I wonder if copperheads have an odor and your sweet pony sensed that smell was wrong?
Yes, copperheads have an odor some say is like cucumber. Horses can smell it better than us.
“I wonder if copperheads have an odor and your sweet pony sensed that smell was wrong?”
Yes, they do. I can smell rattlesnakes. They have a very distinct musky wet odor. My horses could always smell a copperhead on the farm.
My horses were not afraid of them and killed many. They double-teamed them. One horse grabbed the tail while the other horse stomped the head while it was worried about what had its tail. Once dead, they pulled it apart. I found copperhead snake pieces all over the pasture.
None were ever bitten but I kept a 6’ piece of water hose handy just in case.