My horse has been reported to ILPH

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amzy

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A month ago one of my horses was badly beaten up by another one when it got into her part of the field. She developed a massive abcess on her chest which burst a few days later, leaving a gaping hole (not a pretty sight)! The vet gave me antibiotics and told me to wash it out every day but, apart from that, nothing more could be done as it couldn't be stitched or bandaged. He told me she could stay out in the small paddock by the yard and didn't need to be kept in as long as we kept the wound clean every day.
So today a man from the ILPH came down from Bristol, acting on an anonymous call and asked the YO to show him my horse. He was told all the details about the situation and given the name of my vet and he left, more than happy that my mare is certainly not a cruelty or neglect case.
The people who reported it apparently told the ILPH that the mare was not being treated! We have a lot of walkers pass the yard who can see my horse and it could have been one of these that reported her but how on earth would they know whether we've been treating her or not??
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All they had to do was call in at the yard and enquire and that may have saved the long journey for the man.
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I don't think you need feel too disgruntled- if I saw a horse I was genuinely concerned enough about to ring the ILPH I don't think I would necessarily have the courage to knock on a strangers door and tell them I thought their horse was neglected; it wouldn't always be safe or sensible to do that.

The person did the right thing IMO- there was no problem because the horse wasn't neglected at all, far from it, however in a similar situation somewhere else it could have been a different story and a pony might have needed help?

It must have been a shock to have them turn up but I really would try not to take it personally
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I guess the ILPH can't win can they ?
They have to visit themselves to see if they hadn't have come there could have been a genuine case to answer.
To a non horsey person, seeing an injury like that over a period of weeks, not understanding the cause & treatment, it could look bad.

All's well that ends well
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A friend of mine had her horse reported to the rspca in the summer because it had sarcoids! its just ignorance, but in away its good that people do notice these things, as there is no problem if you know your horse is looked after.
 
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with all due respect surely it's better someone reports anything they are worried about than ignores it?

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ditto...
 
I have been in this situation at the rescue centre I worked at.

Put yourself in the other persons shoes, if you saw a horse you felt was being unfairly treated or neglected (I know you were not doing anything wrong but to the untrained eye or a passer by) would you go up to the YO (whose horse it could possibly be for all you knew) and ask them about it? If they WERE mistreating the horse you might get an earful, chased off or worse. The ILPH mean no harm and are generally very sensible and helpful and will not worry you again unless a big problem arises. They will probably go back to the caller and explain the situation to them.
 
Yes, I suppose it's good that someone cared enough but I wish they had just walked into the yard and asked one of us - we're a friendly bunch and most of the locals know that. What really annoyed me was the fact that they said it wasn't being treated.
 
I know how upset you must feel, I was reported to the RSPCA about my dog in the summer, he has since been PTS due to old age basically. In my case, it was a malicious call, but it was deeply upsetting at the time. The good thing in all of this is of course, that the matter was under control with the input of a vet, just like my case was. Still, I suppose it's better overall that the authorities come to check out the complaints (but it's taken me a few months to calm down and be objective about it). As you say, why didn't the people who made the complaint just "get chatting" to someone first...
 
Yes, I am afraid I agree with other's comments on this thread. Far better that people pick up the phone and report things of concern than a genuine case is ignored. At least you were able to resolve this issue very quickly - So presumably no harm done.
 
Exactly!!!

In the OP's case, if the question had been asked, "what's the matter with the horse?" I would like to think they would have had the matter explained to them that the horse had been kicked and so on and so forth... If they'd been told to sling their hook, it was none of their business, then, well, fair enough to report the case to the ILPH or anyone else. That's the point I was trying to make!
 
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we're a friendly bunch

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The number of yards who have described themselves as just that and have been anything but...
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I think it's better to have a false alarm rather than an animal suffering and nobody saying anything.
Lady on our yard thought someone elses horse was down in it's stable with colic, well the YM had a look and I had a nosey as well, it looked distended, it smelt funny in the stable it was grunting, it "looked" bad, within a couple of minutes it was up, absolutaly fine, the owner was miffed at being called out, I back the lady who was concerned and said so, I would rather somebody fetch me out to a false alarm than my horse suffering and nobody saying anything.
 
Just a thought - why not put a sign in a visible place on the fence, something like "horse being treated for injury, please do not touch/feed"?

Good luck with the horse though.
 
I borrowed an elderly mare years ago to keep one of my ponies company. The mare liked to sleep morning and afternoon under a particular oak tree.

We had a public footpath running down the outside of the field that was heavily used by commuters and school children.

The owners of my field had a lot of complaints from people who thought the pony was either dead or not being cared for as she was lying down when they dashed down the lane on their way to catch the train, and looked to be in the same place when they returned that evening.

What they didn't know was that in between she was up and about eating, eating, eating!

Eventually, the field owners got cross with all the complaints and threats of calling the RSPCA, so I had to send her back to her owners. I tried putting a note up on the fence explaining the situation but people either ignored it or didn't see it.

But I suppose in their eyes she was runny eyed, shaggy coated and a bit thin. Typical look of a starved, unkempt pony.

On the other hand - I wouldn't go and knock on someones door and enquire about their horse I felt they were mistreating, so it works both ways I suppose.
 
Using quick reply btw but for what it is worth I think it is better that the horse was reported and it was a false alarm than not reported at all. I can wholly understand that there may be 'non horsey' people who don't understand the intricacies of horse husbandry, so could jump to the wrong conclusion about a horse's condition. Equally people who are in fact knowledgeable about equines could also make a similar mistake. However in fairness I would much rather be safe than sorry and be reassured that there are vigilant people looking out for our horses.
Whether their attention is wanted or not by some, personally I would much rather be questionned and have nothing to hide ( as in the case described by op) than to have no one asking a question at all.
Were it not for the vigilance of people -like those highlighted in the above case - then how many more unreported cases of cruelty would there be? TBH I would not even like to second guess the number.
I would also like to add that no matter how friendly a yard or owner seemed I would not dare to approach a stranger to ask about why their horse was in a certain condition.
Caroline
 
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