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.

[stablefeet]

@ExConstance

If it is the little white pony dead on the ground in his blue rug I cried and cried at the pictures on Facebook, and just feel so terrible about the pain and anguish his owner is feeling. It needs saying and saying until everyone gets the message. YANBU at all, the idiots just don't believe the message, that is the problem.

It is that little white pony. On her original FB post there are wonderful photos of her riding him in the snow wearing a beautiful red long dress, he was quite a superstar. I hope the people who killed him have realised what they did and are going through hell.

[smallhorserunning]

I had a friend who worked with children and families have a family referred to her by midwives as the Father tried to feed a Crunchie to his new born baby because 'she looked hungry'.

[JamieLeeCurtains]

I'm wondering what the best signs would be for a semi-literate British public?

'Horse bites. Electric fence. Hurty stuff.'

[Springersrock]

We’ve tried double fencing by putting a row of electric tape a couple of metres inside the main fence but people still chucked stuff over the fence, climbed over the gate, etc. It’s a waste of precious grazing

I even considered electrifying the gate 😂

I’d love to keep them in a field with no footpath, but land that horses can be grazed on isn’t that common round here and footpaths are everywhere

Their winter fields don’t have a footpath through it but that doesn’t stop people trespassing. We moved ours back to their winter fields last summer. It helped, but it’s fucked up the land management (their summer fields are on clay so are unsuitable for winter turn out), we had to put hay out which is expensive and means we are now struggling with hay shortages.

[stablefeet]

I think I've seen 3 posts on FB since the start of 2021 with pictures of ponies killed by people feeding them.

[maxelly]

Agree, stable foot. What a lot of people don't realise is that loads and loads of the countryside and agricultural land and grazing that was pretty freely available 50 years ago has now been repurposed and built on for housing and infrastructure. I'm not going to say that's a bad thing in itself, as ofc it's more important that people have somewhere to live than horses have fields to graze in, they are only pets essentially after all.

But it does mean that it's harder and harder to find somewhere safe and suitable to keep horses, they spend more time indoors which isn't great for them physically and mentally and the grazing they do get is of poorer quality. I'd love to keep mine in quiet fields away from the general public and road noise and pollution if I could, but it's just impossible. Every single field at my yard either has a footpath or a public road running alongside it, or in one case there's a path right through it, we literally couldn't keep them away from walkers. I don't think that's that unusual.

We do use electric taping to try and keep them away from the fences but (a) some some will barge right through it for a treat (b) it doesn't deter all 'feeders', see my posts above and (c) it's a bit galling that the field size which is already really too small for the horses and bloody expensive to rent has to be reduced by a further 5% or so by creating the barrier, plus we then have to pay for and maintain the electric taping just because some frankly inconsiderate fools won't stop pestering the animals. But hey ho, first world problems I guess...

[00100001]

@thosetalesofunexpected

Hi Op
That's fxcking Terrible horse dying like that !

I think there needs to be signs in a field Saying not to/or Prefer not give Foods to horses !

Or a Signs in Horses fields saying only certain vegetables/and or a particular fruits in a certain quantity is Allowed Only to feed horses !

Whatever signs is most effective in getting this message across !

Also Horses Charties/Animal welfare protection charities should speak up more and be pro active
on these kinds of issues such as visiting Schools and communities centres etc,

Even going online to spread this message further !

Also ongoing Tv adverts about this particular issue with Horses would be quite a powerful way to bring it this message to the public eye !

Signs don't work.

[stablefeet]

Putting electric fence inside the boundary doesn't work anyway. People just lob the bread and rubbish in, or drop small children over the fence so they can get closer.
As a horse owner when one of them gets ill you sometime wonder whether some twat has caused it by feeding. I found plastic bread bags in my field. For people who don't know this - horses will sometimes eat bags that smell of food. That can cause them an agonising death.

[IamGateshead]

Silly @tillyandmilly

[FrenchBoule]

YANBU OP.

Horses can get laminitis if fed too many apples/carrots.

One pony nearby died because somebody fed it turnip.

Another one had serious problems after somebody fed it cabbage.

Kids tried to feed local pony grass which was actually daffodil leaves.

I like animals but I don’t feed horses. Not after seeing all local stories from horses owners.

Oh and a cattle died after somebody dumped the tree cuttings on the farmland- it was yew(poisonous).

[notalwaysalondoner]

Same with gates - my cousin’s beautiful young eventing horse escaped when someone left a gate open and broke its leg and had to be put down. People don’t realise quite how bad the consequences can be - it’s not just minor inconvenience for the owner.

[Carishina]

YANBU op. People seem to think horses are public property and that they are being kind by offering them food. It’s the same people that think it’s ok to feed other peoples cats. Totally irresponsible.

[SuperSange]

The stupidity of people knows no bounds. I was at our local zoo recently and saw a grown man feeding salted crisps to the meerkats. And yes, I did have a word with him. Twat.

