To ask people to tell everyone they know NOT TO FEED HORSES THAT DON’T BELONG TO THEM

[YeahBabyYeahYeah]

I won’t post the article as it made me cry and may be more triggering for others, but the most beautiful pony is in the papers today. He died because someone ignored “do not feed” signs and fed him a fucking potato.

Why oh why do some people (who in this case clearly know fuck-all about horses if they are feeding them whole potatoes) think it is OK to feed other people’s animals without their permission?

AIBU to think there should be more awareness about this, especially with more people going for walks at the moment. It is never OK to feed a horse unless the owner tells you it is OK and approves the food.

@Backinthebox my newsfeed looks like yours. It's incredibly depressing isn't it?

Also, @Sinful8, Maybe if people genuinely cared for horses they wouldn't take them down a road? Because that's a real issue too

You’ve been given plenty of good reasons why horses go on roads. The problem for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders would go away overnight if cars weren’t allowed on the road. The road is not ‘just for cars,’ it’s for anyone who wants to get from A to B, and that includes a wide range of users including horse riders who want to get from their field to a safe bridleway, for example. Since teleporting has not been invented yet, roads are the necessary way. What is needed is for all road users to be aware of and respectful towards all other road users.

Roads also existed before cars FOR horses!!

Yeh I’ve never understood this mentality of feeding someone else’s animal.
Say these people were on their “daily essential walk” (usually through people’s fields with all manner of livestock....) and somebody came along and just started giving their dog a load of treats, or any random food they had on them, they wouldn’t be happy then!!
We shouldn’t really need to put up signs, but if there are signs saying “do not feed the horses” that should be enough. Or do people genuinely need a hand hold to understand why they can’t do what they want?
My horse is an absolute tart, flirts with anything and anyone, so she is exceptionally friendly. Even more so if you have food. Be it a carrot or a McDonald’s burger, she will try to eat it. And okay one carrot probably won’t kill her, but she gets them in her feed, so doesn’t need them from anyone else.
My old pony had a habit of nipping if he thought he deserved a treat. For that reason I never fed by hand. Someone coming along and doing so would undo a lot of work!

We keep ours in a yard that runs alongside a canal towpath. I once came along to find someone in my horses field, feeding her and the other two horses in there apples. Her excuse was she knew one of the other horses 15 years ago when it was a youngster, so that made it okay?? And me asking her to leave made me “very rude indeed” 🙃

@Sinful8

"If people genuinely want to do something kind for a horse, how about donating to a horse charity, or actually slowing down when they pass one on the road, because that's a real issue too"

Maybe if people genuinely cared for horses they wouldn't take them down a road? Because that's a real issue too.

Why is taking them on the road, legally, with the highway code stating you should pass horses wide and slow such an issue?

Because someone might have to drive with some consideration and safely? How utterly shocking! Why would anyone expect you to drive with consideration and follow the highway code.

And perhaps if many bridleways didn't start and stop on roads, more riders would be able to avoid them.

It's the same old isn't it? I'll do what I want and don't anyone dare tell me I can't, if I want to make a point by driving into the arse end of your horse then I will, and if I want my precious DC to feed your horse, I'm doing something nice and it's your own fault if it dies from what I feed it, because your sign is offensive and you're just a rich stuck up snob anyway.

@WhataMissMap

I caught a woman and her children feeding our horses carrots and windfalls. When I remonstrated with her she responded “Well you can see they are starving, they are gobbling them up.”

It's like when people feed other people's cats, they're not hungry, just greedy.

[quote CleanQueen123]@Backinthebox my newsfeed looks like yours. It's incredibly depressing isn't it? [/quote]
I can add to that quad biking across a nature reserve. Covid has made me really hate people.

@Charley50

I don't feed horses but I had no idea that grass was dangerous for them!

I think Countryfile should regularly cover it as a story, and other programmes / local news etc too.

Good luck with that. Countryfile is a strange programme now. It is about the non country folk accessing the country as much as possible. This is fine but there are no downsides apparently. Plus the countryside is also racist. The programme could do a lot to educate the public but it doesn't.

Totally agree derxa
The only friends of mine who love Countryfile are the Londoners!

Maybe if people genuinely cared for horses they wouldn't take them down a road? Because that's a real issue too.

Very respectfully, do you know about the lack of bridleways in the UK.? Of course riders would prefer to ride away from busy roads but there are so few joined up riding routes available now, that in order to get to a quiet forest or bridlepath, a rider is often obliged to ride a short distance down a busy road. No riders choose to do this unless they absolutely have to or they are training a young horse to become used to traffic (which has to be done very gradually and carefully).

