Where could these scratches have come from?

Question

We have been seeing some strange signs on our property recently. Deep gouges on the edges of the water tanks, scratches on the hood of the truck and the horses have been getting more minor injuries than usual. We have a 13.2 hh donkey that is very protective and will run off our own dogs even though they have been introduced. She has killed more rats and rabbits than the barn cats. So I am very doubtful that this could be a coyote or bob cat. This morning I went to feed and Nixon, my 14.2 hh paint gelding had HUGE gouges along the TOP of his rump. They are too narrow and deep to be from the other horses. I checked the pasture for some wire he could have rolled in or branches or something but there was nothing. There are 4 or 5 scratches, each about 2 1/2 - 3 inches apart, one is pretty bad, the others will heal up in a few days. I live in Texas near DFW and the property is flat with a stand of Hackberry trees where a couple of hawks roost. I have heard coyotes and seen a large pack of feral dogs but I don't think any of them are large enough or bold enough to attack a horse. We have six horses all together and I have seen every one of them chase off a dog or cat at some point.

The weird thing is we have some young barn cats in the barn, it is open all the time because of the heat. Nothing has been overturned and the cats are all fine. The only thing I can think it could be is one of the hawks or vultures (both are enormous because of the amount of road kill available) or a puma (cougar, mountain lion, whatever) but none have been sighted in our area that I know of. Thanks for any ideas.

Answer 1

if you put your horse in the pasture at night change it up have them stay in their barn for the night in the morning look if their r no scraches

in the barn (new ones) if you do it is something in side your barn !

Answer 2

We have the same thing going on at our barn!  Several horses have single, straight lacerations on their back and flanks, just one per spot, not a set like claws or talons, and 2 horses have cuts on their upper front legs!  We too have searched high and low and come up empty handed.  If you can figure yours out I'd love to know what you find, maybe it will help us out too!

Answer 3

Sit out a few nights in view of the horses. Keep an eye and ear out for any commotion. If you're alone, sit in your car or truck so the animal (I'm thinking cougar) doesn't target you.

If you do sight something, have animal control come out to assess the situation and possibly set some traps.

The cougar probably waits until they are laying down to sleep, which is how they are getting the cuts on their backs. Whichever horse (or donkey) is on watch obviously isn't doing their job, lol.

Answer 4

I suppose it could be the hawks or vultures. I would really like to know what is going on here. Nobody hears any noise as if the animals are being attacked? Those are either brave or stupid birds if they are doing this. I hope you find out soon.  

Answer 5

This might work if you have a little money to invest.  I'm not sure how you barn and pasture are set up but, you might be able to install some cameras.  This way if you get the animal on video you can notify animal control and they would be able to solve the problem better and faster.  The only other option would be to stay out there yourself and watch for the animal or thing to appear.  We used to have coyotes at my old barn and always worried about the foals being attacked by them.  Luckily my gelding was the herd protecter and always chased after any animal that tried to get too close the herd!  

Answer 6

i have a horse that likes to see what colors taste like so some of my trucks and the edge of the water tank has scratches from him sampling them with his teeth.as for the horses scratches ,most dogs will go after the chest or flank regions including the hocks,big cats will go after the backs and the mane regions and have been known to try to hang on to the flanks with their claws so my guess would be a cougar,have the U.S. department of Wildlife come to look at the scratches to see if they match a big cat and look for signs of one around your property.it is always safer for them to check before one of your horses is found dead.

Answer 7

Which direction from DFW?  Near what town?  We used to live in the DFW area and have heard of some cougar sightings along the Trinity River.

Here is an interesting link that includes several other urls dealing with cougar sightings in Texas...I had no idea there were that many around and were such a threat.

http://search.creativecommons.org/?q=Jus...