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

On the plus side ...... not everyone is ignorant of this issue.

I have a horse which (sometimes) lives in a field through which runs a public footpath, so I have no control over who walks through, and who pats my pony (a very cuddly native type - think Thelwell!!). One day I was up checking on him and gave him a carrot, only to be berated by a passing walker who soundly told me off for "randomly feeding a pony in a field". I pointed out that it was my pony and we had a very civil chat about the perils and joys of horse ownership.

But, overall OP ... YANBU.

The solution would be tougher laws for people interacting with horses that are not theirs. If you (not you directly, I mean in general!) feed a horse that isn’t yours and are caught on CCTV, it should be a £1000 fine (a fraction of a lami bill)

Well this is exactly my point. These people will always exist and once you’ve exhausted all reasonable preventative measures within your own power, then you need backup within the law. So as I said upthread, campaign to your MP to get this enacted. But the onus is on you as horse-owners to do this.

@MadameHeisenberg

The solution would be tougher laws for people interacting with horses that are not theirs. If you (not you directly, I mean in general!) feed a horse that isn’t yours and are caught on CCTV, it should be a £1000 fine (a fraction of a lami bill)

Well this is exactly my point. These people will always exist and once you’ve exhausted all reasonable preventative measures within your own power, then you need backup within the law. So as I said upthread, campaign to your MP to get this enacted. But the onus is on you as horse-owners to do this.

What fucking planet do people live on?

Yeah I can deffo see the Tories with their new found urban working class voters enacting a this. Jesus wept this forum is so oblivious.

@lameasahorse

Although it is sad seeing a horse in a very muddy field with very little grass trying to reach the grass outside the fence.

This is my horse. Much sadder to see him crippled with laminitis in a field full of lush grass, or rolling around in agony from colic. This time of year he's fenced off in a small paddock with hardly any grass that I extend as needed - he gets down on his knees to nibble the bits of grass he can reach under the fence, he would literally eat himself to death if I let him, and he wouldn't have the ability to get down or back up from his knees if I let him loose in the big field because he'd be too fat and his arthritis would be made worse.

I think as evidenced by some of the replies on this thread, some people are so selfish they will do whatever the hell they want, however many times you tell them not to do it. They believe their desire to feed your horse trumps any arguments you may make to the contrary.
I remember watching a penguin parade at a zoo (penguins walking down a path to another enclosure). People were clearly told, 'do not sit on the ground, do not touch the penguins.' And of course half the people there sat on the ground, and you could hear parents saying to their kids 'Ooh look give him a stroke' as a penguin walked past.
It is un -fucking- believable how people will ignore all instructions, in order to satisfy their own desires, no interest in the animal's welfare whatsoever.
I don't know the answer to how you get folk to stop feeding your horses - stand by with a hose and spray them if they come near ? Ram an apple in their mouths and see how they like it ? Anyway good luck, hope your horses are OK.

@AmyDudley

I think as evidenced by some of the replies on this thread, some people are so selfish they will do whatever the hell they want, however many times you tell them not to do it. They believe their desire to feed your horse trumps any arguments you may make to the contrary. I remember watching a penguin parade at a zoo (penguins walking down a path to another enclosure). People were clearly told, 'do not sit on the ground, do not touch the penguins.' And of course half the people there sat on the ground, and you could hear parents saying to their kids 'Ooh look give him a stroke' as a penguin walked past. It is un -fucking- believable how people will ignore all instructions, in order to satisfy their own desires, no interest in the animal's welfare whatsoever. I don't know the answer to how you get folk to stop feeding your horses - stand by with a hose and spray them if they come near ? Ram an apple in their mouths and see how they like it ? Anyway good luck, hope your horses are OK.

I'm all for the hose thing. At least it would mean they are taking responsibility and supervising their animals.

I'm envious of those that are oblivious to the behaviour of people who have no respect for other people or their belongings whatsoever.

