Bonkers woman feeding my field horse - FURIOUS!!!!!

[Doncella]

Went up to the field to give the mare her breakfast and there was a German girl feeding my horse over the fence.
I told her to stop and she went mental as if the roles had been reversed and the horse was hers.
The mare is on 2 acres of old lay which doesn't look good in the rain but she's a good doer and come the spring the field will have to be partitioned.
Anyway this daft bird told me the field was mud and the mare was lame in front I asked her if she was an expert and she said YES.
There was then a slanging match in the middle of the lane because this mad ?$%&* would not let it lie and kept telling me that she would continue to feed the horse. She also had a go at me for not telling her the horses' name???!!!! For ?!$*s sake.
I pointed out a large house and said that the owner of the field lived there and would she like to take it up with him as he is a solicitor and would soon put her right.
She told me I was a sad angry woman, I thought see how fast this sad angry woman can put you face first in the stream, anyway the mention of solicitor and she cleared off.
All true folks it's all true

 

[LMuirEDT]

is it just me or have we had quite a few of these type of posts/people lately? It seems to me it is on the increase. I would be fuming too! Can u fence of a bit further back from the gateway so she can't get to ur horse?

 

[Katie__Connie]

is it just me or have we had quite a few of these type of posts/people lately? It seems to me it is on the increase. I would be fuming too! Can u fence of a bit further back from the gateway so she can't get to ur horse?

It's not you.. I've noticed that too...
Some people, honestly!!

 

[Doncella]

is it just me or have we had quite a few of these type of posts/people lately? It seems to me it is on the increase. I would be fuming too! Can u fence of a bit further back from the gateway so she can't get to ur horse?

Yep, I'm going to get all my electric fencing out and put it about 10 feet in from the main fenceline.

 

[Vixxy]

I think it is a bit of jealousy that comes out in the 'if that horse was mine' attitude. I get it a lot with our Sec A who suffers from Lami. I get so furious when people think she is soooo sweet and try to feed her long grass, sometimes getting armfuls of a neighbours unused garden and depositing it in her paddock. I try and explain but it goes on deaf ears. My farm, my paddocks who the hell do they think they are. OOoohh you got me started now lol

 

[Doncella]

The best thing was when she said about the mare being her friend. I'll swap mare for her son and he'll take your arm off, that's why he's in boot camp at the moment.
Still tamping even though it would make a pretty good comedy sketch.

 

[joeanne]

People like that make me mad! A couple of summers ago, we had a mare that was always poorly, and we couldnt work out why she was getting colic on a regular basis after never having had it in over 20 years!
Some old bat was feeding the horses her household scraps, which included chicken curry, roast, gravy.......and to make it even better, they had gathered over a week, so god only knows what bacteria it was all harbouring!
She honestly had no idea horses were herbavors!

 

[The_snoopster]

I have had this problem for years as one of my fields runs along a public footpath/bridleway, I kept catching people feeding carrots/apples and bread to my mare who had had lami before I bought her.

I told people not to feed her and the reasons why but the attitude was "its only a few apples" and my answer was but you are only one of around 15 people who say its only a few apples. Which could mean the mare is having 30 apples a day !!!.

So I fenced off the gate way to find them throwing the apples over a 6ft gap, next I put a sign up saying "DO NOT FEED MY HORSE AND THIS DOES INCLUDE EVERYONE FEEDING APPLES CARROTS AND BREAD".

I did move my mare in the end as no amount of signs work to be honest, and it was when I found a man hugging my shettie and the said in a creepy manner "he loves me to cuddle him he does". Thats when I gave up the field.

 

[Aoibhin]

ive had big macs fed to mine!!
cured it by borrowing a friends cob for a few weeks, big sign on gate says "do not feed as this makes me bite" they workmen stopped feeding them after said cob nearly came over the gate at them all teeth & white eyes (he has no colour to his eyes & looks very scary) daftly he is really gentle but cant see properly so evectifly lunges blindly towards the smell of food with his mouth wide open in hope.

 

[Toady]

I would be absolutely fuming too. It annoys me so much when people just interfere like that thinking they no best.

Some woman who lives by my yard told me off for trotting my pony up a hill saying that my pony was 'tierd'. I thought that was extremely rude.

 

[LMuirEDT]

I did move my mare in the end as no amount of signs work to be honest, and it was when I found a man hugging my shettie and the said in a creepy manner "he loves me to cuddle him he does". Thats when I gave up the field.

