~The stars out here are so bright,
I can ride my horse anywhere at night.~
~Edith Wright 1862~
If you're a horse person, then you know how hard we work to make our places safe for our horses. But, yesterday, I found that making something safe for my horses was a death trap for another species...deer.
When we built the fence line for the irrigated pasture, it met here in the corner with another fence at an angle which made a really tight spot for the horses to get into a wreck if they got to fighting or just playing too hard. So, we put three rails up across that corner (which made a tiny triangle) to prevent any accidents. The new fence is built of woven wire that we call sheep fencing, and we brought it across the H braces to the gate.
At the far end of the irrigated pasture, the existing fence is 4 strands of barbed wire which I have put two lines of hot wire up with it to keep the horses away from the barbed wire.
I rode two horses yesterday and was out there for almost 4 hours (until about 2 PM). I didn't see anything strange at the time. But at feeding time, I found the body of a baby deer inside the triangle of the corner.
It was awful. The poor thing had its front leg through the fence and its head was turned around over its back. All of the hair had been scraped off of its neck and there was blood splattered everywhere. It was quite evident that it had been struggling for a long time and died a horrible, painful death. The body was cold and already stiff. I'm assuming that it had been trying to get through the fence and that's how it lost all the fur from its neck.
What I can't figure out is if its leg was actually stuck in the fence and it couldn't pull it out. The other thing that is bothering me is if Colt chased the baby into the corner. When we put a cow with its calf out in his pasture last summer, all he would do was chase the cow...well, duh, he's a cow horse. But would he chase a baby deer? Or, did I just not see the body while making four trips to the gates with the horses?!?
I'm just feeling awful about the whole thing...no matter how it happened. I think I'm going to cut a hole in the fence so if that ever happened again, the lil' one could get out.
Life is hard...we have to take the good with the bad~
Awww, dang it. That's so hard. Always something you could never imagine happening. I remember seeing a doe with a horribly broken leg and being able to do nothing. By the time I could have gone home to get a rifle, she was long gone. Just nothing you can do sometimes with deer.
ReplyDeleteI'll say a prayer for the poor lil kiddo. And send a hug for you :)
"You have a good hart".......you can't for see everything.....there's on fault, it's just nature.
ReplyDeleteI would feel awful too. But, there isn't any way you could have foreseen this happening. Isn't it ironic that in trying so hard to keep your horses safe, the opposite happened for the deer. Cutting a hole for escape seems like a good solution.
ReplyDeletedon't beat yourself up over it, unfortunately it happens. Last evening on my way home around 9 I had the misfortune of coming across a fawn that had been hit on the road. It was with a very heavy heart I moved it to the woods.
ReplyDeleteNothing you could of done and you sure do have a good heart!
ReplyDeleteI've seen things like that more often than I want to tally and it's what you said-- sometimes you just don't know why. It's heartbreaking. It's part of country living and part of why a person has to be tough or you just can't live the life.
ReplyDeleteSorry. Animal death is never easy, and baby animal violent death is just awful. Those images never leave your head, as I know too well. Again, sorry.
ReplyDeleteJust one of those things, but sad nonetheless. I hate to see death from struggling. Maybe raising the sheep fence up a foot or so would give little critters a way out.
ReplyDeleteHow sad. The poor deer. That had to be really hard to see. I am sure you will figure out a safe deer fence solution!
ReplyDeleteOh, please don't beat yourself up over this. You couldn't know that it would happen and who knows why it did. You are one of the sweetest peas on the planet and I'm so sorry this happened. HUGS from the east coast
ReplyDeleteOh no! that is awful, but nothing you could do about it, Im sure you will figure a solution that works for keeping deer and horses safe.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry. More sorry it happened to you. I hope you can find a resolution, actually I'm sure you will. It's nobody's fault, it just happened.
ReplyDeleteI understand.
ReplyDelete