I'll start with that one...
One of these -
found its way into the barn. :(
In the 15+ years that Kimfer's parents have owned their acreage we haven't had any trouble with skunks, until this year.
Bear, the 'outside' dog, has been sprayed a few times. And there has been that skunky odour in the barn occasionally. Usually in the feed room. A skunk trap was placed in there but the only thing to get caught were the barn cats.
Sunday Kimfer and I were in the barn gathering our gear for the jackpot and we noticed that funky skunky smell. When I went into the feed room to get Applejack's grain I noticed a chunk of what could only be skunk fur on the floor.
That's when I placed the other, very faint, odour. Shotgun. (I'm not very familiar with firearms or I may have placed it sooner).
We left all 3 barn doors open to help air out the barn while we were gone.
When we came home we noticed that Kimfer's dad had blocked the "kitty door" to the feed room. The skunk smell was out of the barn :)
But when we went to put our tack away, we noticed the tack room was very skunky :( We have nowhere else to store the tack so we did put it away.
Turns outs that Mr.H had trapped another skunk in the feed room (he thinks). He was hoping it would go into the trap. Well the feed room shares a wall with the tack room, we think that's why the tack room was getting smelly.
Here's the million dollar question... does anyone know how to get skunk smell out of tack without harming it? ALL kinds of tack, saddles, pads, saddle covers, brushes, headstalls, reins, bits, horse boots.... EVERYTHING.
Now here is a "fun" question:
Does anyone know what this is-
And one last question... I'd like to send out some Christmas cards but I know that not everyone a)wants to give out their address or b) celebrates Christmas. If you are one of the people who would like a card e-mail me your address and I'll start sending. (I've already found some cards and started choosing who would get which)
*skunk photo found via Google Images*
Okay - about the skunk....ummm Febreze?
ReplyDeleteAren't there some synthetic products you can buy that counter acts that? I will run a search and see...
I have had experience with skunk but not getting out of tack....
Yes shotgun smells - like gunpowder ( but not he old fashioned stuff you see the cartoons) - so someone was trying to purge the barn at one point or another - hope you don't find any shot in your tack!
___________________________________
Next Question - Hoof Print? Did someone get kicked yesterday?
Either that or a horse kiss - but I was leaning toward hoof print.
Ah ha! Found it. Here you go - quick call to mom confirms the effectiveness of the following techniques.
ReplyDeleteWash all sprayed clothes, fabrics, people, and animals as soon as possible. The faster you get those smelly things in the wash, the better the chance that the skunk odor will actually wash off. Using your regular laundry detergent is fine, although treating the fabrics with an additional cleaner beforehand may help as well.
White vinegar or hydrogen peroxide counteracts the natural oil in skunk spray. You will probably need something stronger than soapy water to get rid of skunk oils -- a solution of vinegar or peroxide will dissolve and remove the odor-causing oils instead of just spreading them around. Try this mixture:
1 liter (or quart) white vinegar OR 3% hydrogen peroxide (peroxide may cause bleaching)
1/4 c. baking soda
1 tsp. dish detergent (also a de-greaser
Use commercial sprays designed to deodorize and neutralize smells to eliminate skunk odor. Household cleaning sprays and products such as Febreeze or Simple Green (a good organic alternative) can be effective against skunk smell on fabrics and furniture. "Skunk Off" is a highly effective spray designed specifically for treating skunk-sprayed pets.
Use bleach to clean skunk spray and odor from outdoor structures. Use a mixture of 10% bleach and 90% water (or detergent and water) to clean sprayed areas (such as a porch) that aren't in danger in staining from the bleach. Because chlorine bleach is highly toxic, don't use it to clean people, animals, furniture, or colored clothing.
Those stinky little buggers sure are a pain in the butt. Mom has had them in her barn too. They love cat food!! Raccoons too-She has had a few of those visiting lately. She had to start locking the cats in the barn at night.
