Possible neglected/abandoned horse

[BufordTJustice]

I'm visiting north Yorkshire (North York moors national park) currently. A couple of times I have driven past a pony tethered at the side of the road. I can't see any food/water source. To my (untrained) eye the pony looks quite frail/unkempt. I looked on the RSPCA website ( no help). Where I live in the south I know of a local charity that rescues abandoned horses and they are the sort of people I would normally contact. As i say im visiting here so wondered if anyone on here was local and had any suggestions.

I don’t know if this will be much help as the suggestion I am about to make are not local, but as no one else has replied. There is a Charity called Redwings Horse Sanctuary based in Norfolk but I know they have been involved in welfare cases all over the country.

Even if they can’t help they may know of someone/contacts in the Yorkshire area. This is their website

www.redwings.org.uk

Could try contacting World Horse Welfare. Much more helpful than the RSPCA.

Was this in Thirsk by any chance, OP? Next to a McDonalds

I'd also go with world horse welfare.

No, a place called Cropton 😪

Thank you all. I've filled in the form on the world horse welfare site. Sad when people are up in arms about the recent revelations re dressage/CDJ but seem to turn a blind eye to local examples of potential mistreatment 😒

Saw OP's post and came to ask exactly the same question 😅

When grass was low in their own fields, my friend's Mum used to send us out with their ponies to graze the local verges for the day. We stayed with the ponies, though, and didn't leave them. Might be something similar?
Is the pony hobbled, i.e. is it tethered by a rope to its feet to stop it bolting off? It's a dangerous way to secure a horse, if so, although still done by travellers as a traditional way of tethering.

I went through BHS welfare and they were very helpful in engaging with the owner & coming up with a silution. They were very quick to respond too (under a week to visit) . I'm a completely different area & the welfare officers are volunteers so it might be variable but worth a try. There's details on their website & a form to report a welfare concern.

I managed to go back past again today before leaving the area and the pony had gone. So obviously not abandoned. I am not an equine ?? (Is that even the term) so perhaps don't fully understand the situation I saw this pony in. I just know I found it upsetting but perhaps this is how ponies/horses are kept 🤔 Thank you everyone for the advice.

It's likely to belong to travellers. Some within the community take great care & pride in their horses but unfortunately many do not & are kept in poor conditions.
Tethering to the side of the road does not mean the horse has been abandoned it's being fly grazed so will have been moved elsewhere.

There are several agencies that work to support horses and ponies in those situations. From working with owners to improve welfare, tethering safely etc to seizing animals & prosecution. They can't act if people don't report concerns to them. If you are visiting & the horse has already been moved there's probably not much you can do -f you want to support the charities work you could donate. There's RSPCA & BHS welfare but also smaller local rescues that rescue & rehabilitate fly grazed horses.