Many existing riding routes are badly damaged and unusable

see here

And this situation will be even worse from Jan 2026 when bridleways that are not recorded will be lost for ever.

So please, anyone who is on this thread and who regularly hacks in the countryside in the UK, please get on board with this BHS campaign to save riding routes. I don't know how the C-19 virus is affecting the campaign but you can train as a volunteer who records routes, details:

here!

And finally here is the BHS advice to riders when riding on the road:

advice to riders on the road

And here is BHS advice to drivers when you encounter a horse on the road:

advice to motorists who encounter a horse on the road

Please keep safe everybody!

Oh god yes and electric bikes. There’s a lovey nature reserve near us where we take our young children. It’s not safe for them to run around now because of the number of teenagers who take their quad bikes and electric bikes there. I understand that they also need somewhere to go, but surely tearing up a nature reserve where there are young families is not something they should be doing

@hoodiemum

Thanks for this post. Has educated me. I can understand why the horse owners among you are so angry, but it might help you to see it from the other side. I loved horses as a child, and my mother had grown up with her own horses. I was brought up that you could give a horse a carrot as a treat, and it was nice to offer a handful of grass with a flat hand. Since then I've had very little contact with horses. To call me thick that I don't know not to give horses food (inc. carrots) seems a little harsh. As far as I knew, I'd been well educated in what to do with horses. Turns out times have changed and perhaps knowledge of horse digestive systems has moved on. But if you're not a horse owner, why would you know that? Seems there's a genuine need for a big campaign of (re)education, to challenge what people think they know. But don't insult people for not knowing things that for most of population are fairly niche bits of knowledge. I agree with PPs, get Country File on board, and the local papers, and local primary schools. But avoid the insults.

The point is that nobody should be feeding any animal that does not belong to them without the owners permission. If you are unable to understand this is not acceptable behaviour then yes I would think you a bit thick.

@SmeleanorSmellstrop

I agree with Baycob. People think they are being kind and simply don't know they could make the horse sick. Why doesn't anyone simply put some information on the sign, explaining WHY they shouldn't feed the horse? Why bother to put up a sign at all if you're literally just going to write 'Don't feed the horse'. People clearly need to be told why.

The point is that you should not be feeding ANY animal that does not belong to you.

@sbhydrogen

I'm a city dwelling but regular countryside going gal, and have never owned a horse. I've gone riding a few times, but not for a decade or so.

Is me passing by a horse on the edge of field and pulling a handful of grass and feeding it a big no-no? I wouldn't dream of feeding it anything else (although I've only just learned that potatoes and carrots are dangerous to horses).

FFS how many times does this question need answering on one thread. If the animal does not belong to you then you should not be feeding it ANYTHING.

@soggyandwet

Ive occasionally fed the horses down the road but we pick some of the grass at the edge of the field as you can reach it through the fence and offer that since they could eat it anyway. Horse owners, is that ok or not ?

Again, if the animal does not belong to you then it is not okay.

You mean like the Countryside Code? It’s out there, and most of the occupants and regular users of the countryside are aware of it. Bodies like the British Horse Society, National Farmers’ Union, Ramblers’ Association, and various other groups publicise it. It’s a difficult one to get out to everyone though - how would you do it?

we were talking about this on another thread recently.

Yes it needs a TV campaign, with emotive pictures like a cute child having a lovely time feeding a horse, and then the horse rolling on the floor and dying. It is the only way to break through.
I lived in the countryside for many years. I now live in a town on the edge of it. I cannot remember the last time I ever saw or read anything with the countryside code on it.

But anyway, that wouldn't reach the people doing it. They are in an age of Social Media, the message needs to be clear and emotive.

Let's have pictures of mauled animals on the news. Let's have farmers telling us that the muddy path trodden over their field has cost £700, let's have dead ducklings due to mum dying from eating too much bread. It is the only way. With a simple message - enjoy the country, stick to the path, keep dogs on lead and never ever feed the animals.

And before people say that is too heartless, I sit and watch horrendous ads every evening showing things like this for Oxfam, Water Aid, Donkey Sanctuary etc on TV.

Unfortunately it doesn't seem to matter - "townies" as i call them, feel the countryside and everything in it belongs to them to do what they want with. I know that's a very general sweeping statement and not everyone is like this but I'm yet to be convinced.

