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Discussion on He ate a Palo Verde bug!
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Member:
Longhorn
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 17, 2004 - 3:57 pm:
I kid you not. My 11-year old QH gelding ate a 3-inch long Palo Verde bug.
Husband Bob and I were in the barn last night to give The Boys their evening feed. Lots o' bugs are attracted to the barn lights; flying ants, moths, June bugs, wasps, etc. This time of year it's common for a Palo Verde bug to fly into the barn, "smack!" on the cement barn aisle or against a stall wall. These bugs are anywhere from 2 to 4 inches long and they have very intimidating looking jaws. I like having bats and tarantulas on the property and the few non-venomous snakes we see are also welcomed. Palo Verde bugs, I don't like. (Bob picks 'em up just to tease me for my reaction but I still don't like 'em.)
Anyway, I was just getting ready to put Bennie's upside-down bell boots on for the evening (to prevent bed sores on the pastern joint), and Ben reaches down to sniff at this Palo Verde bug in his stall. I started to half-heartedly warn him to leave it alone thinking it will bite him or something ("Now, leave it alone, Bennie, don't mess with that...") and doesn't he just lip that thing right up and start "Crunch, crunch, crunching" on it? Now my reaction is, "Ohmygawd, Bennie, no, no, no, put that thing down! No, Bennie, no! Euww!...." Bob said, "Oh don't worry. Once he tastes how bitter it is he'll just spit it out." Nope. Crunch, crunch, crunch, gone. Not even a leg ejected. Wings and all. Total gross out.
And I do mean it was a 3-incher. Just for our own comfort we gave Ben a bite of carrot. So. Anybody else out there got a bug eatin' horse? And I do not mean like ingesting fly larvae or accidentally eating a blister beetle in the hay.
As a post script, Ben tucked in to his hay last night and was just fine this morning eagerly awaiting the delivery of his breakfast. Oh Lord. He'd better leave the tarantula alone. I don't think it will go as gently into that good night.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 18, 2004 - 8:14 am:
Hilarious Laura!
DrO
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Member:
Jeans
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Posted on Monday, Jul 19, 2004 - 5:56 pm:
I had to look up Palo Verde bug" since I did not know what one was. Yuck! Ever thought of entering Bennie in "Fear Factor?" 
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