do you have this problem ?

The_snoopster

The_snoopster

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nearly everyday i catch people feeding my horses over the gate i,ve put signs up saying do not feed, told them face to face when i,ve caught them doing it. The problem is the field is on a popular bridle path and its not just the odd apple or carrot , its whole loaves of bread once a xmas tree!!!!. I say to them look its not just you that that keeps feeding it,s the best part of 20 or so people, and would you like it if i came to your house and threw chicken bones over for your dog everday. One family i caught several times i,m afraid i was rude and told them that i bought my horses for my pleasure not theirs so go buy their own or go to the zoo. Anyway rant over, but as anyone got a suggestion before i electrify my gate!!!.
 
I would run electric inside you fencing to keep the horse back so they can't reach to feed.

Signs warning reprosecution for vets bills if your horse gets sick..................there was a thread or here a while back, where a horse had colic and died from being fed dog biscuits.
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good idea its only the gate area as its thick hawthorn hedge everwhere else so perhaps make a sectioned off piece by gate that could double up as tacking up area sorry just thinking out loud ; ).
 
That must be really annoying, I can't blame you for being rude when it happens time and time again, especially when it's people you've told before!
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Our fields are on a public walkway and I get really nervous whenever people stop at the gates as I worry about thieves; luckily people don't tend to feed them anything but grass (that's all I've seen them give them anyway). I put myself at ease though by remembering, if I walked past a field with horses, I'd stop to say hello. I'm afraid I can't really suggest anything, I can only offer my sympathies
 
Yep, ppl constantly doing this, really annoys me but other ppl dont seem that bothered. Its not just the feeding thats the problem its the potential scrapping over the food that concerns me, only takes a kick in the wrong place to have a horse with a broken leg. I caught someone feeding them creamcrackers on time!
 
Creamcrackers! Some people are just plain stupid! Scrapping isn't so much a problem in my field as mine stays well away, food isn't that interesting as it sometimes means coming in so she tends to stay way out in the field, but if someone did give her something, the other horses would definitely fight, they did it the other day when I gave her an apple - one of the other horses bit her on the ribs! It was quite nasty but luckily didn't break the skin.

It's definitely a worry. A small fenced off/tacking up area sounds good but can you guarantee they won't climb over the fence to get closer to the horses? Just thinking out loud really.
 
Me and my mate rent 8 fields in the same area and have although you got the odd person which we proberly knew its really getting bad. The local council sold off lots of land a few years ago and built hundreds of new houses nearby and the people i,m catching are mostly townies who think i,m running a petting zoo. I,ve just sorted out some posts and will be fencing off the gate to stop this never had to go this far before but there are another 3000 houses going up in the local area so will have more numties thinking they can feed my horses tinned carrots .
 
Try changing your sign to have a reason why they shouldn't be fed. A local person has this problem with an old laminitic pony and has put up a sign saying Pony very old and chokes on carrots, apples etc so please do not feed anything.

Nobody has been caught feeding it since.

Just an idea.
 
Put up a big sign saying that your pony bites. If that doesn't work, add a pony that bites! My youngster started nipping badly and I couldn't understand why, turned out she was being titbited over the fence, I put up signs saying this horse bites if fed and I don't have the problem now, can't say if it was the signs or if she bit the culprits tho!

Fencing the gate off is also a good idea, but you shouldn't have to, how would these people like it if you came and crammed lard down their toddlers or filled their performance petrol cars with sugar?

If you do resort to electrifying the fence, put up a sign warning people it's electrified to cover your back when they get shocked, I'd electrify it.

Good luck
 
Thats what our signs say but we do have to keep replacing them as people keep pulling them down, and recently someone burnt my mounting block thats been there for 8 years we have given up one piece of land because of polish men hanging around drinking lager and they were intimidating i just cant lose another field or we would have to sell some of our horses and thats a no no to me.
 
I put a 'this horse bites' and then a picture of a manic horses head with it's teeth about to chomp down on an outstretched hand notice on FB's stable when he was on livery. The kid used to pick up all sorts of crud off the floor to feed the horses - leaves, sh!tty bits of straw, fallen grain and they'd feed them sweets and bits of sandwich. The picture meant that all those who couldn't read were well aware of what the writing meant!

I think an inside fence line is a good idea - plus a hot wire on the gate!
 
I once had problems with kids feeding my greedy horse boiled sweets over the gate, chocolate and crisps too. i now have a fenced area inside the outer gate where i groom and tack up, it has proved very useful and solved the problem as the outer gate is locked.
 
At one yard I was at, I caught people feeding my horse blackberries, grass clippings and acorns!!!
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They think they're being kind and are usually horrified when you tell them that their 'treat' could make the horse very ill, or even kill them. I also had one man rant at me because my (grey) horse was dirty!!! I had literally just put him out and he had immediately found the stinkiest, muddiest patch and rolled for all he was worth.

You can never tell some people, so I agree with the others, put a bit of electric fence round to keep them out of reach.
 
You have all my sympathies. The only solution for me in the end was move. I used to rent a field next to a pond and footpath. You can imagine the amount of people who would come and feed the ducks loaves of bread, then turn around and start shovelling it into my ponies. I once politely asked someone not to do it and they just looked at me, then ignored me, continuing to feed until I shouted in their ear, "ARE YOU F*CKING DEAF??" I can't remember what their response was, but I just couldn't believe their rudeness and lost it! Another woman used to feed a whole bag of carrots PER DAY, whilst a bloke used to feed them Chapatis and corn on the cob, and one day told me that he put his toddler on my shettie quite often (just in the field and Little B was completely unbroken!). This was all at the same place. I do occasionally find a bit of carrot where I am, now, but most of it was the field neighbours and I have now told them not to feed, on account of Henry's laminitis. I think your only option is to fence off or electrify the fence and gate (with a notice as to why). I even had laminitis signs and a brief explanation of what the condition was and that it was fatal, but people completely ignored it - one said, "oh, I'm only feeding a bit of bread". Yeah, you and 20 other bloody people, you dumb s**t!

Sorry, makes me mad, too!
 
Our pony's field has a gate, then an inner area big enough to park 4 cars with a bit of turing space (to allow vet farrier etc to visit) fenced off with a gate to main field. Means the cars can be locked inside the outer gate if riding, and also it's a good tacking up area, also the main gate is less muddy but above all stops the people feeding.
 
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