Starving and neglected horses in field but RSPCA haven't come yet!

[chicaguapa]

The end of my dad's garden backs onto a number of paddocks which have 4 horses in them belonging to the same person. We haven't seen anyone around for ages now and the horses have started eating the fence posts; proper bite-sized chunks taken out of them. They have no hay and there's no grass, just mud. The horses are clearly not in a good way.

My dad's clearner, who has horses too, has also been concerned about them and yesterday, between them they decided to phone the RSPCA to get them to come out and do something. Apparently the horses didn't even have the energy to eat the carrots the cleaner tried to feed them.

So after 2 calls yesterday and another today, they still haven't come out. My dad also called the Hampshire police who said they'd refer it onto the local police, but they've done nothing either. He wants to go and get some hay for them to eat, but says it's better for the police to see how they've been left as it will help them prosecute the owners (my dad's ex-police so I guess he has his police head on). So in the meantime, these poor horses are wasting away.

Any advice on what to do next? I can't believe the RSPCA have been happy for these horses to starve for another 24 hrs since they were notified and are continuing to do so.

Native ponies are very hardy. Mine live out 24/7 aren't fed unless there is snow on the ground, and I usually check them very early and very late. They are both fat, and I am stressed that they will enter spring in this condition and end up with laminitis. The owners may be in a similar situation. The RSPCA are watching them now, so I think they will be okay. Just keep an eye on them.

I agree also with the letting them get lean at this time of year. Well, I am trying to do that anyway but the mare just wont lose weight...worrying as she is in a 15 acre field this year...eek!

I totally agree with MLP. Many people are too precious with their horses to the point that in comparison a horse that lives a more natural life can seem 'neglected', but that is certainly not the case.

Better people to reassure themselves than for horses to be neglected I think. I just wondered how much Op's cleaner really knows about horses, if the RSPCA think they're condition was fine they obviously weren't starving at all.

My friend had a visit from the rspca,about her 'underweight' horse.Luckily she had proof that the horse was elderly and was on a special diet from the vet.However,they got very unpleasant with her and tried to bully her into using their recommended vet as they claimed that they didn't know hers.She was very very upset that someone had reported her for cruelty and shaken that the rspca had browbeaten her over her choice of vet.

Its amazing really that this person managed to get a visit from the RSPCA! My friend caught two shetlands running round our village, yards from the A12. when she called them, they told her they didnt want them and to keep them! Thankfully she has a paddock!

we 2 have had RSPCA vists over a laminitic pony kept in a smaller paddock with not a lot of grass.

someone reported us for cruelty. Inspector didn't really understand concept of too fat ponies and the far greater cruelty of laminitis.

The RSPCA has to visit for all calls re alleged neglect. Unfortunately, once you catch loose horses nobody is much interested in them, RSPCA or the police.

Years ago a friend of a friend reported some horses to the RSPCA. There were about 4 in a field, terribly thin. The RSPCA duly came out and monitored the situation. Turns out the owner of the horses was bringing them a slice - not a bale, a SLICE - of hay between them, once a week.

The RSPCA apparently couldn't do a thing. The horses were "seen to be being fed" so their hands were tied.

The friend of a friend lent her horsebox when eventually the horses started to die and needed to be removed from the field :(

We used to have experiences very similar to Eve's, too - when I worked at my mate's stables we had a couple of visits when doubtless well-meaning people reported a grumpy little shit sad looking Shetland in a sparse paddock. Didn't matter how much we explained about Laminitis; the inspector always looked at us with narrowed eyes as if he expected us to suddenly admit to Satanic rituals involving equine mutilation.

My opinion of the RSPCA isn't high.