STOP FEEDING HORSES THAT ARE NOT YOURS

[Pineapplechickenpizza]

Unbelievable that this is still a problem after all the hype on social media and the news but unfortunately it is.

Why do people think it’s acceptable to feed an animal that isn’t there’s? I don’t care if it’s an apple or carrot or just a few blades of grass. They’re not your horses- DONT FEED THEM ANYTHING.

If you feed horses in fields that are not yours, honestly, why do you do it?? Do you realise how your ignorance could make someones horse unwell?

Dreading summer holidays when more people are out for walks and think it’s acceptable to feed the horses in the fields

@Polkadotties

I know. Thats my point. The entitlement runs both ways. I haven't read the thread (cba) but from what I can gather every single objection or suggestion to the OP has been shot down by people claiming that its impossible to keep their horse safe and so the general public must educate themselves. Then they have the nerve to call other people entitled.

@SoftSheen

A pony will not get laminitis from a child feeding it a couple of handfuls of grass. Not every child has the luxury of regular contact with horses, or animals generally, and this is a nice thing for them to be able to do.

Giving armfuls of hay/buckets of carrots- obviously YANBU.

Behave!

Nobody's pony or horse is an educational tool for any child - unless that is their bloody job, with their owners in control.

One kid with a handful of grass = many, many more kids, repeat visits and then pain, possible death for the animal.

You let your child feed a single morsel of food to a horse, a pony, that you have not been given explicit permission to feed then YOU need to shoulder your responsibility for any repercussions. Not bleat that Not every child has the luxury of regular contact with horses, or animals generally, and this is a nice thing for them to be able to do

Replace pony with rotweiler - can you see how ridiculous that is?

@BettyBag

Ahh a horse thread. I love these because they always firmly answer the question "is MN a middle class bubble?".

Anyway, I often feed friendly horses who come close to me a bit of grass. If you don't like it keep you horse somewhere else.

Let people toss huge bars of chocolate to your dog/kids in the garden. If you don't like it don't let them out in the garden.

Pineapplechickenpizza No-one has suggested that horses in fields are an alternative to petting zoos.

@LegMeChicken

I’d personally be getting a cameras, naming and shaming these people. The things are really cheap now, and will probably be more effective than just signs

Most will be weekend walkers and won't give a fuck.

I think some posters are being deliberately obtuse, horse owners are doing their very best to prevent people feeding them. Double fencing signs etc but then you get the few as shown previously who feel entitled because they can and so will continue to do so.

I'm always very wary of people who show contempt for animals and feeding a horse that's not yours is doing just that.

@countrygirl99

I wouldn't leave my dog or child unsupervised in a garden with public access as I would look after them properly.

That's my point.

@BettyBag you’d be surprised at how fast these things spread.
All it takes it for ONE to go viral as a warning to the others.

[quote MadameHeisenberg]@Pineapplechickenpizza

Trying to compare this situation to women being raped is offensive in the extreme. Shame on you.

Woman are not property, unlike horses, as some of you are so keen to inform us. Owners of property have some responsibility to protect it from environmental hazards. It is reasonable to expect you lock your house to prevent thieves.[/quote]
I didn’t compare it- I said your comment is victim blaming and is the exact same appalling logic as people who say that.

Instead of expecting people not to break the law and climb under our electric fences we have to be the ones to move our horse away because as you said that’s just what some people are like. It’s the exact same appalling logic and is just victim blaming.

And FYI, we have double and electric fencing. And signs. And CCTV. So we do the equivalent of locking our houses. But does that mean we just have to accept that some people will smash windows to get in to the house? That’s the equivalent of climbing under our fences and ignoring signs, which is akin to locking our door. So what do we have to move house just because some people will smash windows to get in even if we’ve locked the doors? Do we just accept that some people will break into houses anyway? No, we don’t, because that’s unacceptable behaviour.

Stop victim blaming

SamphirethePogoingStickerist You wouldn't leave a Rottweiler by itself in a field for 22 hours a day though, would you? Because it's a different kind of animal with different needs and behaviours.

[quote LegMeChicken]@BettyBag you’d be surprised at how fast these things spread.
All it takes it for ONE to go viral as a warning to the others.[/quote]
I can absolutely promise you that if you posted a video of a child feeding a bit of grass to a horse in order to shame the parents it wouldn't be the parents who were the subject of scorn.

[quote MadameHeisenberg]@Pineapplechickenpizza

Well no, it isn’t common sense at all - it’s contrary to common sense, as I pointed out upthread. Horses eat grass, it’s literally part of their diet. So people who are uninformed about horses (and that would be most people), would come to the seemingly logical conclusion that giving them some grass could not possibly be harmful. A horse is also usually to be found in a field, so it isn’t obvious who it belongs to (and therefore is not comparable to feeding a dog in someone’s garden).

And if, despite as many signs, fences, remote fields etc. as possible, wilful idiots feeding your horse to the point of illness is still an issue, the you need to raise awareness on a much larger and wider scale. Campaign for it to be in the countryside code/national curriculum. Ask your local council to erect public information signs. And if that still doesn’t work, then contact your MP and see if you can influence the laws of the land.[/quote]
Absolutely this. I had no idea that it was dangerous to feed grass to horses. I don't, because I'm so allergic to them that I can't get within a few feet without wheezing. Really, instead of being furious - signs for sure and help to educate.

