Help Humphrey

FfionWinnie said:
I read it as him refuting the "abusing a horse" thing. We have to remember this is a young girl whose life could be affected by this. I had a loan horse taken back when I was 15 unexpectedly (I'd done the work and the owner wanted the benefits!) and I still remember the pain. To have one taken by the SSPCA like this would be pretty horrible for an adult never mind a child.
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See I read it as him refuting that the young girl had abused the horse, but by then we already had people saying that Humphrey had been taken due to his condition, lameness etc. and there was less focus on whether the girl had been witnessed abusing the horse. Surely as the owner you'd say something along the lines of the horse being well loved and cared for by both owner and the young girl rather than just refuting the girl's abuse of the horse? Or perhaps I'm just being a skeptical PR girl.
 
But you don't know what he said, only the bit that was reported. Which may or may not be some or all of what he said...;)

I will be keeping an open mind about the whole thing.
 
FfionWinnie said:
But you don't know what he said, only the bit that was reported. Which may or may not be some or all of what he said...;)

I will be keeping an open mind about the whole thing.
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Very true, I just found it an interesting angle to take. To be honest I think there's a lot not being said about the situation right now and I'll be interested to see how it all pans out.
 
Horse abuse scandal aside, looking at that picture of him up the Pentands on that ride- if I'd turned up to a ride out like that my mum would have strangled me! No plaits, socks over jodphurs and short boots. I'd have been hided ;)
 
FfionWinnie said:
I totally agree. I'm afraid unless you lived though the last winter in Scotland you have no idea what our stock have been through. Not just horses but everything is lean, despite being fed heavily. Last summer was horrendous too and the hay up here is poor. Large agri merchants even ran short on feed at times - there was no sugar beet pulp available to buy in the three biggest shops near me for many weeks! The feed has been pumped in, but there's not much to show for it. There is still a lack of grass here too. If there is stock on it, its not keeping up with them. My Shetland is the only one who has easily maintained condition, but then Shetlands are bred to survive constant wind and rain! He has also been rugged heavily all winter.

Yes the horse looks a bit poor. But he can't have been that poor if he cantered sideways as described by Kalibear for 5 hours...!
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There's still no hay round here! We had to physically put all the horses out to the less than perfect grass when it was still chilly as there was no hay to be had. I could have kissed the farmer when he came through the gates with 2 round bales last week! We're hoarding it though as he only had 6 bales left to his name.

Thank god the grass is coming through now and I seem to have lost a Warmblood and acquired a Fatblood!
 
Jenni_ said:
There's still no hay round here! We had to physically put all the horses out to the less than perfect grass when it was still chilly as there was no hay to be had. I could have kissed the farmer when he came through the gates with 2 round bales last week! We're hoarding it though as he only had 6 bales left to his name.

Thank god the grass is coming through now and I seem to have lost a Warmblood and acquired a Fatblood!
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Yes it's amazing only a few weeks of even mediocre spring grass will put weight on better than any feed. I am lucky to live near a guy who makes 2000 round bales to sell. Quality has been variable but I'm not complaining. The trouble is we have had several wet hay seasons in a row and bad winters/long winters which has decimated reserves.
 
FfionWinnie said:
I totally agree. I'm afraid unless you lived though the last winter in Scotland you have no idea what our stock have been through. Not just horses but everything is lean, despite being fed heavily. Last summer was horrendous too and the hay up here is poor. Large agri merchants even ran short on feed at times - there was no sugar beet pulp available to buy in the three biggest shops near me for many weeks! The feed has been pumped in, but there's not much to show for it. There is still a lack of grass here too. If there is stock on it, its not keeping up with them. My Shetland is the only one who has easily maintained condition, but then Shetlands are bred to survive constant wind and rain! He has also been rugged heavily all winter.

Yes the horse looks a bit poor. But he can't have been that poor if he cantered sideways as described by Kalibear for 5 hours...!
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But we do know what it's like. There is a fodder crisis in Ireland at the moment thanks to having a series of very poor summers.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/.../fodder-crisis-not-over-for-farmers-1.1408215

I don't farm but I'm surrounded by farmers and at this time a couple of years ago silage was cut and was growing on for another cutting. There are no beet producers in Ireland anymore so that has to be imported and prices are going through the roof for cereals - and I'm only buying for chickens! I wanted to buy straw to bed my ducks down the other day but was told that all straw has been snapped up by farmers desperate to feed their cattle. Even Vets have grouped together to help farmers because there have been suicides committed because the problem really is that bad here. Grass is growing at the moment but is very behind.

I'm lucky, I only have one horse to feed, but she has come out of winter well despite the rubbish weather and if she was looking bad, then imo the buck stops with me despite the weather.
 
I am still disappointed that the SSPCA has not made a public comment about this. I would also agree with the post that this will have an unfortunate traumatic effect on the girl concerned.
 
The average rain fall in Scotland is higher than the rest of the UK and Ireland, the average minimum temperature is the lowest as are the hours of sunshine. That all contributes to the growing season, just a few degrees makes an amazing difference.

The feed is being shovelled in, but all animals, even well rugged horses, use a massive amount of calories when it is wet and cold, as it has been basically for the last year here. My animals are not lean, but they are certainly the leanest I have seen them at this time of year despite having the largest feed bill I have ever had. Thankfully, I don't have any TBs!
 
Jenni_ said:
There's still no hay round here! We had to physically put all the horses out to the less than perfect grass when it was still chilly as there was no hay to be had. I could have kissed the farmer when he came through the gates with 2 round bales last week! We're hoarding it though as he only had 6 bales left to his name.

