wondering

pennyrain · 11-01-2009, 09:00 PM

Recently, there were some incidents not far from here that have sparked a lot of speculation. The owners of some horses believe their horses were attacked by a cougar. The DNR cannot confirm or deny that that is what happened.
Between the open and fairly densely settled area where I live and a 4 strand high tensile fence kept electrified I don't worry about predators on our property, I worry more about the highway that we live on.
But it's different where this incident took place. It is surrounded by State land, hilly, forested areas, and near a nice river with limestone bluffs. It is not densely settled, a really neat area (About 50 miles away from here). It got me to wondering what folks who live in such areas do to protect their animals. So for those of you that deal with things like cougars, what do you do?

MiniHorseFosterMom · 11-01-2009, 09:07 PM

Well... We haven't "seen" the cougar itself around here. We HAVE seen tracks within a few hundred feet of the house and pastures.

We have a couple of large farm dogs. And we have our rifles handy. We WILL shoot anything that attacks the horses or dogs. And legally we can. Mostly the cougar near us is going after the deer. We do have nights that the dogs are barking like crazy all night long, pretty sure the cat is near by at those points. We DO have trees in the pasture, so we are concerned about the possibility of one of the horses getting attacked, more so since we have a couple of ponies out there too.

Other then what we do, I don't think there is anything else we can really do. And speaking of the dogs... there they go barking again.*sigh* going to be a long night.

beth55051 · 11-01-2009, 09:21 PM

I have a Mustang.

He's proven his worth in keeping his herd safe from predators. Most of my mares are pretty tough as well. I pity the creature that tries to attack one of them. A Husky/wolf cross tried once. He did manage to make it back over the fence but didn't make it much further than that.

greygirls · 11-02-2009, 08:21 AM

We've got coyotes, wolves, bears & a cougar around here but none of them have ever bothered with the horses. I think the reason for that is the cattle farm next door...easier pickings

. I do know that, when I'm hacking out on the trials, if the horse is adamant about not wanting to go down a certain trail, I don't force the issue...just in case they know, or rather smell, something I don't.

dunamovin · 11-02-2009, 09:51 AM

My horses are used to the coyotes. They've killed a couple and the coyotes usually avoid them. My bedroom window opens right next to the big pasture. A couple weeks ago (right in the middle of bear hunting season) I heard the herd snuffling and snorting. They make different sounds for deer, coyote and bear. This was absolutely a bear alarm. I went out on the rear deck. It's 20' off the ground. There were two bears at the edge of the woods. I fired off a couple rounds with the 20 guage double barrel and they scrammed. Saturday night I came home late and there were two yellow eyes staring at me from near the hay barn. I grabbed the night vision goggles out of the truck. It was a panther

My neighbors have reported the panther for years and DNR just laughs at them. Says there are no panthers in this area. All I know it is was a 2 1/2' to 3' high cat with BIG teeth when it snarled. It was raining real hard or I would have made a cast of the tracks.

jjsimsez · 11-03-2009, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dunamovin

My horses are used to the coyotes. They've killed a couple and the coyotes usually avoid them. My bedroom window opens right next to the big pasture. A couple weeks ago (right in the middle of bear hunting season) I heard the herd snuffling and snorting. They make different sounds for deer, coyote and bear. This was absolutely a bear alarm. I went out on the rear deck. It's 20' off the ground. There were two bears at the edge of the woods. I fired off a couple rounds with the 20 guage double barrel and they scrammed. Saturday night I came home late and there were two yellow eyes staring at me from near the hay barn. I grabbed the night vision goggles out of the truck. It was a panther

My neighbors have reported the panther for years and DNR just laughs at them. Says there are no panthers in this area. All I know it is was a 2 1/2' to 3' high cat with BIG teeth when it snarled. It was raining real hard or I would have made a cast of the tracks.

panthers have been spotted off and on ,around here for years.DNR says its not true.they are lying. ive had family spot them. my dogs flushed one out of the woods one time.they cornered it in a tree.ive heard of horses being attacked by them. 1 horse attack i can confirm. she is a friend and it was her arab. vet even said cat claws made the wounds. thanks to the s.s.s, the reports of sightings have reduced. ive heard mules make good guards. if i had probs with them around my horses id prob buy a mule or something.

horsemom4 · 11-03-2009, 09:29 AM

The DNR also downplayed the cougar incident here in Minnesota. They said the wounds were probably from fencing or a nail or something

......
I saw the pictures of the horse and it looked llike claw marks to me.....claw marks around the back legs and up on it's rump....
This incident happened about 2 months ago...is that the one you were refering to, Pennyrain?

A few years ago we had some neighbors that reported cougar prints on their property. I had chickens, ducks, goats, and horses and nothing ever bothered them....I also had a German Shepherd that kept the riff raff out.

Red Gate Farm · 11-03-2009, 09:39 AM

My friend told me of a cougar attack up this way. Tore the throat out of a yearling QH. When reported to the local authorities, they tried to catch it but couldn't, so determined it had left.

