Horse welfare- does it ever bother you?

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teddyt

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Im not talking about really extreme cases, am taking that for granted that it upsets people. I mean day to day stuff that isnt done or horses that regularly suffer due to negligence/ignorance.

I looked at a horse for a friends daughter today. Ex racer, needed shoeing about a month ago, saddle AWFUL, scabs all over its legs, skinny and so on. Talking to friend on way home and at her yard young helpers AND staff will walk past a horse with no water and leave it because they are on their way home or its lunchtime.
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I really hate this and realise that it happens all the time on yards all over the place. Can anything ever be done about it? I wish you needed a licence to own a horse.
 
It is really annoying. Thankfully there are only two of us on our yard, so one will always sort the other's horse(s) out if needed. I think I would not last long on a large yard - would be unable to keep gob shut!!
 
I have to say there are things that happen on my yard all the time that make me cringe. People are told by a vet to give horse 6 weeks in the field to let splint heal - so they lunge it after 2 days and then ride on the third day - horse now knackered and its only 4
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. Another pony arrived here and hadn't seen a farrier for 4-5 months
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- had to have his shoes cut off his hooves as they had twisted and the hoof grown round them.
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They are the two most recent examples I can think of - badly fitting saddles are the norm for some people here
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- i could go on but I won't I think we all see it - the sad thing is some people are open to suggestion and learn others think they know best and everyone else - vets included talk rubbish...........
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Yes. Things that annoy me most are horses being stuck in all day, not having enough to eat (eg one small hay net that only lasts 2-3 hours, to last them all night). And people who are mean to horses, think that they need to show them who's boss by beating them up and generally making horses miserable etc. Really upsets me. And most of it is sheer ignorance from people who think they know it all.
 
at my yard there are people who ridfe in a frozen solid school, be told by vet t put horse on supplement and dont, same person only mucks out once as week
 
Ill fitting saddles are enough to make me flip.
You wouldnt let a child wear the wrong size/width shoes, yet there are people out there who give not a second thought to the fit of their horses saddle!
 
I just cant comprehend people who are supposed to love horses not looking after them properly. Why bother? Why not buy a bike or a canoe or something?!

Even the thickest person on the planet could work out how horrible it would be to be made to work dehydrated and wearing uncomfortable shoes. Yet they dont translate it to their horse.
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YEP! it disgusts me when people treat other peoples horses as 2nd class citizens. if i seen a horse standing without water i'd be sure to fill it a bucket of water it takes all of 2minutes, or fix a slipped rug etc.
Young lassie (approx 19yrs) at my previous yard made her dad come up and muck out horse and bless him it was not his fault he didnt have a clue so i'd give him a hand if i had the time. she would come up once a week blast him around a field or the school, give him a massive feed that he wasnt used to, massive straw bed just bunged on top of the crap, and that was it for another week. poor horse:( it disgusts me but what can you do so long as they look decent and someone gives it feed and water then i guess theres not much can be done unfortunately
 
Maybe i shouldnt have started this thread. The examples given by everyone makes me even sadder and more cross!

Perhaps i should add that the ex-racer was at a 'professional' yard. They are often as bad or worse than diy yards or private yards. AND it is ABRS approved!
 
All those kind of things depress me too. Horses are as complicated as you want to make them though that may be an over simplication in some cases. I don't mind helping people on yard with their horses if they are genuinely delayed, or something cropped up but those that just can't be bothered with their own animals properly I despair of.

Some it stems I think from people going into horse owning far too easily these days and without much thought/knowledge. Then the first problem or external thing that distracts them and horse comes second. And they're usually the people that if you gently and nicely try to say something or give them some advice just look at you and totally ignore you. I had to take lots of advice and help when I had problems with my horse when I first got him from more experienced and knowledgeable people and was grateful for every ounce of it. But I also put my riding and husbandry homework in big time.

I always keep an eye on the horses around me at the yard, usually just down my side which is 6 stables but will always investigate round yard if I hear lots of noise or banging (found horse cast once though she made it back up herself before we needed to intervene).

My bugbear at moment is older pony left in all day on a freezing cold day for no real reason and then not even being given a leg stretch with a brief walk in hand when finally seen to before being put back in his stable for another 17 hours standing in...
 
We have to go past a 22year old broodmare in foal who has being stabled 24/7 for the last month or so, knowing her bed will be practically none-existent and that she doesn't place any importance on feeding them when they are hungry, only after she has had a lie in and can be bothered to. The weanling and two stallions live this way too, they may get a couple of hours out in a paddock every two weeks if they are lucky. There is nothing we can do as the woman sees us all as enemies and never listens to a word anybody says.
 
I think deliberately leaving a horse without water is terrible but if the owner is leaving water and someone else is topping it up when empty then the owner may think they have left enough as when they come there is plenty left as someone has topped it up so they won't leave more next time.

