# Companion or Cougar Bait?



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Short answer? Yes, a mini donk would be more vulnerable to a cougar than a full grown horse. In my area, it's only ever large standard and mammoth donkeys (or mules) you see as guards. There are a few folks that have llamas or alpacas (I never could tell the difference...if there is one) and I've heard they make excellent guardians, but I've never been around one so I can't say for sure.

But, we generally don't have a predator problem around here. The folks with guardians are the folks that have cows/calves and they keep the guards to protect the calves from packs of coyotes.


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## Critter sitter (Jun 2, 2012)

keep in mind that lamas and alpacas HATE dogs so if you have one be careful
if they like to go into pasture


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## LisaG (Nov 11, 2012)

Llamas are quite a bit bigger than alpacas. I doubt an alpaca coudl take a cougar (not sure about a llama either).

I would follow your friend's advice, as she actually lives there. Sure, if a cougar comes onto your land, it might go for the donkey first, and leave your horse. But if it sees your acreage as a food source, it might try for your horse next.


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## PilatesGal (Sep 7, 2012)

I think this was her point - that a smaller animal might draw a cougar to our land instead of being the deterrent that I'd intend. She does know her stuff. Sigh. Am I wrong in thinking two horses alone might make them a target? This city girl (who regularly runs alone on mountain trails and really pooh-pooh's people who are afraid of wildlife) seems to be a little bit of a scaredy-cat on behalf of her horses.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I won't say that it could _never_ happen, but I think it's highly unlikely that a cougar would attack 2 full grown horses unless it was absolutely starving and desperate...maybe not even then. I'm assuming you have plenty of other prey wildlife in your area like deer, right? A cougar would go for a deer before it would go for a horse.


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## LisaG (Nov 11, 2012)

It's really hard to say. We have a few cougars around here, but they're very rarely seen (I'm in north-western Sask), and they don't take down cattle or horses, or even mini-donks. 

But I don't know how aggressive they are in the foothills. I'm guessing you have way more of them than us, and they might be forced to expand their diet a little more. 

I would listen to your neighbours. They'll have better advice than us. But, yes, I would definitly avoid keeping smaller animals that would draw them to your pastures.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I'd just stall both horses at night. Mucking out 2 stalls daily is not a lot of work, should be able to be done in less than 30 mins. It's considerably less heart wrenching than losing an animal to a predator. They can be out all day and in at night, just becomes part of their routine.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

If we had cougars, I'd sure put my horses up at night. Cleaning stalls is good exercise. It will save you money on gym fees.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

I, as well, think stalling at night is the way to go - at least for the interim. That gives you time to find a suitable large donkey if that's the way you want to go. It also provides security while you get a handle on what's happening with wildlife traffic in your new area.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

Yes a big cat will go after a horse. Happened to a friends and they live in the Mtns near me. horse had claw marks all down her hind quarters. Blood everywhere. guess the horse kicked the poo out of the cat, as it left, and the horse was a mustang mare 14.2 - 15 h . and yes it seems kinda mean to use the mini donkey as bait over your horse..


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

Wouldn't stalling a horse be more dangerous? What is to prevent a cougar from entering the stalls or would you have the stalls completely barred in? 

I wouldn't think a donkey/mule would help unless the problem was coyotes. 

What about guard dogs? I know they were using them in Africa to keep farmers from hunting down the big cats... Found the article:

BBC NEWS | Africa | Guard dogs save Namibian cheetahs


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## Shropshirerosie (Jan 24, 2012)

I bought my two horses from a lady near Rocky Mountain House, miles away from anything but trees and beasts.... All her horses and a couple of very aged ponies lived out 24/7 365. She had dogs as her guard animals which seems to be a pretty popular thing round here. 

If it were me I would get a standard donkey as companion + guard, plus for my own peace of mind I would have a couple of big dogs that patrol the boundaries.

Which, on reflection, is exactly what I have! :lol: Whilst we are not in Cougar territory here I have a near neighbour who moved from mountains near Calgary. She had dogs and never had a problem with cougars.


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## PilatesGal (Sep 7, 2012)

I've been wondering about guard dogs instead (or perhaps in addition to). A friend of mine breeds some fantastic ones that are definitely outdoor dogs. Hmmm .... something else to think about (and spend $$$ on ...).


