My neighbor’s dog continues to improve. They opted not to do antivenin, which is understandable on a 10 year old Great Pyr. The vet gave her antibiotics, steroids and pain meds.
StG
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If your horse was any good it would have charged in and stomped that snake to death to protect you.
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Well, since my horses aren’t fictional, and they were acres away, I didn’t expect it. And would just have been glad they weren’t acting foolish and getting bit.
StG
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A few years ago, at our barn, one of the boarders was hand walking her new horse on a nearby trail. A northern water snake (non-venomous, but aggressive) was on the trail and was being aggressive. The horse pushed the boarder aside and made quick work of that snake. Needless to say, the horse became a barn favorite.
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Live in South Dakota and you can have both Real Winter AND rattlers!
I worked on a cattle ranch in central SD for a few years and I saw some kind of snake almost daily in the warmer months. I have never liked snakes, even the good ones, and now I can’t even look at a picture of a snake without feeling queasy. One night I went to take my dog out and there was one right next to the door that the pup stepped on. I yanked the dog away before the snake figured out what was going on, thankfully. Then, as I was shaking and crying and trying to work up the courage to go kill it, my dear old Grandma called me a chickens**t and decapitated it with a shovel.
https://scontent.ffsd1-1.fna.fbcdn.n…21&oe=5BB3782F
I only ever came across a few while riding – the first time, I was maybe 8 or 9. The rock star of a cowhorse I was on killed it and then took off for home. That was my first time ever cantering and it was AWESOME lol.
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But bite prevention is better. If they are around the barn, you need this:
When I was a kid, I would come across snakes when riding my horse in the woods. No idea what kind they were. My little mare, an Arab, would jump over them and gallop as fast as she could away. I also came across snakes when out walking my dogs in the woods-- snakes and fallen branches can look an awful lot alike. :eek:
I am utterly terrified of snakes. Now I live in an area free of poisonous snakes, but I will never shake the need to carefully check the ground to see if a branch is really a branch or is in fact a snake.
We have the Western Diamondback rattlers here. A couple years ago, I was rounding the corner to put my saddle in the tack room and came face to face with one. It struck at me immediately, and I cleared three steps onto the porch in one leap! Saddle and all. It missed me thank Gosh! My husband looked for the snake when he got home, never found it. Have found them stuck in the chicken wire in the chicken coop, We usually see them most in Aug/Sept here, but they are always around. Neighbors horse got bit in the nose, almost didn’t make it. The snakes we have here don’t back off. They are extremely aggressive. Been lucky (knock on wood), that we haven’t had any bites. I always keep a look out, but they are really hard to see, even on bare ground. Heard a teeny rattle in a pile of hay last year, was a baby rattler. Dispatched that sucker with a shovel. Just have to keep your eyes and ears open, but I have noticed that the snakes here don’t always rattle to give you a warning.
Then of course there’s the tarantula migration every October…
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I see about five rattlers a year here…the ones in the barn or around the horses are euthanized, which is something that we all struggle with here. But the risks to people and animals is too great.
I always find them, and I feel guilty when I do. A friends says they are my spirit animal…
the ones who are simply passing through are allowed to go, but the ones heading into the barn I alert about. Makes me sad.
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For those in the Northeast who don’t think snakes are an issue there…
This guy actually picked up the snake, rattlesnakes are not great climbers and it would be very unusual for one to fall out of a tree. Anyway he picked it up and kept holding it after it bit him! He was apparently trying for a Darwin award.
