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RE: [RC] Riding amongst wildlife - Libby & Quentin Llop DVMHere in NY the white tail deer (hooved rats) are a bit of a problem. Where we are in open farming country the population is estimated at 25 (corn fed) deer per square mile. Nearer the cities, in the treed suburbs where hunters cannot go , the population is in excess of 70 (Garden and shrub fed) deer per square mile. We fox hunt. It is common for the field (mounted followers) to number 60 to 80 horses and riders. The field follows the huntsman single file. This makes quite a long line. When hounds go into a woods (draw a covert) the deer understandably want to leave and are sometimes blocked by the field, which is often galloping. Sometimes panicked deer try to shoot through the gaps and there are collisions. The horses are usually OK, but are sometimes badly injured when the deer is an antlered buck. When my son was little, his 12 hand POA collided with and rolled a small deer. The other wildlife we see riding, but not so close, are foxes and coyotes of course, and beaver, porcupine, possum, skunks and raccoon. Seeing the last three in the daytime is not a good thing as they are probably rabid. Libby -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Friday, December 17, 2004 11:36 AM To: mad1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Cc: tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx; dabneyesq@xxxxxxxxxxx; ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: RE: [RC] Riding amongst wildlife Where I live there are lots of deer (muledeer and whitetail), elk, moose, wolves, bears, cougars and an assortment of smaller stuff like lynx, fox, fishers etc. It's unusual not to see something when we ride. My endurance horse who doesn't like to share his food with anyone, has adopted a little whitetail doe and he will let her share his hay and beetpulp. I don't worry about wild life on the trail, what I worry about his how many little whitetail butts I'm going to see sticking out from under the hay tarp when I drive in the yard at night!! LOL! Sounds like our house! I have a picture taken last winter taken out of my office window of mule deer standing in the back of my feed truck, eating the partial bales left there. We've been blessed with an open winter so far, so I am still able to leave bales next to where they are being fed, but once snow hits, we have to thoroughly tarp everything, even hay that is up on a truck or trailer, or the elk and deer munch right through it. My broodmares, however, are not as tolerant as your guy--they chase the elk and deer right out of their pasture, so when we free-feed big bales, those are safe... <g> My horses likewise aren't much concerned about wildlife out on the trail, unless, of course, something explodes out of a bush right under their noses. I've been unhorsed once by a deer that remained in hiding until we were practically on top of her, and got my back popped pretty thoroughly a few years back when a big buck jumped out of the bushes and nearly ran into my horse. But here, I'm far more concerned about hitting them on the highway--the road to town from here is nicknamed "deer alley" by those who live here, and this time of year, it is normal to see multiple road kills on any trip to town... <sigh> Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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