The Mojave Green is very agressive and will come out of hiding to get you.  The ordinary rattlesnakes are pretty timid and you just have to watch where you put your feet.  I have had three horses bitten (all on the nose) who luckily did not have their nasal passages close up.  They all had very swollen moose heads and were very uncomfortable for a while.  Also large doses of antibiotics. 

My remedy for rattlesnakes is to buy a gun with snake loads.  I did and have not seen a snake since.  I guess they heard about my fast draw championships when I was younger..................mb

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rosalie Marley" <trailpal@xxxxxxxxx>
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 12:19:49 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: RE: [RC] Snakes

I think in California you have Mojave Rattlers?

Here in SW Nebraska we have Prairie Rattlers, they are a bit smaller and seem to be more aggressive than the ones you know.  I lost a 17 month old colt to one, despite vet care (it can take awhile for a vet to arrive out here).  Most of my neighbors with horses have lost at least one to snake bite, and several have lost a number of cattle to rattlers.  I think that it was mostly curiosity, since most of the bites were on the nose.

A year and a half ago, there were several people in my general area who got serious bites on their way to the mail box or trash barrel, they won helicopter rides to whatever hospital still had antivenin.  My husband regularly encounters rattlers on his walks around the property or along the road.  While some will rattle at his approach, many rattle several strides after he has passed them.  He wears "Turtleskin Snake Armor" gaiters and carries a pistol loaded with birdshot. The local rumor is that people are shooting and thereby selecting against the ones that warn.

Rosalie Marley
==============
I have the ability of single-minded determination and focu... Hey, look! A horse!


> -----Original Message-----
> From: katswig@xxxxxxx

> Esther said:
>
>> In all that time, I've seen 3 (maybe 4) rattlesnakes.
>> None of them were aggressive; maybe they had just
> > eaten or were just plain lazy, but I'm sure glad they
> > decided to be passive on those particular days.
>
> Not particularly surprising, rattlesnakes are very timid snakes, and
> almost always will sound off a warning before striking.

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