# Kind of gross question



## Harmony_Meadows

I am sorry to ask this, but it seems some coyotes are digging up the horses we put down last week. We are on bedrock and can only go down so far. They are at least 5 feet as I could have stood in the hole and not reached the top, I am 5' 2". We have some concrete pads that we are putting over top of the graves tomorrow, but is there anything else we can do. 

To be honest, if they are going to be dug up I would rather preserve their skeletons for my home school groups and whatnot than have have them dragged around all over the place. 

Needless to say I am more than a little upset. I could use a bit of advice. I am used to having endless soil so we would just bring in a bigger excavator, but here on the Canadian Shield that is not possible and extremely expensive.

Please help! :Bawling:


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## Wolfy-hound

Try pouring ammonia? When I had to bury a horse there was one belated attempt to dig her up and none after I poured some ammonia around. We didn't have a lot of coyotes though.

Sorry about the loss.


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## Farmerjonathan

Field lime liberally spread over the top of their graves. Will absorb the smells drawing in the coyotes. More dirt on top of them will also eliminate the smell. Sorry you had to put some down.


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## Minelson

I don't have a solution...I am just so sorry you are having to deal with this


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## maggiemom

When I had to bury one of my cats the vet told me to sprinkle bleach on top of the grave to keep the dogs away from it so I would think a bunch of bleach would keep the coyotes away .Sorry you're having this happen in addition to the loss of your horses
Aileen


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## jennigrey

I had to bury a goat and I put some stall mats over his grave. Not sure how many stall mats you'd need over two horses, though.

I buried a couple of raccoons and sprayed bleach around that burial site. No coyotes disturbed it, even though it was rather far from the house. DH and I both also urinated around that spot several times.

Not sure if this is feasible but you could maybe unroll some mesh fencing and "staple" it to the ground with landscaping staples. That's what we did to keep our dog from digging craters in his dog run when he was young and had way too much energy.

I'm sorry.


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## goodhors

What a problem, after doing everything right for those horses!

I would second the bleach, lime, poured around the burial spot holes. You might also put any stall bedding on top as time goes along, which will help cover the buried horse smell, AND keep the hole filled.

With our dead horses, we find the hole will sink down, as time goes along. So we have to add more fill to the hole. This can take a year or more, depending on how your local water conditions affect the soil. 

You can only do the best you can. Locally they call for 6ft holes, but bedrock can make you stop a bit sooner. So pile on from the top, gain the depth you want with additional dirt, fill or rocks.

Darn scavengers.


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## Harmony_Meadows

Thank you all. It sure was hard to take but I am managing now. Of course today is pouring rain. :yuck:

I think we are going to put the concrete blocks we have down (they are 3 feet x 2 feet) and that should keep the (enter bad word here) coyotes from getting too far. Then we will use it for our muck pile for a little while. When the rain stops we may try ammonia or bleach, but my horses do graze that pasture so I am reluctant to put it out when it is raining. We may fence the area as well. 

Thanks again for the suggestions. I wanted better for my girls, but we will make it work.


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## goodhors

Bleach, ammonia or lime (powdered or pelleted), should be applied when it is not raining. Might need reapplication if watered down with rain water.

None of these products should hurt the horses, might even keep them away from the area while still fresh. Covering with the dug out places, soft dirt, with the blocks should be helpful, and gives you a bottom to put the bedding on while you keep it there.

You can fence out the other animals, but unless the fence is hot, expect them to rub on posts, wire, and might create a danger zone as they push stuff around. Cap off any T-posts, covers the sharp ends sticking up. Blocks without coverage might be slippery if they ran over them in snow, ice. This would be why I would go with bedding coverage of soft place. Keep piling it on, make a high pile. Less likely to go on it, puncture holes in soft dirt. No posts to get hurt on. Horse USUALLY avoid a hill or dirt pile if there is an easier way to go, so soft place would be avoided as a main travel path.


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## Harmony_Meadows

Thanks, 
We got it all covered over again and since we had to move the manure pile we decided to put it there. I don't like that much but better that the alternative. The ammonia from the wet shavings should do the trick and it is at least 5 or 6 feet from the top to the horses now. We want to fence it off, but the three idioteers I have in that field right now are liable to do something bizarre and expensive! They seem to stay away from it now so with luck we wont have any more issues before freeze up then good luck digging anything. Come spring we can re-evaluate. Depending on how they behave I may be pulling them off that pasture entirely. It will depend on how they share the shelter. 

Thanks for the suggestions and support. This has been a rough time but it helps having understanding people behind us.


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## wr

Why not just cover the graves with rocks? That's all our ancestors used for centuries. 


Sent from my iPhone using Homesteading Today


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## goodhors

I wouldn't want a pile or even a layer of cobblestone sized rocks in my field. Makes it hard to mow the ground, makes a trip hazard for horse moving from smooth dirt to (probably invisible in grass) rock as they move around the field at speed.

Here, we pick up rocks as we find them, move them out of the pastures to prevent problems. Boulders? They are usually BIG, so horses avoid them and I mow around it.


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## wr

goodhors said:


> I wouldn't want a pile or even a layer of cobblestone sized rocks in my field. Makes it hard to mow the ground, makes a trip hazard for horse moving from smooth dirt to (probably invisible in grass) rock as they move around the field at speed.
> 
> Here, we pick up rocks as we find them, move them out of the pastures to prevent problems. Boulders? They are usually BIG, so horses avoid them and I mow around it.


We don't mow our fields/pastures and my horses are ridden over indian graves quite often and none have ever been harmed in any way. I guess I was simply offering a suggestion based on my little corner of the world.


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## goodhors

We are probably "too civilized" here, with pasture grooming required on our small acreages so there is enough grass for grazing the whole summer. A rock or rock pile, gets moved so I can get more grass growing. No local Indian graves that I know about to ride or gallop across. A horse who works and gets in plenty of regular mileage is less likely to be silly, than a young or fat pasture horse full of snorts, not worked yet today.

No rocks laid over burial sites for anyone, locally.


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## KSALguy

another reason I always burned any dead on the farm back home, some friends had an old mule die on the farm, that was a big burn pile, but when it was done there was nothing left to dig up, and made for a relatively festive bonfire, not being funny or offensive, just another alternative.


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## harvestgirl

cover with hay and diatemaceous earth.


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## Harmony_Meadows

Thank you all for your suggestions. I really appreciate it. 

wr we had thought of using rocks, but we only have 30 acres and it hasn't been used in over 10 years so it is very weedy and overgrown. We made due this year but not as well as I had hoped. So we will be bush hogging it a few times next year and around here rocks tend to migrate. But it was one possibility we did consider, so that you for the suggestion. We have those big concrete slabs that would have worked too.

Burning is not an option here. It is a fairly residential area considering it is rural. We also back onto a major highway. And the by-laws don't allow for burning, especially something that big. Being a small property we would probably burn the barn down trying. Unfortunately not feasible here and cremation is way too expensive at over $1000 a horse.

My horses would eat the hay so that would be a no go. LOL

Thankfully the muck pile seems to have done the trick. No signs of any further disturbance but we do check it regularly. Seems the ammonia in the muck and the extra depth have made a difference. 

Once again thank you all for your help. It will freeze up here in a few weeks and then we wont have any more issues until spring.


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