They were told you weren't allow to shoot it. If I saw one around my stock, it would definitely die of accidental lead poisoning.

pennyrain · 11-03-2009, 01:47 PM

Thanks to everyone for the interesting insights.
Horsemom, the incident I was thinking of was from an article in the Post Bulletin a week and a half ago. It was near Forestville and apparently one horse is still missing. I don't remember when the horses were spooked but I think it was more recently than that(I clipped and mailed the articles), according to the news article the DNR could not confirm or deny that the horses were injured by a cougar. The chatter from a local horse related yahoo group is that there have been other incidents involving mostly cattle and smaller animals as well as another horse. If you know that area, you know it would be great for cow/calf operations but fairly hilly and partially foreested. We have a HUGE deer population so if there are cougars around they should be faring well.

horselady · 11-03-2009, 01:59 PM

We had two horses mauled a few years ago and encon and pd said no to cougars said the horses got caught in wire, Someone that I know saw the one horse and saw claw marks on the sides of her neck.
so it is possible that the horses were killed by cougars

petesmum · 11-03-2009, 06:35 PM

many folks around here have a gaurd llama for their cattle, as the coyotes tend to take down calves. i have heard some amazing stories of llamas taking on cougars. they sometimes get riped up pretty bad but they still protect their herd even if they arent the same species.

**taelesean** · 11-03-2009, 10:05 PM

If you think about it, Llama wool would make a pretty good body armor. Probably why the Llama grows it.

Horselady44 · 11-03-2009, 10:46 PM

Have a dog!

'She may be small but she is Feirce(sp?)' Shes a great dog and keeps everything and I mean EVERYTHING that moves off the property...yes including flies

Shes my protector and the horses. We havnt had alot of problems with mountian lions...just one...but We also keep our gun in the closet...before we got Weiser...we had alot of bear issues with the chickens and horses and we had to shoot a few

Weiser will just chase them off

Range · 11-04-2009, 07:00 AM

Donkey.

Though, donkey doesn't chase coyotes unless he perceives them as a threat. He will, however, take on stray dogs!

We had a bobcat decimate my ducks....that took a gun to rectify.

tuffsmom · 11-04-2009, 07:33 AM

Mules will kill them.

We had a yearling come into our barn a few years back that was attacked by a cougar. The DNR said we didn't have any in the area but we use to see Momma and cubs laying on the golf course in the mornings.

We also had one that was around the barn. We were told the samething except Sheri came face to face with it. She stalked my daughter for a long time. It was weird.

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11-01-2009, 09:00 PM
pennyrain Yearling Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: minnesota Posts: 783	wondering Recently, there were some incidents not far from here that have sparked a lot of speculation. The owners of some horses believe their horses were attacked by a cougar. The DNR cannot confirm or deny that that is what happened. Between the open and fairly densely settled area where I live and a 4 strand high tensile fence kept electrified I don't worry about predators on our property, I worry more about the highway that we live on. But it's different where this incident took place. It is surrounded by State land, hilly, forested areas, and near a nice river with limestone bluffs. It is not densely settled, a really neat area (About 50 miles away from here). It got me to wondering what folks who live in such areas do to protect their animals. So for those of you that deal with things like cougars, what do you do?

11-01-2009, 09:07 PM
MiniHorseFosterMom Newborn Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 44	Well... We haven't "seen" the cougar itself around here. We HAVE seen tracks within a few hundred feet of the house and pastures. We have a couple of large farm dogs. And we have our rifles handy. We WILL shoot anything that attacks the horses or dogs. And legally we can. Mostly the cougar near us is going after the deer. We do have nights that the dogs are barking like crazy all night long, pretty sure the cat is near by at those points. We DO have trees in the pasture, so we are concerned about the possibility of one of the horses getting attacked, more so since we have a couple of ponies out there too. Other then what we do, I don't think there is anything else we can really do. And speaking of the dogs... there they go barking again.sigh going to be a long night.

11-01-2009, 09:21 PM
beth55051 Bombproof Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: East Central Minnesota Posts: 7,977	I have a Mustang. He's proven his worth in keeping his herd safe from predators. Most of my mares are pretty tough as well. I pity the creature that tries to attack one of them. A Husky/wolf cross tried once. He did manage to make it back over the fence but didn't make it much further than that. __________________ *Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened.*

11-02-2009, 08:21 AM
greygirls Coming two Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Ontario Posts: 1,848	We've got coyotes, wolves, bears & a cougar around here but none of them have ever bothered with the horses. I think the reason for that is the cattle farm next door...easier pickings . I do know that, when I'm hacking out on the trials, if the horse is adamant about not wanting to go down a certain trail, I don't force the issue...just in case they know, or rather smell, something I don't. __________________ I cannot avoid compassion for all that is called life. That is the beginning & foundation of morality. -Albert Schweitzer

