Will deer graze with horses

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


mheichelbech
500 Club
Posts: 4188
Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2013 10:00 am
Facebook: mheichelbech@gmail.com
Location: Charlestown, IN
Status: Offline

Will deer graze with horses

Unread postby mheichelbech » Thu Jul 10, 2014 2:09 am

Am hunting a horse boarding farm, I have not seen it happen yet but wondering if deer will graze on clover, mineral blocks, etc. with horses nearby...has anyone ever seen this occurring? At this farm, I don't see a lot of deer tracks in the areas where the horses are but maybe because ground is hard when I have checked.


"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
Primetime41
Posts: 451
Joined: Tue Sep 25, 2012 2:15 pm
Location: SE WI
Status: Offline

Re: Will deer graze with horses

Unread postby Primetime41 » Thu Jul 10, 2014 2:27 am

I hunt a horse farm and it seems that the deer will generally avoid the areas that are used by the horses. Atleast during daylight.
User avatar
exojam
Posts: 2067
Joined: Sat Sep 15, 2012 12:25 pm
Location: In bed looking out the windows
Status: Offline

Re: Will deer graze with horses

Unread postby exojam » Thu Jul 10, 2014 2:35 am

They stay away from the horses at my sisters place.

[ Post made via iPad ] Image
User avatar
Stanley
Honorary Moderator
Posts: 18734
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2011 4:18 am
Facebook: None
Location: Iowa
Status: Offline

Re: Will deer graze with horses

Unread postby Stanley » Thu Jul 10, 2014 3:36 am

It seems like deer avoid cattle and horses to some degree. They won't avoid them like humans but generally give a wide birth.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
dan
Site Owner
Posts: 41589
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:11 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntingBeast/?ref=bookmarks
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Contact:
Status: Online

Re: Will deer graze with horses

Unread postby dan » Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:15 am

Stanley wrote:It seems like deer avoid cattle and horses to some degree. They won't avoid them like humans but generally give a wide birth.

Same as my observations.
Redman232
Posts: 1251
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 2:20 am
Location: NE Indiana
Status: Offline

Re: Will deer graze with horses

Unread postby Redman232 » Thu Jul 10, 2014 5:59 am

I've seen deer in a horse pasture with horses 1 time in my life, so I'm guessing they don't feed with them much because I can still remember when, where and what time of the year it was when I saw it. I do like hunting pastures though, they just need to be vacant of livestock for about 10 or 15 years and overgrown. :D
User avatar
oneflag
Posts: 405
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2012 6:34 am
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline

Re: Will deer graze with horses

Unread postby oneflag » Thu Jul 10, 2014 6:14 am

A friend of mine has horses and they get irritated when they see and smell deer. It’s the only time I have ever heard a horse snort like a deer. We sometimes go on trial rides and we can always tell when the horses smell a deer. So for some reason deer and horses keep their distance from one another, maybe its competition for the same food sources because sometimes you will see them on opposite sides of a field.

Neighbors of mine have cattle, I never see deer mixed with them, and they rotate the cattle between fields. Years ago they had this goat that just moved around the farm, he would jump fences and just go where he wanted. I would sometimes see the goat and a small buck out in the open field away from the cattle. I didn’t know what to think, only that it was odd.
Beason
500 Club
Posts: 558
Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2011 6:56 pm
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Will deer graze with horses

Unread postby Beason » Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:14 pm

Out west Ive seen mule deer with horses in the same field, opposite sides.
User avatar
oldrank
Posts: 6158
Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2013 7:32 am
Location: USA
Status: Offline

Re: Will deer graze with horses

Unread postby oldrank » Fri Jul 11, 2014 8:11 am

ive seen em in the same pasture but usually far away from each other.
User avatar
Wlog
500 Club
Posts: 3642
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2012 1:28 am
Location: Eastern Shore MD
Status: Offline

Re: Will deer graze with horses

Unread postby Wlog » Fri Jul 11, 2014 2:23 pm

oldrank wrote:ive seen em in the same pasture but usually far away from each other.


I see plenty of deer in horse pastures but rarely within 100 yards of each other.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
User avatar
UntouchableNess
500 Club
Posts: 2070
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:28 am
Location: Eastern Iowa
Status: Online

Re: Will deer graze with horses

Unread postby UntouchableNess » Sat Jul 12, 2014 3:30 am

Deer move through our horse pasture routinely, but for the most part I have never seen them close to one another. I had to move the salt block into the barn to keep the deer from eating it all.
JoeRE
500 Club
Posts: 4576
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 5:26 am
Location: IA
Status: Offline

Re: Will deer graze with horses

Unread postby JoeRE » Sat Jul 12, 2014 6:06 am

Deer and horses do not get along. Cows and deer tolerate each other a little more but still keep to themselves. I own a 10 acre horse pasture that has deer go through it...when there are no horses there.


  • Advertisement

Return to “Deer Hunting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bonecrusher101, dan and 90 guests