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I believe the big cats don't care for the baying of hounds. I live in NW ON where we were told years ago that the nw cougar was extinct. It's not. They are not as large as the mtn. cougar. Someone got a pic of two sniffing the tire on an suv. in Kenora ON.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

PilatesGal said:


> I've been wondering about guard dogs instead (or perhaps in addition to). A friend of mine breeds some fantastic ones that are definitely outdoor dogs. Hmmm .... something else to think about (and spend $$$ on ...).


You might be able to pick up somebody suitable from the humane society in your area. That may or may not be cheaper than a breeder but you'd have the satisfaction of giving a dog or two a good home -- just make sure they're light on their feet so they can avoid horse hoofs or cougar claws:lol:


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## GallopingGuitarist (Jan 8, 2013)

I know nothing of donkeys... 
Where my family lives we have wolves, coyote, bears, and cougars. Our main problem would be the coyotes and wolves. We haven't lost anything yet to either of those knock on wood. We lost a couple chickens to foxes. We have two neighbors that raise sheep and they both have Great Pyrenees dogs. Two of my sisters just got into sheep last year and we also have a GP, she is going on 9 years old and is going deaf and getting arthritis. We're going to have to get a puppy again soon. 
We run cows, horses, sheep, and chickens. Besides of having lots of kids always running around the place. My brother was out checking the fence line and found a lot of wolf tracks (we are one mile from the Porcupine Provincial Forest), but he also found our dog's well beaten trail up to the area from her going out there every day. 
I know of two people that have had cougars go for the livestock up there, one was a yearling horse (horse survived) and the other a calf (not sure about whether it survived or not). 
I am a big supporter of having a dog. I personally love the GP, but there are many good breeds out there.


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## Shropshirerosie (Jan 24, 2012)

PilatesGal said:


> I've been wondering about guard dogs instead (or perhaps in addition to). A friend of mine breeds some fantastic ones that are definitely outdoor dogs. Hmmm .... something else to think about (and spend $$$ on ...).


I'm sure your friends dogs are lovely, but having just acquired another dog I do feel compelled to tell you that the Edmonton Humane Society is overflowing with gorgeous wannabe-your-loyal-guard-companion dogs. As it sadly seems is most of Alberta :-(

But I'm absolutely not preaching what you should do, just wanted to chuck that in there :wink:


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## PilatesGal (Sep 7, 2012)

Bah - I can't decide! So I've decided not to decide until we are moved in and I get a chance to talk to people. Daughter insists she WANTS to muck out stalls, so perhaps at first we'll do just that while I try to find a larger donkey. There just aren't any standard ones out there right now. Sigh! I did pass on the miniature donkey. And I have a girlfriend who is fostering a rescue dog that might just get along with my poor wimpy city dog (australian labradoodle - can you say coyote-bait??) and teach him to be a good farm dog ;-)


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

Mucking out two stalls doesn't take very long.

You also run the risk of her horse not wanting to be stalled alone and then what... 4 large animals?

We stall the horses at night where I board and it's not a bad thing. Really easy to make sure each horse gets grain if they need it and if anyone gets injured/sick we can add meds. As a bonus, we schedule Vet/Farrier appts for early mornings so everyone is still in and no catching horses needed. It also means that if someone needs stall rest or it's horrifically icy outside that everyone is used to stalls and won't have a conniption about staying inside.


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## dbarabians (May 21, 2011)

We have cougars here and I have yet to have one attack any livestock. As someone posted above unless it is starving a full grown horse and cow are much too large for a cougar to take down.
I would not worry about it you running on a trail are more vulnerable to attack than your horse is grazing in a pasture.
We do have donkeys but only to protect from feral dogs. We have yet to ever lose a cow or calf to a coyote. Too many mice and cotton tails around for them to be interested in something as hard to kill as a calf or a colt. Shalom


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## RitzieAnn (Dec 22, 2010)

Is there anyway you can create a smaller pen near your daughters stall? We have a 10x20, and as soon as we get the goats new shelter built, it will get divided in half, and will have a run off the front (divided) so its like a run in stall w/smal yard. I don't know how your barn is set up, but is that a possibility? That way your horse is close, but not totally confined?

I also don't put bedding in the shed, just going to put down mats. They don't like to pee on bare mats, so they go outside & do it in the dirt. Makes the compost pile MUCH smaller 

We only get Coyoties in our area. Sometimes I worry about the 2 goats, but they are near the horses, and often times even in the same pen as them. Plus we have 2 geese, and by gollie, that goose is a dang good watch bird! he's very kind to us, but I sure hear about it if something he doesn't know is around his area!


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