Ragwort

[Serenbunny]

I loan a horse that is kept in a field rented by the owner of the horse. She also has another horse that I don't loan in the same field. The owner never visits or helps in any way with either horse.
The field is now covered in dense ragwort. I had a week off last week & spent 3 solid days pulling plus paid ,£260 for ragwort fairies for a day ( she did not contribute at all)
I've challenged her about the ragwort & received a load of nonsense in response. She comes up late at night to ragwort & takes the stuff home to burn etc, claims mum is sick with cancer (mum has already died twice since I've known her)
Basically she is not going to do anything to remove the ragwort & it will flower & seed & spread further.

Question is what do I do? I do not own the horse so I cannot move her but also I can't just either if them grazing away on stuff that will slowly kill them.

If I report it to rspca etc & the horses are seized I will never see he horse again.

Also I cannot report anonymously & genuinely frightened that she will become abusive & potentially violent & at best will not allow me to loan the horse any more.

Her own horse is underweight, never wormed & has obvious feather mites which cause him distress.

What do I do? Instinct tells me to get the hell away from her & stop spending money on a horse I do not own but I know she will leave this horse to deteriorate into the same state as her other one.

I’d personally step away and report to WHW, the RSPCA will not get involved with livestock (which horses technically are) until they are in the list miserable state. I’ve had a fruitless three months reporting some sheep in an appalling state owned by some townie hobby farmers near me…

Best to report to British Horse Society who try to work with owners to sort the problem:

www.bhs.org.uk/our-work/welfare/report-a-welfare-concern

www.bhs.org.uk/our-work/welfare/our-welfare-advisers

Please could you put both horses' welfare first since no one else is?

You are doing a great job so rather than antagonise the owner why not offer to worm the other one and help as much as you can?

That's what I would do anyway. Horse owners are often eccentric, tricky, and keep horses on a shoe string and often don't have time/ money needed so best to do the right thing by the horses and don't expect anything in return.

The other horse is very difficult to handle. I have been worming him & paying for his trims (needs 2 farriers so trims are not cheap) I have also paid for a vet to see him & treated him with deosect & also for an abscess on his chest. I do not have the money to pay for 2 horses that are not even mine.
I am on a relatively low wage (supermarket supervisor) and also have my own family to consider.
I am happy to pay for the costs of the horse I loan but not for the horse I don't. I am also happy to poo pick, maintain fencing, provide water etc for both horses but cannot financially support the second horse.
The ragwort removal will be about 1k and will need ongoing work.

I have emailed them but not yet had a response. It was only about 2 weeks ago so fingers crossed they can advise.

https://www.fwi.co.uk/livestock/guide-rules-ragwort-control-livestock-farmers

You sound really kind and responsible. You can't worm one without doing the other as you need to break the worm cycle. Going forward you can do a faecal count so you know what species to target.

Good luck op, just do what you can.

I'm fully aware of that & my vet does an FEC service which I subscribe to for the horse on loan. The owner does not bother at all for hers. I gave him a one off dose of pramox as I was concerned but am not able to cover any more costs. I have also paid out for vet & farrier but I am unable to do this again.
Completely happy to pay the costs of the loan horse but not the other.
The main n problem is the dense ragwort.

I don't think you should be paying out for the other horse- where does that end? What if it injures itself?What happens in winter with the extra work load, hay rugs etc? I would report her to the RSPCA for neglect of the other horse, unless you can have a firm word with her about looking after her horse properly. Ragwort wise, can you split the field and concentrate on getting one half clear for them to graze? I sympathise, I used to rent a field on a farm which was smothered in Ragwort, spent hours of my life trying to maintain it just for the fucking stuff to grow back even though I'd dug it up by the roots.

IME I would say the horses are unlikely to be taken. I know of someone who had 2 ponies and let one starve to death over winter, the RSPCA had words with him and came up regularly to check he was looking after the remaining pony properly. I was absolutely gobsmacked the owner was allowed to keep the poor thing.

Ragwort spreads and spreads. Is there any young people you know or a group of friends who can get together and tackle it for you? That's what happens around here. Young guys were given £10 an hour and a crate of beer with the bonfire afterwards😊 but it sounds much worse where you are.

I gave you the link where you can report to your local authority but that's mainly if it spreads to agricultural land.

There is no easy solution.

I think you are in a difficult position and the lady is off loading her horse on you as she realises you are going up and can’t help but check hers. I can’t think of the best way forward but it’s worth acknowledging that she is passing over responsibility. Do you think she would improve without you? It sounds like she shouldn’t have horses. What does the land owner think?

Can you offer to buy the horse you loan? Then you could move it and report her regarding the remaining horse.

Definitely speak to the BHS welfare department they will help, you can explain the situation and they should be able to approach it with her on the basis that the report was made anonymously. They are much more likely to help than the RSPCA.

It is very unlikely that the horses would be seized given that you are dealing with basic needs and even if they were you may well be able to work with the authorities.