Part of my husbands job is dealing with trespassing. More often than not trespassing is deliberate and destructive. Always brainless. Deliberately dropping litter, beer cans that if not picked up get shredded into lethal metal shards by the tractor, fences kicked over, polite signs ripped off fences and thrown in ditches. Dogs running amok in livestock. Getting caught up screaming, in an electric fence on one occasion, scattering sheep everywhere, miles from a footpath whilst it's idiotic owners watched on gormlessly not knowing what to do.

Those of you berating the aggression shown here are lucky you do not have to deal with the vile attitudes of an increasing number of entitled morons. On the contrary when my husband has tried to politely deal with people, it is him that has been the one that has been shown aggression. People do not like their perceived entitlement being questioned!!

If every one of us was a decent human being that always tried to engage their brains and just show a bit of respect for others, this post wouldn't even need to exist. Sadly there are a huge number of people that are not decent and do not care.

Urgh hate horses, apart from as a steak. If you don’t want your horse fed then put signs up. It happens with any friendly animal, other people will feed it.

@lameasahorse

Although it is sad seeing a horse in a very muddy field with very little grass trying to reach the grass outside the fence.

I agree and also the liveries that don't allow turnout in winter because of their fields. Essentially because they haven't enough space for the amount of horses. This is where money is more important than the horses well-being. Unfortunately some owners have to use these liveries as it's the closest to them. I wish there were more regulations on this. I cannot imagine leaving mine in all winter except for riding or a measly 1 hour turnout. Horse owners that think this is ok also need some education but that's a whole other thread.

I love horses and I admit as a child I used to visit and stroke the horses in fields nearby and feed them sugar lumps which I got my poor mother to buy! Then I got bitten by one of these horses - that cured me - I admired them from a distance after that. I don't feed any animal that isn't mine and that includes cats chancing their paw and hoping for an additional meal!

@WildFlowerBees

They don't have to use the bad ones do they? They choose to. I honestly cannot believe that horse owners are the ones screaming entitlement on this thread.

[quote BettyBag]@WildFlowerBees

They don't have to use the bad ones do they? They choose to. I honestly cannot believe that horse owners are the ones screaming entitlement on this thread.[/quote]

No they don't have to and I never would but some feel it's their only choice, some feel their horse is there to bend only to their will and some think they're following proper guidelines. There's a whole host of reasons. Sadly many horse owners don't see them as the sentient beings they are and give them no voice so to speak.

I'm glad you've said you'll stop feeding the ones near you, they are beautiful animals but have complex needs and for a lot of people they aren't easy to read.

Sadly there are a huge number of people that are not decent and do not care.

I don’t believe this is true. It may or may not be a ‘huge number’ in absolute terms, but relatively speaking, most people are reasonable or reasonably decent. For those that aren’t, like the ones you describe, we have the law.

@hangrylady

The only thing I do when I see horses is say good afternoon to them in a posh voice. It's the law.

Absolutely. I ride and although I don’t have my own pony I know that you’re not to feed one’s which aren’t yours. Unless specifically invited.

I run pst a field of horses in the mornings. And always stop and say hi. That’s it. Stop and say hello
Ask them how they are. Then move on. That brings me joy.

@MadameHeisenberg

Well, if you can’t put in place adequate measures to keep your animal(s) safe from environmental hazards (idiots that ignore signs, for example), then perhaps you can’t really afford them after all?

Electric fencing? An enclosure away from footpaths and public rights of way? Remedial veterinary treatment? Too expensive? Then you can’t afford the horse, in reality.

Remedial vet treatment too expensive? You haven't read the posts where horses can die a horrible, agonising death if they get fed unsuitable food, then? Colic surgery can cost £10k upwards, isn't always successful and even if it is, the horse may never be 100% well again. That is if the owner has £10k spare as vets usually want paying a fair chunk of that up front. Plus you have to get them to surgery in time, often the owner finds their sick horse too late. Sorry that we love our animals and don't want to inflict suffering on them or watch them die, or make that decision to have to have them killed (because that's what it is, it's not "putting to sleep"). It's not about the money, but all the horse owners I know have to consider costs as none of us are well off and can't magic up the cost of unexpected, unnecessary vet bills.

