A month after a Shakopee horse owner believes her retired racehorse was attacked by a big cat, three horses in southern Minnesota were attacked by some animal.

The Post-Bulletin newspaper reports that horses broke through a fence after being spooked the night of Oct. 10 on a family farm west of Forestville State Park.

The owners, Curt and Sharon Vreeman of St. Charles, believe a cougar inflicted the wounds they found on two horse' front legs, chests and sides. A third horse hasn't been found.

"One of the horses wasn't moving at all when we got there," Curt Vreeman told the newspaper, as it was traumatized.

Horses on a neighboring farm also broke through a fence that night.
"It had to be a big cat of some kind," Vreeman said.
"Wolves and dogs go for the hamstrings, but our horses have wounds on their backs and on their sides. There's no marks on the backs of their legs."

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has been unable to confirm whether a cougar is responsible for the attack.

"It's hard to say unless there's a photo or positive identification," DNR conservation officer Mitch Boyum told the paper.

However, a bobcat was captured on a trail camera near Star Corner on Fillmore County Road 12 recently, the paper reported.

"We get a handful of reported cougar sightings every year, but none have been confirmed with photos," Boyum said. "A lot of times someone hears something at night that they believe is a cougar."

Last month, the DNR disputed the notion that a cougar could have attacked the retired racehorse, My Friend Deke, on a Prior Lake farm near Eagle Creek Elementary School.

That gelding had wounds on its hindquarters and hind legs, as well as what appeared to be claw marks on its hips. Its owner and vet believe it was attacked by a large cat, likely a cougar.
Shannon Fiecke