A doubletree or something must've broke, or they'd've been dragging a wagon behind them. Still odd for them to come that unglued unless they were mighty green.
"Blinders" only limit the horses' field of vision to roughly that of a human, if correctly adjusted. Horses can normally see almost directly behind them without turning their heads. Which means they can see the wagon "chasing" them, which may trigger their instinctive "get the hell out of the way" response. That's all the blinders are for. To keep them from getting spooked by the wagon. They can see ahead and out to the side just fine.

A doubletree or something must've broke, or they'd've been dragging a wagon behind them. Still odd for them to come that unglued unless they were mighty green.
"Blinders" only limit the horses' field of vision to roughly that of a human, if correctly adjusted. Horses can normally see almost directly behind them without turning their heads. Which means they can see the wagon "chasing" them, which may trigger their instinctive "get the hell out of the way" response. That's all the blinders are for. To keep them from getting spooked by the wagon. They can see ahead and out to the side just fine.