bother. We had a cougar once (I did phone Fish and Wildlife to relocate, but they said no) who ended up with cubs that ventured into my stallion's pen, where they ceased to exist. Bear's haven't come up to bother any of the horses.
If I do, however, see a coyote in my yard, I'll take a shot at it. My little Chihauhau's won't be their snack.