[Mike Matson]

Holy mother!

http://richardaustinimages.wordpress...ichard-austin/

[carp]

That's what he gets for wearing red in front of a big male animal with horns

[Bluey]

Not sure the stag attacked him, or just found him in his way out of there and plowed thru him best he could manage.

Anyway, that is an awesome picture, nothing like being in the right time at the right place and prepared.

[Cindyg]

Must order riding vest!

[BEARCAT]

Matt Lauer is going to have flashbacks!

[FLeventer]

Obviously the stag gave his opinion on hunting season.

[mvp]

Just evening the score.

[Frank B]

As careless as cervids act during the rut, it's more likely the rider just got in the way of a running deer. A lot of deer/auto collisions occur when a buck T-bones a vehicle.

[pacificprima]

I had a similar incident involving a cat... Terribly embarrassing but thankfully no photographic evidence! Timing is everything!

[JSwan]

As careless as cervids act during the rut, it's more likely the rider just got in the way of a running deer. A lot of deer/auto collisions occur when a buck T-bones a vehicle.

Yeah - those folks weren't hunting deer. The rut is just crazee - I've seen riders taken out by bucks. The rider and horse were just standing there minding their own business and........... WHAM. It's not pretty. Horse and rider can be severely injured though the buck is usually fine.

A few years back one went through the window of a local restaurant. WHAM - CRASH.

Hubby was driving and was hit by a deer - not vice versa. Deer ran into the back of the truck. WHAM.

[Megaladon]

It looks more like a collision less like an "attack". Ouch!!

Wonder if the horse will be wary of deer now...

[Rallycairn]

Agree with those thinking collision not attack. Looks like it thought it could clear the horse/rider, couldn't but is trying to twist away. Article said it swam a river and crashed through a hedge, apparently into a group of large animals, and did the best it could to get through. Rolling my eyes a bit at calling it an attack.

Interesting photo to be sure.

[Bluey]

It looks more like a collision less like an "attack". Ouch!!

Wonder if the horse will be wary of deer now...

I don't know if the horse will put two and two together, he may never have seen what hit them.
If he is wary, I would not blame that horse at all.

Once, trotting down a cowtrail thru the brush in a deep draw, we were going North and in an instant I found myself going South on a panicky filly.
I barely saw out of the corner of my eye a deer crossing the trail at the same time we got to a cross trail.

Nice filly stayed under me and carried me away with her from that monster, when she could have left me in the air, like Wiley Coyote when chasing Beep-Beep the roadrunner.

That filly never seemed to be especially scared of anything.
Not every horse will lose it's mind because of previous encounters out of another dimension.

[BEARCAT]

From the website:
"Stag attack on Exmoor, still a remarkable event just a few days beforee the ban on hunting in 2005. Photograph: © Richard Austin

Journalist Martin Hesp and myself, press photographer (Richard Austin) were working on a possible book covering the last few weeks of legal Stag Hunting on Exmoor.The stag shot through the hedge having just swum the river and launched itself at the huntsman knocking him clean off his horse. The huntsman had few cracked ribs but the stag picked himself up and cantered off with a smile on his face.
The incident left me with the picture of a life-time. http://www.richardaustinimages.com"

[Equibrit]

That quite often happens here in Georgia when out foxhunting. The hounds are going through the woods and you are out whipping-in, when a flood of white tails thrash out of the covert and if you are in the way they think they can jump over you. A buddy of mine was seriously hurt this way.