Neighbour isn’t looking after his ponies

[Bomchiccawick]

Please could I have some advice about a neighbour? Neighbour currently has a pony and her two babies a mule (around 3 years old) and a female yearling horse (2 years old). The mum is apparently tame, I can brush her but can’t get a head collar on her, she just bolts. The two youngsters are completely feral, I can’t even stroke them but they are curious and come over to say hello. The mule needs gelding because he’s always mounting his half sister. All of them have very grown out hooves (his old farrier retired) I organised a farrier to come out but couldn’t catch the mum and no chance of getting near the youngsters. They’re all left to their own devices in a huge field. I think he just checks that they have 4 legs and water and that’s it. I initially offered to try and tame them but I have a toddler. It’s not safe to have toddler in the field with me with 3 unpredictable equines so I only had 20 minutes of child free time to talk to/groom them per day. I went round daily but just didn’t get anywhere. He wants to keep them but just works all the time. I want to help but realistically I’ve got limited experience and very little time to spend on 3 feral equines. But I feel very sorry for them and just want the best for them. What would you do in this situation? Report him to somebody? Would a charity come in and help with logistics of tranquillising them and sorting their feet? The two youngsters don’t even have passports. It’s such a mess and I can’t ignore it.

If their hooves are as bad as you say, then I would report him to the RSPCA.

You could try a horse rescue if he would be willing to sign them over . If not some sedatives from the vet may help to catch them just to sort the feet out and maybe the castration but it’s not a long term solution to sedate something every time you need to trim their feet .

World horse welfare are often better than the RSPCA for stuff like this.
OP if you aren’t experienced please stop trying to “tame” feral horses in an open space you are asking for a nasty kick

I would contact World Horse Welfare or the British Horse Society. And as pp said - please do not have close contact with unhandled horses, you could end up with serious injuries.

World horse welfare is your best bet x

I’m going against the grain here but welfare organisations will only be able to do something if there is obvious neglect. The only thing in your post that sounds neglectful is not having hooves trimmed but it takes a long time for them to get into a state that would enable a charity to be able to act.
All the other things you mention about them not being handled are not necessarily neglect. There are plenty of wild ponies in the uk, they wear their hooves down by moving over rough ground.
Basically if they have enough food and water I think it might be a waste of time reporting them and it sounds like your neighbour would know who to blame.

@EasterIsComing

I’m going against the grain here but welfare organisations will only be able to do something if there is obvious neglect. The only thing in your post that sounds neglectful is not having hooves trimmed but it takes a long time for them to get into a state that would enable a charity to be able to act. All the other things you mention about them not being handled are not necessarily neglect. There are plenty of wild ponies in the uk, they wear their hooves down by moving over rough ground. Basically if they have enough food and water I think it might be a waste of time reporting them and it sounds like your neighbour would know who to blame.

I agree. This isn’t neglect. Are any of them lame? Their hooves might not look pretty but be fully functioning. I’d just keep an eye out for the owner and tell him if/when you spot anything. He sounds like he is minding them but might need a hand every now and again.

Please contact the BHS welfare officer for your region - not the RSPCA. The BHS will work with the owner to get them sorted and help them out - a much kinder way of dealing with welfare issues.

www.bhs.org.uk/our-work/welfare/reporting-horses-in-distress

The BHS might be your best bet for getting someone to help sedate them and sort the feet out, and they will definitely help with gelding the mule, too.

But that doesn't really solve the problem long term, as the feet will just grow again and become a problem. It does sound like the owner is not coping, and ideally needs to be persuaded to sign them over to a welfare organisation.

I agree that you should stop trying to "tame" them as it is really asking for an injury if you are doing this with limited time and experience.