Neglect and welfare concerns - Not sure what to do ?

cambrica

cambrica

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As title says. I have this field of horses close to where I live that I have been keeping an eye on for a couple of months. I think the horses arrived there in the summer.
The land belongs to the church and grazing is not authorised. It is basically waste land full of rubbish etc, not much grass at all and many weeds and full of ragwort.
There are two mares with foals, one of which is definately in foal , two males (gelded) and another mare. I understand that there are more but I couldn't see them today.
When they first arrived they all looked pretty healthy and ok. Although the photo's don't really show it they are dropping weight and the little brown/white foal is very ribby under his coat. He also did not seem that well today, he came to me looking very sleepy as though he had no energy at all.
The photo's speak for themselves though regarding the burrs :( Someone has managed to cut the mane off of one of the horses but they are in a dreadful state. The little cob in the last photo is such a little sweatheart, he's about 12.2 and so friendly (he's the one I might revisit with a pair of scissors. The rest are somewhat wary.
I called the RSPCA today and was basically told that they will investigate and I would hear back within 28 days.
Obviously with winter and the colder weather drawing in they are not going to survive the field they are in, which I basically told the RSPCA and that they need monitering now not when the situation becomes more dire.
So folks, where do I go from here? I can't do nothing and I don't know who owns them. The little cob in the last photo I would have myself and I'm stopping myself giving him a name!


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OMG! how can anyone let horses get so tangled up with burrs! That little lot will take HOURS to get rid of.

Agree with you OP that these horses are beginning to look a bit poor; the little one you referred to looks a bit sunken over the withers/back area and the thick coat is deceptive.

The piebald and the black cob look in good condition though, but their tails are in an awful state and one wonders what else is going on i.e. worming/feet etc.

IF they're on "church" land, then you could try to contact the Church Commissioners who might like to know that somebody has obviously dumped some horses on their land!!

You could also contact World Horse Welfare; RSPCA = total waste of time IME.
 
Well, they certainly don't look in bad body condition and, if they have adequate feed and water I can't see the RSPCA will do anything to be honest. However, those burrs!!! I don't think I have ever seen anything like it. That cannot be comfortable at all :(

I wonder though, as you say they only arrived I the summer, whether they will be moved off the land by the time winter sets in?
 
The poor things things - I can't see the RSPCA lifting a finger yet. That would take some sorting out to get them all back into condition. Keep us posted I hope they have a happy outcome, I'm glad you can keep an eye on them X
 
No I don't really have any faith in the RSPCA. I will keep checking on them more often as the little foal I am worried about. One of the mares has a very sunken back and low belly, I didn't get a photo of her but she is quite ribby and I would think in foal. If I could do something about the burrs I might sleep better :(
 
We had a similar situation in our village this summer, the RSPCA were contacted by a friend and I contacted World Horse Welfare, guess who's inspector visited first and kept us informed of the situation?
He had to liaise with the RSPCA as they have more powers but he was contactable unlike the RSPCA and he did chase them up for us as he had the inspectors phone number whereas we had to ring the helpline every time. Unfortunately only one of the horses was taken by the RSPCA, the others were left and once the owners were traced they were given notice to improve things, this kept being extended due to the RSPCA believing their excuses and finally the owners removed the horses to another area so no doubt the whole senario will repeat itself.
 
To be totally honest they look in acceptable body condition. As far as dropping off when winter sets in I'm afraid you could say that about 90% of the coloured fly grazing community and I would be happy if they all looked like these guys in the autumn! All you can do is monitor.

BUT the burrs are something else, I usually pooh pooh burrs but these are just horrible. Obviously removing the mane is not ideal as you are removing some warmth and protection and I would usually advise putting baby oil in and letting it work it's magic, but I think these names and tails are beyond help!!
 
PeeGee said:
He had to liaise with the RSPCA as they have more powers .
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what "powers" would they be?? RSPCA have no more powers than WHW!

