Worried about horse

[giraffesaregreat]

Please can I ask for some advice from people who know about horses?

Our house backs onto a field where a local family keeps a horse. It is kept alone, with no companion. A few days before Christmas they dropped off a large hay bale and haven't visited it since. The horse is gradually working its way through the bale and also has access to a water trough.

I feel concerned for the horse's wellbeing but know little about horses so would value some advice! Is it ok for a horse to just eat wet hay? Do horses need companionship? It is alone 24 hours a day and always trots over if I go outside as seems desperate for company. The field is partially flooded due to heavy rain - is this likely to cause problems? Also, the poor thing has no access to any shelter so endures rain/snow/wind and, in the summer, intense sun as there is no shade.

Are some horses hardy so maybe okay or should I be concerned? I feel so sorry for it but perhaps it is fine. Usually they visit it occasionally and use it to pull a trap around the local countryside on sunnier days. Any thoughts? The owners are not easy people to talk with so I don't want to interfere for no good reason.

👋 so nice of you to be concerned about the horse. It doesn't sound great from what you've said but nor does it sound so bad the RSPCA or whatever would get involved. The worst part is he's alone with no companion which is really sad, horses for the most part are herd/sociable animals and usually should be kept with at least one horsey companion (or at a push with sheep or cows or other livestock, or able to see and interact with horses in neighbouring paddocks) - can he see/smell any other nearby horses or is he totally alone?

The hay is fine, grass is what they're designed to eat (obviously ideally fresh but that's not possible in most of the UK through winter), horses don't need what we call 'hard feed' (oats etc) unless being exercised regularly or if they're losing weight, giving a bucket of feed to a grass fed horse can actually cause a lot of problems so as long as his weight is OK (not super ribby or anything) he should be fine there. It being wet is probably fine too so long as it hasn't rotted which if he's still eating it it won't have done - ours get fresh hay every day but they're not too bothered if it rains. And I actually deliberately dampen hay for one of mine to remove the dust as it irritates his lungs, so perhaps a good rain soaking isn't too much of an issue!

The weather conditions/lack of shelter again probably not an issue, horses in general are much hardier than people give them credit for, especially 'native breed' ponies who are descended from wild horses who would live outdoors throughout the year in e.g. Scotland/Ireland and on bogs or mountainsides, so very little food and shelter - they grow long winter coats which are really effective at keeping them warm and dry through even extreme weather. To the extent that most horses even if provided with a field shelter prefer not to use it and will stand knee deep in mud and being rained or snowed on than go inside! These days most horses do have their winter coats clipped and they wear waterproof rugs through winter but that's really for their owner's convenience to keep them clean and enable them to be ridden through winter, not because the horse would freeze if left au naturelle - can you tell what type of a horse he is? Some kinds of horses e.g. racing thoroughbreds or Arabian horses are much less able to cope with a UK winter than others so if he's a very skinny fine skinned blood horse the lack of rug and shelter would be more concerning.

Can you see his feet at all - are his hooves overgrown? That along with loss of weight is usually a tell tale sign of neglect.

As to what to do, you could call the RSPCA for some advice and see if they'd maybe do a visit to check on him, from experience though things have to be quite bad for them to intervene, if he has food/water, isn't dangerously underweight or with obviously injuries they probably wouldn't do more than leave an advice note?

I agree with PP. what you have described is a really sad life for a horse without any interaction with any other horses or humans. Makes my hear hurt to think about it. But as PP says unless the horse is underweight or not being cared for in other ways (such as illness or feet not being trimmed properly) then the RSPCA or other groups may not get involved. Google horse weights and horse hoof trimming for an idea of what this horse "should" look like.

I actually prefer horses to have some shelter so they can use it if they need it and also would rug them in really cold or awful weather if they were going to be out all the time (as this one is). However some people would consider this to be unnecessary as PP said they are hardy creatures. Having said that it will depend on the type of horse this one is as to how hardy it is. If it is a native type then it might be ok but others are more affected by the cold and bad weather.

Hard to know what you can do other than: (a) strike up a conversation with the owner when you next see them in the hopes you can get a feel for how this horse is cared for. For example, it might be "turned away" for winter with plans to take it somehwre different when it gets warmer (b) look out for signs of illness and neglect as mentioned above and be prepared to act if you spot an issue by contacting the RSPCA and other local charities (RSPCA can be slow to respond)

You could add some pictures of it here and we can help with working out breed, hooves etc.

It is not ideal, and I would be more worried about the lack of shelter in summer - are there no hedges or trees? They are better shelter often than man made shelters. The owners may be visiting when you are not aware, especially if the water is being topped up. Lack of companionship is piss-poor horse management. They sound like awful owners, but given you say they use the pony just for driving a trap I can well guess who they are and frankly the RSPCA are even less likely to interfere. If they visit and there is food and water, and the feet aren't terribly overgrown, I very much doubt anything would be said.

How do you know that no one has visited it since? They could go early in the morning or late at night?
Unfortunately the RSPCA will only get involved if it is visibly ill or has no food or water.

But from what you describe the conditions don't sound ideal, particularly him being kept alone. Unfortunately as I said no one will do anything about it unless he is visibly suffering.

If you have concerns about the welfare of a horse call world horse welfare or the British Horse Society Welfare team not the RSPCA.

The RSPCA have limited horse knowledge and generally won't intervene if the horse has food and water. The specialist organisations are more likely to take informal steps to encourage an owner to improve things where the care isn't great but isn't bad enough for action which is probably the case here.

I was about to say World Horse Welfare too. Give them a call and they will hopefully do a check

Are you absolutely 100% sure that nobody has been to see the horse since before Christmas?

Lots of people fit visits to their horses in around work which often means going very early in the morning or in the evenings when it's dark.

If the horse has food and water and is looking healthy then I'm not sure what any welfare organisation would be able to do about it.

Try the BHS welfare team. They don't have enforcement powers but can liaise with the RSPCA if needed
They will attempt to engage with the owner & offer advice etc

I would say if you have concerns, contact the BHS or WHW, as others have said. It probably doesn't meet the criteria for removal, depending on the state of the horse's feet and general health, but it also sounds like the owners could benefit from some advice.

I do agree that it is hard to be 100% sure no-one is visiting the horse, but living alone with no shelter etc is not really ideal.

In terms of flooded fields, to be fair this winter has been especially wet- a lot of fields are partially flooded, and to some extent horses do have to cope with wet fields in the winter. There may not be anywhere that is much better locally. Is the whole field mud, or are there dry places the horse can stand?