Minimor
Well-Known Member
No poisonous snakes here, thank goodness. We had rattlers in the ND badlands when we lived in that area and my grandparents ranched there--I learned at a very young age about snakes and where not to go and to watch carefully where I walked.
We do have foxes, coyotes, timber wolf and cougar here. Bears too but they have never ventured out this far from the forest/marsh (mile & a half away).
Foxes--any fox that comes around here is very soon a dead fox. I will not tolerate them being anywhere near because they do steal & kill cats. Used to be our Sheba dog would guard against them & if one did grab a cat she was right after it so it would drop the cat & run. She is gone now & Arielle is not yet any good at protecting cats from foxes. So, we have to be vigilant & dispose of them ASAP
Coyotes--we only ever had a problem with them one winter in the 25 years we have been here. They were coming into the yard & stealing cats--actually they stole cats all over the neighborhood that one winter--they'd come in right in broad daylight, and at night the one would come in & sit & watch us do chores. There were 2 that were a problem--I called upon a hunter to come & dispose of them. He came out, called them in & got the two problem animals right away. I don't have a huge concern about coyotes bothering the horses unless we have young foals at the time--we don't have the tiny Minis, ours are mostly the taller B's and the coyotes would have to be very aggressive to mess with them, especially now that we have some ponies that will give chase to any canine type creature that comes too close. I like having a big dog that will warn if the coyotes come in too close.
Timber wolves...fortunately they have been here on our property only 2 or 3 times and that was within the space of 3 days, about 7 years ago--as far as I know they haven't been back. The first time I saw them there were 4 of them out in our back pasture. Sheba knew they were there & she knew they weren't coyotes--she would chase a coyote (carefully, she knew not to let them lure her too far out) but she wanted no part of those wolves! They came back later that night, we believe, and came in very close to the barn because one of our Morgans got scared through the fence. He broke a very heavy fence rail to get out, and that wasn't like him. Something scared him badly and we believe it was the wolves. I don't believe they were after him (as the game warden said, if they had wanted him they would have had him & I know that is true) I think they just came in too close & he got scared. A couple mornings later they killed a big buck in the field just east of here--Mom saw them on the back road afterward, and our horses were nervous wrecks for days afterward. Obviously they had heard the commotion of the kill.
Cougars--one year we had a big problem with a cat coming around and watching our horses. They were basket cases, so we knew the cat was around, likely eyeing them for dinner. They were wary & we kept them up around the barn, under lights, so the cat would never have been able to sneak up on them. Other horses in the area were not so lucky--there were several attacks on horses that year. We only had Morgans then, no Minis--it would be even more of a worry now if a cat started coming around because we have all Minis and ponies and cannot possibly shut them all in the barn at night. We hope it never happens! There was a cat in this neighborhood last fall but he didn't come to this end of the subdivision as far as we know. He was seen several times about a mile to a mile & a half from here. I know people who would shoot a cat on sight, even though they are a protected species--and so if one comes around I hope it ends up in their yard instead of mine. I would shoot one also, but do not have a gun. Best I can do in the event that I come upon an attack on my horses is stick the cat with my 3 tined hay fork!!! (and I would too. A neighbor that has goats said if the cat were after his goats there is no way he would go outside. Not so with me--I would not stay in the house while something was attacking a horse--I would be out there screaming like a banshee and attacking with my fork!)
There are lynx and bobcat around but we haven't seen them. I am not too worried about them. We've had eagles but not often. We also have owls--a great horned owl and one winter a snowy owl was hanging around our yard. I prefer them to stay away--they didn't bother our cats, but they could.
Moose--there has been a big bull moose on the road in front of our place. While that's a very cool thing to see right here, I don't want to see one around--a moose can make a huge mess of a fence!!
Deer--we have them passing through. Last year there were a few nights where we had some out in the pasture eating hay with the horses. No problem with that unless the deer gets aggressive--a friend has had a buck getting after her Minis, trying to chase them away from their hay so he could eat it.
