Get your facts straight before reporting to the ILPH

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u04elw2

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some inconsiderate moron has reported my horse to the ILPH. i got a phone call on friday, after having a terrible week anyway, from an ILPH inspector saying somebody has reported my horse for being "dangerously overweight" and he's been to see him and he's reporting me to the SSPCA because i'm "killing him"

he didn't ask nor did he listen when i told him that, under a vets advice (who i consulted well over a month ago) he's been in for 12hours a day for the last month and a half to lose weight (its a DIY yard so i've been up at 6am before work and back again after) AND he's been ridden at least an hour a day.

my horse is a bolshy welsh cob who i saved from an unhappy life, wasn't gelded til late and so not only is he naturally chunky he also has issues with being cooped up all day. he has been getting diarrohea and has been pacing around all day and so last week when i had a cold i left him out in the field for about 5 days. in this period of time someone has reported him. i realise he's a little fat and i have been working so hard to lose the weight.

yard owner is furious at the inspector and gave him a right earful the other day telling him if anyone neglects their horse it sure as hell isn't me and that he should get his facts straight before accusing anyone.

i'm still fuming about it. no animal of mine has EVER been badly treated as anyone who has ever worked with me or met me will know.

we just moved him into a paddock with even less grass but i'm not taking him in and out any more as it's only stressing him and that is far more likely to give him laminitis (which he's never had).

the yard owner himself told the guy that there are FAR fatter horses on the yard (in fact, far fatter ones in my field!).

i am really upset as well that my friend knew before i did and the guy went up without calling me first to ask if it was ok. my horse doesn't get on brilliantly with everyone who approaches him so it would serve the guy right if he'd got a kicking for going in without permission.

FUMING about this
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<u>FUMING</u>
 
I know your mad about this, but how can people get their facts straight if they don't know you or the situation. If a passer by had observed your horse being what they thought was overweight why shouldn't they do the decent thing and report it, for all they knew you could be an awful owner who doesn't care or even worse know your horse is over weight.

Now the inspector has had an opportunity to talk to you - shame he got a mouthful for his trouble in trying to do his job! - and you've explained the situation he can put the callers mind at rest that you are doing a first class job under the circumstances. If everyone turned a blind eye just in case they get it wrong, some horses wouldn't get seen and be left to suffer, sometimes a long and miserable life.

Hopefully once you've calmed down you will see they were only doing what they thought was right..
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TBH I don't see what you are fuming about. They are just doing their job - an often thankless one and I should imagine they get many calls that are just a waste of their time. I expect these time wasting calls annoy them as much as they do us, but if it means they manage to help one horse then I'm afraid I cannot see the problem.
 
i wouldn't be so angry if it wasn't supposedly one of my own vets who did it. so they DID know the facts and they also knew my phone number and they know the yard owner very well - they could have easily contacted me before doing this to check that i was still doing something about it.

i have no problems with the inspector coming to check, i realise he was doing his job but the last he could have done was listen when i told him exactly what i've been doing to lose the weight. instead i told him the full story and he still said "oh well i have no choice but to report it to the SSPCA"
 
I don't mean to sound harsh saying this, but if your vet, who is in full knowledge of the facts still felt the need to report it, perhaps he/she feels that you could be doing a little more than you are or perhaps not doing as they have advised.

With regard to the ILPH guy, perhaps he doesn't know enough to make a proper judgement, he has your word against a vets, so referring to the RSPCA, who in theory should be better qualified/experienced will sort the matter out for you, to your benefit. Do you use an equine vet? Maybe they are not so experienced?

Hope you get it sorted out soon anyway...
 
I agree with the others that the inspector is only doing his job.

Have you thought about using a grazing muzzle if your horse doesn't like being stabled, or can you make a starvation paddock for him out of electric fencing?
 
They are only doing their job........How is the inspector to know what is going on without checking it out?

Also i dont understand why your vet would report you, and also how you found this out? Surely its confidential who reports you.

Your vet was obviously concerned for one reason or the other, if he/she did actually report you then it mustve been for a good reason as im sure vets dont just go around reporting people for the sake of it.
 
JACQSZOO - apparently it was the vet according to the yard owner who asked the inspector.

TOG - i'm doing more than the vet advised, he's been in longer and being worked more than she said would be needed. i've used the same vet for 4 years and it is a large animal veterinary hospital

TGM - my horse lost 4 fly fringes in one week, a grazing muzzle has no chance of staying on. He was already moved to a smaller field with 10 other horses and now he's in a starvation paddock with 4 others.

