At what point should I report someone to the RSPCA?

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LightningLover

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My neighbour owns a pony that is very neglected. The pony lives on a small field that is very muddy whenever it rains and is never poo-picked. His hooves are occasionally trimmed but he is lame almost all the time.
Currently his hooves are so long they are starting to curl upwards at the front and he doesn't want to walk anywhere within his field. I have been considering to report the owner to the RSPCA but I'm not sure if I want to because we have, so far, had a good relationship with him and are reliant on him for access up our long private drive especially in winter. Does anyone have any advice?
 
The RSPCA should not tell him who reported him.

If you re worried, have someone 'visit' and then report him, so it is not you.

Actually I would choose someone else other than the RSPCA, such as WHW. They would start with a nice chat. Less likely to offend when not in that police-like uniform IMO. More likely to actually know something about horses too!
 
Is the horse on council land? Or privately hired from someone else? Because the council or whoever owns the land have a duty to do something about this kind of thing. The Rspca are useless, so I agree WHW. The rspca very, very rarely get involved with horses.....I know for a fact that they let horses die.
 
Or do you have a field of your own, and a pony of your own? You could ask the neighbour if his/her horse could move in with yours for the company? Then start a nice convo about your getting the farrier out, etc., etc.
 
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AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
I know you probably don't need the additional cost but could you offer to take on the pony, or 'get his/her feet done when my farrier comes' to mitigate but not burn bridges? That's if he perhaps doesn't have the time/money/know how to do better by the pony.

If he is being intentionally neglectful then he should be reported.
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Think alike!! :)
 
Do WHW have rights to enter premises?

Not a fan of SSPCA for horses up here but they, as far as I know, have more rights than any other welfare organisation
 
The SSPCA are useless too. I believe the WHW do have the right to enter to see how the horse is....but admit I'm not sure.
 
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amymay said:
I don’t believe that WHW have right to enter, certainly the RSPCA don’t.

But as with others WHW would be my preferred option.
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None have the right to enter unless the police are involved, people do seem to think the RSPCA have powers they do not have and their bullying tactics often work to intimidate people.
Having contacted WHW years ago about 4 extremely neglected horses I got nowhere, the RSPCA did attend but did very little, I think the owner knew his rights, would not be bullied so the horses continued to suffer for at least another 12 months.
The BHS would be worth a call as they may have a good local welfare officer who would help in an advisory capacity, you offering to get it's feet done at the same time as yours would be a really good idea and one that should not be taken badly by the owners, living in a muddy field is not the end of the world as long as it has some grass or hay, water available and some shelter to get against when the weather gets bad.
 
TPO said:
Do WHW have rights to enter premises?

Not a fan of SSPCA for horses up here but they, as far as I know, have more rights than any other welfare organisation
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Neither the RSPCA or WHW have the right to tresspass. The only people that do is the Police or the local council Animal Welfare Officer.

I’d phone WHW or your council. Could anyone else have seen the pony and reported it?
 
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The BHS got involved with a pony near me last year. It was by a footpath so easy for them to see the issues without trespassing. The RSPCA also got involved but I have no idea if it was reported to both authorities or if BHS then involved RSPCA.

I thought both handled the issues with the owners very well (hugely overweight welsh). I know the RSPCA knocked on a local house to get the telephone number of the land owner who then passed on the phone number of the pony's owner. No idea who reported it so it was definitely anonymous.
 
I had a similar situation a few years ago, I contacted the Rspca and Bhs. Both came out and did nothing and I found the pony dead a short while later. I honestly don’t know what I would do if anything like this happened again.
 
TPO said:
Do WHW have rights to enter premises?
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Not sure but they do have swift access to RSPCA if they think a case warrants vet check and removal. Just don't ever tell them if you have contacted RSPCA, they will leave it to you then. WHW is 08000 480180 but only in office hours (as also is BHS Welfare). RSPCA Inspectors a jacks of all trades and not especially knowledgeable when it comes to horses, WHW for me every time

(One here was acute lammi and still obese/unable to move - WHW got RSPCA, all horses on the field were removed and successfully treated and owners prosecuted. It does work)
 
I reported some donkeys to WHW with very overgrown feet. They arranged for the local farrier to trim feet and then they were rehomed. The owner had left someone who knew nothing about donkeys to give them hay and water so it really was a case of ignorance and from what I understand there wasn't any trouble with the rehoming.
 
We had an abandoned horse dumped at work (turf company)
Called the RSPCA they wanted my personal name and address, despite the fact I was calling on behalf of the company, which given the people that dumped the horse I wasn’t happy to give. And they confirmed someone will call back to see what they’ll do about it!
So I called Bransby Rescue, they were there within the hour horse caught and gone! They’d also stopped by the people that had dumped it and told them they’d got the pony and it wouldn’t be returned to them. Which I thought was brave!
 
I would start with a nice chat when the opportunity arises along the lines 'I notice that your pony is pretty lame what is the matter with him?' Then you could go on 'would it help if I got my farrier to trim him when he was with me and we could share the travel costs' type conversation. Far better that way than reporting to authorities. There may be more going on than you know.
 
dree said:
The SSPCA are useless too. I believe the WHW do have the right to enter to see how the horse is....but admit I'm not sure.
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No one except the police have a right to enter .
As a charity welfare officer you get round that by ringing the police and saying Hi we are at X we need to do Y the police normally say we will come round or on you go and let us know if you need us .
Mostly you blag your way in .
 
In a case like OP’s which is very common the first line would be to get to speak to the owner and advise in a written notice that they need to consult their own vet .
That written notice has no legal force but it can be used as evidence of failure to provide reasonable care further down the road.
You then follow up in a few days .
 
The RSPCA usually will go and have a word with the owner if the animal's hooves are in a bad way. My husband is a farrier and has been called in when this has been the case (usually due to elderly and infirm owners who can barely look after themselves let alone their animals).
 
I think I would speak to the owner first and see if he is just ignorant rather than deliberately neglectful and talk in general about hooves and laminitis and see if they would be willing to have your farrier look at them next time he comes.
 
Is your driveway going to you home or where you keep your horses? Is owner elderly? are they struggling?

Could you maybe offer to have pony with yours over winter and that you would keep pony in same routine as your's? Possibly you could say you have a pony who needs a companion and just had a thought that there pony may also like a friend - it would give the neighbours little paddock a rest too. If they are not looking after said pony they might be have to let pony go. if on the other hand they are struggling to look after pony it might be a weight off there mind and if the pony is only a little further up the lane/drive they would still feel part of things.

Not knowing the relationship you have with neighbour its a hard one to call.
 
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