Posted on 08/07/2007 7:33:14 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
This is a horse chat thread where we share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share, usually about our horses, sometimes about our dogs, gardens and other stuff we do. :~)
I have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and MissTargets will ping everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list.
So... like the previous threads, this is intended as fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends.
Previous threads:
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SIX
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread NINE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread TEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 11
New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!
Thanks ladies! :~) I’ll pass it along!
I believe I would have brained it with a hammer at that point and removed all doubt, THEN buried it!
We just scare them, and hope they tell all their friends.
Well, good tips on the possum transfer... Now that we aren’t trying to actively catch cats, the transfer to another holding receptacle won’t be necessary anyway because we can afford to leave the possum in the trap till morning.
Barkley’s killed three possums - baby ones. Two he really killed, one ecurbh had to finish off.
Nah, you've just got the same ones coming back over and over. They're not smart enough to learn their lesson and stay away.
I loathe the nasty things, but we have so many around here that we would do nothing but kill possums from morning to night.
I think they smell the dogs and kind of sheer away from our property. We also have catches and bungee cords on the garbage cans so they can't get in, and we NEVER leave anything edible outdoors (I know you can't do that on account of the horses. I know Gracies is a sloppy eater and there's grain all over the ground around her feed pail). Good sanitation also keeps the raccoons away, which is a good thing because a big boar raccoon can kill a dog.
And judging from the numbers we see squashed on the local roads, there must be hundreds of them. Although since we started having a coyote problem we do see fewer possums . . . .
Unfortunately suburbia with its careless homeowners is like a 24 hour buffet for all the scavenger-type critters.
Congratulations :) Trap momma too and bring her in - she may be ready to become a halfway tame feral cat.
Looks like maybe it’s part siamese.
I still shake my head but they seem to really enjoy that ball.
I leave food out for the barn cats... But lots could be made more secure. If we moved the food up high where only the cats can get it, and worked at sealing off under the house where I think the possums have been living, let the dogs out more at night since we have the last of the kittens (the mommas are smart) and take away all the possums we catch, THEN we can get rid of at least this family and hopefully not attract a new one.
Unfortunately I think it would be a bad scene, and would really interfere with being able to tame these two. She's as wild as they come.
A Proverbial Plague of Possums! At least you have dogs to keep them at bay. I just have cats. In the Fall of the year when it getts dark early I’ve had them come in the feed room WITH me at the barn and root the barn cats out of their bowl, and this was with the barn lights on. I run them out with a stick but I’m sure they just come right back in as soon as I leave. And they eat Decon Rat Poison like it’s candy. They’re definitely hard to kill...except with a car...apparently they’re pretty easy that way.
We have about as many armadillos too, but at least they don’t eat garbage and cat food. They just tear up your yard looking for ants and grubs. Possum on the half-shell is what they are!
The dogs will probably be the best solution. Mine run out when I let them out in the morning, bark all along the edges of the property, and leave calling cards at strategic points (of course in Ruby's case she may be advertising in the singles column of the local Dog News.)
My parents of course have them all over the place.
Contrary to popular belief, armadillos are not born dead by the side of the road . . . .
I don’t think North has anything to do with it. I live farther north than you do, almost in TN, and I’ve seen them up there too. Major rivers seem to stop them for a while. They made it east of the Mississippi, but I never used to see them North of the Tennessee River. Now I do. Apparently they can swim.
I had always read that they can't survive a hard freeze, but apparently they can!
I read that they can climb, but they can't jump, and they can't climb a smooth surface they can't grip, so if the food is on something they can't climb up, such as a high table with an overhang, they can't get up there where a cat still could. That gave me an idea for making it more secure if we put some thought into it.
Yeah, I think their expansion map is a little out of date. I’ve seen them in all of N. Alabama and S. Tennessee.
I wonder if you can fire armadillos out of a catapult back across the Chattahoochee River. Do they bite? I know they spring into the air when surprised, so they tend to get stuck in your car bumper (I know this from sad experience, needed a crowbar and a hose).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.