Personally I don't mind people stroking my horses over the fence, and we seem to be lucky that nobody feeds them, but there have been cases of horses dying near us from locals feeding them after being asked repeatedly to stop it.

Excellent. Seriously I am pleased there are some responsible horse owners on here who are able to keep their animals safe. Perhaps you could give the less responsible owners some advice?

This thread is more about irresponsible public that feed animals that aren't theirs. I am lucky that mine aren't near idiots, others aren't. That's not their fault, they put up signs and idiots being idiots ignore them and think they know better.

Other than sterilising such idiots so they can't breed more idiots, nothing we can do is there? Other than traumatising them I guess with my suggestion, but the #bekind lot would take offence to that.

@LammasEve

So my point is still entirely valid then. Obviously, in an ideal world this wouldn’t be necessary, but we’ve already established that it is, because idiots will always exist. Whether it costs 1k, 10k or 100k is irrelevant - if you can’t afford to treat it when it’s sick, then you shouldn’t have the animal in the first place.

I live in the New Forest, we have this everyday with people feeding/petting the 'wild ponies/cows'. Or trying to put kids on their backs etc
They are not wild they are actually owed by people who have the rights to graze them on the forest.
There is a local kids story book that's been produced called Sally The Pony and it explains why you shouldn't feed or touch the animals, it's seems some adults need to read it too.

Yanbu ,I think it's 99% down to ignorance not malice.people need to be educated about this and it needs to be as commonly known as closing gates,keeping dogs on leads around farm stock,not leaving litter .

@Maverickess

Horse owners - "Please don't feed horses you might encounter when out and about" (by way of signs, social media or verbally)

Public - "Why not? It's a nice thing to do!"

Horse owners - "It can cause illness, injury and behaviour problems with horses"

Public - "How very entitled of you to think that I should know that! Shame on you and your poshness, you're so entitled to think the general public should know that, keep your horse in a glass case if you don't want people to feed it, you only don't want me feeding it because you're precious and nasty and therefore I shall continue"

People ask 'Why not?' because they assume that a good enough reason cannot be given because they're convinced it all boils down to poshness and possessiveness, when the reasons are given people like to shout about horse owners being entitled thinking everyone should know this, but most are saying 'go and educate yourself' in response to being asked why and then being accused of entitlement when explaining.

👏🏻👏🏻

My horses’ field is well away from public footpaths or roads or anywhere near where the general public should be. We have double fences, a high prickly hedge, electric fencing and locked gates and about a billion signs. I’ve even tried putting out a bucket with a sign asking people to leave treats in there and I will give them any treats with their hard feed.

But still people persist. I’ve found people climbing over our gates (and then kicking up a stink because they’ve got a shock from the clearly signed electric fence), trespassing in fields with no footpaths, trespassing in the actual yard and in barns and once our yard owner’s secure back garden. It was especially awful during the first lockdown.

I don’t have any issues with people making a fuss of them, but no feeding. One is an old lady with severe arthritis so we have to be careful with her weight. She needs to be out as much as possible or she stiffens up and her arthritis worsens. Keeping her in a stable because people can’t leave her alone is not an option. We manage her carefully in order for her to enjoy her very much deserved retirement, otherwise she will have to be put to sleep.

I’ve had all manner of abuse thrown at me when I’ve politely asked people to stop feeding my horses. I’ve found the best way is to bypass the adults, and talk to the children directly. Nicely explain why they shouldn’t be feeding them as it could make them sick. My old lady loves a fuss so will usually come over for a stroke, she’ll blow kisses, everyone goes away happy and the kids tell their friends

We also turn out over night once the weather gets a bit more reliable which helps.

19 pages and people still of the opinion that they need to be told not to feed someone else’s animal 😃