When i was 12 my first pony died because someone left some bread in the bag, in his field and he ate the bread and the bag. Devastated doesn't even come close - i still cry about it now every now and again thinking how he must have been in so much pain alone and i couldnt help him.

I pass an open field every day that's right on the side of the road and every day there's a line of cars parked up stroking and feeding the horses despite the big signs asking not to feed or pet the horses- and no its definitely not the owner.

thankfully i keep my horse on a private yard with no public access at all - the yard isn't great in terms of amenities but its tucked away out of public view. I was offered a much nicer place a bit cheaper but it was right on a public footpath and that's why i turned it down.

We have enough problems with our sheep that are kept on public footpaths, back in the summer i was checking on them twice a day because there would usually be several members of the public trying to catch them for a selfie, trying to coax them into eating a treat and then encouraging them to go into the next field by leaving the gate open.
I'd often find the "public property - please keep to footpath" signs ripped off and thrown in the hedge aswell, so that when people were randomly walking around a farm that was nowhere near the footpath they had the excuse that there wasn't any signs telling them they couldn't enter.

Sorry I ranted away from the point of the thread i do apologise

I have horses, and feel very fortunate that their field is barely visible from the road. A few people access the forestry through the property, but they all seem pretty clued-up. The 3 households living by the field (including the yard owners) are not horsey, but a polite conversation about what and when and how many treats are allowed (and which order the horses need to receive them in to avoid mare warfare) was all that was needed. They all keep an eye on the field, and I feel reassured that they would let me know immediately if anything out of the ordinary was going on!

I grew up around horses, but in a place where there weren't any strange people around on foot to over-stuff horses, so I was also taught that picking a bit of grass and feeding it over the fence was fine. But when I moved to the UK, where this is a real problem because of the sheer numbers of people that might pass by the horses, I understood the issue as soon as I was told, and simply stopped doing it. I totally get that a passer-by might not know any better, but I am baffled at the attitude that any warning or explanatory signs can just be ignored. If I see a sign on a property asking me not to do something, I don't feel I'm owed a detailed explanation as to why! I just assume the sign posters have their reasons, and respect their property!

Not horses but the Scottish Govt have just introduced £40,000 max fine/one year jail term for sheep worrying. Maybe feeding horses which
are not yours should be a finable offence

I would never feed or pet someone else’s pet without asking first and have always taught my children to never ever do that and this includes horses. Maybe because I’m basically a townie I never realised it was such a major problem. That poor horse (I googled it). And who the fuck thinks “the horse in that field down the road would love this potato”?

This thread has been very informative about all the other things that I wouldn’t have thought would be an issue to feed a horse like the grass clippings although once explained makes total sense. It’s shocking that so many people are aggressive and rude when confronted about it. Not to mention the amount of weak willed parents who can’t bear to say to their children “no darlings let’s not feed the horse we don’t know random rubbish to amuse ourselves as it’s basically doing a murder”.

www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/pony-fed-raw-potato-by-walkers-suffocates-within-minutes-735639?fbclid=IwAR0yt-XdP8NxG4c6QB2MvbZVXX2Qj2QOy7XCGMWmShokvkzhR8lVTFtG6NY

I would definitely kill them if I caught them. Not kidding. That poor pony.

The point is that nobody should be feeding any animal that does not belong to them without the owners permission. If you are unable to understand this is not acceptable behaviour then yes I would think you a bit thick

The point you’re missing is the horse is often left alone in a field in all weathers. Often a bare muddy field with hardly any grass. To a non horsey person the horse might look neglected, lonely and hungry.

It’s not like feeding a horse when the owner is riding it, or feeding a dog in the park.

Yes it’s wrong to feed horses and ponies... but calling people thick for not knowing a handful of grass can be harmful; that sounds rude and arrogant. And not a great way to keep your horses safe.

@bingbongbingbongbingbong I'm so sorry 😞

@HikeForward

The point is that nobody should be feeding any animal that does not belong to them without the owners permission. If you are unable to understand this is not acceptable behaviour then yes I would think you a bit thick

The point you’re missing is the horse is often left alone in a field in all weathers. Often a bare muddy field with hardly any grass. To a non horsey person the horse might look neglected, lonely and hungry.

It’s not like feeding a horse when the owner is riding it, or feeding a dog in the park.

Yes it’s wrong to feed horses and ponies... but calling people thick for not knowing a handful of grass can be harmful; that sounds rude and arrogant. And not a great way to keep your horses safe.

These people are not feeding the horse out of pity. It's purely for their own entertainment. Their response when challenged is evidence of that.