There are ponies who are in at night who are on diets as they are prone to laminitis who cannot have ad lib hay - and if well meaning people thinking the pony should have more keep topping up the hay that could lead to a health problem. Obesity is becoming a problem in leisure horse possibly to due to over pampering.

Not all horses are the same and don't require the same management. It is very easy to critise others who do not do think the same as you and there always will be some. If the horse looks healthy and happy then that is the main thing.

There are some horses out there who don't look very happy despite having every comfort available to them and being very healthy, the horse that is only ridden once a week but still feed and watered even though his bed might not be perfectly mucked might even be happier!

There are lots of different ways of keeping horses - my native pony lives out and is chaser clipped and rugged accordingly. I know he loves living out as he is a stable jumper and he was happy even when it was snowing out with his friends. He gets hay in the field and one small feed a day. This is just right for him and I believe that most horses benefit from maximum turnout but I would not say just because I do this this is the only way to keep a horse healthy and happy.

I have friends whose horses only go out for 2 hours a days or not at all the winter as they don't like the cold weather who are very happy with this too.

However we do luckily have a very sensible YO who would and has advised liveries if she thinks a horse is not coping or happy with the way it is being managed. She lives on site and will bring in horses who come in at night early if they look miserable and will not let people keep horses out 27/4 all year if she thinks they are not coping.
 
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Some it stems I think from people going into horse owning far too easily these days and without much thought/knowledge.

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I totally agree. And selfishness.

hch- thats apalling.
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This is a difficult one. These people rely on caring people like us to do the right thing for their neglected horses thus letting them off the hook.
I must admit I have become a bit hardened over the years.
If a horse is obviously in distress I'll help out but I'm afraid I don't always have the time to check that every horse on the yard has a full water bucket and haynet.
 
Yes, I am currently still fuming and very upset about the treatment of a pony on our yard. Apparently it was *too cold* to wash said pony off after hunting....it was sweating and covered in mud and today it was not groomed off properly and it still has a noseband mark from yesterday - I am furious
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so1- there are lots of different ways of looking after horses, i agree. however i am talking about welfare here of day to day neglect, which is far too frequent.

weezy- i would be fuming too, thats basic horsemanship and lene- yes, many people take the p1ss out of other peoples kind nature
 
I was physically shaking yesterday when I saw him wearing 3 rugs and just breaking out, I pulled back his rugs and he had ingrained dirt all down him, very obvious girth marks, you could still see an invisible bridle, back legs are covered in dirt....and he suffers from sensitive skin
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I had a headcoller on him ready to strip, sponge and make comfy, but the YM pointed out that he wasn't mine and really I shouldn't, breaks my heart. First lesson of hunting, you make you horse comfy before you leave!!! You wash off girth/belly/legs at minimum and sponge head, pack a rug with straw if you have to, and then you COME BACK and change rugs, ensure your horse is comfy, etc. Sorry, am going off on one, but hardly anything makes me angry and this has really rilled me!
 
I fume at the "Appaloosa breeder" who gives their 11 horses 1 big bale of halage a week and they are up to their knees in thick mud. No shelter and not a rug between them even in those very cold days around Christmas. If you bring a life into the world for Gods sakes look after it!!!!

One "person" i wont call her a lady, we had to share one of our ponies used to leave them in the stables while they went hacking/had a picnic sometimes for 5/6 hours with no bedding/food/water once we got fed up of telling her not to her daughter lost the use of our pony!! Mind you she used to leave her dog in the car as well, thats another reason we got rid.
 
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I fume at the "Appaloosa breeder" who gives their 11 horses 1 big bale of halage a week and they are up to their knees in thick mud. No shelter and not a rug between them even in those very cold days around Christmas. If you bring a life into the world for Gods sakes look after it!!!!

Crikey, our 13 are in a muddy field I will admit, not much I can do about that, but they are eating their way through 4 -5 big bales a week, and all but the hardiest natives are rugged up. Our appaloosa boy is still struggling to keep weight on so god only knows what hers must look like.
 
Yes, often. I suspect that alot of people buy horses then the novelty wears off, and/or they suddenly find that they have got something which takes up enormous amounts of time and considerable amounts of money. I'm all in favour of not wasting time and money so my old girl is wearing 15 year old rugs, second hand rugs, and yes I only muck out once a week (Aubiose so that is how you are meant to handle it) but she sees me twice every single day, I check her over for problems every day by actually touching her and she gets the right amount of nutrition for the type she is. Most of all she gets my attention. I keep her quite a long way from home and just "popping up" to feed her takes a total of one hour and 20 minutes, round trip. I could probably get her nearer to home but I wouldn't move an elderly horse. I know alot of people rail at the thought of possibly having to pay a horse tax or licence every year, but to be honest, if it stopped some of these numpties buying them, then it would be worth every penny. I could quite happily punch some so-called owners for what they do to their poor horses.
 
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