By Mary Riley
Predators attack and kill Lindsay woman’s Arabian horse in barnyard
(LINDSAY) Margaret Mallette is convinced a pack of wolves, coyotes or a cross between the two is responsible for killing her beloved Arabian horse last week.
“Coy-wolves; that’s what people call them,” she said. “They are massive. One small coyote couldn’t have done this.”
Asun of Atticus, or Pilgram, as he was called, was a 15-year-old purebred Egyptian Arabian gelding, a Christmas gift to Ms Mallette when she was 15 and he was eight months old.
Now 30, Ms Mallette, of Lindsay said she all she has left “is a lock of his mane.”
She discovered him fatally injured in his paddock on March 11.
Sometime during the previous night, she said Pilgram fell victim to coyotes or wolves, which attacked the horse outside a barn full of sheep. She found him the next morning; the injuries to his legs so horrific she had to euthanize him.
“We have sheep; they were in the barn lambing,” she explained. “Pilgram was very protective, very territorial. He would defend his little herd of horses and sheep. The horses were in the barn yard. We think the pack [were attracted] by the sheep and Pilgram defended them.”
She said the horse had facial injuries and his halter was torn off. Noting pack animals such as wolves usually attack their prey’s rear legs, she said there was “no way” Pilgram could have been injured so badly if he was free to fight.
“One of them had to have grabbed his head, which would have made him rear up, and the others attacked him from the rear.”
Ms Mallette said Pilgram’s injuries were so bad, “I knew as soon as I saw his legs I’d have to put him down.
“It is devastating.”
She said because Pilgram was a registered Arabian, her veterinarian completed a certificate advising the Canadian Arabian Horse Association of his death. “He [wrote] that the injuries were consistent with animal bites.”
Days later, the shock of the attack was still evident in her voice; few predators will attack a healthy, fully-grown horse. Even more brazen, was the attack happened in the barnyard rather than in a remote field.
The pair were often seen on the local equestrian circuit, showing in Arabian classes at many shows, including the Lindsay Exhibition each fall. “A lot of people knew Pilgram and I want them to know what happened,” Ms Mallette said.
She said the horse was fearless and “hot,” a horsewoman’s term for a high-spirited animal. But, the pair had a special bond that strengthened over the years. “You just had to know how to outsmart him when handling him,” Ms Mallette said.
Asked if she’s seen a pack of coyotes and/or wolves in her area, she said she’s seen one animal she’s convinced is a hybrid. “It’s a big, black one. It’s huge.”
She added many of her neighbours have discussed seeing the hybrid species.
At the recent Woodlot Conference held in Lindsay, at which there was a special presentation about coyotes, one farmer told This Week he’s seen the hybrid animals; they are much bigger than a coyote and have the fearlessness and aggression of a wolf. A Ministry of Natural Resources biologist confirmed the two species can and do cross-breed.
Ms Mallette said her family hasn’t lost any livestock to coyotes or wolves in the past, and for the predators to take on her horse is a warning to other horse owners.
Pilgram wasn’t sick, old or lame, she said; he would have gone after anything he perceived as a threat. But, the shock of how the horse died, that it actually happened right in the barn yard, prompted Ms Mallette to warn others.
“Pilgram was protecting those lambs…that was him, through and through,” she said. “At least he didn’t die needlessly.”
As devastated as she is, Ms Mallette said incidents like this happen “because we continue to impose on wildlife habitat.
“I just want other people with horses to know what happened to Pilgram and be aware.”
She said all that she has left is “a lock of his mane”, and the memories of the spirited gelding who died as he had lived, “going out with a bang…protecting his herd.”