CANADA Canada - Ben Tyner, 32, cowboy, his horse returned w/o him, Merritt, British Columbia, 26 Jan 2019

[zecats]

JMO but if I took my dog everywhere I went all the time then the only time I wouldnt take her would be if I knew I wasnt coming back.

I’m sure that’s possible as he must have cared for the dog. It makes some sense. But wouldn’t he care for the horse as well. If he planned to not come back, there was no guarantee the horse would get back safely. Jmo

 

[ttcRider]

I’m sure that’s possible as he must have cared for the dog. It makes some sense. But wouldn’t he care for the horse as well. If he planned to not come back, there was no guarantee the horse would get back safely. Jmo

True. I guess he needed the horse to get away and maybe instead of having both loved animals potentially not make it back he left the dog behind. IDK its just so sad all a round. IMO

 

[Steelslady]

JMO but if I took my dog everywhere I went all the time then the only time I wouldnt take her would be if I knew I wasnt coming back.

This man had no reason to just take off on his own. Unless he had an undiagnosed mental illness or depression and did self harm, which I doubt, then I would agree with you. I don't believe that this man was leaving- either he got a very bad injury and can't be located, or someone harmed him and he's no longer with us. JMO

 

[jellybean96]

Have we seen or read anything about a girlfriend? Or even, any friends? What was his mental state the last time people saw him.

IMHO there is no way he would have endangered his horse - or dog - if he knew there was a chance he wasn't coming back. Cowboys just don't do that. They have a respect for their animals and my experience with Cowboys is they would get hurt before ever letting their animals get hurt.

 

[ttcRider]

back to the dog... lots of times you hear people say 'he took that dog with him everywhere' I know people who would say that about me and my dog but in fact I dont take her everywhere. Some days she just wants to stay home. So I am not going to put much into that. Too many variables. JMO Not sure how devoted he was to his fairly new position there but would he spend his day off working on finding 'lost cattle' like it was theorized or was he just going out for a ride to explore the area?

 

[LarkBunting]

He ride a mare or gelding? Mare in heat might attract unwanted feral stallion attention.

I don’t know for certain if he was riding a mare or gelding at the time, but on his Instagram, there are pics of a horse he references as a mare. So, mare would be my guess.

 

[zecats]

back to the dog... lots of times you hear people say 'he took that dog with him everywhere' I know people who would say that about me and my dog but in fact I dont take her everywhere. Some days she just wants to stay home. So I am not going to put much into that. Too many variables. JMO Not sure how devoted he was to his fairly new position there but would he spend his day off working on finding 'lost cattle' like it was theorized or was he just going out for a ride to explore the area?

Valid points. Perhaps it just wasn’t a suitable outing for the dog. Weather and wild animals for starters.

I don’t know how rugged it is there in that part of BC. . I’ve been to areas of BC where it is extremely mountainous and steep. It’s possible he fell off his horse or was already off and fell into an area that’s difficult to search. I’m scratching my head trying to think of possibilities with the info we’ve been given.

 

[MsFacetious]

I am bummed they've called off the search but I was expecting it. I think if he's made it this long he must have found shelter, so he'll make it for a long time. If he was immobile or injured outside then a week was pushing the limits of his survival anyway.

 

[Gracie55]

I'm so saddened the search is suspended. Is it possible the horse was a decoy and they need to rethink where he could have ended up? The cowboy crowd is a tough group to join out where I live, locals fiercely protective of their lore garnered from a lifetime of living in the area. Outsiders must earn their rank even if-or especially if-they've attended a fancy school. Ben had, and far more in experience. Far south of BC. I'd bet there was some jealousy. Could that have factored in? Why was an outsider chosen for this position? Was there already conflict?
These are my thoughts I'd want to answer.

 

[Rhenish]

I'm so saddened the search is suspended. Is it possible the horse was a decoy and they need to rethink where he could have ended up? The cowboy crowd is a tough group to join out where I live, locals fiercely protective of their lore garnered from a lifetime of living in the area. Outsiders must earn their rank even if-or especially if-they've attended a fancy school. Ben had, and far more in experience. Far south of BC. I'd bet there was some jealousy. Could that have factored in? Why was an outsider chosen for this position? Was there already conflict?
These are my thoughts I'd want to answer.

