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

@TheOriginalEmu

Ah, yes. I’ll just tell my horse he’s not allowed to stand on the path that goes through HIS HOME.

Jesus wept.

Where did I say that?

what does it matter if she is producing for the leisure industry?

I don't think it matters at all, Pallisers. The point is that some people on this thread were getting very sniffy about people who use the countryside for leisure purposes, unlike themselves and their horses - not recognising that their horses are there for leisure purposes.

The trouble is for that person it might be the first time they’ve made that mistake and then feel hard done by if they’ve been yelled at…but for that horse owner, that might be the third time this week and the 100th time it’s happened, and when something keeps happening you lose patience.

it’s like my drive, people seem to like to park across it, I’ve no idea why, but it happens at least once a week. It’s not the same people every time, but I’ve just completely lost all ability to be calm and nice after the 50th time of ‘I was only 5 mins’ or ‘I’m sorry I didn’t realise’ 🙄and So my response used to be ‘oh it’s ok but please don’t do it again, I have a disabled child’ through leaving notes, to now being ‘just move it and don’t be so fucking rude’.
Is that a fair response to someone who’s never done it before? Probably not. But it’s not fair to me and the disruption it causes to my child either.

Its just a shame many of the horse owners in the country tear down hedgerows, remove ponds and convert meadows and land into a green mono culture pasture with zero benefit to wildlife or bio diversity.

Equestrian management is changing hugely. I've noticed this particularly over the last ten years. Many owners now are veering away from monocultures precisely because it is very bad for horses as well as other animals. I've never known anyone move a hedgerow - they're great for horses, providing shelter and various plants to browse on. Horses are much better off with rough grazing and shrubland and being out on such land helps avoid many of the things people are talking about on here.

The building of schools and large barns is subject to planning permission increasingly limited. I think you'll find horse owners are increasingly managing their animals in a much more ecologically sound way. Of course you will still get a lot of people decking their horses out in the latest matchy matchy crap, but personally I avoid that stuff and I suspect with rising bills, other people will also have to.

Some people are saying that, but most people are trying to explain that if they are owning or renting a field, they have just as much right to keep their horse there as you do to walk through there.

You having a "right of way" doesn't mean that other people don't also have the right to keep their livestock in the same places as you walk.

You said that owners must ensure horses aren’t on paths, how do you tell a horse where it’s allowed to stand?

Sorry I only just saw this. Yes she’s ok, hobbling around the yard today after 7 hours in a&e waiting on scans and whatever. Being experienced she kind of ‘felt’ it coming so had started to move so it wasn’t as hard as it might have been had she been totally unaware. She’s purple though!

@TheOriginalEmu

You said that owners must ensure horses aren’t on paths, how do you tell a horse where it’s allowed to stand?

No I didn't. I said if the horse cannot be trusted with the public. If it just wants a fuss fair play. But if it is skittish and likely to kick out at people walking through a public right of way is shouldn't be kept there surely?

@fairylightsandwaxmelts

Some people are saying that, but most people are trying to explain that if they are owning or renting a field, they have just as much right to keep their horse there as you do to walk through there.

You having a "right of way" doesn't mean that other people don't also have the right to keep their livestock in the same places as you walk.

Where have I said otherwise?

Does anyone here remember a viral video going around a few years ago of an entitled twat going off her dial because someone was refusing to let her little cherub pat and cuddle her service dog. (I think she was at an airport in the US, but don’t quote me…) She was so entitled that her reasoning was that part of this dog’s job as a “Service Dog” was to provide a service to her child.
These idiots who have been told that grass can cause an excruciatingly painful illness that can lead to the death of a horse, and that horses themselves can also cause injuries that can also be lethal to humans, DON’T care, because they can’t connect with anything other than their need for instant gratification.

I wasn't quoting you or responding to you.

I'd quoted @ArcheryAnnie and was responding to her.

@fairylightsandwaxmelts

I wasn't quoting you or responding to you.

I'd quoted @ArcheryAnnie and was responding to her.

You weren't quoting or responding to anything according to my app

There are lots of articles sprinkled through this thread, there have been campaigns run by the BHS, the hash tag is #behorseaware, across social media the last couple of years.

Fair enough, but my post was directly quoting another poster and I was responding to them, not you :)

Thats still a choice. The horse has no other choice. Grazing land is increasingly rare. Given the choice none of us would keep our horses near people for the obvious reasons in this thread, but in many parts of the country there isn’t a choice.

What people seem to be failing to understand is that it’s the PEOPLE who interact and fuss and feed who CREATE the skittish, aggressive horse. It doesn’t take much to create bad habits in a horse, especially when you don’t know what you are doing, if people left them alone, they would leave you alone. My horses are well mannered because they d been taught to be. No hand feeding over stable doors, or fences, treats are reserved for training purposes. But if I put my well behaved animal in a field for a summer turn out and people start trying to feed her, or pet her r interact with her, she could very easily turn into a gate barging, rude animal who will bite. Do you see what I’m saying? I turn out a horse who is fine, other people interact and create bad habits, then I’m at fault for turning out a bad mannered animal around people. Except I didn’t.
that’s why the best thing is to just leave them be. If they approach you, ignore them and carry on your way,

Thats still a choice. The horse has no other choice. Grazing land is increasingly rare.

