Against the white of the snow and ice on the ground, strands of black horse tail hair and patches of blood were a pronounced and sad reminder of the carnage that had occurred the day before.
‘To have her life end like this ? she deserved better than that,? said Oxford resident Kallie (Roesner) Meyers.
Meyers was referring to the tragic death of her horse K.O. Carmen on Sunday, Jan. 25 around 2:30 p.m. The 27-year-old registered Argentine thoroughbred mare was attacked and fatally wounded by a pack of coyotes, according to Meyers, on her property located at the northeast corner of Delano and Oakwood roads.
‘I was sick (about it),? Meyers said. ‘Part of me kind of knew this was likely to happen (because of the increased coyote activity in the area) and that’s what made me mad ? there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it. I feel terrible. I feel like I wasn’t there to help her.?
The attack, which is being investigated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (see story: DNR investigating claim coyotes killed Oxford horse), took place in a paddock about 80 feet from the house and just outside a pole barn that used to house chickens and ducks.
K.O. was outside eating by herself.
‘She’s a senior citizen, so she just needs more time (to eat),? Meyers said.
Meyers didn’t actually witness the attack. She only saw the aftermath. Her teenage sons were home when it happened.
She said it appears K.O. had finished eating all her food and was on her way to get a drink of water when a group of coyotes ‘ambushed? her.
When a friend of her son pulled in the driveway, he saw K.O. go down.
Looking at the scene, Meyers speculated K.O. probably slipped on the ice while trying to fend off the coyotes.
‘They tore all the hair off her tail. They shredded her blanket,? Meyers said. ‘When she went down here, they eviscerated her.?
K.O. was by no means small.
She was 16 hands, 3 inches (or 67 inches) tall and weighed between 1,000 and 1,100 pounds. ‘She was huge,? Meyers said. ‘As horses go, she was a big horse.?
When her sons heard the commotion, they went outside to investigate. That’s when Diesel, a 3-year-old Shar-Pei/Labrador Retriever mix who’s one of Meyers? five dogs, charged outside to drive the coyotes away.
He sustained puncture wounds to his head and rear area, but is doing just fine. The other dogs were behind him and came to his rescue, chasing the coyotes away.
It’s estimated five or six coyotes were involved in the attack.
Following the attack, K.O. was ‘still conscious? and ‘wanted to get up,? but Meyers didn’t want to risk having her fall again, so she kept the horse on the ground and did her best to comfort her until the veterinarian arrived.
K.O. was then euthanized.
She said there was ‘no way? K.O. would have recovered as the wounds were much too severe. She would have suffered a ‘slow and agonizing death,? according to Meyers.
Although she was an old horse, K.O. was by no means feeble.
‘That was a healthy horse they took down. She wasn’t sick,? Meyers said. ‘We could still ride her. She was still running around. We took her out last summer and we were riding her all over the place.?
‘We expected her to live a pretty comfortable life for another three years. Her only weak spot was her teeth,? she noted.
The horse’s nickname was Alpha Mare. Meyer’s other six horses all took their cues from her. ‘She was just so bold,? she explained. ‘She took care of the herd. She was the matriarch of the herd. Wherever she went, they went. She told them when to come up for water. She led them around.?
As her body laid in the cold pasture overnight, K.O.’s herd was there to guard it.
‘They stood vigil over her all last night,? Meyers said. ‘They wouldn’t leave her side.?
Meyers purchased K.O. from a local farm when the horse was 6 years old.
‘She was named K.O. because when she was a little filly she got ill and had to have Kaopectate,? she said. ‘She would run around with the bottle and have a pink nose.?
In her heyday, K.O. was an award-winning dressage horse.
‘She was a nationally-ranked champion,? Meyers said. ‘She was ranked sixth in the country in the late 1990s.?
K.O. was in ‘semi-retirement? at the time of her death. She was mainly used to help train other horses for the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Mounted Unit. Meyers has been a deputy with the mounted unit for two years.
‘We used her a lot when I brought my green [inexperienced] horses out,? Meyers said. ‘We would ride with her because she was so steady and she was a good training horse for the rest.?
K.O. was also used whenever the mounted unit needed a calm horse to interact with crowds or be petted by children.
Coyotes have become more a problem and a threat over the last two to three years, according to Meyers. Over the last year, she said coyotes killed all 23 of her chickens and all 18 of her ducks.
‘I have nothing left, but a peacock. I used to have flocks,? Meyers said. ‘We just gave up. We can’t have them anymore. We’re down to one peacock because she can fly.?
But it’s not just fowl the coyotes have been after. These predators have had their sights set on bigger potential prey such as dogs and horses.
‘All of my dogs have been attacked,? she said. ‘They keep coming right into the yard and waiting for our dogs. It’s almost like they send a scout to see what’s going on and the rest lurk in the woods.?
Meyers believes the pack sends one out to tempt her dogs to chase them into the woods where the others are waiting to attack.
‘That’s always our fear,? she said. ‘At night, when we want to let them out, we have to stand there and wait because the coyotes are waiting all the time.?
Meyers has also witnessed coyotes ‘harassing? her horses. ‘They try to get the horses to run, then they run the horse into a fence or they hope it slips,? she said.
On the day of K.O.’s attack, Meyers said her husband told her the horse was ‘a little hesitant to come out,? which was ‘not like her.?
‘We’re wondering if maybe there had been an incident earlier,? she said.
The coyote threat has left the Meyers household feeling that it must exist in a constant state of high alert. ‘We’re out here every hour, checking on everything,? she said. ‘At night, we sleep with the window cracked open so we can hear what’s going on.?
The coyote population has grown and they are becoming quite ‘bold,? in Meyers? view.
‘They’re very comfortable around people,? she said. ‘There’s no fear.?
Meyers? relayed an incident in which a coyote was circling a young filly of hers.
‘I ran out to try and scare it away. It started walking right toward me,? she said. ‘I was just in shock that the thing wasn’t leaving.?
It was standing 20 feet away when another horse chased it away.
‘I don’t mind living in peace with the coyotes, but when they’re becoming this bold (as with K.O.’s attack) . . . this could have been my kid coming to feed the horse late at night and falling down,? Meyers said.
Meyers suspects the coyotes may be crossbreeding with local dogs, causing them to get larger and more aggressive. ‘The ones that come here look like German Shepherds,? she said. ‘They’re very big.?
So, what’s the solution to the coyote problem in this area? ‘A lot of people say kill them all,? Meyers said. ‘I don’t think that’s the answer.?
She believes people need to make the coyotes feel a lot less comfortable around people, houses and barns by deliberately frightening them whenever they’re spotted.
‘People need to make it a habit to scare them off and let them know they’re not welcome here,? Meyers said. ‘Even if it’s with a pellet gun or whatever, make them afraid. We need to scare them enough that they don’t come this close to us.?
If more people start doing that, she said, ‘Maybe this won’t happen again.?
For now, Meyers fears the successful attack on K.O. Carmen will only embolden the canine predators in her area.
‘Once they know they can take a horse down, they’re going to be back,? she said.