Rainbowrider - i've had him 4 years and 4 months. he was actually a little underweight when i bought him as the riding school has crap grazing and refused to feed him because it made him "unmanageable". the minute i moved him to this yard he was a perfect weight right up until this summer when he's decided to inflate himself.
 
this is what i'm saying, if the vet had a problem then she could have spoken to me or the yard owner - i'm not hard to get hold of and if she had i could have told her that he's still on the routine she advised.

instead all of this happens without anyone actually talking to me about it first and if they had, then they would have known the facts, THEN they could be free to report me if they liked. as long as they actually knew what they were talking about FIRST.
 
From what you have said and if it is infact true that your own vet reported you, then clearly the vet did not think you were doing what was advised. By your own admission you did not keep to the regime. If it was the vet then he/she obviously felt it necessary to report you and frankly, why should they have to speak to you before they take action?
 
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apparently it was the vet according to the yard owner who asked the inspector.

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I really dont think the inspector is allowed to say who reported you, im sure its private and confidential.
 
Obviously we can't really comment one way or another about your regime for your pony, you're aware that he has got a little overweight this year and you are doing your best to correct that, but if your vet did make the phone call - although I would be sure to get your facts right on this first - why don't you calmly phone her and explain what has happend and ask her for her thoughts as to what you should doing going forward from here, you may find out it wasn't even her, but at least you have taken the visit seriously and double checked that you are on the right lines with his diet, hopefully that would take away any awkardness between you and your vet, who I assume you have been happy with for 4 years, and you can put this episode behind you...
 
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TGM - my horse lost 4 fly fringes in one week, a grazing muzzle has no chance of staying on. He was already moved to a smaller field with 10 other horses and now he's in a starvation paddock with 4 others.

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not neccessarily, dont knock them til you've tried them - the shires onces only cost £15, my pony has never managed to get hers off in 8 months - although my friends horse gets his off all the time i must admit. its trial and error if you dont try you wont know. they are fitted and secured very differently to a fly mask.

i can understand your upset and very angry - i would be too if something similar had happened to me - in hindsight though imagine if someone else had your horse and he WAS being mistreated would you want someone to keep quiet ? no you wouldnt. the fact your own vet reported you strikes me as very odd indeed and suggests there is more to this than made out - sorry just being honest.

i hope you find a combination of starvation paddocks / exercise regime / muzzle / feeding diet etc that will work for horse. can i also suggest however that the length of time you ride for everyday has no say on his fitness - i know a few people that "ride for an hour a day" and just slop about and wonder why there horses are fat. i battle with my horses weight but she looks the best she ever has done thanks to working her very very hard every time i ride her inlcuding 45 minutes trot work on the road atleast twice a week plus hill work works wonders.
good luck
 
I am only going with what the yard owner told me and apparently it was the vet which is why he was so upset about it as he uses the same vet for his cattle and he is hurt that she didn't have a word with me or him first. if she'd said to him quietly "he's a bit overweight, have a word with emma" then he could have told her how much work i've already been doing for him.

and i've also recently fallen out with a friend who has a horse at the stables and theres a chance she reported him out of vindictiveness - the farmer apparently fell out with her about something the morning of the reporting. he didn't say what it was about but i'm wondering if she didn't call the vet / call the ilph pretending to be the vet.
as for muzzles he's tried them before, a brown plastic one and we tried the fabric ones and both were off in less than half an hour.

i work him hard when he is ridden, he's not allowed to "slop about" and this is why its taking me months to find someone to ride him when i go away for work next month - anyone i ask to ride him just lets him plod about because he's hard work to move sometimes and so i've been deliberately searching for someone to push him harder like i do.

i'm actually hurt that so many of you are not seeing this from my point of view.

think about how you would feel if you were putting in your hardest work and someone still accused you of KILLING your horse. then you'll see why i'm so upset
 
By your own admission, you left your horse in the field for 5 days! That is enough to potentially be fatal to an already overweight horse - maybe your vet thought so too!

Sorry, but I think there is more to this than we can tell on a forum. Vets don't take that kind of action without thought and neither do the ILPH refer people on to other organisations if the facts aren't there.

Hopefully it will work in favour of the pony, as it sounds like you have now made further efforts to restrict his grazing. I know its hard to deal with these welshy types who only have to breath grass to put on pounds - my sister has one and its hard work keeping him at a decent weight, plus he is a muzzle wrecker - we just keep buying new ones and bring him in more - its for his health at the end of the day and worth it.

