Horses and bees

[mattP]

We have horses and I'll be getting bees shortly.  Has anyone had trouble mixing the two?  I plan on having a water source close to the hive so they hopefully will not visit the horse tank.  Thanks for any insight.

[Michael Bush]

As long as the horses can run away from the bees and the bees are fenced off from the horses it works fine.  Look at my web site.  www.bushfarms.com  Friesian Horses and Bees.  If you don't give the horses room to run they could get hurt.  If you don't fence the bees off from the horses the horses will knock the hives over.

[Beehappy]

I don't know about horses and bees, but I have four dogs that stay outside and share their water trough with the bees. I've seen my dogs drinking water with hundreds of bees swarming all around their heads. As hot as it is here lately my dogs will even climb into the trough and sit in the water with bees buzzing all around. I did notice something interesting the other morning though. I was drinking my morning cup of joe and noticed a couple of swallows that have built a nest under our back porch. I was watching them swoop around and then noticed that something very small was chasing one of them. I realized that it was a bee and watched as it chased the swallow for about a couple hundred feet until the swallow flew away. These little bees are pretty fascinating. :o

[BEE C]

Again not horses, but we inherited an old tom cat when we bought our farmhouse.  Hes more like a dog because he follows me everywhere I go, whether I'm chipping branches or using the chainsaw.  He likes to sit and watch me.  Today when I was checking my hives, he couldn't help himself and stuck his nose right up to the one hive that had chewed through the grass I plugged it with.  I didn't see him get stung, even though he was there for about a half an hour.  I got a picture of a bee almost landing on his nose.  Seems hes smart enough to not eat the bees like every other four legged animal smaller than him, or insect that moves.

[Yarra_Valley]

I got a picture of a bee almost landing on his nose.

Would like to see that pic!

-Jimbo.

[Summerbee]

My bloodhound sleeps two feet in front of my hive, don't think he's been stung yet.  Maybe he's guarding them - which isn't too good, because he's supposed to be guarding the poultry...

[Denise]

We've had trouble keeping our dog away from the hives. He's facinated by them and wants to eat a few. Gross. He also figured out he likes honey so the smell tends to attact him. I just don't want him getting into the habit of lifting a leg on them. Blah.

[qa33010]

I took a picture of our cat sleeping on top of the hive.  He is completely streched out and content.  I think he likes the hum from inside.  The bees check him out but he ignores them.  That is his favorite place other than keeping my wifes' feet warm during the winter (saves my back from freezing).

David

[fuzzybeekeeper]

I can't verify this personally but I have always been told that if you have cattle and they get stung they will run away and stay away from the hives.  If you have horses and they get stung they will start bucking and kicking and knock over the hives which causes more bees and more stinging and more bucking and kicking.  Eventually the horse will die from too many stings.  

May be just an old wives tale.

Fuzzybeekeeper

[mattP]

Thanks for the replies.  I will be keeping my bees outside the fence where the horses will not be able to reach them.  I had heard all kinds of stories about the compatibility of the two.

[Michael Bush]

>If you have horses and they get stung they will start bucking and kicking and knock over the hives which causes more bees and more stinging and more bucking and kicking. Eventually the horse will die from too many stings.

I've seen my graze right up to the edge of the fence in front of the hives.  I've also seen them get stung.  When they get stung mine run away.

[Horns Pure Honey]

My bees are in a fenced in area in one of are pastures and the horses and bees dont mind each other.  :D