Interaction between bees and horses.

[mikemilespitcairn]

I am involved in setting up an apiary site that has a 10 metre boundary with a large (10-15 acres) horse field. The bees and horses are separated by a substantial stock fence and a 6 foot high wind break screen and six metres of open ground. The owner of the horses is getting a little agitated over the impending arrival of our bees and is fearful that his animals may become targets and attacked without cause.
Has the forum any experience that would help allay his fears (or maybe justify them); is there really any danger to the horses?
Cheers, Mike

[Rosie]

I think they are at risk but probably not much more so than any other animal. Unfortunately if horse dies through anaphylaxis the financial loss to the owner is much greater than say a stray mongrel dog. In addition horses sometimes rear when frightened by a bee and can tghrow a rider. That's the reason I turned down a site in Leicestershire which was in an orchard next to riding stables. The orchard owner was keen on having my bees but I prefer to sleep soundly at night without worrying about my bees causing a nuisance. In the event another beekeeper took up the offer and, as far as I know, has so far had no problems apart from not being very good at controlling his swarms.

Rosie

[gavin]

bbbbHi Mike

I see that on another forum folk have reminded you of the case which hit the headlines a year or so back. In that case a horse probably crossed a fence to get in beside the bees and mayhem broke out after that. The situation you describe seems unlikely to be able to have a horse entering the apiary so I don't see a problem. I've seen my bees bothering a horse when some leaked while I was setting up an observation hive at a public display, but the horse backed off rather than attack the source. My beekeeping landlady sometimes passes close to my apiary when out and about on her favourite horse and I'm not aware of any problems with that.

However, placating the owner of the horses may not be easy - any very small risk is unlikely to be welcomed when the option is there to make it difficult for you to go ahead.

I may have mentioned to you that the sheep brought in to the orchard in which my bees sit started by using the hives as scratching posts. After a few weeks the grass in front of the hives started to grow longer and the hives stopped mysteriously moving on their stands, so I guess that they got the message. In the second summer they hadn't forgotten and they never bothered them at all.

[mikemilespitcairn]

Thanks Rosie and Gavin,
As expected, the response to my question has been mixed on the other forum but in general the message is proceed with care, doing all that can be done to lower the risks. We have spent some time, effort and expense in making sure the bees will be forced up above the heads of people and stock by surrounding the apiary with screen fence and siting the hives so they will be facing away from the boundary the horses could move along. The stock fence is quite strong and very high as it is designed to keep deer out, so the horses shouldn't get over it.

As you say Gavin, reassuring our neighbour is going to be the most difficult task. I am expecting to be told his animals are suffering from all sorts of lumps and bumps (which they do every summer) and the bees getting the blame. I've asked him if he can supply an old horse rug for us to drape over the fence close to the apiary so the bees can become accustomed to the scent of horse and moderate there response. Would this work? I remember reading a beekeeping book some twenty years ago that had a whole chapter on "wave cloths", recommending hanging articles of clothing from all the family members around the apiary so that the bees become used to the scent and movement of people in the household. Needless to say it was American!
Hope to see you in a week or two Gavin...... how is the comb sterilisation going!

Mike

[lindsay s]

I’ve kept bees next to horses for the last 20 years. A few of my hives were less than 3 metres away separated only by a barbed wire fence. The field is used as a day paddock and not for grazing so horses were going in and out at all times of the year. There’s one case of a horse being stung that I know about but who knows it might have happened more often. Sometimes when the bees were bad tempered I would worry about the horses but the bees seemed to leave them alone.

Early this March I moved my hives about 200 metres to a new site because the landowners have built a sand school right in front of my apiary. The sand school is surrounded by an earth bund but is less than 10 metres away from where the hives were. The landowners didn’t consider any problems until I pointed out that anybody using the sand school would be right in the bees flight line and could be at risk of getting stung. The thought of 8 to 10 colonies going flat out in the summer and bees getting entangled with horses and riders was giving me nightmares so I suggested a new site and the landowners agreed.

Shifting 10 hives and the concrete blocks they sit on over rough ground was hard work but at least I will sleep better at night. Bees and horses can live side by side but minimize the risks.