The owner has a choice though. Horses aren't a natural phenomenon arising out of fields. They are there because the owners choose to have horses, as a leisure pursuit. There's no reason the owners' decision to keep horses should take precedence over other people's right to travel on rights of way.

People here have (rightly) been very clear about how dangerous horses can be to humans. My point on this thread has been to say that one point of conflict between horses, and people who don't understand how to deal with horses, is not to have horses in fields which have rights of way over them. Because whether you like it or not, people (and their dogs, on leads) will continue to use rights of way, as they legally are allowed to do (and as many need to do in the absence of eg pavements on local roads), thus contact between horses and humans will happen, resulting in the greater likelihood of harm to both.

@ArcheryAnnie

Thats still a choice. The horse has no other choice. Grazing land is increasingly rare.

The owner has a choice though. Horses aren't a natural phenomenon arising out of fields. They are there because the owners choose to have horses, as a leisure pursuit. There's no reason the owners' decision to keep horses should take precedence over other people's right to travel on rights of way.

People here have (rightly) been very clear about how dangerous horses can be to humans. My point on this thread has been to say that one point of conflict between horses, and people who don't understand how to deal with horses, is not to have horses in fields which have rights of way over them. Because whether you like it or not, people (and their dogs, on leads) will continue to use rights of way, as they legally are allowed to do (and as many need to do in the absence of eg pavements on local roads), thus contact between horses and humans will happen, resulting in the greater likelihood of harm to both.

This!

What people seem to be failing to understand is that it’s the PEOPLE who interact and fuss and feed who CREATE the skittish, aggressive horse.

Why should all people be blamed for a problem that only some people have created? What should I be put in danger because someone else has behaved badly?

There are similar articles in the news across the whole country. Without knowing where you are from I can't be specific but I have already put links in this thread to various others in the south of England.

the hash tag is #behorseaware, across social media the last couple of years.

This is literally the first time I have seen that hashtag.

I live rurally and come across horses in my day to day life, but no one I am close to owns a horse. I am not in that world at all.

I think a bigger campaign might be needed. I listen to the news, I read papers, I am on the internet A LOT. I drive, I cycle, run and walk around the countryside, but I can honestly say that the awareness of just how dangerous it is to feed or pet horses is lacking in the general public.

I am not talking about people trespassing and ignoring clear signs; that's a different issue - more the casual walker giving a horse they pass a carrot.

..and you keep failing to answer my question - what do we do with all the free-ranging ponies that live on the moors in this country? They are living in their natural habitat and it is the walkers that are interfering with it. Dowe fence in the whole of the New Forest, Dartmoor, Exmoor, parts of the Welsh mountains, the Fells, etc. and exclude people? These ponies have lived in these places for much longer than us and so why should they be removed - are you suggesting we kill all our native ponies so you can walk on the moors? If not, what is your suggestion?

Your idea of fencing in our natural wildlife is ridiculous. The use of footpaths or open access land by the public is a right secondary to the rights of the animals that live there and that is backed up by the laws of the land, local byelaws and the Countryside code.

YOU DO NOT HAVE A RIGHT TO INTERFERE WITH OR FEED ANY ANIMAL LIVING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE. IF YOU DO SO YOU CAN BE PROSECUTED.

@TheOriginalEmu
I do understand how frustrating that must be, but still don't think it's okay to shout at people really. Particularly at those who have made a genuine mistake but with no bad intentions. And it's counterproductive anyway. People get flustered, angry and upset when shouted at, and are much less likely to think logically as a rule.

Look, I agree with everything that horse owners have said on here about the dangers of feeding, petting etc. The OP has said that people are claiming she is entitled and rude for saying it. No. Saying, informing, educating, that's all fine. But the OP and others on here slating people who were raised in different circumstances and just don't know everything they do (even if it seems abundantly obvious to OP and co)...well, that's the entitled bit. I mean...'village idiots'...it's not okay to talk about people like this.

People on here can shout all they want, but a much more effective approach is to educate people. There was some really good advice upthread on the type of signs that are particularly effective. Campaign, get the message into schools. Most people would hate to think they are risking an animal's health or their family's safety. They are feeding, petting etc because they don't realise the potential consequences.

There is always a minority who think they're above the law of course. But most people are okay. Let them know what you need them to do without the yelling and name-calling. It should cut down on your problems a lot.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-countryside-code/the-countryside-code-advice-for-countryside-visitors

The right to use footpaths or open access land is subject to following the Countryside Code. I think anyone who uses a footpath should have read the Countryside Code first. Please remember that the welfare of livestock and wildlife take priority over your right of way at all times.