I feel like I'm interfering :(

FoxTrotx

FoxTrotx

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I'm not sure what to do for the best :/
One of the ponies my mare shares her field with has got quite a bad cut under his jaw. My OH noticed it Tuesday morning as he was, in his words, covere in blood. I text owner to let her know, she went and washed it and put some wound powder on it.
This cut has been slightly bleeding and oozing ever since. I got to the point today where I felt really sorry for him so I washed the dried blood off his chin and put some sudocrem on it.
But I thought to myself afterwards, am I interefering? I wouldn't really like someone else tending to my mares injuries (although I personally would have had the vet out by now if my horse had the same injury, in fact I'm having her out next week for something I'd consider less serious).
What I'm really asking is should I be minding my own business?
 
I think there is a fine line between interfering and doing ones best for someone elses animal.

I would speak to the other owner about your concerns for the horse and be led by that.

Jane
 
Depends on the owner - I would be grateful to be notified about a cut but others may feel like you are judging them.

I know how you feel though - my YM and I put purple spray on a horse's cut. The owner led the horse from the field to stable and hadn't even noticed. She was told but didn't say thanks. At the end of the day its the horse's welfare that counts.
 
I think it depends how experienced the other owner is. I know that I personally call the vet to deal with things that I'm probably perfectly capable of coping with myself - e.g. last summer I called the vet on the first day my horse was slightly lame on a circle (because of my paranoid fear of laminitis, my money, my horse) whereas another experienced person might decide to leave it a few days with box rest and bute and see how it goes. What I'm saying is sometimes it can be just different management styles. If you think the other owner isn't calling the vet because she feels she has the knowledge to deal with the cut herself and will call the vet in a couple of days if it gets worse then fine.
However if she's novice and it seems like she doesn't really know what she's doing then you will need to have a quiet tactful word and remember that we all needed kind helpful people to interfere at the beginning.
 
Yes , well its not a great idea to puff on powder and you come along and put on cream, actually I would scream if anyone did that, but as an owner, would have thanked them and told them the outcome of first treatment.
You do not know the vet or the history, so unless you are thinking it is a cruelty case, the best you can do is ask how the horse is doing.
 
Difficult one this - I personally would not welcome anyone putting sudocream on a cut on my horse as I believe it tends to attract dirt which can then work its way in and get stuck to the would in a gooey mess. I prefer to clean wounds with Hibiscrub and leave them to harden up naturally. But then I would be cleaning it regularly if it was still oozing.......

I think you would have been better to speak to the owner to ask if they would like you to do something as you were there and had time on your hands rather than just do thoings your way to be honest.
 
LaurenM said:
Depends on the owner - I would be grateful to be notified about a cut but others may feel like you are judging them.

I know how you feel though - my YM and I put purple spray on a horse's cut. The owner led the horse from the field to stable and hadn't even noticed. She was told but didn't say thanks. At the end of the day its the horse's welfare that counts.
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In that case it is part of the YO duty to educate the owner, assuming she has some reason for NOT being a reasonable person.
 
I must admit I'm grateful if I'm notified of a problem but I'd really rather fix it myself (unless I really can't get there in time then, yes, I'd be grateful for treatment).
BUT I visit my mare twice a day without fail and my OH tends to go down in the day as well so any problems are usually picked up quickly. For example, my horse cut her knee this week (completly superficial at the time, no swelling, heat or lameness) but I'm not satisfied with how its healing even though she isn't bothered by it I'm not even hesitating to get the vet out to have a look and its nowhere near as bad as this pony's wound.
I also know that the owner doesn't go down every day and just seems to assume things are ok. There are other welfare issues that concern me slightly that I have approached gently and tactfully, some of which have been taken care of (quick fixes).
I sometimes feel like reporting but don't want to cause trouble.
 
MrsD123 said:
Yes , well its not a great idea to puff on powder and you come along and put on cream, actually I would scream if anyone did that, but as an owner, would have thanked them and told them the outcome of first treatment.
You do not know the vet or the history, so unless you are thinking it is a cruelty case, the best you can do is ask how the horse is doing.
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I am sorry but i think you have maybe over stepped the line here - he is not your horse and how do you know she wasnt on her way to the yard to sort him or gone to the tack shop for wound treatment? Sorry, but i woldnt be happy arriving at the yard to find someone else has tried to treat my horse - its probably just a different method of treatment than yours. Unless you know that the horse is mistreated or a welfare case then i am sorry to be harsh but its really none of your business
 
Sorry forgot to add I do know the owner uses sudocrem on her horses' cut, but yes, I should have asked, thats whats made me feel the way I do.
The lady has owned horses for a number of years but has been reported to ILPH more than once and has apparantly had more than one horse die (but I don't know the circumstances).
 
FoxTrotx said:
Sorry forgot to add I do know the owner uses sudocrem on her horses' cut, but yes, I should have asked, thats whats made me feel the way I do.
The lady has owned horses for a number of years but has been reported to ILPH more than once and has apparantly had more than one horse die (but I don't know the circumstances).
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Maybe so, I use a cream in certain and limited circumstances: if you are concerned notify the ILPH and let them deal with it.
 
Oh dear, I've had 4 horses die on me! You can't really go on that sort of gossip, as I also know a very kind and knowledgeable horsewoman who was reported to the ILPH by a disgruntled loaner when she took her horse back.

But you can go on what you see now. How big are your welfare concerns? That to me is the real issue, not the Sudocrem.
 
You should have spoken to the YO or the owner. You don't know what treatment the cut is receiving.

I do think you've overstepped the mark I'm afraid.
 
Yep, I very much regret 'treating this pony and won't be doing so again.
But your all being very presumptious because I do know how this pony is being treated (she put sudocrem on it the one time she came down this week).
 
Bah, posted before I meant to.
Only bit I missed was saying that I know the lady well and she is the sort to ignore it and hope it goes away. :o
 
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