[quote BettyBag]@Polkadotties

I know. Thats my point. The entitlement runs both ways. I haven't read the thread (cba) but from what I can gather every single objection or suggestion to the OP has been shot down by people claiming that its impossible to keep their horse safe and so the general public must educate themselves. Then they have the nerve to call other people entitled.[/quote]
You've not read the thread, can't be arsed, but somehow know what has been posted! Oooooh! Clever

Every single objection raised by people who have a spectacular sense of entitlement, like yourself, has been laughed at!

Do you claim empty fields as your own for the day, the afternoon, for your country excursions too? Leave gates open? Let your kids, dogs chase sheep? No? So it's just horses you don't care about then? OK!

What ewlse do you not the ink the general public should educate themselves about? Crossing roads? Eating fruits from hedgerows? Paying for things in shops? No? Just things you deem to be middle class then? OK!

Pshaw!

[quote BettyBag]@countrygirl99

I wouldn't leave my dog or child unsupervised in a garden with public access as I would look after them properly.

That's my point.[/quote]
So are you saying horses shouldn’t be in the field in a herd because there isn’t an owner to watch them 24/7?

You wouldn’t like it if people fed your dogs Big Macs when you were out walking them. It’s the exact same as that.

This thread is absolutely unbelievable, wow. Do you seriously believe you have the right to feed other peoples animals just because they’re in a field and you can see them?

@SoftSheen

SamphirethePogoingStickerist You wouldn't leave a Rottweiler by itself in a field for 22 hours a day though, would you? Because it's a different kind of animal with different needs and behaviours.

Ha ha ha!

Well, it's an answer I suppose.

@Wheresthebeach

It's not their job to educate you. You have to educate yourself about their hobby otherwise you are entitled somehow.

I didn't know that this shouldn't be done until the first lockdown and seeing threads on mumsnet. I wouldn't have given a horse food anyway but didn't realise that even grass could be a problem, so now I'm aware, I don't do it. Some people are just thick. Same kind of people who think all sorts of rules don't apply to them. I went to the safari park a couple of years back and saw a family allowing their child to feed a zebra half a packet of oreos out of the back window. Thick AND selfish - the zebra is just a prop for their child's enjoyment.

There are quite a few horses near where I live and they do come up to the fence as you walk past. I was standing there looking at them and an elderly couple turned up with a carrier bag of stuff. Either potatoes or apples. Luckily, one of the women from the stables came past and told them that the horses couldn't be fed that stuff. They didn't do it, but didn't seem to understand why. I suspect they would just do it when nobody was looking in future. Annoyingly, the woman also glared at me for ages despite the fact that I was simply standing there looking at the horses. Seemed as though she was trying to intimidate me into leaving the area. I guess they are fed up of dealing with it and suspect everyone, but I do have the right to stop and look at things as I walk along a public path.

@Pineapplechickenpizza

Yep that's exactly what I am saying. If you can't look after your pet properly you shouldn't own it.

Out of interest, why do people feel entitled to feed someone else's horse?
What is it about horses, that gives a random stranger, the right to feed them?
If you want your child to feed / pet an animal, take them to your local petting zoo.

[quote BettyBag]@Pineapplechickenpizza

Yep that's exactly what I am saying. If you can't look after your pet properly you shouldn't own it.[/quote]
You do realise that horses aren't household pets don't you? They can't be kept in a home like a dog/cat.

Pineapplechickenpizza I do agree though, that if you have double fencing and signs, then obviously people should always respect this.

@SoftSheen

You commented ‘Not every child has the luxury of regular contact with horses, or animals generally, and this is a nice thing for them to be able to do.’

People who want to have contact with animals should go to, I don’t know, maybe a petting zoo? My horse isn’t a learning opportunity for children without horses to come and feed.

@SamphirethePogoingStickerist

Your horse may be a central part of your identity to the point were you think that equine nutrition is ubiquitous knowledge but most people have rarely been up close to one. Perhaps buy a different pet.

Sadly @BettyBag is absolutely correct. And is all too common round here. Some Betties are really quite vicious when challenged. Local Facebook had a similar post this weekend and the Betty, who had been identified, was absolutely excoriating about the owner of the pony Betty had fed, whilst stood next to a sign explaining why feeding said pony was a bad thing.

Betty was furious. Not angry that Betty had been identified, but that the pony had an actual owner who had left the pony all alone and wasn't looking after it properly. In a field, with shelter, water, other horses, llamas and a donkey.

Total lunacy! But not at all uncommon!

You’re spectacularly missing the point.

No, you are. It’s already been pointed out numerous times that better education of the general public would be helpful but it won’t eliminate the determined idiots, so it’s therefore down to horse owners themselves to protect their animals from this specific risk.

You can scream ‘don’t touch my property’ until you’re blue in the face, but some people will still ignore you regardless, so you therefore need to find another solution. You. The horse is your property.

Also, with regard to educating the majority of people who are simply not paying attention to the fact the horse has an owner/feeding it can make it sick, it’s worth remembering that you catch more flies with honey…