ReplyDeleteI think stephanie's recipe sounds pretty good. The oil that they spray is hard to get out-using something to break it up will definitely work the best. It will go away over time-even if you don't get all of the smell out.
I'm with stephanie on the mark on your pants too...looks like you got tagged. Oddly, it looks like a face with flaming hair-LOL.
Thanks Steph, I'll talk over the cleaning possibilities with Kimfer. We're fortunate that the skunk wasn't actually IN the tack room so that tack wasn't actually sprayed.
ReplyDeleteBut man oh man, you know how that smell spreads.
BECG - welcome home! (forgot to say that on your page... yeesh!)
ReplyDeleteI bet the skunks are coming for the cat food. The cats are fed in the feed room b/c its the one place the dog can't get their food.
The pants that were tagged are Kimfer's.
ReplyDeleteOut of nowhere her filly kicked her at the jackpot yesterday (good guess guys). Kimfer was very swift, not to mention "horselike", in dealing with her.
She's also very lucky, if she had been a step farther away there would have been enough force to cause serious damage, a step closer and her knee would have been taken out.
We saw "the face" in it too!
All I can say is 'Ewwwww!'
ReplyDeleteWe were camping once in Wyoming and our dog got into it with a skunk. She stunk so bad!
I hope you get it all figured out how to get rid of that odor. It must really be awful :P
~Lisa
Oh yuck - that is the worst smell ever. There has been skunks under our building at work, so sometimes we are greeted with that smell in the building. bleck.
ReplyDeleteThere is stuff you can buy for dogs that get sprayed - forget the name - that might work on saddle pads, if Steph's recipe doesn't work...
I thought that was a hoof print too - youch. Hope she didn't get bruised or hurt...
I'll email you my address - I like getting stuff in the mail that isn't a bill! lol
Ugh, skunk smell is the worst. My one dog that was part border collie rolled in deer poo the one time at my grandma's house. Which was 3 hours away. It was like tar and I could not get it off of her. We had to ride with her stinking like that. ugh.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness Kimfer was at the exact right spot and didn't have bad injuries.
Now if we give you our addresses, are you going to give us yours too so that we can send you cards? :) I love sending out christmas cards. It drives my husband nuts.
awww, was it a humane trap that the barn cats got in ? :-o?
ReplyDeleteI think that thing on your pants is a sign from Jesus:-) get it on Ebay fast! Actually it looks like a kitty face:-)
sorry, don't know anything about skunks except they are pretty.
Well it looks like all of the fun and games are over, but I was going to say that the mud on the pants was a hoof print also! :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with that skunky smell...I am sorry!
THX for understanding the hubby. he hates change and is afraid of this next one. can't say that i am not. obama won. guess we will have to see what the next years bring. hopefully some upswing in our economy and NOT losing freedoms that we have enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree, Stephanie's recipe does sound good. It does fade eventually. Anytime a dog gets skunked, we tomato juice bath it, however, I can't see that working with tack. The face print on the jeans? Don't know, LOL
ReplyDeleteOhhh yeah that does kinda look like a face! I was just focused on the fact that someone got kicked. Man that hurts I have been kick several times and it has been one of the worst pains I have ever felt almost each time.
ReplyDeleteOnce a long yearling of mine double barreled me in the chest at long range. Broke two ribs. I can honestly say breaking my back didn't hurt as much as getting whacked in the chest like that.
Oh my gosh...I hate skunks...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! My dog seems to get sprayed about every other week and I have tried EVERYTHING...I am so glad I popped over, now I can use Stephanie's technique!
ReplyDeleteLove ya!
UGH~what a pain! I don't know of anything! I know when I worked as a LVT we used to wash the dogs that got sprayed in douche and tomato juice mixture! Worked like a charm!
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I would say you need to spot light for a few nights and take'em out!
Ouch! Bet that hurt Kimfer! I have one like that on my thigh, only it's from a crazy cow at the auction- she charged me and turned and kicked me just before she could have planted her head in my chest.(Thanks, guardian angel!)
ReplyDelete