Any removal would have to be under veterinary certification. It's not a matter of the RSPCA not wanting or being bothered to do anything, it's a matter of the law!

The horses conditions at this point are not from the photos a worry yet, so doesn't really matter if they attend now or in 28 days as said on the phone (especially when you compare this to say the horse I posted about in news!). But as the RSPCA have to deal with calls regarding all animals I would (incase the photos aren't telling the true story) call WHW or BHS as they are likely to get there sooner with only dealing with horse calls.
 
Thanks everyone! I will try the WHW and BHS tomorrow maybe emailing them the photo's. It is the burrs that are my main concern at the present time as I know they don't look in terrible condition bodywise but they are looking worse and the field alone will not sustain them.
The problem is a couple of winters back in a field very close to this one, but not visible to the public, there were some horses left. Their condition got so bad that a couple died. It was in the local papers at the time so I think that is playing on my mind.
 
Years ago I had to deal with half shire half arab mare that had been turned away for the summer. She looked like a mini shire with a dished face and did have full feathers, mane and tail. When the farmer owner brought her home she was totally laden with burrs, so much so I had to completely strip off her tail hair, all her mane feathers and jaw hair, she ended up like a show cob with a shaven tail. It had got so matted and really heavy that she couldn't lift her tail to defecate and so also had dried and caked faeces all stuck to the underside of her tail and her bottom fur and it was making her so sore. Burrs are really so tricky to deal with en mass.
 
Poor sods. There's a field of cobs like this by Heathrow off the A30, been like it a long time and very public so I'm guessing authorities can do nothing about it :(
 
cambrica said:
Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
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Is that the feild next to browns? The one that goes all the way to the back of the industrial estate?
I always thought that feild was owned by the farmer who lives right at the back of it....if I am remembering right as its been a long time since dad took me up there

There was a smokey grey and white coloured in there a few months ago but I don't go past that feild a lot now as my horses are in a different direction.
 
slightlyconfused said:
Is that the feild next to browns? The one that goes all the way to the back of the industrial estate?
I always thought that feild was owned by the farmer who lives right at the back of it....if I am remembering right as its been a long time since dad took me up there

There was a smokey grey and white coloured in there a few months ago but I don't go past that feild a lot now as my horses are in a different direction.
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Yes it is. There was a young male horse in there on his own for a long time. He was then taken away and these others put into the field but I don't think they belong to the same person. I thought it belonged to the farm but have since been told it's the church that own the land. It's always been really poor land.
If your near that way take and see what you think. Across the road opposite are some more, illegally put there but the pasture land is good.
 
I have never seen horses so covered in burrs, just awful. The last pic looks like he is wearing a cardigan of burrs! :( They must be really uncomfortable and will take hours to remove- hope someone can sort them out soon.
 
Meant to say also that Browns have it on their security camera when the horses were put there they cut the fence then patched it up again!
 
I would get in touch with WHW rspca are hopeless i think the only way to get those burrs out is clip off the hair poor ponies, they are looking ok weight wise though.
 
cambrica said:
Yes it is. There was a young male horse in there on his own for a long time. He was then taken away and these others put into the field but I don't think they belong to the same person. I thought it belonged to the farm but have since been told it's the church that own the land. It's always been really poor land.
If your near that way take and see what you think. Across the road opposite are some more, illegally put there but the pasture land is good.
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I will have a look next time I drive past.

Dad said they are going to be building on that land at some point to extend the indrustrial estate.

Also isn't there a local mp Andrew Selous? Who is good at getting help with things like this?
 
I've never dealt with the RSPCA, but the SSPCA will lift cats/dogs that are horrendously matted on welfare grounds, so maybe worth trying to go down that route with the burrs (which must be painful and are surely very bad for their winter coats etc)? Body condition not bad enough to warrant the charities taking note I'm afraid.
 
They must have had a terrible summer not being able to swish the flies away their tails are so matted with burrs, hope something can be done. Poor innocent ponies again
 
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