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

@ArcheryAnnie

I'd argue that if it has a right of way running through it, then it isn't a suitable field, fairylightsandwaxmelts.

Yes, but that's my point - where are all these animals supposed to go if they can't go in fields with a right of way?

I mean, in Scotland, the public has the right to go anywhere lol. There's no such thing as a "right of way" - they can go in whatever field they like, pretty much.

"The Land Reform Act 2003 gives everyone rights of access over land and inland water throughout Scotland, subject to specific exclusions set out in the Act and as long as they behave responsibly. These rights are sometimes referred to as 'freedom to roam'."

www.apidura.com/journal/freedom-to-roam-in-scotland-everything-you-need-to-know/

If fewer people fed or fussed horses that weren’t their own, then fewer horses would follow walkers or runners in their field.

It’s a vicious circle. Every person who feeds a horse treats is teaching it that strange humans in the field / at the fence = treats. So it’s hardly surprising that they then start trying to mug people for treats, and you end up with situations of people who just want to follow a footpath being surrounded by pushy, greedy, bad-mannered horses thinking the human will have some Polos. And none of that is the fault of the owner; it’s the fault of the entitled people who think that any animal in a field is fair game to feed on a whim, because they are the ones who have effectively “trained” the horse to act that way.

@Worldwide2

I have to say reading this thread I find it baffling so many people are arguing about feeding someone else's animal. Can you imagine people feeing other people's dogs, there would be outrage and quite rightly so. Didn't realise so many people were like this.

I know. It’s baffling.

It’s not a big deal - please don’t feed animals that don’t belong to you. It’s really not a difficult thing to do.

I’ve never understood what it is about horses especially that make random people think they have the right to feed them.

At our yard other liveries have had people removing grazing muzzles or fly masks. Someone came into our field and took down all the track system that we’d put up in an attempt to keep my arthritic retiree at a reasonable weight. People on the actual yard going into stables

I don't think horses, or any other potentially dangerous animal, should be kept in fields where there is a right of way running through it. There's just too much chance of something going wrong.

In an ideal world, I do agree. When we were looking for yards for my horses, I discounted a couple as the grazing had footpaths running across the middle and I just don’t like it. Too many things can go wrong. But then, bulls and cows are kept in fields with foot paths running through them too so 🤷‍♀️

However, fields that are suitable for grazing horses are few and far between - new housing estates, new roads, etc are being built so there’s just not the grazing available to be fussy.

We’ve got a couple of fields beside foot paths at our yard and we tend use them in the winter when there are less people around. It’s usually summer when the problems start - so we then turn out overnight

And I just don’t think it’s unreasonable or entitled to expect grown adults to leave something that doesn’t belong to them alone to be honest.

It's different because you want to own a horse. A horse isn't a cow, it's a pet. You don't need it, you want it. You want it even if you can't look after it. Tough, be responsible.

Motivation for ownership is irrelevant. Horse owners don't need to justify their reasons for ownership to anyone (that's aside from the cruelty ethics surrounding steeplechase racing, with which, FWIW, I do have a problem). This thread relates to the behaviour of the public and feeding of horses which are not their own. The onus for that is on those people, not the owners.

It's not the same situation as foxes in the hen coop. The onus there is entirely on owners to protect their animals. This problem is caused by humans: supposedly sentient beings endowed with some level of skill in communication. It's hardly beyond human wit, or basic good manners, to comply with owners' requests not to feed their horses.

This thread shows an enlightening divide in the tone of the responses. People can't be blamed for what they don't know. Those unused to horses likely won't be aware horses can't vomit, or know that every horse-lover dreads colic, a relatively harmless condition in humans but frequently fatal in horses. Some posters genuinely haven't known why feeding horses grass is dangerous, have asked, been enlightened and resolved not to do it again. This is how decent people react, and every kudos to them.

It's the others, the kind of idiot who can't take even the mildest criticism, who won't be told what to do and thinks they know better, who gets on the defensive and insists they'll continue their unwanted behaviour, who are the menace to these animals' wellbeing. There are plenty on this thread who've been warned of danger to the animal and potentially to the child but are determined to continue 'because it's nice', or because they think their little darlings have the absolute right to do exactly as they please and fuck the consequences to others.

In that mindset of course it's the owners who are to blame, for daring to own the animals in the first place. Or their motivation is to blame, for owning them simply because they 'want' to. Why else take on the care of an animal; why have children? Here's betting those people don't ask the same question of those with cats, dogs or kids.

Fekinell.

[quote MadameHeisenberg]@SamphirethePogoingStickerist

It’s relevant here because if you want to persuade people to do something/not to do something, then asking them politely is far more likely to get you your desired outcome, than screaming at them with contempt. I would have thought this was fairly obvious.[/quote]
Yes, the intent is obvious, just how it could be accomplished in real life is, seemingly, not possible. Given the number of those determined not to care enough to read a poster.

fairylightsandwaxmelts that's not the case in England, though. Sometimes going for a walk in the English countryside (including to get somewhere else) is a choice between walking on a right of way through a field, or walking along a road with no pavement and terrible blind spots. They aren't a luxury - they are a necessity.

Just because there are no other suitable fields available does not turn a field with a right of way in it into a suitable field for horses.

@ArcheryAnnie

fairylightsandwaxmelts that's not the case in England, though. Sometimes going for a walk in the English countryside (including to get somewhere else) is a choice between walking on a right of way through a field, or walking along a road with no pavement and terrible blind spots. They aren't a luxury - they are a necessity.

Just because there are no other suitable fields available does not turn a field with a right of way in it into a suitable field for horses.

So what's your solution? Just kill all the animals?

I'm a huge advocate for our rights of way being maintained - I dog walk for a living and live rurally and use paths like this day in, day out.

