Mexican Watch Pony

I was working in the flower garden with my capable assistant Jules the Dog, when I realized that Maggie the Mexican Pony was seriously disturbed by something. Her head was way up, her tail was like a flag and she was trotting animatedly from one side of her pasture to the other. When she got to the fence, she'd blow out through her nostrils with a mighty, "HHHUUUHHHNNNNH". I caught on that she was trying to scare away whatever it was in the woods. I joined her in the field, to lend moral support and try and get a good look.
First, I went into the house to secure the camera, as it occurred to me that every time I've seen something really, truly awe-inspiringly weird- like bears or bobcats- I am sans camera. But much like car noises that mysteriously disappear when you take the car to a garage, the shy monster in the margin of the woods remained hidden while I kept company with Maggie. I gamely attempted to make the same gruff trumpeting sound as my Watch Pony. Maggie glanced over at me with a certain respect for my desire to join the chorus, but poor Jules looked downright embarrassed at my amateurish efforts. I'll practice.

I suspect it was a bear because one time when I was still boarding Crispin, a bear lumbered through the bushes behind all the horse paddocks. Several people caught glimpses of it, as it crashed through the brush, emitting loud snuffs... and the horses went ballistic. Each one took turns galloping around wildly and neighing; it was most impressive but not conducive to safe and leisurely riding. Today, I'd been hoping to saddle up my splendid steed and mosey down the local trail before it rained, but with unidentified animals on the loose, I gardened instead.
I never did spot what upset Maggie, but she kept up her vigil for an hour or so while Jules and I transplanted some hostas. I brought Maggie a bucket of grass that I trimmed from our overgrown lawn as a reward for being such a brave horse.