I have no qualms about going outside after dark. I do a lot of chores in the dark, especially this time of year--I do carry a light, usually just a small flashlight and I usually have the dog with me.
We do have foxes, coyotes, timber wolf and cougar here. Bears too but they have never ventured out this far from the forest/marsh (mile & a half away).
Foxes--any fox that comes around here is very soon a dead fox. I will not tolerate them being anywhere near because they do steal & kill cats. Used to be our Sheba dog would guard against them & if one did grab a cat she was right after it so it would drop the cat & run. She is gone now & Arielle is not yet any good at protecting cats from foxes. So, we have to be vigilant & dispose of them ASAP
Coyotes--we only ever had a problem with them one winter in the 25 years we have been here. They were coming into the yard & stealing cats--actually they stole cats all over the neighborhood that one winter--they'd come in right in broad daylight, and at night the one would come in & sit & watch us do chores. There were 2 that were a problem--I called upon a hunter to come & dispose of them. He came out, called them in & got the two problem animals right away. I don't have a huge concern about coyotes bothering the horses unless we have young foals at the time--we don't have the tiny Minis, ours are mostly the taller B's and the coyotes would have to be very aggressive to mess with them, especially now that we have some ponies that will give chase to any canine type creature that comes too close. I like having a big dog that will warn if the coyotes come in too close.
Timber wolves...fortunately they have been here on our property only 2 or 3 times and that was within the space of 3 days, about 7 years ago--as far as I know they haven't been back. The first time I saw them there were 4 of them out in our back pasture. Sheba knew they were there & she knew they weren't coyotes--she would chase a coyote (carefully, she knew not to let them lure her too far out) but she wanted no part of those wolves! They came back later that night, we believe, and came in very close to the barn because one of our Morgans got scared through the fence. He broke a very heavy fence rail to get out, and that wasn't like him. Something scared him badly and we believe it was the wolves. I don't believe they were after him (as the game warden said, if they had wanted him they would have had him & I know that is true) I think they just came in too close & he got scared. A couple mornings later they killed a big buck in the field just east of here--Mom saw them on the back road afterward, and our horses were nervous wrecks for days afterward. Obviously they had heard the commotion of the kill.
Cougars--one year we had a big problem with a cat coming around and watching our horses. They were basket cases, so we knew the cat was around, likely eyeing them for dinner. They were wary & we kept them up around the barn, under lights, so the cat would never have been able to sneak up on them. Other horses in the area were not so lucky--there were several attacks on horses that year. We only had Morgans then, no Minis--it would be even more of a worry now if a cat started coming around because we have all Minis and ponies and cannot possibly shut them all in the barn at night. We hope it never happens! There was a cat in this neighborhood last fall but he didn't come to this end of the subdivision as far as we know. He was seen several times about a mile to a mile & a half from here. I know people who would shoot a cat on sight, even though they are a protected species--and so if one comes around I hope it ends up in their yard instead of mine. I would shoot one also, but do not have a gun. Best I can do in the event that I come upon an attack on my horses is stick the cat with my 3 tined hay fork!!! (and I would too. A neighbor that has goats said if the cat were after his goats there is no way he would go outside. Not so with me--I would not stay in the house while something was attacking a horse--I would be out there screaming like a banshee and attacking with my fork!)
There are lynx and bobcat around but we haven't seen them. I am not too worried about them. We've had eagles but not often. We also have owls--a great horned owl and one winter a snowy owl was hanging around our yard. I prefer them to stay away--they didn't bother our cats, but they could.
Moose--there has been a big bull moose on the road in front of our place. While that's a very cool thing to see right here, I don't want to see one around--a moose can make a huge mess of a fence!!
Deer--we have them passing through. Last year there were a few nights where we had some out in the pasture eating hay with the horses. No problem with that unless the deer gets aggressive--a friend has had a buck getting after her Minis, trying to chase them away from their hay so he could eat it.
I have no qualms about going outside after dark. I do a lot of chores in the dark, especially this time of year--I do carry a light, usually just a small flashlight and I usually have the dog with me.