But the countryside is also a place of work and people need to respect that. Too many people want to see a sanitised version of the countryside with no animal poo, no animals, no mud, no risk - it's just not viable for that to happen.

A huge part of our economy comes from farming - both arable and livestock. Where are all the herds of dairy cows going to live if they can't live in fields with rights of way? What about all the sheep, lambs, bulls, meat cows, pigs and chickens etc?

But then, bulls and cows are kept in fields with foot paths running through them too so.

I'd say the same about bulls, and cows in calving season. (Though I am bloody terrified of cows in any season.) My nana lived in a tied cottage accessible only through fields, and I remember once being stuck inside for three days because there was a bull in the field!

@lameasahorse

Bulls can only be kept in fields with a right of way under certain conditions. Cows and sheep of course can be kept in any field.

I remember once happily walking through a field with a public right of way with my dogs - I got to the other side and closed the gate behind me, only to see a sign saying "Warning, Bull in field"

So what's your solution? Just kill all the animals?

This is a very silly comment. There's alternatives. Fence the pathways away from livestock, if you intend to put horses or cows in there. (Sheep aren't an issue, generally.)

@userxx

Not a chance l'm putting my fingers near those oversized gnashers.

Lol same

Put a double fence
Problem solved

But dont tell me I can't stroke a horse bahahaha. Youwould stroke a cat if it came to you in the street... no difference

Fence the pathways away from livestock, if you intend to put horses or cows in there. (Sheep aren't an issue, generally.)

@ArcheryAnnie

But then, bulls and cows are kept in fields with foot paths running through them too so.

I'd say the same about bulls, and cows in calving season. (Though I am bloody terrified of cows in any season.) My nana lived in a tied cottage accessible only through fields, and I remember once being stuck inside for three days because there was a bull in the field!

The problem is that "the countryside" is a woking place, not a leisure opportunity.

Rughts of way exist, historically, as footpaths to work, church and the market. Nowadays they exist in the same places, but are used mor for leisure pursuits. It is the livestock that have the prior claim not the walker. When you get to a right of way that has livestock in it then you, the walker, are supposed to assess the situation and decide whether or not YOU are in the right situation to cross - dogs on leads, kids coralled, sensible heads on. The framer, horse woner ewct, has already assessed the situation and, assuming each walker is sane and sensible, then there is, 99 times out a hundred, 999 of 1000, no problem.

Yes, sometimes cows get lairy, that's fucking frightening, but thankfully those times are few and far between.

If you nana lived in such a cottage then, presumably, she was used to cows, bulls etc. Her fear kept her indoors rather than the bull. Though I must admit I would have been loath to move! Nonetheless, one person's experience doesn't change how the law actually stands,

And yes, in Scotland there are no rights of way, open access means all walkers have to make sensible decisions all the time!

@SoftSheen

Pineapplechickenpizza I remember seeing a pony get laminitis as a child and it was horrific

Laminitis is horrific, but most often caused by overfeeding/underworking, not by someone saying hello over a fence.

Stop being deliberately stupid and trying to backtrack. Do you not realise your earlier posts are still here.

YOU said 'A pony will not get laminitis from a child feeding it a couple of handfuls of grass.' You brought in 'saying hello over a fence' later, to try to argue your way out of what you'd said.
Just own it, for heaven's sake.

@ArcheryAnnie

So what's your solution? Just kill all the animals?

This is a very silly comment. There's alternatives. Fence the pathways away from livestock, if you intend to put horses or cows in there. (Sheep aren't an issue, generally.)

Not a silly comment at all - I genuinely don't know what other solutions you think are viable?

You can't always fence of pathways as doing so can mean the fields are then too small to legally keep livestock or animals in and many rights of way are directly through the middle of fields.

Not to mention bisecting fields, making corners of them inaccessible.

or the cost, c£10/metre as a minimum!

@SamphirethePogoingStickerist

Not to mention bisecting fields, making corners of them inaccessible.

or the cost, c£10/metre as a minimum!

Exactly!

But as long as people can enjoy a nice, safe, sanitised version of the countryside, who cares?!

[quote lameasahorse]@fairylightsandwaxmelts fencing is expensive. No one is going to fence public pathways so you can avoid some cows.
Sheep are most at risk of people who let dogs run about. Lots of sheep abort their lambs when chased by a dog.[/quote]
Yes...I know.

I didn't suggest fencing, I was responding to someone else who did.

The only time I’ve ever fed someone else’s horse anything was when it was blocking a public footpath eating some grass and couldn’t be coaxed vocally to move and wasn’t moving any time soon of its own accord, so used an apple. So I would counsel horse owners who leave their horses loose around farms to ensure that the horse isn’t going to be blocking the public right of way.

Many people want the right to enjoy the countryside, and that's fair enough.

But with rights come responsibilities. There's a responsibility to be sensible, to assess risk, to shut gates that you open, not to leave litter...and not to interfere with livestock for your own amusement, which includes not feeding other people's horses.

Heartening to see several people on here saying "I didn't know why I shouldn't feed horses, now I do, I'll change my behaviour so I don't inadvertently make a horse ill".

Disheartening to see a small number who seem to want the right but aren't prepared to take any personal responsibility. Why, when you have two courses of action open to you, one of which involves enjoying the countryside responsibly and one of which involves being reckless. careless and endangering the lives of animals, would you be such a dick as to choose the second one?

Yes, there are lots of people out there who are truly ignorant (in the 'not knowing' sense of the word) of the risks to horses of feeding them randomly...but no one on this thread has that excuse now. Yet still people insist on arguing that it's not their responsibility to act like an intelligent adult and it's all on the horse owner. Why??