Thank god the grass is coming through now and I seem to have lost a Warmblood and acquired a Fatblood!
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Our farmer kept as much as he could for us, but thats him now out and we have 1 laminitic, 1 borderline and my little lady all stabled at night, I am still having to give the odd net to my other 2 as well. Haylage from feedstores has gone up and the hay at the Drum is about £6.75 a square.
 
HelpHumphrey I hope you pay attention.

The fact you are using a dirty untruthful story from the dirty untruthful daily mail as some sort of attempt to justify your actions disgusts me.

You know NOTHING about this, you know NOTHING about Dawn Aubrey Ward and what happened. The fact you are prepared to use such shameful stories should speak volumns to everyone.

I COULD state some nasty stories myself, but I won't UNTIL I know they are based in fact. You would be wise to do the same.

Does the person responsible and being investigated know about this?
 
amymay said:
Where have they posted Milly??
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On the FB site by the looks of things.

Very very sick to use DAW's suicide story in that way. There was an awful lot more to DAW's story than is known in the public eye, and it is completely inappropriate IMO to publish the biased account which the Daily Fail give, nevermind someone use it as part of their gripes against the SSPCA.:(
 
Amymay they have posted an absolutely disgusting article written by the Daily Fail that as done what they call a 'special investigation' on the RSPCA causing people to commit suicide. It is utterly foul.

I also fail to see why it is relevant to HelpHumphrey as the RSPCA and SPCA are totally seperate. But then as HelpHumphrey didn't know the difference between the Scottish animal welfare organisation (which isn't currently a registered charity) and the SPCA I can hardly be surprised at their ignorance.
 
MillyMoomie said:
Amymay they have posted an absolutely disgusting article written by the Daily Fail that as done what they call a 'special investigation' on the RSPCA causing people to commit suicide. It is utterly foul.

I also fail to see why it is relevant to HelpHumphrey as the RSPCA and SPCA are totally seperate. But then as HelpHumphrey didn't know the difference between the Scottish animal welfare organisation (which isn't currently a registered charity) and the SPCA I can hardly be surprised at their ignorance.
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While I agree that the DM article is completely irrelevant to helphumphry story, I fails to see what is disgusting about the article you may not agree with its slant or the conclusions the journist draws from the cases mentained but the facts are facts it's not foul its language is measured it's simply presents a view you don't agree with.
 
Goldenstar said:
While I agree that the DM article is completely irrelevant to helphumphry story, I fails to see what is disgusting about the article you may not agree with its slant or the conclusions the journist draws from the cases mentained but the facts are facts it's not foul its language is measured it's simply presents a view you don't agree with.
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If you knew the full facts behind DAW then you would most likely agree that it is completely out of order to publish what they have done.
 
Goldenstar I'm afraid it is totally and utterly false, full of misleading inaccurate DISGUSTING stories. It presents no view accept the one a of well know hate campaign by well known haters. Jonathon Rich, Clive etc etc etc....
If you knew the inside information on all of this you would also be appalled.

As for Clwyd... I sure that has been done to death on here but I hope the RSPCA publish EVERYTHING.
 
MillyMoomie said:
Goldenstar I'm afraid it is totally and utterly false, full of misleading inaccurate DISGUSTING stories. It presents no view accept the one a of well know hate campaign by well known haters. Jonathon Rich, Clive etc etc etc....
If you knew the inside information on all of this you would also be appalled.

As for Clwyd... I sure that has been done to death on here but I hope the RSPCA publish EVERYTHING.
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Whenever anybody starts calling people "haters" I begin to wonder about their motives.

Since when has childish namecalling been a replacement for balanced argument?
 
glamourpuss said:
Oh FFS a lean old horse after a harsh winter is not a problem if measures are being put in place to rectify the issue.

A thin, old horse after a harsh winter being taken on a 5 hour fast ride is suggestive that his basic care needs are not being met which IS a welfare issue.

I have a TB who can drop weight easily....& trust me winter hasn't been a barrel of laughs here. Hence why his eventing season is starting late so I can be sure he is in optimal condition for the work I'm asking if him....simple, no?

And I will repeat what I posted earlier the SSPCA didn't just chance upon Humphrey, somebody reported him for his condition and/or how he was being treated. This speaks volumes.
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This. All day long. This.

I don't have a TB, but I do have a sporthorse who drops weight quite easily and came out of winter leaner than I would have liked (and nowhere near as lean as Humphrey) . . . there is NO WAY my boy would have been working that hard in that condition. As glamourpuss says, Simple.

There is a world of difference between a lean/fit top event horse or racehorse and a poor/on the thin side weak-looking veteran.

And, yes, it is worth repeating what glamourpuss says above - the SSPCA was tipped off - and quite possibly for good reason. Bottom line, I'd bet dollars to donuts that there's more to this than meets the eye.

P
 
TeddyBean said:
Also he has a bandaged back leg in most of the photos, including on the siezure day ride. Seems to be an ongoing issue, suggests to me that he shouldn't be in heavy work like galloping up steep hills for 5 hours...
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. . . indeed - and I was always taught that you never bandage just one leg :confused:

P
 
SSPCA today: "A 36-year-old man from West Lothian will be reported to the procurator fiscal for causing unnecessary suffering to a horse following a Scottish SPCA investigation and independent veterinary advice.
The horse was removed from premises in East Calder in May 2013 due to welfare concerns.
The Scottish SPCA is a reporting agency to the Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service and our inspectors are authorised to enforce the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.
We can issue no further comment at this stage."

Same case?
 
SSPCA wouldn't go to the lengths of time and cost of passing report to Procurator Fiscal if they were not confident of getting a result. I also suspect that this has been going on for some time and that the Common Ride incident was the last straw. I could be wrong of course .....
 
Well thank god the horse is in safe hands now and hope the people get what they desevre and the hole truth about this horible man and his past about the abouse to other horses he was involed in comes out
 
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