She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

[BYC910]

to you too. My parents' horses are getting old, they just had an Arabian pass away in his sleep who was 39, and had to put down a mare in her late 30s. They have only two left, both in their 20s, the horses are growing old with them. When we were visiting them in July, one of their horses cast himself in a run-in shed trying to roll in the soft dust, and my husband and I used a tow strap around the chest and a lot of pulling to get him turned around where he could get up. A horse can go from fine to gone much too fast.

I know the bond with a horse, I had a beautiful Appaloosa that I bought at 15 as a stud colt, and raised him until I went to West Point. My parents sold him and he became a police horse, I planned to buy him when he retired, but the sheriff's department "forgot" and sold him off. I never saw him again and I know he isn't around anymore, but I will never forget my horse.


At my graduation party


Watching him in a parade




I got to ride him while he was in uniform.

Thank you would say I'm amazed but nothing you say surprises me any more . already know you have a magic lasso and wear a cape. just expect it from you . that was a pretty App. had one looked like that and lost him years ago . Red was a leopard App. showed him when he was a yearling .always a stud never a problem . don't ride anymore the other four live the good life run free on the farm and like him will be buried with the rest of them .

 

[frmboyinthecity]

Anyway to do that in a have-a-heart trap? I'm not at the point of killing anything yet. I may get there, especially if something kills my babies. But I'm not there yet.

If you don't want to kill it, I would take the have-a-heart trap, put foam or cardboard on the sides from the outside with zip ties and try to catch it in that. If you catch it, the relocating it and letting it live will be the hard part, but I would take an old gross blanket or something,come from the side of the trap so it wouldn't be able to see you, and put a blanket over the trap. Then I would carefully and slowly move the trap to the back of a truck and drive the skunk to where you wanted to release it. I've never worked with a have-a-heart trap much, but I would make sure there was a way you could open the door back up without the skunk seeing you, like a chain, and then once you had the door open, stand well back so the skunk could walk out.

I think this would work. I've seen an animal control officer trap a skunk in a have-a-heart trap, but he euthanized the skunk, so I'm not sure on the moving it part. I would just move really slow, as you'll be working with a live grenade.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[meganhundley]

1 of my vent plugs holds the probe wire for my thermometer in place so I don't know what to do, should I take it out anyway and let the probe fall where it may?

 

[kwhites634]

If you don't want to kill it, I would take the have-a-heart trap, put foam or cardboard on the sides from the outside with zip ties and try to catch it in that. If you catch it, the relocating it and letting it live will be the hard part, but I would take an old gross blanket or something,come from the side of the trap so it wouldn't be able to see you, and put a blanket over the trap. Then I would carefully and slowly move the trap to the back of a truck and drive the skunk to where you wanted to release it. I've never worked with a have-a-heart trap much, but I would make sure there was a way you could open the door back up without the skunk seeing you, like a chain, and then once you had the door open, stand well back so the skunk could walk out.

I think this would work. I've seen an animal control officer trap a skunk in a have-a-heart trap, but he euthanized the skunk, so I'm not sure on the moving it part. I would just move really slow, as you'll be working with a live grenade.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

My Hav-A-Heart has a latch @ the top that you have to release before the door can be opened, putting you right in the "line of fire"

 

[scflock]

My Hav-A-Heart has a latch @ the top that you have to release before the door can be opened, putting you right in the "line of fire"

Mine, too.
Is it true that a skunk can't spray if it can't raise it's tail? Maybe use the smaller trap and hope that the skunk is just a little too tall

 

[frmboyinthecity]

My Hav-A-Heart has a latch @ the top that you have to release before the door can be opened, putting you right in the "line of fire"

I was thinking that might be the case. You may be able to figure out a way to cover the rest of it so you can't be seen well releasing the latch, but I guess I'm too big of a chicken to try. I've been sprayed one too many times to mess with a live skunk.

 

[kwhites634]

Mine, too.
Is it true that a skunk can't spray if it can't raise it's tail? Maybe use the smaller trap and hope that the skunk is just a little too tall

Yeah, far as I know that's true.

 

[BYC910]

thank all of you for your sympathy and

s And let me return a couple to all of you for every treasured pet that's been lost or your about to lose .

for years I have buried animals for other people and my self and never once thought it silly to do that . buried so many for one friend who had head stones made for every one . after the farm became subdivision it was set aside as common ground . It s on the master plan as the horse cemetery . and there is a horse cemetery road . last night my wife said well at least we don't get that attached to the chickens . yeah right that 's why Hootie is already in the pot cooking or you hand fead grasshoppers to the little gray hen that the possum got . you guys every think we're a little nuts .

 

[frmboyinthecity]

Mine, too.
Is it true that a skunk can't spray if it can't raise it's tail? Maybe use the smaller trap and hope that the skunk is just a little too tall

This website says that is a myth:


http://www.stinkybusiness.org/myths.htm

15. Myth: Skunks cannot spray unless their back feet are on the ground. (Fact: Because skunks rarely spray, this is how these myths were determined. A skunk can spray when the tail is held down or under, when it is doing a handstand (especially in the case of a spotted skunk), and when being hung by their tail. They simply choose not to most of the time.)

Since I found it on the internet, it must be true...

 

[lazy gardener]

If you don't want to kill it, I would take the have-a-heart trap, put foam or cardboard on the sides from the outside with zip ties and try to catch it in that. If you catch it, the relocating it and letting it live will be the hard part, but I would take an old gross blanket or something,come from the side of the trap so it wouldn't be able to see you, and put a blanket over the trap. Then I would carefully and slowly move the trap to the back of a truck and drive the skunk to where you wanted to release it. I've never worked with a have-a-heart trap much, but I would make sure there was a way you could open the door back up without the skunk seeing you, like a chain, and then once you had the door open, stand well back so the skunk could walk out.

I think this would work. I've seen an animal control officer trap a skunk in a have-a-heart trap, but he euthanized the skunk, so I'm not sure on the moving it part. I would just move really slow, as you'll be working with a live grenade.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Also, be sure to borrow someone else's truck.

1 of my vent plugs holds the probe wire for my thermometer in place so I don't know what to do, should I take it out anyway and let the probe fall where it may?

It's a styrofoam incubator, right? Easy solution. Got a sharp pencil? Poke a new vent hole. Or use a drill. I'm always adding new vent holes to my home made bator. Sometimes for air flow, sometimes for a temp probe. If I don't like the location of a hole I've made, I just patch it with an ear plug or a piece of duct tape. Red neck solution, but it works for me, as my neck is kind of red... just a little bit!

Mine, too.
Is it true that a skunk can't spray if it can't raise it's tail? Maybe use the smaller trap and hope that the skunk is just a little too tall

SC, me thinks it's time for a new experiment here. Since you raised the hypothesis, I think you should be the one to prove or dis-prove the theory. You could either manually hold down said skunk's tail, or sneak up behind him with a roll of duct tape. I'll be standing by to take photos for proof of the experiment. I have a telephoto lens.