Equestrians

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. The weather has been beautiful and I have seen a definite increase in the number of riders on the trails and in the arenas.

Recently we have heard a lot of stories about the big Pine Ridge coyote problem. I noticed when I moved here 13 years ago that Pine Ridge had a large coyote population. I spend a great amount of my time riding on the trails and biking on the roads here and I really don’t see many more coyotes than I did back then. I think that when we move to an area like this we need to learn to live with the wildlife and the one main rule we need to follow is: Don’t provide a food source! It is a sad fact that our pets are a coyote food source and must be protected at all times. We can provide yards with good sturdy fences. We can walk our dogs on short leashes and avoid walking them near heavy brush (snakes hide there too). We can remember that invisible fencing won’t protect our pets from coyotes unless the coyotes are wearing collars. We can protect our cats by keeping them inside. For our horses, a well placed strand of hot wire keeps my wooded paddocks coyote free and protects from the much more dangerous packs of pet dogs out for an evening romp as well. Our Pine Ridge website has links to sites with many more tips for protecting your pets. Check them out at www.pineridgeassn.com.