Neglected Horse - What would you do?

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Mlini

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I came across a mare at the weekend that is being neglected, and am looking for your opinions as to what you would do in the same situation.

The mare belongs to OH's dad's new girlfriends daughter (if that makes sense?!) she is 18 and is much more interested in partying etc than this horse. She bought her for 900 from the sales possibly about a year ago and she was in quite good condition then.

Now, I saw the mare at the weekend. She has been living out all winter, mostly naked, and bearing in mind that said horse has a fair amount of TB in it, she has lost a substantial amount of weight. She has a thick winter coat still which is very dirty (don't think she has been brushed all winter) but you can see her very prominent ribs easily. Her hip bones are also jutting out, she has no muscle on her whatsoever.
She was stood in the muddy corner with her head hanging over the fence, so I went to say hello (as you do!) and tried to give her a treat, she was very tired looking and not alert at all, she just spat it out. So I lifted the her lip to have a sneaky look inside and, guess what? her teeth are overgrown and have hooks on both sides - probably why she wasn't eating (as there is a fair amount of grass in the field) I proceeded to tell OH's dad that the horse needed her teeth doing quite badly and that could quite possibly be why she wasn't eating. He asked the approx cost and then said she can't afford the dentist - At that point I was that shocked I didn't know what to say. Why own a horse if you can't afford important things like the dentist?!
Anyway, I dug a little further and found out that she hadn't been feeding the mare over winter as she couldn't afford it. From what I gathered she has had a bag of molichop and a bag of pony nuts all winter, which she bought with her birthday money as a treat for the mare!!!!! So I then explained to OH's dad that the horse needs feeding all the time, not just as a treat! And that mine eats approx £50 of hard feed plus haylage on top per week. This horse is of similar size so would require a similar amount of feed to mine.
Her feet aren't terrible, she has fresh(ish) drinking water and plenty of grass.

I went back to my yard and had a long think about the horse. Spoke to my YM and OH. We were all decided that this horse needs help. YM is happy to take the horse in (as a project) if owner is willing to give her up. But the owner paid 900 for the horse and her mum is adamant that she will want money for her 'as she stands her at 900'!! None of us are willing to pay for the horse obviously because her condition is that bad and we will have to plough a lot of money in her direction. We haven't spoken to the girl that owns her yet and haven't spoken to any 'rescue' organisations either. I do know that said horse was advertised for part loan before winter due to 'lack of time and lack of money', which (to me) shows that she knows she can't afford to keep her.

What would you do in this situation? The options we have come up with so far are:
1. Approach the girl and try persuade her to give us the horse.
2. Approach an organisation such as WHW or similar. Try to get them to take the horse and give it to us.
3. Approach an organisation and just leave it in their hands.

I do not think we would have much luck speaking to the owner, I think she will just demand money and not give the horse up. I do not believe that she realises how bad the horses condition is and do not believe she would care what we think or any of our suggestions.
If we approach an organisation, would we still be able to offer the horse a good home? Or, if they decide to take it, would they just take it into their care and not consider us as a foster home?
Which organisation would be the best to approach? I believe that RSPCA will not take the horse unless it is close to death with no water etc? (feel free to correct me if I am wrong)
I do know that the RSPCA have recently visited their house, but think that was about a dog not the horse.

Think I've covered most of it... What would you do? We can't really help her out with the horse as it is not 'just around the corner', it is a good half an hour away. And it is kept in a private field, so no liveries/other horse owners around to help her either.
 
Approach the girl and try and persuade her to give you the horse. It's presumably costing her money on livery - so once it's gone she has more money in her pocket.

If she says no - phone the WHW.
 
I would approach her directly,explain how bad the situation is, she may not be willing to give it up, but may consider a loan arrangement if money is that tight. Chances are, once you have the horse anyway and she's not interested in the long run may end up gifting the horse anyway. I certainly don't think you should persuade her into giving it up, at the end of the day sounds like she's got into a bit of a hole financially rather than just not caring.

Obviously once you have had an initial chat with her and she doesn't take on board what you say, then approach a welfare charity. They may let you take the horse on, but you have to register your interest and organisations like the blue cross like to have the horses in to assess them first anyway.
 
If you really think that talking to the girl won't make any difference then I would go straight to an organisation. The quicker the better by the sounds of it.
Good luck!
 
I would explain to her and her parents in no uncertain terms that they have three options 1) they take proper care of the horse, have its teeth done and feed it properly 2) they sell it to you or your y/o for a nominal sum so that you can take proper care of it or 3) you will report them to WHW and the RSPCA. Give them a deadline of a week and follow through on your threat if need be.
 
Don't offer a loan because they will probably let you feed the horse up, sort her all out, then take her back and sell her.
I would speak to the girl (she's 18 so an adult) and tell her in no uncertain terms that what she is doing is neglect and she could end up in court. Tell her that you want the horse signed over within 24 hourse or you will contact the welfare authorities. As said above, WHW, or you could try Redwings, but personally I wouldn't bother with the RSPCA.
 
I would report to whw NOW. It sounds as if this horse needs help now and it will only hold things up talking to the girl and as it sounds as if she wants money for the horse it could get complicated. A vist from whw may shock her in to doing whats best for the horse. Whw cant take the horse unless she signs it over anyway so she may decide to give it to you anyway
 
Ok thanks guys, seems like WHW is the best option then!