I agree, I have wondered the same with regard to him being an outsider.

 

[Rhenish]

Have we seen or read anything about a girlfriend? Or even, any friends? What was his mental state the last time people saw him.

IMHO there is no way he would have endangered his horse - or dog - if he knew there was a chance he wasn't coming back. Cowboys just don't do that. They have a respect for their animals and my experience with Cowboys is they would get hurt before ever letting their animals get hurt.

I agree, I also do not feel he would risk his dog nor his horse. If he wanted to disappear or harm himself , which I do not believe, there were/are tons of options available. Somebody obviously saddled up the horse and rode it or took it to the hills. I think if foul play happened someone could have saddled up the horse, removed one of the reins and let it go loose in a location that provided a fairly good chance of it being found while making it look like Ben had some type of accident of some sort while out riding. The missing rein is somewhat odd to me just because I can see somewhat removing it if they wanted to stage "an accident". Though,I do not think foul play was involved.

 

[JaneEyre]

back to the dog... lots of times you hear people say 'he took that dog with him everywhere' I know people who would say that about me and my dog but in fact I dont take her everywhere. Some days she just wants to stay home. So I am not going to put much into that. Too many variables. JMO Not sure how devoted he was to his fairly new position there but would he spend his day off working on finding 'lost cattle' like it was theorized or was he just going out for a ride to explore the area?

Right. And what were the temps there? Wouldn’t a dog have issues with freezing paws?

 

[Rhenish]

IMO -if he went out on this ride on Sunday, for whatever reason, he would have started at the very earliest at day break getting the horse ready, saddling and such and he would have planned on being back before dark which is around 5 - 5:30 ish PM. But, he may have even slept in and not left until mid morning as far as anyone knows, as it was his day off. Given that, I do not think he would have ventured too terribly far into the hills, as time would not have allowed doing so, which is probably why the horse made it back to the area of the ranch, they just were not that far away at any point in my minds eye.

Set aside any possibility of foul play, I have to surmise that some sort of "accident" occurred whether it was an animal attack or a fall that left him injured. It sounds like there has been an extensive search in "the area" where authorities believe he may have been/gone/ridden to and not a clue was found.

I think he left the dog at home because elements were not right and he planned on being back before the day was over.

What I am really confused about is why authorities say he may have been driven up to "the hills" by someone. I may have missed crucial information regarding why one would have to be driven to "the hills". Could he not have just left from his residence on horseback. I just do not get all of the speculation about Ben having been driven somewhere. Why would he need to be driven to where he wanted to go riding??? Maybe he wasn't and that is why no one has come forward.

 

[watcher9]

I too am sorry they canceled the search now but it would have happened eventually.

Ben looks like a true cowboy and doesn't seem like someone who would call it quits. He seems to show responsibility and dedication to his job if he rode out on his day off either to look for cattle or to survey the lands of the ranch. Could there be another reason? Going to church? Getting groceries? Do the owners even live there? How big is this ranch anyway?

If the loggers were working, would they stir up the habitats of the bears and cougars causing the animals to be upset and move about?
It would be good to know where they were logging in relation to when they saw the horse.

It is puzzling that both the loggers and the hunter claim to have found the horse unless maybe it was just a case of they saw but he caught it. Was the time before daylight over there when he reported he had caught it? Maybe the loggers saw the horse the day/night before?

If Ben were able, he would have made a fire causing smoke that could be spotted or detected.
If he were dead, would the vultures be flying around or would it be too cold for a scent to happen?

 

[Trudie]

I’m sure that’s possible as he must have cared for the dog. It makes some sense. But wouldn’t he care for the horse as well. If he planned to not come back, there was no guarantee the horse would get back safely. Jmo

Horses have a phenomal sense of way back home. And, they seem to make it twice as fast, lol. Once you turn around & head home, they pick up energy.

