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Original poster

Woman given restraining order for ‘feeding horse’..

127 replies

Stath · 19/11/2021 14:17

There are frequent threads on MN about idiotic behaviour by the public when it comes to other people’s animals.
I’m very pleased to read that this woman has been taken to court although I wonder if she’d have been made to pay vets’ costs/compensation if her acts had killed or made the horse require treatment?
Not sure this will serve as a deterrent to many people though who have the mindset of ‘a carrot/potato/handful of grass won’t do any harm’ but it’ll hopefully do some good.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/gran-hit-restraining-order-feeding-25493927

OP posts:
SpangoDweller · 19/11/2021 21:34

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut

I don't generally go near horses as I'm a bit wary of them, certainly not close enough to feed them but why is feeding them grass bad? Don't they eat grass anyway?
Grass clippings will begin to ferment after cutting and can make horses very ill. Grazing from a field is fine.
Fredstheteds · 19/11/2021 21:35

So pleased - luckily our neighbour ask and it’s fine to give our lot an apple or carrot but they are off the beaten track .

FeatheredHope · 19/11/2021 22:09

but why is feeding them grass bad? Don't they eat grass anyway?
Because you shouldn’t be feeding someone else’s animal. Why is that so hard to understand?

Maverickess · 20/11/2021 06:35

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut

I don't generally go near horses as I'm a bit wary of them, certainly not close enough to feed them but why is feeding them grass bad? Don't they eat grass anyway?
They eat the grass in their field, which the owner knows hasn't been sprayed by anything and hasn't got a poisonous plant you don't know about lurking in the handful of grass, horses can compete over a food source and may injure themselves or each other trying to get to it, they can catch your fingers when you feed them anything, it teaches them that people=food and it can encourage biting and nipping behaviour, and some horses are on bare paddocks with different food supplemented because they have certain conditions, or maybe have lost teeth and can only manage very short grass. In the nicest possible way, if you don't know enough about horses to understand the above you should admire from afar and leave well alone.
Iggly · 20/11/2021 06:50

In the nicest possible way, if you don't know enough about horses to understand the above you should admire from afar and leave well alone

The poster literally says that she wouldn’t feed a horse.

Maverickess · 20/11/2021 07:33

@Iggly

In the nicest possible way, if you don't know enough about horses to understand the above you should admire from afar and leave well alone

The poster literally says that she wouldn’t feed a horse.

Oh my bad, I'll hand myself in 🙄
gogohm · 20/11/2021 08:13

Perhaps part of the answer is ensuring horses aren't running free where the public are - I don't like being ran at by horses but unfortunately the owners seem to think it's acceptable ditto cows ... the rights of way date back hundreds of years, they have had a long time to fence them!

echt · 20/11/2021 08:17

@gogohm

Perhaps part of the answer is ensuring horses aren't running free where the public are - I don't like being ran at by horses but unfortunately the owners seem to think it's acceptable ditto cows ... the rights of way date back hundreds of years, they have had a long time to fence them!
What makes you think those horses are running free?

Would you feed a cow? A sheep?

Polkadotties · 20/11/2021 08:23

@gogohm

Perhaps part of the answer is ensuring horses aren't running free where the public are - I don't like being ran at by horses but unfortunately the owners seem to think it's acceptable ditto cows ... the rights of way date back hundreds of years, they have had a long time to fence them!
Where are you? Somewhere like the new forest? There aren’t many places now where horses can run freely.
Kikkomam · 20/11/2021 08:25

Love this, it made my day.

BigGreen · 20/11/2021 08:25

Oh that's so sad. Why would anyone try to feed a mars bar to a horse?!

Kikkomam · 20/11/2021 08:26

@gogohm

Perhaps part of the answer is ensuring horses aren't running free where the public are - I don't like being ran at by horses but unfortunately the owners seem to think it's acceptable ditto cows ... the rights of way date back hundreds of years, they have had a long time to fence them!
If you mean a footpath going through a field where horses are?

Yes horses will run at you if they think you are going to feed them. That's what people feeding random horses does.

HoardingSamphireSaurus · 20/11/2021 08:28

@gogohm

Perhaps part of the answer is ensuring horses aren't running free where the public are - I don't like being ran at by horses but unfortunately the owners seem to think it's acceptable ditto cows ... the rights of way date back hundreds of years, they have had a long time to fence them!
It's the humans that have limited rights of way. Livestock have freedom of the whole space because that's what the space is for.

The rights of way go back for thousands of years, see Neolithic trade routes! And they always provided a footpath through something else. Like a convenience for the walker at the inconvenience of whoever was using/owned the land.

The whole of the answer is for those passing through to learn how to do so within the law! Because unfortunately walkers seem to think it's acceptable fro them to claim precedance without any understanding of what it is they are doing!

They can't be fenced, FFS!

I do despair. Every bloody time this topic is raised there is always one for whom the whole idea of 'something else going on' is inutterably alien - cos the universe revolves around them!