OMG that's just creepy!!!

 

[NeilM]

We have a footpath at the bottom of our field. It's on the other side of a post and rail fence, but the horses will happily put their head over the fence to say hello.

Someone must have decided that H's Greenguard muzzle was cruel, as they kept removing one of the straps. I thought H was breaking them, until I chanced upon a little collection of undamaged straps all in the same place.

This year we have electric tape up about 20 feet back from the fence. If we find anyone in the field, god help them, I may be 6' 1" tall with crew cut hair and look a bit scary, but the OH is a red head and can rip anyone an new orifice as soon as look at them...and it's her field

 

[LaurenM]

She sounds loopy.

I would be out with my lungeing whip and paintball gun. It would be war.

''Nuff said''!

 

[Rosehip]

When I took my mare on loan (now own her) she was on a foot path and a junk food addict! Ham sarnies, mars bars, tinned potatoes and carrots, roast lunch leftovers... A total nightmare to try and explain to people why I was restricting her...In the end I had an alli in an old major who was amazed that Id gotten weight off her...but in the end I bought her and moved her - she's totally knackered now - hocks shot due to all the excess weight she carried. Bl&&dy muppets!!!

 

[Onyxia]

Sorry to hi jack OP but...

People like that make me mad! A couple of summers ago, we had a mare that was always poorly, and we couldnt work out why she was getting colic on a regular basis after never having had it in over 20 years!
Some old bat was feeding the horses her household scraps, which included chicken curry, roast, gravy.......and to make it even better, they had gathered over a week, so god only knows what bacteria it was all harbouring!
She honestly had no idea horses were herbavors!

Why should or would she have any idea that her (more then likely genuine) act of kindness would cause problems?
It is so very easy to forget people are not born with a working knowledge of horses and cases like the ones discussed here only serve to hilight the need for secure fencing not just to keep horses in but well meaning people who dont understand horses out.

 

[DragonSlayer]

I have had the RSPCA down to me before. Just because some old dear thought I was being cruel by having FLY MASKS on the horses, apparently 'They can't see! You have blinded them but covering their eyes up!'...The RSPCA chap was trying hard to explain to her that it was a mesh, but the old bat wouldn't have it till I went and pulled one off one of the horses and shoved it in her face....

I have found this old git in the field feeding carrots to my big horse, I approached him, and hadn't even opened me mouth before he started ranting that it was 'Ok as i've been round horses all my life.....and this horse..blah blah blah...'..

I let him finish then just replied....

'Oh, it's ok, but I'd hate you to get hurt, this horse would kick a fly's eye out the minute you turn your back, he's the Devil Incarnate...'...he never went in after that...

Once I found a woman and her kids feeding the horses and she started yelling at me when I politely asked her to stop, I got my mobile out, and told her I was going to call the police as she was damaging my property by feeding them with sugar lumps......she soon left....

Almost got into a fight once with a woman who was allowing her kids to throw hay over the stable doors (not at this yard now) to my son's pony who was on a diet and he had eaten his ration, she told me that I was being cruel by not letting him eat..I said can't you see he is quite fat....? But she carried on, swearing and cursing me for the obvious cruel treatment, once more, I got the mobile out, and started hitting 999.....she left.

 

[ischa]

im another whos has problems with a local woman feeding my two me and my partner have asked her to stop ,we have put signs up shes removed and also put fencing around the outside fencing nothing works .all i get is SHES not feeding them or im not feeding them propley .ive contacted a equine sociltor to see what can be done

 

[gigs]

What I want to know is whos to blame if one of these muppets gets bitten or kicked !!!

 

[AmyMay]

Difficult post to respond to really. As we don't know what condition your mare is, and the woman's concerns could be genuine......

 

[Booboos]

Sorry to hi jack OP but...

Why should or would she have any idea that her (more then likely genuine) act of kindness would cause problems?
It is so very easy to forget people are not born with a working knowledge of horses and cases like the ones discussed here only serve to hilight the need for secure fencing not just to keep horses in but well meaning people who dont understand horses out.

I can see what you are saying but good intentions are not an excuse when harming other people's animals. This woman went out of her way to interfere with another person's horse without asking permission and got it wrong. If she was concerned about the animal's weight she should have spoken to the owner or a welfare society, not taken it upon herself to feed an animal she knew nothing about.

