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any horse owners across the country find themselves face to face with unwanted guests in their stables.
Skunks, rats, owls, and sometimes even snakes, which seem to catch the worst rap of any wild visitors, despite
the statistically small likelihood of their ever causing any harm, can cause distress. Since horse people are typically
animal lovers, many ask themselves if it is truly necessary to spill blood in the stable, and the answer is a resounding no. Bryan Hughes of Rattlesnake Solutions based in Phoenix AZ, goes over some simple tricks horse owners
can remember if they would like to reduce the likelihood of having snakes around the barn, and the best way to
safely escort them off the premises if they should appear anyway.
– AW Editors
Rattlesnake Danger
– Optional, Avoidable, and Mostly Mythology
By Bryan D. Hughes
Rattlesnake Solutions LLC
“Rattlesnake Attack!”, or “Dog Saves Man from Rattlesnake”, both popular titles in the newspaper around the country, are
completely bogus. On Twitter, a running search feed for #rattlesnake spits out a never-ending stream of things like “I saw a
rattlesnake. It almost killed me”, and of course, “Had to kill a rattlesnake again.” For as silly as the other statements are, I’ll
focus on that last one. Had to, kill, a rattlesnake, again. One of those words belongs, the others are optional.
One thing is clear in my work as a rattlesnake relocation and prevention expert in Phoenix, Arizona – property owners who
go after every snake they see with a shovel don’t lose any more horses, dogs, kids, or sleep than the ones that do not. Yes, it is
quite true, despite the common scolding I receive from ranchers with tales of 6 foot rattlers attacking horses, killing rattlesnakes is an absolutely useless action. It may result in a Facebook profile photo of the hero holding up the dead rattlesnake
by the tail and give a slightly more interesting set of stories for the dinner table, but does little else. In fact, this is a great way
to earn an expensive helicopter ride to the hospital. “Had to” is myth. “Want to” is more accurate.
A little trick I’ve learned that seems to calm even the most terrified snake encounter screamer is to say that the buzzing reptile in front of us is not aggressive, but defensive. There is a huge difference between the two. Every animal on the planet will
try to prevent its own death, and that’s all this slow-moving piece of protein is trying to do,
against
an onslaught of predators intent on eating it. Rattlesnakes will, when attacked,
defend themselves as anyone would do in a life-or-death situation. Like us,
they’ll put on a big show to try and look scary, and also like us, they’ll
use a weapon if need be. When put like that, a shovel-wielding hero defies common sense by choosing to engage in a
situation that forces the snake to defend itself.
So what happens if it ‘escapes’? Won’t it just
murder the entire family at the next weekend BBQ? If you live where rattlesnakes
are, the fact is that there are always
rattlesnakes. Very secretive, great-athiding, completely not wanting to get
SnAKe Safety & Stable Management