Will bears avoid horses?

[PonyRiderMom]

Does a bear poop in the woods? Not around here, apparently.

I’ve found bear scat out in the horse pasture, behind the barn, and most recently in the area which I had mentally reserved as a dry lot (still working on fencing).

My question is, once I get the dry lot built and the horses in it, will the bear(s) find somewhere else to hang out? Will the fact that there are horses in there keep them away? The horses seem to be nervous about the bears, at least they are right now. I haven’t seen a bear while with the horses, but the horses seem like they are smelling them and getting worried. They may see them at night.

I’m just wondering whether I should reconsider my dry lot location. I don’t want any kind of incident. Having said that, the spot that I’m considering is one of the few level dry spots on the whole property, so I’d really like to keep them there. Also the dry lot would be primarily used in the winter, when the bears would presumably be hibernating. Maybe it won’t be an issue?

These are black bears. We’re near Seattle if it makes a difference.

[Eclectic_Horseman]

Donkeys work.

[trubandloki]

@PonyRiderMom

Does a bear poop in the woods? Not around here, apparently.

I’ve found bear scat out in the horse pasture, behind the barn, and most recently in the area which I had mentally reserved as a dry lot (still working on fencing).

My question is, once I get the dry lot built and the horses in it, will the bear(s) find somewhere else to hang out? Will the fact that there are horses in there keep them away? The horses seem to be nervous about the bears, at least they are right now. I haven’t seen a bear while with the horses, but the horses seem like they are smelling them and getting worried. They may see them at night.

I’m just wondering whether I should reconsider my dry lot location. I don’t want any kind of incident. Having said that, the spot that I’m considering is one of the few level dry spots on the whole property, so I’d really like to keep them there. Also the dry lot would be primarily used in the winter, when the bears would presumably be hibernating. Maybe it won’t be an issue?

These are black bears. We’re near Seattle if it makes a difference.

I assume right now there is not a bunch of fencing where the bear has to get thru to walk where you plan to make a dry lot in the future?

Most wild animals are going to take the easiest route to get thru their lives, so climbing in and out of your dry lot will probably not be happening unless you pile their favorite foods in the middle of your dry lot.

[beowulf]

There are some things I worry about with my adult horses being turned out 24/7, therefore exposed to all manner of wildlife 365 days a year – but black bears are not one of them, and we have a good population of them here.

[FitToBeTied]

We have bears all around us. We know they come through at night.

We have seen them while riding and the bears tend to run away. Our only concern is if we see cubs but no momma. At that point we turn around and go back where we came from.

One day I was doing trot sets in the woods. My horse kept looking to the right. About 25 yards away there was a bear paralleling us in the woods.

The oddest one was when one day we did some trots sets in the woods west of the house and then came and flatted to the east of the house. We had put the horses up and were just back in the house when a bear wandered through the front lawn. So obviously the bear was around while we were riding.

The bears are very cool.

[Simkie]

Bears killed a mini donkey in a nearby town a few years back:

https://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Bear-kills-donkey-in-Kent-11188432.php

And more recently a few goats:

https://danburycountry.com/5-goats-are-killed-during-bear-attack-on-connecticut-farm

Like beowulf, I worry about bears. Bears are the #1 reason I don’t do overnight turnout in the summer. I do catch them on my cams at least once a year, and sometimes see them with my very own eyeballs, usually around dusk.

They are averse to hot fence. You might want to consider a few strands on top of whatever type of fence you’re planning, maybe even on the outside, and keep it hot hot hot.

[PonyRiderMom]

Hmm, OK, I am setting up perimeter hot wire, but I doubt that will really keep them out. I was torn about hotwiring the dry lot, because it’s small and I don’t want them to get zapped. But if it might keep a bear out, that might be worth it.

I guess I am OK with the bears passing by, but if they enter the dry lot that could be bad. There will be hay out there but no feed - feeding will take place inside the barn and feed containers will be double sealed so hopefully the bears won’t smell them.

In theory there should be no reason for the bears to go in there, but bears are funny. My lawn guy said a bear broke one of his big water troughs by taking a bath in it.

[Marla_000]

Between the bears and the deer, my hot fences get torn down.
Only the horses respected them

On my farm, I’ve had bears scale
6 different fence lines to go through paddocks and pastures The horses don’t like the bears but have learned to live around them.
Neighbor has lost smaller goats to bear.

[ohmyheck]

@Simkie

Like beowulf, I worry about bears.

I think beowulf said she is not worried about bears.

I agree about hotwire. It has to be ‘bear’ rated and works for us to keep them in the wilderness areas adjacent to our property.