Personally I would like to see far more prosecutions for overweight horses and ponies. The focus traditionally has been on underweight cases, but its about time the horse owning public were made to accept responsibility for their obese equines, which is just as cruel and just as much of a health risk.
 
good grief im confused about friends and fallings out but your yard sounds like a soap opera ?!

i do sympathise as it sounds as if you are doing everything right it just strikes me extremely odd that a proffessional in the industry reported you - not a lay person who doesnt no better !! sorry!

if you know you are doing everything you can - and are being open minded to the fact that maybe your not and listening to the proffesional advice given and heeding it all you have nothing to worry about. if an injustice has been done, what goes round comes round. the vet is only looking out for the best interest of the horse - sorry to say your feelings dont come in to it - as for having a word with the farmer or with you quietly as you say you wouldve liked, by your own admission she'd already discussed his weight with you and obviously she felt no progress had been made so she took the action she felt necessary which was in the best interest of her patient - the horse, not you.
 
Methinks you doth protest too much. The ILPH are not allowed to say who reported you so either you or the YO are feeding us BS.

Someone somewhere has shown concern for the welfare of an animal and all you can think of is slagging off professionals who, lets face it, probably know more than you do about horses. OK maybe theres no problem but at least someones made an effort.

Get over yourself.
 
all sounds very strange indeed, he doesnt look very fat in the pic either! i think you should call your vet - when you have calmed down so you dont get upset, and have a rational conversation about it, if it was me id want an explanation as to what it is im doing wrong
 
thanks Vicki1986, my mum went in to the vet on friday on her way to collect me because i was so upset i couldn't talk to anyone about it. she spoke to "a" vet (she doesn't know which one but doesn't sound like my usual one, although it varies between 3 so who knows!) and explained the situation and asked if there was another way we could try because not only is he stressing himself out in the stable, its also costing me more money in petrol than i actually have right now. she never mentioned about the vet being suspected of reporting me but i'm seriously beginning to wonder if it was my ex-friend being spiteful so i agree, investigation needs to be done.

vet suggested the even smaller field and gave us some feed suggestions to make sure he's getting vitamins etc he needs but she told us not to bother taking him in any more as its actually more likely to make him ill, like i said earlier, the walls are covered in diarrohea and his bed is an utter mess from him box walking and kicking the door down.

hopefully he'll be more settled in the smaller paddock although i just know he'll end up getting bolshy soon when he realizes there's no grass and the little kids who have ponies in there aren't going to manage to stop him if he escapes.

thanks for appreciating that he's not huge and why i'm so upset about all of this. its like a kick in the stomach to me when i do nothing BUT think about his welfare - hell, i wouldn't need a job if it wasn't for him
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why are they such a trial?? nothings ever simple
 
I can sympathise with you as I know how much of an uphill struggle it is getting the weight off a good doer, and it sound slike you've been doing the right thing by getting advice from a vet.

Are you feeding him anything at the moment? Was he having hay when he was in (just thinking if he wasn't the lack of fibre may have caused the runs...)?

Take a deep breath, try to put all this business to the back of your mind and focus on getting him fit and healthy. It will take time to get the weight off.
 
i sympathise with u and i know why ur upset but whoever reported ur horse was only doing it for his welfare, even though u r trying ur best.
 
Like the others have said , I cant see why you are so mad about it all. At least this person has taken the trouble to tyr and get someone to do something about it. How were they to know that you didnt have a clue as to what you were doing? Also the ILPH,RSPCA wont divulge the reporters details due to confidentiallity reasons. If it was your vet maybe they think they cannot get you to understand how bad your pony is or that they feel that you are not taking the situation seriously enough?

I would personally prefer someone to report me to ILPH, RSPCA rather than doing nothing or make their own minds up and do something thereselves.
Last year I had some idiots thinking that they knew better than me about my pony being muzzled. I eventually caught them and told them why she was muzzled. I explained the situation adn said that if they felt I was being cruel and mistreating the pony that they could called the relevant societies and report me as they field officers would not do a thing about it as the pony isnt mistreated.