 

[Trudie]

I agree, I also do not feel he would risk his dog nor his horse. If he wanted to disappear or harm himself , which I do not believe, there were/are tons of options available. Somebody obviously saddled up the horse and rode it or took it to the hills. I think if foul play happened someone could have saddled up the horse, removed one of the reins and let it go loose in a location that provided a fairly good chance of it being found while making it look like Ben had some type of accident of some sort while out riding. The missing rein is somewhat odd to me just because I can see somewhat removing it if they wanted to stage "an accident". Though,I do not think foul play was involved.

Hopefully they can fly over this area?

In response to previous posts, cowboys & experienced riders don't tie reins together. If this is not a case of foul play, I think he dismounted and the horse got away. Most ranch horses are taught to STOP if the rider tumbles off, imo. 100% guaranteed? No.
I think Ben sounds like a great cowboy capable of handling brutal weather. Fingers crossed.

 

[Rhenish]

Do we know, was the rein broken? I’ve had a horse get loose and step on a rein, breaking it off at the bit.

What I read was that when the horse returned it was "missing one rein". It would have to break off at the bit because I am not sure where else it would be attached. I think that is odd though, I worked at a thoroughbred race track for years, many years ago, and if a horse got loose or threw its' rider the reins were still attached, not that it could not happen though. The horse could have been tied up while Ben was maybe taking a break from riding and spooked and the rein snapped or "unattached", or the horse lost the rider and ran off and stepped on the rein and it broke but, imo, both of these ideas seem unlikely. IMO.

ETA, IMO most often the reins are knotted or joined where the rider holds them but not always so I guess the rein could have broken off at the bit and hence " a missing rein". Just seems unusual to me.

 

[Rhenish]

Hopefully they can fly over this area?

In response to previous posts, cowboys & experienced riders don't tie reins together. If this is not a case of foul play, I think he dismounted and the horse got away. Most ranch horses are taught to STOP if the rider tumbles off, imo. 100% guaranteed? No.
I think Ben sounds like a great cowboy capable of handling brutal weather. Fingers crossed.

I did not know that about the reins. Thanks.

I agree, I too think he would be able to handle the brutal weather, at least to a point. I also have been wondering if he dismounted and the horse got a way or broke away, breaking the rein. At some point he would have most likely dismounted to give himself and the horse a break.

 

[Trudie]

What I read was that when the horse returned it was "missing one rein". It would have to break off at the bit because I am not sure where else it would be attached. I think that is odd though, I worked at a thoroughbred race track for years, many years ago, and if a horse got loose or threw its' rider the reins were still attached, not that it could not happen though. The horse could have been tied up while Ben was maybe taking a break from riding and spooked and the rein snapped or "unattached", or the horse lost the rider and ran off and stepped on the rein and it broke but, imo, both of these ideas seem unlikely. IMO.

Cowboys ride with very long reins, not like T-breds, imo.
I ride wih 12’ reins & think some guys I ride with have 16’.
So, the horse cd step on a part of the rein repeatedly breaking it at any point, or at the bit.
What bothers me is if Ben was not injured, he would have followed his horse, imo. At some point the horse stopped, I think we can agree. If they were close to the ranch, the horse probably would have kept going.
I have NEVER known a horse to not know his easy back to the starting point of his ride. Even trailered in to a new location. We go to Daniel Boone Forest all the time, always ride dif’ trails. As soon as we turn our horses around, their entire demeanor perks up and we can let loose of the reins. They know exactly where the trailer is. Jmo

 

[Rhenish]

Cowboys ride with very long reins, not like T-breds, imo.
I ride wih 12’ reins & think some guys I ride with have 16’.
So, the horse cd step on a part of the rein repeatedly breaking it at any point, or at the bit.
What bothers me is if Ben was not injured, he would have followed his horse, imo. At some point the horse stopped, I think we can agree. If they were close to the ranch, the horse probably would have kept going.
I have NEVER known a horse to not know his easy back to the starting point of his ride. Even trailered in to a new location. We go to Daniel Boone Forest all the time, always ride dif’ trails. As soon as we turn our horses around, their entire demeanor perks up and we can let loose of the reins. They know exactly where the trailer is. Jmo

Interesting insight, thanks. So basically, per what I speculate and what you have said regarding a horse returning they could not have been too far away. Also, I agree with what you said, Ben would have followed the horse.