Kikkomam · 20/11/2021 08:28

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut

I don't generally go near horses as I'm a bit wary of them, certainly not close enough to feed them but why is feeding them grass bad? Don't they eat grass anyway?
If you want horses to run at you and kick out at each other, possibly catching you in the process, then by all means encourage them over to you by feeding them.
BogRollBOGOF · 20/11/2021 08:35

@gogohm

Perhaps part of the answer is ensuring horses aren't running free where the public are - I don't like being ran at by horses but unfortunately the owners seem to think it's acceptable ditto cows ... the rights of way date back hundreds of years, they have had a long time to fence them!
The land belongs to the farmers and they are generally free to graze what they like in their fields. (There are rules about RoWs and bulls)

A right of way means that a member of the public can pass through that private land. If you don't like the animal in there, don't pass through.

In the past year or so, many of my rural running routes that I've used for years have ended up with signs about feeding animals and dog control, and some paths fenced in (at great expense) to the farmer to stop the field being trampled to a motorway width of mud. It's not difficult to follow the countryside code and to enjoy it without major disruption to the owners, animals and wildlife there.

Clymene · 20/11/2021 08:36

@gogohm

Perhaps part of the answer is ensuring horses aren't running free where the public are - I don't like being ran at by horses but unfortunately the owners seem to think it's acceptable ditto cows ... the rights of way date back hundreds of years, they have had a long time to fence them!
If you don't like animals, don't cross privately owned land
LolaSmiles · 20/11/2021 08:38

Perhaps part of the answer is ensuring horses aren't running free where the public are - I don't like being ran at by horses but unfortunately the owners seem to think it's acceptable ditto cows ... the rights of way date back hundreds of years, they have had a long time to fence them!
The right of way is usually a footpath that goes through someone's land.

The right of a way isn't an excuse to roam anywhere you like in a field and it doesn't prevent the landowner having their animals on their land.

Maybe people should spend some time familiarising themselves with how rights of way work and learning how to use them responsibly before complaining that a farm has cows in a field.

Kikkomam · 20/11/2021 08:38

I wonder how long it will take before someone posts about "entitled horse owners"...

Newnameforabit · 20/11/2021 08:45

@gogohm

Perhaps part of the answer is ensuring horses aren't running free where the public are - I don't like being ran at by horses but unfortunately the owners seem to think it's acceptable ditto cows ... the rights of way date back hundreds of years, they have had a long time to fence them!
The bloody cheek of people wanting to keep their animals in their own field that you may or may not want to stroll through Entitled bastards 🙄
AttaGirrrrl · 20/11/2021 08:45

@gogohm

Perhaps part of the answer is ensuring horses aren't running free where the public are - I don't like being ran at by horses but unfortunately the owners seem to think it's acceptable ditto cows ... the rights of way date back hundreds of years, they have had a long time to fence them!
Hmm

I think you should stick to cities. Fence off all of the thousands of miles of rights of ways?! Nah.

nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut · 20/11/2021 08:46

Grass clippings will begin to ferment after cutting and can make horses very ill. Grazing from a field is fine.

Thank you for being the only polite answer to my question.

@Kikkomam and @Iggly I literally said I don't go near them and never have or would feed them. It was just a question out of interest. There is no need to be so rude. If you don't want to answer civily then don't answer at all.

Hoppinggreen · 20/11/2021 08:47

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut

I don't generally go near horses as I'm a bit wary of them, certainly not close enough to feed them but why is feeding them grass bad? Don't they eat grass anyway?
You should never feed anyone else’s animal or child anything without permission Even if it doesn’t make them poorly (and horses can’t vomit by the way ) it encourages bad behaviour so is dangerous for several reasons
Kikkomam · 20/11/2021 08:51

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut

Grass clippings will begin to ferment after cutting and can make horses very ill. Grazing from a field is fine.

Thank you for being the only polite answer to my question.

@Kikkomam and @Iggly I literally said I don't go near them and never have or would feed them. It was just a question out of interest. There is no need to be so rude. If you don't want to answer civily then don't answer at all.

My answer was a very frank explanation of why you shouldn't do it.
Kikkomam · 20/11/2021 08:53

But typically, people don't listen! A handful of grass isn't going to cause colic. But it will encourage horses to immediately run to whoever walks through the field if they think they are going to be fed and then you might really be in trouble, particularly if there is more than one horse.

Also just don't feed horses. Anything.

Clymene · 20/11/2021 08:57

To be fair to the people who were a bit short with you @nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut, last time there was a thread on this topic, there were loads of people saying that their children were sad in lockdown and feeding the horses was making them happy so they were going to carry on doing it.

There were suggestions that if you didn't want people feeding your livestock, you should double fence the field or stable them or keep them somewhere where there is no public access.

People literally were making it clear that they didn't care if they harmed the animals. It was pretty shocking stuff.

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