Do you think these horses need immediate help or further monitoring?

YORKS G

have the horses been getting thinner while you have been monitoring them?

you can ask our opinion on what they look like NOW but you know what they looked like before - we dont.

if they have lost more weight while you have been monitoring them then obviously there IS a problem and someone should be called.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Please look again, there is one bay mare and you can count her ribs in the photo.

[/ QUOTE ]

The ribs I see, but do you know anything about the mare? How old is she etc? these can all be factors.

I cant see ANY rainscald on any of the horses and from the previous posts expected a terrible sight, what I see from the pics doesnt decipher that for me (I think thats the right terminology!)
As I said, I applaud your efforts and concern but I dont think it's a case of call the RSPCA and have them removed.
Have you spoken to the owners? leave them a note etc...someone is gong down and feeding them
 
Flintus I agree that everyone shouldn't jump on the band wagon and start ringing up about every skinny horse and with hindsight the suggestion of emailing the pictures to one of the welfare trusts is a good idea as you will get an opinion from someone who has the relevant experience.

However I can see why YorksG is concerned and it is a lot easier for us to sit behind a computer and say do or don't be worried about these horses' welfare as we don't have to see these horses everyday.

Email the pictures and tell them what you know - then you will know where you stand
 
They could put up a couple of field shelters in that field and organise a worming and regular forage deliveries - and then sort out the nitty gritty. Waiting until the malnourishment causes irreversible damage is stupid.

And yes, the Amersham case has brought one group of shockingly neglected animals, but that doesn't mean to say other people haven't been watching and worrying and reporting others - and wondering why they are still being ignored. Like YorksG
 
I agree Loobiloo no one wants to see a horse cold and hungry the only positive here is that someone has given them hay now, and also they are next to a road not hidden away in some grotty barn so no one can see them starve .
 
I agree that the bay at least looks poor, this one is obviously not a native. If they have been in the same field since the summer, getting poorer and poorer, they will just continue to get poorer with a small amount of hay to munch on. Two piles of hay - the weakest/lowest in the pecking order wont be allowed by the leaders to eat (which is why the privet hedge has been eaten).

How long should Yorks wait - which is exactly what we are asking of the RSPCA ?
 
Yea sorry vicki_krystal I read your post after I'd posted mine - I'm really slow at typing!
grin.gif
 
Do the OP work or go to school? Does she know what is happening during the day when she is not there? I know that the plight of the horses has bought welfare more so into our minds, but we neednt go mad and jump on the band wagon, stretching the already full and struggling centres, when there are worst cases out there.
 
That is my concern , if they are visited now the owner may hide them and then YorksG will be even more worried and who knows what might happen to the ponies then.

Someone is giving them hay so at least they realise they need it.
 
I do indeed work, I am not jumping on any band waggon, these animals are to my mind neglected and in danger of becoming much worse. I do not normally pass this field during the week, and dind it remarkably co-incidental that hay is there at the weekend. The field is full of rubbish, including corroded metal pipe near the hay, there is an old dutch barn for shelter which is hock deep in mud and water, surrounded by overturned baths and barrels. There were at least three very lame horses. The land is in the hands of the receivers and no-one locally can find out who is responsible for these animals.
 
it is so difficult to know what to do for the best.
i thought i was helping by calling the rspca for the poor horses i was worried about. i thought that once the rspca knew of the problem they would fix it - which they didnt.

i worry about the horses that got moved away. i dont know where they are now, whether they are still poor, nothing.

and i feel RESPONSIBLE for that and it upsets me thinking i could of made their lives worse - when i was trying to make them better.
 
If there are horses in need of vets attention i.e very lame then in that case I would report them, if they are hopping lame. However chances are only these 3 horses would be removed as far as the rest goes they would probably just give owner advice re feed/ shelter / worming
 
[ QUOTE ]
I do indeed work, I am not jumping on any band waggon, these animals are to my mind neglected and in danger of becoming much worse. I do not normally pass this field during the week, and dind it remarkably co-incidental that hay is there at the weekend. The field is full of rubbish, including corroded metal pipe near the hay, there is an old dutch barn for shelter which is hock deep in mud and water, surrounded by overturned baths and barrels. There were at least three very lame horses. The land is in the hands of the receivers and no-one locally can find out who is responsible for these animals.

[/ QUOTE ]

thats the first time you mentioned the lame ones. report the lame ones as your main concern first and mention that they are also very poor at the same time. if its an animal in pain the rspca should react.

they did in my case as i first reported them for beating their trotters up and down the main road causing one young mare to rip her leg open and try to pull up - they just beat her more.

unfortunatly she went missing along with 6 other very thin ones.
 
I think the chestnut looks appauling..... must have a body condition score of 3-4 at the moment.... and with only a small amount of hay being shared by so many horses, and the cold weather, it wont be long before that falls to a 1 !!!!

I would email the pictures to one of the welfare organisations as suggested and ask their honest opinion....
grin.gif
 
I totally agree however its not a 1 yet, discounting the lame horses I dont think anything would be done as they are. I trully hope I am wrong.
 
in light of all thats been said recently i would report the horses to everybody possible rspca the council, any other charites that are local to you, keep a not of the call and a diary oF when they get hay, have a quick drive past each day, and note it down. the council may be able to tell you who owns the land... but deffinatley DONT DO NOTHING! just keep an eye, and keep asking around, somebody always knows the info you need.
 
i think you are misunderstanding me, NO of course its not o.k far from it. All I am saying is in the experience I have had nothing will be done unless it is actually a 1.

I did recommend the OP emailed the pictures to the horse trust.

I hope something is done !
 
They all look pretty poor to me and it wouldn't take much really bad weather for the remaining 'condition' to fall off them. You have listed enough to make the case worth looking into:-

1) rain-scald (very obvious on the back of the chestnut)
2) lameness
3) inadequate fodder
4) inadequate shelter

You must put your mind at rest by reporting them now so that the wheels can be set in motion. I wish I lived nearer - I would sit there until I saw whoever feeds them and take their number! Let's hope none of them are in-foal mares.
 
Top