In Virginia the large males top 100 pounds. A nuisance animal, some of our friends hunt them on farm land. They kill calves and other small livestock. We knock on wood have not had an issue with them bothering the horses.
But yes, large males are every bit of 100 pounds.
ETA: Since they are pack animals, they are deterred from an area that a pack member has been killed. Cattle farmers have someone come in to hunt, kill one, that normally cuts down on their presence till a new pack comes in.
Good luck, I hope the upgraded fence helps! I know Iām repeating myself, but Iād definitely recommend baiting the fence - attaching something smelly (e.g. unwashed tuna/pet food/sardine tins) that will get the canines to touch the fence with their sensitive noses instead of their thick coats, and teach them that the fence hurts.
Beowulf - At this point Iām not saying what attacked my horse and took a chunk out of her, because I donāt know. Iām now guessing it was a dog, and overall, that seems to be the consensus here. It could have been some weird injury that looked like a bite, even though the mouthprint was clearly visible in the flesh. No clue what tore the other mareās throat open either. Being a educated woman, I know that just because someone made a youtube, printed it in a newspaper, or I saw it on TV, doesnāt mean its true, no worries.:lol:
Are you in the Grafton/Upton/Westborough area Beowulf? I am going to take you on a ride to see the oversized coyotes that stalk people on trail rides. If the guy hasnāt shot them all by now, which he may have. He had tree stands all over the place.
I have seen the skulls of a dog, a coyote, an eastern coyote, and a wolf - on the documentary.
Someone does live on the property, but she has been away for a month. I will be moving right near the farm soon, and in the meantime my firecracker mare has arrived on the premises, and any attackers will be flattened and strewn about the property if they even think about coming near the horses! I will look into a trail cam, if nothing else, it would be great to see miss mare take them out lol.
Iāve heard from more than one person that it was extremely loud in the area last night, with supposed Coyotes vocalizations. They said that they were in a one mile square radius moving around together, making their Coyote noises. They were near my horses for part of it. I wonder if there is a pack of dogs instead. Who knows, but it woke one person up last night it was so loud and ongoing. When I move near the farm I will know, or will find out.
I am afraid to put the cans up. My big mare will heal up, then go out and within an hour have played with the cans. She will have two stuck in her side from rolling on them and one in her hoof. She truly loves to spend my money. Over the summer she was bitten by a FLY and it bit her on the vein inside the hind leg. Infected her vein. Almost died. If she isnāt safe with flies, I shudder at the cans. She was bottle raised, and although she doesnāt lack intelligence, she clearly missed a lot of teaching from her dam, both social, and safety. :rolleyes:
OTTB FTW - how about fishers? They can get extremely aggressive and bold, and are known to tackle cattle and mature horses in some areas. They are relatively small, but lethal (I was wondering about the long scratches I think you mentioned one of the horses had). Donāt know if theyāre in your area, though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7smmd_AgAw4
Mine killed a small rat.I found it stuck/quashed while picking her hoofā¦ bleh.
And she got loads of big splinters on top of her rump from scratching in a wooden show stallā¦ :rolleyes: I had to remove them with my tweezer every day for a whole week show. She had a thin blanket onā¦ Go figure.
Electric fence at nose level is very good against predators. I highly recommend getting a Premier1 fencing catalog - they have wonderful tutorial sections. No one likes a zap on the nosey. https://www.premier1supplies.com
Wounds like that make me think of dogs. We had local to us a pair of pit bulls take down a full size horse. Got him off his legs by biting and harassing, then went for the throat. Once they had him down there was to much damage for our practice to put him back together again. Owner heard the ruckus, and came out with a shovel and went to town on the dogs who ran off. Later they were captured, but only after the owner tried to hide them from the authorities.
Thatās a pretty normal looking adult coyote to me. I live in N CA and see them daily. Theyāre pretty small under all that fluff: mange makes them look much smaller, and obvs the youngsters are more slight.
I have lived in my area for over 30 years and ridden in the hills a ton and Iāve seen more than my share of coyotes in the wild. In my area they are usually smaller, thinner, all legs and super lean body, definitely never fluffy (even in the winter). More like this guy:
This one actually appears more sturdy and healthy than the usual ones I see. Iām sure in different areas they have different diets which reflect size and condition. We probably do not have as much small game as Northern Cali due to our dryer climate.
Beautiful - but even that is an unusual looking coyote. I think that might be a coyote with recent non-coyote ancestry. Itsā face is thin but broad - coyotes tend to have eyes closer together and shorter snouts. The white tail tip is very unusual and is usually a sign of recent domestic ancestry.
Itās really not unusual for there to be a huge difference between winter pelt and summer. They blow out their coat and look thin and reedy and then by fall are fluffy again. The fluff really makes them look much bigger than they are - kind of like how long-haired cats look absurdly smaller when you give them a bath.
Our recent flood brought the biggest coyote Iāve ever seen out into my pasture. He was hanging out beside my chicken house.
With my horse, Conjure.
It was clear, however, that Conjure is very familiar with this varmint, because when I went running out to chase him away, Conjure was all āMom? Itās just my friend Wiley.ā:rolleyes:
Wiley is probably 40 lbs max, after a good dinner with rocks in his pockets. Heās tall - maybe the height of a GSD - but fine-boned with a very narrow build.
Heās pretty bold, too - I yelled āshoo!ā and waved my arms at him, but he was unconcerned until I turned off the electric fence and ran through the pasture towards him. Even then I had to get within ten yards before he went āSeeya, Conjure, looks like your Momās having a dayā and loped off.
He was very shiny and in good coat. Should be, considering two of my hens vanished mysteriously in the weeks prior to his appearance.:mad: I wondered what became of them, since the hawks usually leave the carcass behind. All I found were a few feathers.
Wiley is half again as tall as the coyotes Iām used to seeing around here. It was a surprise, for sure.:yes: But not scary. He was just looking for something to eat, and neither cranky middle-aged ladies nor their fat QHs are on his menu.
Itās just my friend Wiley.ā:rolleyes:
