Horse Brutally attacked by unknown animal

I happened across this news story by accident and found it rather interesting.Makes you wonder if there is some validity to this Chupacabra legend.

Farmers in Chautauqua County are on alert after a horse was attacked by a wild animal. It happened Thursday night in the Town of Pomfret. The attack was certainly vicious and the horse is lucky to be alive.

www.liveleak.com...

My guess is mountain lion. I've seen one skulking away from spying on a horse stable before. I think maybe these big cats are more wide spread than people care to admit.

A bear would have done more damage I would think and coyotes would make noise (?) I think - not sure if they make noise after a kill.

You are probably right but man did you see the size of the bite mark on the neck. This had to be one big mountain lion to go after a horse.

The horse is lucky to had survived, as to reference to the injuries it sustained.
I did a research too find out if a coyote could have done this (Or a pack) and came across this story back from 1997:

She came down the mountain for help. Early Saturday, before sunrise, on October 18, 1997, Betty from Wild Horse Spirit was checking for any signs of free-roaming wild horses in an area of northern Nevada. She sighted a horse in the distance. Using binoculars, she saw a lone young horse who appeared injured, sick and weak. She was moving slowly having difficulty raising and lowering her head to graze on the mountainside. Suddenly, three coyotes were seen circling her, apparently waiting for the opportune time to finish the young horse off. Betty knew it was urgent that the horse get help if she was to survive.

Source:
www.wildhorsespirit.org...

The marking's from the attack on the OP's post are much more severe than the marks of the attack were on this partyicular horse, being atacked by not one but three coyote's has left very little veiwable infliction, though I feel for the horse, being starving and ill, I don't think it was any pack of coyote that did this threads horse.

Here's a good story of a cougar attack on a horse that was not so lucky. The story has A pic of the horse in her glory days, but there is no evidence photo's of the horse after the attack, for comparison reason's of the attack marking's of the OP's horse vid to a possible explanation of what attacked it.

And Penny still can't figure out what spooked the 13-year-old standardbred trotter on the night of Oct. 8 so she'd run headfirst into a fence post -- snapping it at the base -- then over an electric fence and another wire fence.
OPP say the animal that attacked Rainbow could have been a cougar because one was spotted by a resident this week near a creek in Parkhill.

Source:
nationaljillographic.blogspot.com...

I guess what gets my attention for this story is the reaction of this horse to what happened to the video news horse, quite similar in reaction's.
It turns out they are inigeonist to the vacinity of the attack, which leads me to beleive it may be the culprit.

Mountain Lions have the largest range of any wild cat extending from the Southern part of Canada to the Southern tip of South America Diet
Mountain Lions are carnivores and their main prey are the white tailed and mule deer but depending on their geographical location their diet also consists of bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, elk, moose, tree porcupines, guanacos, hares, rodents and domestic livestock such as cattle, sheep, pigs and horses.

Source of Mt. Lions habitat:
www.theanimalfiles.com...

This is a very unusual catch for the camera of a horse defending itself from being attacked by a Mt. lion, the horse I think got the best of this kitty lol


If anything at all, it proves that a horse can defend itself when being attacked, so the news vid. horse might of had a run in with a larger cat?

List of Confirmed Cougar Attacks In the United States and Canada
1991 - 2000

Source:
www.cougarinfo.com...

I guess if I were the horses owner, I would have gunned up and went to the direction it had came from when it was startled and investigated the for track's or anything else that would of gave a possible explanation.IMHO

Yep coyotes go after Horses as do any other predators. A starving bear will rip a foal in half while it's mother watches in horror. But a big cat and single coyote can't get away with much easily.

For something to put damage into a horse means it's pretty big and powerful.

[edit on 24-4-2008 by NewWorldOver]

reply to post by Allred5923


I think that pic is a hoax. A horse would kick or stomp to defend itself. I doubt it would bite the cat as this pic shows.
Not certain, but I'd bet it's a doctored photo.

edit..spelling

[edit on 25-4-2008 by lw2525]

If a mountain lion attacked this horse...

1: The horse would have died. No horse is surviving that.

Also the claw marks are too small and close together to be a mountain lion, unless it was a cub.

Just last month, there was a horse attacked by a mountain lion here in Michigan. My brother's in-laws in Alpena told him about it because the attack was in the northern part of the state. I seem to recall the horse surving the attack, but being put down due to its wounds. For all I know, there could be numerous incidents of this type of attack that go unreported.

For years, the DNR denied that these cats were in the state. I know better because I've seen them up here. They are awesome looking cats. Then, my cousin told me that his friend in the DNR advised him that these cats were being relocated into northern Michigan from other states. I don't know if the move is intended to act as a control for other animals like the feral pigs, whose numbers are increasing across the state, or to keep the deer population in check.

Moutiain lion no doubt. They attack lying in wait and for prey to walk by or under them and latch on the creatures back before biting the spinal cord and snapping it making it a instant win for him. No doubt the moutain lion is messed up if the horse got away.

Oh! Don't doubt horse bites, they hurt...

as for this pic being a hoax, I am sorry to inform you that a horse will defend itself with any means, even grabbing with the mouth. If the Moutain lion was attacking from the proper position for the horse to grab it by the tail and fling it around, it will take advantage of that.
My sister is a big horse buff and for curiousities ske, I asked her if a horse would be capable of performing such an act. I showed her the picture to see if she thought it was fake, her reply was "That is exactly what a horse would do given the right circumstance." and she has raised horses for breeder's. She also said that the photo is what it would look like , you would have to be very lucky too snap the pic at that moment for to capture the event. She actually had me send the pic to her for her archives.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but it is an actual event with an undoctored picture to prove it.

And by the way, a horse could grab a human being similar to the photo and inflict some serious damage as well. That was the edit and it comes from someone I know and trust, My Sis.

[edit on 073030p://4974 by Allred5923]

I wonder though, why they simply didn't look for paw prints in the area to give a possible ID on the animal?If it is indeed a mountain lion then I guess we will be seeing more things like this as more of their natural habitat is encroached on by us.

I found this link: www.snopes.com...://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/mulelion.asp

The owner of the mule said the mountain lion was already dead. It had been shot.

[edit on 25-4-2008 by lw2525]

reply to post by Trash can


I also thought it was a Mountain Lion, but then I thought the claw marks were also close together...I don't know much about wild cats, but I thought the marks were a little small to be made from a Mountain Lion...

I noticed that the claw marks only have three claws.They do seem close together but the openings seem wide, although that could be the horses skin stretching.I would think what ever it was there had to be a pack of them due to the amount of injuries.

I agree that there was probably a Pack of them, as the scratches and bite marks are ALL OVER the body. From all different angles. There are scratches on either side...and the Bite marks around the neck...I dont know...But if it was a pack...would the horse have survived?

Seems like a mountain lion to me. I have seen what they can do to deer without much trouble at all. Would not be much of a stretch for one to attack a horse. I have heard of mountain lion attacks on horses in the South Texas area. Not normal; but they have occured.

reply to post by CaptGizmo


I believe that could be the point when a mother has cubs she teaches them to hunt, She was skilled enough to jump on the horses back and try to give it a neck bite, the shock most likely knocked the horse down and the cubs went at it , being cubs they probably f-ed up got knocked out or fatally injured by a horse kick, letting the horse have enough time to escape, the mother lion on the other hand would have been sitting somewhere close to it or laying down thinking the deed was done only to watch as the horse flew by and probably gave her a kick to ( God Knows I would of).there is a snowballs chance in hell that a semi winded mountain lion could catch a Adrenaline pumped up horse.

Two cubs= the Pack?


If this all happened to me I know I would have been right out there looking for something, Signs of 'the battle' or the creature its self. not wifout a Sportsman at my hip but you get the point. This happened so long ago there is no point in looking for whatever it was.

reply to post by Allred5923


Sorry to tell you, but that's actually a mule. Half horse half donkey. In the middle east they bred donkey's to guard against wild dogs and such. It sounds farfetched, but it's true. They tend to be both extremely cautious animals but will also attack things if necessary.
The story behind that picture is that the people were on a hunting trip or something and the mule smelled the mountain lion behind them, bucked off his rider and attacked the cat.