IMHO I think you and your YO were out of order having a go at the field officer. he was following a lead up that could possibly be a neglect case. how was he to know that you were trying to sort your horses situation out? Have you thought about muzzling him? yes he might have lost 4 fly fringes but if they are the the field safe ones they are very easy for the horse to shake off. My pony werars her muzzle 24/7 and to this day SHE has never managed to get it off - the only times I have found her without it was when some kind sole kept removing it.
 
I sympathise...it's hurtful when you get reported when you haven't done anything wrong....but you must stop being angry and start sorting the situation out.
I suggest that you shoud do the following to show the SSPCA or whoever that you're on the case;
1. Weigh horsey (use a weightape) and compile a weight chart, monitoring weight loss at least weekly
2. Electric fence horsey into small paddock with little grass or try muzzle
3. Up his workload - lunge morning, ride afternoon/sharer etc?
4. Call vet out, explain your problems with the stable etc, ask them to formulate feed ration for him/give advice
5. Phone feed company, ask for their advice regarding vitamins nutrients and ration. Document calls/advice.
6. I know you'll have to force yourself, but phone ILPH bod and say how upset you were, ask them for advice as to what else you should be doing....then do it...
This should make it clear to all that you recognise your pony is a little....er....curvy and that you're trying hard to make him lean and mean...and will mean that the ILPH/SSPCA won't take further action against you.
Best of luck - you sound as if you're trying hard
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Methinks you doth protest too much. The ILPH are not allowed to say who reported you so either you or the YO are feeding us BS.

Someone somewhere has shown concern for the welfare of an animal and all you can think of is slagging off professionals who, lets face it, probably know more than you do about horses. OK maybe theres no problem but at least someones made an effort.

Get over yourself.

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well said Sooty, and exactly what i said re the ILPH not being allowed to say who reported you in the first place. So someone is telling lies along the line........
 
Overweight horses on unrestricted grazing who continue to pile weight on are IMHO a laminitis disaster waiting to happen... Laminitis can strike pretty much any horse at any time, so not taking care of an overweight horse is pretty irresponsible.

You seem to be instantly dismissing grazing muzzles without trying them. There are numerous types of grazing muzzles out there. I've had the best results with the Shires webbing bucket type muzzle and none of mine can get them off.

Put the horse out on either bare earth and ad lib soaked hay (soak at least all day or all night) 24/7, or muzzle the horse and put in a normal field, and bring in either overnight or during the day with ad lib soaked hay so that he isn't wearing a muzzle all the time. Don't use a starvation paddock which still has grass in it, as the shoots which come up are absolutely sugar/fructan loaded and will exacerbate the problem.

It is actually encouraging to hear that the ILPH are starting to take overweight horses as seriously as underweight ones. Laminitis can and does kill.

Sorry if this post is blunt, but you have to take responsibility for your own actions. No if's, no but's, no yeah but's - it is down to you.
 
..probably the yard owner that did the reporting...

anyway, sounds to me like OP is doing the right thing and someone is being either spiteful or was genuinely worried about the horse. Either way, why stress about it? It doesn't sound like they have much of case against you, you are seeking vet advise and TBh, I'm sure they have bigger fish to fry.. Carry on as you are..Now your horse is in a smaller paddock you should see the weight start coming off.
Blimey, if people could see my horse I'd be reported. She is seriously obese and I'm working on it but would understand if someone saw her and reported her although would be miffed that they had talked to me first if they could have...
 
thanks to the guys who appreciate why this is so upsetting and that i was working hard at fixing this long before he was reported.

sooty and parisienne_girl - i only know from the yard owner that he said the officer believed it was a vet. why the hell would I waste my breath lying to unsympathetic people like you? where is the benefit in that? also thanks a lot but i have been working with horses for over 12 years, have a BSc HONS Equine Science and helped run a riding school for 5 years so i admit i don't know EVERYTHING but i'm not exactly ignorant either. i am however open to constructive advice that anyone may have, not blatant criticism of all the work i have done with a horse nobody would touch 4 years ago.

thanks bex1984, lauraandsolo , Shilasdair for the CONSTRUCTIVE advice.

yes he was on a haylage net doubled up so it took him longer to eat and that is usually empty by the time i get up at night so the diarrohea is mainly stress based i'm afraid. he does get very upset when he's stabled and there aren't many horses in with him so i pretty much guarantee he's just working himself up about it. i'm happier with him now that he's out with the little shetland mares and a few others, at least he's not stressed although he is thinking he's ace being the only man in the field!

any HELPFUL advice is very much appreciated so thank you those who have given it, i'm open to any suggestions as to how to help him out
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