Neglect?

[ababsurdum]

Hi, I hope no one minds me posting here. I wanted to get some opinions on a horse that I’m concerned about. I’m going to post this and then check my name change has worked.

I love horses but I’m not a horse person, I don’t own or ride horses.

There’s a horse that I pass daily when I drive my ds to and from school. It is in a field all by itself with no shelter from the weather (the rain the last few days has been awful). It has a large bale of straw and a water trough but the field is covered with piles of excrement. To me this is sad and surely neglectful?

Today I called the RSPCA about it and was told that they get so many calls that their priority has to be animals with physical signs on them of abuse or neglect. I said I would get a closer look at the horse and photos if I saw anything.

Whilst by the fence there I spoke to a guy walking his dog about it. He shared my concern and had a carrot for it; he said that there are a few people who give it carrots and turnips. I couldn’t get a look at his hooves as the ground was muddy but he didn’t look obvious injured or matted so must be being groomed. The man said that he seems to walk and trot ok.

The RSPCA said to call environmental health about the state of the field. What I really want is someone to rescue him and give him a nice home. He seemed such a lovely boy. AIBU?

You should never feed a horse that doesn't belong to you. It might have a restricted diet for medical reasons, or choke/get poisoned by well intentioned treats.

You said it.m had a bale of straw in there? Sure it wasn't hay or haylage? Horses don't really eat straw.

Please don't ever feed a horse that doesn't belong to you. However well meaning you are, many are on restricted diets and too many can cause colic = death.
If the horse has water, hay and is free from injury or illness then there is no immediate welfare need. Yes it's not ideal but if the horse is thriving then RSPCA etc won't do anything.

I didn’t feed the horse. I did say I wasn’t a horse person, it has a bale of something.

The fact that it's on its own is a bit sad, horses are herd animals and ideally should have companionship. Living out all year round is perfectly fine, the field should be regularly poo picked though.

Yes, it’s sad to see him by himself. Is it really ok though to provide no shelter for horses from harsh weather? The field is awful, with him grazing on patches in between.

No, ideally a horse should have shelter (either natural or man made), friends, forage (grass + hay) + water. Sadly many aren't provided with these but you won't get any joy from most charities unless the horse is not thriving/without food + water
There is a major crisis of over breeding + owner ignorance in this country at the moment.

Does the field have any trees or hedges - either in the field or around the perimeter? Horses generally much prefer natural shelter to man made and trees and hedges provide adequate shelter for most horses.

I don't like seeing horses on their own, but it wouldn't meet the threshold for any charity to intervene, even on a giving advice level.

In an ideal world he would have shelter and a friend however he has hay and water and is in a field able to wander . If you ever find the owner please inform him that people are feeding him carrots etc so he/ she can do something about it . Feeding other peoples horses can cause medical problems / kill .

Two adjacent sides of the field have trees and bushes on the other side of the fence but they are the more upright sort so no overhanging branches and none in the field itself.

I’m unlikely to see the owner as I don’t live locally and it’s not a place I’d ordinarily walk past.

Very kind of you to be concerned 😀Horses are very tough and hardy, much more so than non horsey people realize, often even if they're provided with a lovely insulated stable/ shelter they'll actively choose to stand outside in the pouring wind and rain, weirdos 😂. Seriously though they grow lovely long thick winter coats which insulate and rain proof them all the way down to temperatures well below freezing, it's only really for owner convenience and/or because their coats have been trimmed /clipped to allow them to be ridden through winter that means so many modern horses wear winter proof rugs or are stabled through winter. So that part wouldn't really worry me, the trees and bushes will break the wind a bit for him and if he has his natural coat he doesn't really need shelter from the rain.

Like others have said the poo in the field and lack of companionship are not ideal but unlikely to be over a welfare organisation's threshold for action, you could give world horse welfare a call or maybe send some pics to put your mind at rest though? As per others please don't feed him carrots even if he seems hungry, if you do catch his owner (who must be coming up at least sometimes to replenish the hay and water) I'd mention that people are feeding him as they might want to put up signs asking people to stop or double fence the perimeter - horses like dogs and cats can do a good act of seeing starving but well-meaning passers-by or neighbours feeding them can do more harm than good.

Just to be clear, I haven’t fed him anything and don’t plan to. He doesn’t look malnourished thankfully.

Thanks for the insight everyone. It doesn’t seem that much can be done, though I may still contact the council regarding the field.

I'd say unfortunately nothing would be done by any charity if he has food/water and isn't in bad shape.

Horses should ideally have company but the majority are fine living out and with the ground being so wet at the moment it's difficult to poo pick.

And yes if you see the person again with the carrots maybe just advise him not to feed the horse. I just read the other day about someone's horse choking on carrots fed by a passer by!

If he has food, water and natural shelter (trees and hedges count) then there's nothing much that can be done, really.

Horses are fine to live out 24/7 (in fact it's the healthiest choice imo) and while it would be better if there was company, some horses don't always get on with others - are there animals in the surrounding fields?

Again, poo should be picked by horses can poo a LOT in one day, so depending on the size of the field, it could easily be being done.

I agree on poo picking its almost impossible in the mud, I poo pick in summer but in winter I only poo pick the shelter area and get it harrowed and rested come spring. Clearing a winter field is absolutely back breaking. On the basis of what has been said being alone in the major issue I would change, unless he is a stallion of course. On balance I would say the horse is possibly better off than an overly stabled horse and the bale probably cost about £40 and a whole lot of hassle to get in the field so doesn't sound like neglect to me.

We’re lucky to have our horses at home but don’t poo pick. All of ours are regularly worm counted to ensure low risk of worms, we then harrow the poop back into the paddock when we rotate fields. Our grass has never looked better since doing this. In the winter the harrowing waits til spring to avoid damaging the paddocks, so I wouldn’t be overly concerned about poo in a field if the horse looked well in itself and had access to hay/grass and water.

Other than lack of companionship, a horse living out with hay and water is perfectly fine. Much luckier than all those who have to stay stabled all winter long. As others have said, feeding horses anything (even grass) can quickly and painfully cause death from colic or laminitis or any other range of issues. Hedges are perfect shelter for horses, and no they don't need to overhang. Horses will just turn their backside to the wind and rain, where their tails are designed to funnel water down the backs of their legs and keep them surprisingly dry. My old pony, even when very elderly, used to stand in the very middle of her field even during hail storms, not giving a single damn about the weather.