 

[saddlesore]

god these are all real horror stories - I don't know what I'd do it I caught someone feeding all that cr*p to my horse

Its times like this that I'm glad mine doesn't catch!

 

[mollichop]

I get a lot of walkers / cyclists going past my field on country lane so have put leccy tape around gateway as a deterrant.

Have to admit though, when I was little I used to love picking big handfuls of grass to feed to 2 horses down the road from me. I didn't know not to at that age to be honest

 

[Pinkpeeper]

A few years ago a horse i knew died because someone put grass cuttings over the fence for the horses to munch.
He was found with colic, rushed in for opp but it was to late and he couldnt be saved.
Very sad.

 

[Doncella]

Difficult post to respond to really. As we don't know what condition your mare is, and the woman's concerns could be genuine......

I'm sorry but whar are you driving at?
That a complete stranger can dictate to me that I am not feeding my mare?
I'm not going to justify myself to you either.

 

[AmyMay]

I'm sorry but whar are you driving at?
That a complete stranger can dictate to me that I am not feeding my mare?
I'm not going to justify myself to you either.

We had a very interesting post on here about a fortnight or so ago from someone ranting about the interference of neighbours etc with regards her horse. And many people were sympathetic. Until photos of the poor animal were posted here. Dear lord poor mare.

So I'm just saying, really, that sometimes the story told has another side to it.

 

[Doncella]

If I had a camera I would take a photo as living proof that my mare is sound and well but I don't so you'll just have to take my word for it.
Did I mention that the owner of the field is my solicitor?

 

[Flicker]

*** Flicker settles down with hot choccie as this debate turning interesting... ***

 

[R2R]

As a YO, I have had all sorts – people walking through a field with 4 spring fresh youngsters in it and letting their toddler run around, people doing it in my field (I am talking full on rumpty pumpty here) , people lighting bonfires near to my yard (we have a river with fishing rights, however there is a big sign which says no camping/fires etc) people reporting me to the RSPCA for leaving a horse in a part flooded field on its own – for an hour as it refused to come in, people coming into my yard and demanding to know why my horses are blindfolded (read fly masks) and subsequently taking them off...I even have neighbours who I have caught at the yard giving the horses carrots on a nice summer evening – which is beyond irritating when you have a youngster who you don’t titbit, but thankfully they dont do that anymore, and now call me if they want to visit.

I have not had a slanging match with any of them. The worst I have done is lock a gate when the family with young child refused to come out of the field and believe me that as quick as my youngster takes a polo, he will also squish you as he has no personal space awareness. They had to get a family of 4 and 4 mountain bikes over a 5 bar gate, which, being at the top of a ramp, is hard to get too anyway.

There is no need to have a slanging match – if mad German is on your land, tell her to get off and she is trespassing, and if she isn’t, put a line of electric tape a metre away from your fence line so your neddy cant be reached. Then stick “no trespassing” signs up – so if she enters your land you have reason to call police and complain.

It is YOUR DUTY as a YO to protect your horses - and this counts for a mad German feeding them. Therefore, be proactive, don’t sit threatening her with a solicitor, and put your horse as out of reach as you can from the mad German.

As AM says, there is two sides to every story though – suggest if she has an issue with your horses welfare, she discusses it with the relevant organisation. When the RSPCA came out to me, the inspector actually phoned me laughing and told me the horses all looked fantastic, and it was nice to come out to me!! Nothing to hide = no problem. People usually only get defensive when they feel they have something to defend.

 

[Horsehead]

Imagine the horse was allergic to something or intolerant or all sorts of reasons, like someone was saying about their horse colicing, she would've had more to rant about when you sent her vets bills for harming your horse!!

Lots of people think they're experts but are just interfereing old bags. You would good not to punch her cos I couldn't have been so restrained!

xxxx

 

[R2R]

See my point above - as a horse owner it is YOUR responsibility to protect your horse, punching someone is rather a case of shutting the door once the horse has bolted. Preventative measures, such as thick electric tape, a metre away from the fence line, would mean no one could reach horse. Big signs are a deterrent, people don’t want to be buzzed by electric or arrested for trespass.

My fields are locked (padlocked) 24/7, and the top field has electric tape 1m away from post and rail line, the bottom field (which is only frequented by my neddies) has a drainage ditch between field and fence, so neds can’t stick their heads over the fence and look hungry.

This is also a good way of protecting your post and rail, and your horses safety in general, as gives an extra hurdle for any potential escapees.