We greatly enjoy seeing traces of them out there - upturned roots and other sign. If we’re lucky we catch a glimpse. They always wander off when they spot us. And we of course head back because that’s their territory. Mutual respect is our motto.

[Simkie]

@PonyRiderMom

Hmm, OK, I am setting up perimeter hot wire, but I doubt that will really keep them out

Chicken people and bee people rely on hot fence to keep bears out. It does work. It probably needs to be set up with bears in mind, rather than “just” horses. Like a line on the outside of the fence at about bear nose height.

[PonyRiderMom]

@Marla_000

Neighbor has lost smaller goats to bear.

Black bears? Or grizzlies / brown?

[Simkie]

@ohmyheck

I think beowulf said she is not worried about bears.

Ah, I misread, you’re right.

I DO worry about bears, though, especially given how they’ve actually killed livestock in nearby towns. I don’t dislike the bears, and enjoy living in a space that’s wild enough to have them, but maintain quite a bit of caution about possible interactions with them, for both myself and my herd.

OTOH, I don’t worry at all about the coyotes or bobcats or fox or any other number of wildlife we have around!

[Marla_000]

We only have Black bears here in Central Florida.

[PonyRiderMom]

OK that’s a really good point about setting up the hotwire OUTSIDE of the fence. I will talk to the fencing guy. I wonder if I want to put two strands, one low and one medium high.

[avjudge]

@Simkie

Chicken people and bee people rely on hot fence to keep bears out. It does work. It probably needs to be set up with bears in mind, rather than “just” horses. Like a line on the outside of the fence at about bear nose height.

I have read that the trick to deterring bears with hot wire is to bait it so they get zapped on their nose. That way they really feel it, no insulating hair between skin and wire.

When I extended my winter fence, which is in the woods, a few springs ago, I returned to it in the fall to find it pulled down in several places, apparently from critters walking through. My suspicion was/is there. The fence is simply two strands of poly rope, so after fixing it I just smeared some peanut butter on the spots that had apparently been walked through. Nothing has gone through the fence since. Of course I can’t say that because of the bating or maybe having been through it they remembered where it was.

I personally do not worry about bears. Certainly not for our horses and mule, and after a few years of experience I don’t really worry about our llamas either. But the llamas are kept behind a more secure fence (same poly rope but more strands). Llamas run around 300 pounds. Some years ago one was killed down in southern? southwestern? New Hampshire somewhere.

[beowulf]

I don’t worry about black bears with adult horses, but I wouldn’t be casual with small livestock. Black bears have certainly gone after small livestock. Last year someone local to us went viral because their security camera caught footage of an adolescent bear climbing their pig pen and trying to eat one of the yearling pigs. It can happen.

There are about 20 goats on our property and the bears have never expressed an interest - but we are rural. If it was a “city” bear, who knows - documented wild animal behavior gets radically transformed as their ranges thin out and they are forced to survive (and compete with others) in suburban habitats.

If you are concerned, put up fencing that discourages them, secure all sources of food (no free-range chicken feed, for instance), and haze the $^#$ out of them when you see them.

[Simkie]

@beowulf

If it was a “city” bear, who knows - documented wild animal behavior gets radically transformed as their ranges thin out and they are forced to survive (and compete with others) in suburban habitats

Yeah, unfortunately, that’s a lot of what we have going on around here. Bears are eating trash, tearing down bear…er…bird feeders, breaking into cheap chicken coops. They are so very exposed to people and peopley things. A lot of people think it’s cute until something like this happens:

No Charges Filed For Shooting Of Bobbi The Bear

I don’t worry (much) that a bear would try to take down one of my full sized horses, but the risk that they could spook through the fence because of a bear is a very serious concern.

Totally agree that wildlife that’s actually wild is a different question than urbanized wildlife.

[PonyRiderMom]

@Simkie

I don’t worry (much) that a bear would try to take down one of my full sized horses, but the risk that they could spook through the fence because of a bear is a very serious concern.

Yes that’s pretty much what I’m worried about.

[PonyRiderMom]

The urban vs rural distinction is something I hadn’t thought of. We are right outside of a small town and most of the area between us and the town are developed, so bears are used to people. Even where we live is mostly 2-5 acre parcels, so bears have lots of opportunity to interact with humans and livestock and to learn to not be afraid of them.

These bears live (I believe) in the undeveloped 20-acre forest parcel that’s right next to us, between us and the town.

[clanter]

@PonyRiderMom

was torn about hotwiring the dry lot, because it’s small and I don’t want them to get zapped.

our horses Respect any electric fence since their test pony passed away several years ago. A uncharged electric fence is in their minds a dangerous thing to stay away from