[Mumtothelittlefella]

It’s heartbreaking and could have been avoided. Utterly inexcusable- if you don’t know what is toxic to animals, don’t feed the animals. In fact, just stay away and admire them from a distance.

Just as you wouldn’t feed or pet a strange dog you see walking along the road (please tell me you DON’T stroke dogs without the owners permission!), you don’t touch or feed an animal you see in a field.

It’s really very simple but clearly there are people who are unable to operate safely in public. So signs are put up and still people ignore and do whatever the heck the like and damn anyone else.

[Shamefulcorners]

It’s unrealistic to expect everyone to obey the signs or understand them. Yes they should obey them but many don’t. ‘Educating’ people only goes so far. Horse owners need to make their fields and paddocks inaccessible to walkers. Many people feed potatoes and turnips to cows/pigs etc and don’t understand the danger for horses.

I'm sorry but this is one of the most ridiculous posts I have ever seen on Mumsnet. Why is it unrealistic to expect people to take notice of signs. Most people manage to drive successfully don't they? Or find their way through an airport? People don't take notice of signs because they choose to ignore them. Do know how much decent fencing costs? Do you know how much work it takes to erect?

Or keep them in fields that don’t back on to footpaths or residential areas.

Yes because there is so much suitable grazing land going free that isn't near a road [not]? Any suitable land in our area could be rented out for grazing six times over, the demand is that high. There is far more demand than supply.

[newhooverville]

Not a horsey person myself but I was told by a horsey person that giving ponies apples is always fine! Is that hogwash? Are there any downsides to giving ponies apples? When you answer please could you @ me in case I miss the answer? Thank you!

[CleanQueen123]

I have horses and live within a national park with free roaming ponies. I honestly despair of the things I see.

I turfed some teenagers out of our field a few weeks ago and they told me they didn't know it was private property. Apparently the barbed wire fence they'd had to climb through to get in wasn't a big enough indication that they shouldn't be there . We also had them setting off fireworks in the field in November!

And don't get me started on what goes on out on the forest. The sense of entitlement is appalling.

[Floralnomad]

Our pony is sometimes in a field with a footpath running through it , but she’s so antisocial she doesn’t go near enough for people to feed her . One of my old horses , sadly deceased had to be kept away from the public as she had an oesophageal stricture and could only physically eat pony nuts soaked until they were slop , but she still liked to go out during the day with her friend . If someone had fed her a carrot or an apple she would definitely have choked , unless they stayed around to stick their hand down her throat and get it out .

[Floralnomad]

@newhooverville x post , see my previous post !

[Ariela]

My friend has had to move her 2 horses to a more remote location as so many walkers were bringing all sorts of rubbish for them to eat, they'd climb the gate and lean over the electric fence 10ft inside to reach (which was bad enough) but the real problem is one is the boss of the other, and they can kick off over food - they're only fed separately their feed in their stables, one will try and bite the other (really means it too) she was so worried someone would call them to the gate and feed the wrong one first and get badly bitten or even kicked instead.

[Mylittlesandwich]

When we were little my nana used to take us past a field with horses. We would pull up a tuft of grass and feed it to them and it was amazing. Absolutely no thought was given to if it was safe or not so I do feel guilty about it though.

[midgebabe]

@newhooverville

About 6 posts below yours

[newhooverville]

@Floralnomad yes, now seen. Why would a horsey person tell me that? It seems crazy. She had had horses for years and even had worked as an assistant in a vet practice for years!

[maxelly]

@newhooverville if you RTFT you'll get your answer, several times over. Apples are not part of a horses natural diet but are safe for most horses to eat as an occasional treat, as are polos, carrots, sugar lumps and fresh picked grass, so your friend wasn't wrong per se, but there are lots of reasons why you shouldn't feed any treats at all to a random horse without the owner's express permission. These include the fact that too much food of any kind causes obesity, the fact that some horses have health conditions that mean they are on very carefully controlled diets, the sugars in fruit can be a particular problem causing a painful condition called laminitis, and random 'treating' of by passers by can cause or contribute to behavioural issues that can in the worst case be very dangerous to humans and other horses. Please, please, for your own safety and that of the horse, just don't. I posted some suggestions upthread of how you can spend time with horses in a safe way if you'd like

[YeahBabyYeahYeah]

@newhooverville - what that person really meant was, “it’s always fine to feed my horses apples.” They can’t speak for anyone else’s as they have no idea what diets they are on, and they don’t get to form habits in other people’s animals.

Horses must be treated with respect. If they come over to you, and effectively ask for a fuss, a chat with them is fine, they like attention if they’re inviting it! Otherwise, or if the owner isn’t there, just admire them and leave them alone. They’re animals, and they’re big powerful ones who could hurt you and themselves. Not some novelty for Instagram or to entertain your toddlers.

Yes, the little white fellow is the pony I mean . I don’t cry at much, but this story really got to me, such a horrible way for such a lovely and loving pony to die, and so absolutely bloody pointless.