Oh and that was me getting ahead of myself.. £50 a month lol. Sure my horse would love £50's worth of feed a week though!! :D
 
Mlini said:
Ok thanks guys, seems like WHW is the best option then!

Oh and that was me getting ahead of myself.. £50 a month lol. Sure my horse would love £50's worth of feed a week though!! :D
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Let us know how you get on - you'll have to move quickly by the sounds of it.
 
How sad
WHW if nothing works...but first.... try to convince her to give you the horse would be my short answer. As this effects your OH relationships with family then perhaps ask him to start discussions if he is willing.

I know it wont help long term..but are you willing to provide some food short term? The horse sounds in a bad way, not interested etc...so can you get permission at least for a vet visit...get the vet to explain how bad? May be worm ridden by now and in desperate need of assistance.

Would you be prepared to offer a token amount? I know you shouldn't have to do this but it sounds like you are really up against it.

I really hope you manage to convince her.
 
If anyone had bothered reading my earlier post instead of just commenting "don't loan" you would note that I also said the chances are that once she has agreed to give the horse up on this basis she would probably end up gifting it!!

This girl is indirectly related to the poster, and I think reporting her immediately (not that I agree with the way she's keeping her horse) would not be good for for family relationships and I think she should be given a chance to rectify the situation (you can't force someone to give up their horse) if she doesn't take this on board, then obviously I would report her!
 
I was a welfare officer at one time this is my advice.
Talk to your Dad explain that his OH daughter is committing an offence by not providing the care it needs.
Tell him ( providing it is true ) that you will not ignore this and that it needs sorting if you are serious offer to buy the horse for a nominal sum( no ownership issues later)
Pop over quietly and get photos ( dated ) and if poss a short video of her moving on your phone and if at all possible take someone with you to witness this.
Make notes of your conversations with the Mum and daughter as soon as possible after you have have them and keep these to yourself.
Then confront them and see if you can get the horse ( fate seems to have appointed you as it saviour ) if you are determined to see this though you may have to be prepared to fall out with all of them and this may have a long term affect on your life.
I don't think there is any way that they won't guess it's you that has reported them so you might as well put your cards on the table with them now.
If the RSPCA have already been in to a dog they may well be very interested in this horse this can be the necular option because if they decide they can run with it as a prosecution that will have serious consequences for your family .
WHW or a BHS welfare officer will try to advise push bully people to a better solution for a horse they will also ( if any thing like it was when I was involved ) have good links to the RSPCA if they think that's necessary.
I don't envy you this and well done you for not turning away at every step when dealing with this girl try to have a witness and if she will sell him to you try to get a reciept pay by personal chq or building society chq .
Get photos at every stage of the horses condition in case it all goes wrong .
Keep all the bills and record the costs if you get the horse.
This may all sound a bit OTT but better safe than sorry.
 
sounds like great advice from Goldenstar - good luck and well done if you take a stand it's not going to be easy given the family connection
 
Approach daughter but also can you m get your boy friend to sweet talk his dad, and explain the issues?

Or just call a charity, you always say you are willing to take the horse on jmyiu just need back up in rescuing it.
 
Goldenstar said:
I was a welfare officer at one time this is my advice.
Talk to your Dad explain that his OH daughter is committing an offence by not providing the care it needs.
Tell him ( providing it is true ) that you will not ignore this and that it needs sorting if you are serious offer to buy the horse for a nominal sum( no ownership issues later)
Pop over quietly and get photos ( dated ) and if poss a short video of her moving on your phone and if at all possible take someone with you to witness this.
Make notes of your conversations with the Mum and daughter as soon as possible after you have have them and keep these to yourself.
Then confront them and see if you can get the horse ( fate seems to have appointed you as it saviour ) if you are determined to see this though you may have to be prepared to fall out with all of them and this may have a long term affect on your life.
I don't think there is any way that they won't guess it's you that has reported them so you might as well put your cards on the table with them now.
If the RSPCA have already been in to a dog they may well be very interested in this horse this can be the necular option because if they decide they can run with it as a prosecution that will have serious consequences for your family .
WHW or a BHS welfare officer will try to advise push bully people to a better solution for a horse they will also ( if any thing like it was when I was involved ) have good links to the RSPCA if they think that's necessary.
I don't envy you this and well done you for not turning away at every step when dealing with this girl try to have a witness and if she will sell him to you try to get a reciept pay by personal chq or building society chq .
Get photos at every stage of the horses condition in case it all goes wrong .
Keep all the bills and record the costs if you get the horse.
This may all sound a bit OTT but better safe than sorry.
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This basically. This is a very difficult situation for you OP - family is involved so hope it doesn't all go t!ts up on you.
 
What a really difficult situation for OP. Poor horse! I knew a young girl whos parents let her have a horse who was not suibtable for her and had health problems. It did not end well for the horse, mainly due to the young girls lack of finances parents lack of knowledge and insurance! When things get tough, some people just bury thier head in the sand and ignore thier responsability as an owner. I will never understand how people can do this when it comes to animals.

This horse is lucky you are willing to do something and not give up even though its pretty close to home.

Hope op has taken Gondenstars advice :) Hopefully the owner will do the right thing by the horse.
 
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