People feeding mare WWYD?

[cobsarefab]

Hi all, so my mare has been in a small section of the field that for the last week has been completely bare. She is given chopped straw in a bucket and the grass is taking a long time to recover. So here's the thing, people have started feeding her. Throwing stuff over the fence for her to eat. My mare is about 100 kg overweight at the minute so deffo doesn't need it. I know people won't take kindly to me telling them to their face not to feed her so what should I do. They always say "such and such won't harm her.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Put a sign on the fence saying that anyone feeding her and contributing to her illness - being fat - will be responsible for the vets bills. That soon stops people.

 

[poiuytrewq]

People are such idiots!
Is it general passers by or people at your yard? If the former would it be at all possible to move her slightly further from the gate/fence?
Second the above, signs may help. Perhaps lay it on a bit that she may become seriously ill If it continues.

 

[SEL]

I had this problem last year. I had to put a sign up saying "feeding these horses is like giving a diabetic child sweets. They won't say no and it will kill them". I'd love to say it worked but it didn't so it was replaced by "warning. Horse bites" That worked better.

 

[cobsarefab]

People are such idiots!
Is it general passers by or people at your yard? If the former would it be at all possible to move her slightly further from the gate/fence?
Second the above, signs may help. Perhaps lay it on a bit that she may become seriously ill If it continues.

They're just passerby I don't know them or anything. There is a dry stone wall,a gap then the fence so they have to throw it a way already! Apparently it's "cruel" to leave her with a bucket of chopped straw and no other food even though she's going to get lami or something if I don't do anything about her weight. I mean, how cruel would it be if an 11yo was PTS because I couldn't get the weight off her. She is always full of chopped straw now so is not hungry but people won't accept that she's being kept away from the lush meadow for a reason. 🙁

 

[cobsarefab]

I had this problem last year. I had to put a sign up saying "feeding these horses is like giving a diabetic child sweets. They won't say no and it will kill them". I'd love to say it worked but it didn't so it was replaced by "warning. Horse bites" That worked better.

yh but because they can't reach her they throw it into the field so no skin off their nose if she bites. A signs a good idea though so suggestions as what to put people round where I am can be quite thick skinned when they think they know best.

 

[doodle]

Mine was on box rest with laminitis. Unfortunately his stable is beside the road and I was coming up to find picked grass on the floor outside his door. Well meaning people had been feeding him. If they had looked in they would have seen a haynet, I really don't think they were meaning any harm. I put up a sign "please do not feed the horse". This was ignored. I then put up another note "please do not feed the horse ANYTHING. He is very ill and it WILL KILL HIM". that worked.

 

[Schollym]

Mine was on box rest with laminitis. Unfortunately his stable is beside the road and I was coming up to find picked grass on the floor outside his door. Well meaning people had been feeding him. If they had looked in they would have seen a haynet, I really don't think they were meaning any harm. I put up a sign "please do not feed the horse". This was ignored. I then put up another note "please do not feed the horse ANYTHING. He is very ill and it WILL KILL HIM". that worked.

Add signs, if you can add photos of laminitis ponys with a second picture of a gravestone and RIP and a clear message with this is what could happen. My little pony developed laminitis in December one year, the normal YO was away and she was getting more food than normal, others fed carrots and apples to all the horses. The word horse being important as it had more effect on her as she was 11.3 and then she spent the early morning on lush back lawn. I nearly lost her.
A few years later she developed cushings, she might had a tendency then but the treats didn't help and I spoke to the people directly not to feed her however cute she was being!

 

[MeltingSnowflake]

Mine was on box rest with laminitis. Unfortunately his stable is beside the road and I was coming up to find picked grass on the floor outside his door. Well meaning people had been feeding him. If they had looked in they would have seen a haynet, I really don't think they were meaning any harm. I put up a sign "please do not feed the horse". This was ignored. I then put up another note "please do not feed the horse ANYTHING. He is very ill and it WILL KILL HIM". that worked.

This. Laminate them and put them all along the fence rail so you really ram the point home! If the people feeding her have good (although obvs very misguided) intentions, this should do the trick.

 

[Cecile]

If you don't know who is doing it or even know them why should you care if you tell them to take a hike and stop feeding your horse
I would make a paddock away from harms way, put up signs everywhere or hire in some Heras fencing
If I saw a child about to run in the road or about to drink bleach I would react and I would be just as pro active
if someone was chucking food into my paddocks with something that was prone to laminitis

Years ago some woman in her 50's was chucking huge piles of rubbish in with a pony recovering from laminitis (Poor pony also had liver damage and cushings), the weeds/grass was being gathered from a footpath where dog s*it and weeds out weighed anything decent,
I was very calm, didn't accuse her but had a friendly chat about people trying to feed the pony who had been quite unwell, that woman stood there with a huge pile of anything she could gather hid it behind her back whilst dropping it and said how awful people are and she would never feed anyone's animals, never saw her again........... good result!

My soul priority is to any animals which I am looking after and although I will try to educate people, be friendly and explain, sometimes you have to realise you can't educate pork. Maybe these people can't read so have a back up plan ready

 

[Antw23uk]

Grow a pair and tell them face to face and put signs up.

 

[Beth206]

This annoys me so much - I agree that you need to put 'to the point' signs up to stop people feeding her.

 

[southerncomfort]

I printed off some info on Laminitis, laminated and stuck it to the fence with a note at the bottom inviting people who insisted on feeding the pony to contribute to vets fees.

This was after they let my laminitic pony out of her stable and gave her a whole bale of hay. Apoplectic doesn't even come close!

 

[MileAMinute]

I had this problem last year. I had to put a sign up saying "feeding these horses is like giving a diabetic child sweets. They won't say no and it will kill them". I'd love to say it worked but it didn't so it was replaced by "warning. Horse bites" That worked better.

It probably didn't work because it's inaccurate and ignorant.

I agree with suggestions of putting information up on laminitis, along with moving horse as far away from gates/pathways as possible.