11-02-2009, 09:51 AM
dunamovin Halter broke Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: where the blacktop ends Posts: 181	coyotes, bears and cats Oh My My horses are used to the coyotes. They've killed a couple and the coyotes usually avoid them. My bedroom window opens right next to the big pasture. A couple weeks ago (right in the middle of bear hunting season) I heard the herd snuffling and snorting. They make different sounds for deer, coyote and bear. This was absolutely a bear alarm. I went out on the rear deck. It's 20' off the ground. There were two bears at the edge of the woods. I fired off a couple rounds with the 20 guage double barrel and they scrammed. Saturday night I came home late and there were two yellow eyes staring at me from near the hay barn. I grabbed the night vision goggles out of the truck. It was a panther My neighbors have reported the panther for years and DNR just laughs at them. Says there are no panthers in this area. All I know it is was a 2 1/2' to 3' high cat with BIG teeth when it snarled. It was raining real hard or I would have made a cast of the tracks.

11-03-2009, 09:29 AM
horsemom4 Yearling Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Southern Minnesota Posts: 732	The DNR also downplayed the cougar incident here in Minnesota. They said the wounds were probably from fencing or a nail or something ...... I saw the pictures of the horse and it looked llike claw marks to me.....claw marks around the back legs and up on it's rump.... This incident happened about 2 months ago...is that the one you were refering to, Pennyrain? A few years ago we had some neighbors that reported cougar prints on their property. I had chickens, ducks, goats, and horses and nothing ever bothered them....I also had a German Shepherd that kept the riff raff out. __________________ Riding is a complicated joy. You learn something each time. It is never quite the same, and you never know it all. ~Monica Dickens

11-03-2009, 09:39 AM
Red Gate Farm Started Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 2,362	My friend told me of a cougar attack up this way. Tore the throat out of a yearling QH. When reported to the local authorities, they tried to catch it but couldn't, so determined it had left. They were told you weren't allow to shoot it. If I saw one around my stock, it would definitely die of accidental lead poisoning. __________________ "Humans is sneaky" - Scotty

11-03-2009, 01:47 PM
pennyrain Yearling Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: minnesota Posts: 783	Thanks to everyone for the interesting insights. Horsemom, the incident I was thinking of was from an article in the Post Bulletin a week and a half ago. It was near Forestville and apparently one horse is still missing. I don't remember when the horses were spooked but I think it was more recently than that(I clipped and mailed the articles), according to the news article the DNR could not confirm or deny that the horses were injured by a cougar. The chatter from a local horse related yahoo group is that there have been other incidents involving mostly cattle and smaller animals as well as another horse. If you know that area, you know it would be great for cow/calf operations but fairly hilly and partially foreested. We have a HUGE deer population so if there are cougars around they should be faring well.

11-03-2009, 01:59 PM
horselady Kid Safe Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: albany new york Posts: 6,428	We had two horses mauled a few years ago and encon and pd said no to cougars said the horses got caught in wire, Someone that I know saw the one horse and saw claw marks on the sides of her neck. so it is possible that the horses were killed by cougars __________________ www.rainbow-horse-retirement.com We love and take care of your companion for the remainder of his lifetime

11-03-2009, 06:35 PM
petesmum Newborn Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada Posts: 33	many folks around here have a gaurd llama for their cattle, as the coyotes tend to take down calves. i have heard some amazing stories of llamas taking on cougars. they sometimes get riped up pretty bad but they still protect their herd even if they arent the same species. __________________ it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of fight in the dog

11-03-2009, 10:05 PM
taelesean Administrator Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Virginia Posts: 6,319	If you think about it, Llama wool would make a pretty good body armor. Probably why the Llama grows it. __________________

11-03-2009, 10:46 PM
Horselady44 Started Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Montana Posts: 2,401	Have a dog! 'She may be small but she is Feirce(sp?)' Shes a great dog and keeps everything and I mean EVERYTHING that moves off the property...yes including flies Shes my protector and the horses. We havnt had alot of problems with mountian lions...just one...but We also keep our gun in the closet...before we got Weiser...we had alot of bear issues with the chickens and horses and we had to shoot a few Weiser will just chase them off __________________ A happy horse equals a happy rider!

11-04-2009, 07:00 AM
Range Kid Safe Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Back of Beyond Posts: 6,739	Donkey. Though, donkey doesn't chase coyotes unless he perceives them as a threat. He will, however, take on stray dogs! We had a bobcat decimate my ducks....that took a gun to rectify. __________________ "Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it all... you just might get it all, and then some you don't want." Chris Daughtery

11-04-2009, 07:33 AM
tuffsmom Kid Safe Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Nebraska Posts: 5,736	Mules will kill them. We had a yearling come into our barn a few years back that was attacked by a cougar. The DNR said we didn't have any in the area but we use to see Momma and cubs laying on the golf course in the mornings. We also had one that was around the barn. We were told the samething except Sheri came face to face with it. She stalked my daughter for a long time. It was weird. __________________