Safety in Numbers?

The place where I keep my horses is isolated to say the least. Until recently, a farmer used the adjacent fields for cattle and sheep, and kept dogs in a shed nearby. He's just retired, and at the end of January, the dogs, cows and sheep were finally all gone.

I'm now very aware when I'm up there that there isn't another human for a good couple of miles (and I quite like it!). Foolishly, I hadn't thought too much about how it might affect the horses. There are 5 of them, and they watch out for each other, so I hadn't really considered what they felt about the other surrounding animals.

Since the other animals left, the horses are noticeably more alert and 'spooky'. Flynn has been leaving his hay frequently to gaze over the field where the cows used to be. How much did they depend on very visible signs from the cattle when possible dangers arose, and the audible signals from the dogs? Interesting...