polite way of asking people not to feed the horse :)

Having worked with horses at a public attraction- I totally understand your frustration!

We had signs on the stables which read to the effect of:

Please DO NOT feed!

An incorrect diet can cause colic which is a serious and often fatal condition​

Thank You​

I have to say though, that even the word fatal was mentioned, dumbass people still thought it was OK to feed them all sorts of crap, like chips, bread, pork pies and sugar cubes from the cafe!

I really was at the brink of loosing it sometimes, but had to keep 'professional' in front of the customers :rolleyes:
 
Leviathan said:
who is this person Maisie??
a livery / YO ??

I would be blunt say DON'T FEED MY HORSE or you will cause her untimely death.
get yard owner to have words
tell this person if she does not stop feeding your horse. she will be responsible for all bills.
try get photos or video of her doing so as proof.


Sorry OP not forgetting your dilemma.
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Another livery - they completely deny anything and I was going to lie in wait to catch them, although the mare was worse tonight so I have made her a paddock pen in a bare area and looks like I will be calling the hunt sooner rather than later. I am not the only person to have a problem with this person.
 
I agree with being polite. Also keep the sign short and clear. People tend not to read longer signs with more words :rolleyes: in my experience.

Being rude just antagonises and makes you look like a prat. Mostly people who feed horses are misguided animal-lovers, so if you make it clear there are health issues you have a better chance of getting them to comply.
 
I have the same problem as our summer field has gardens backing on to it and I caught some people on sunday throwing bread carrots and cakes into the field so I had a "polite"word with them but have written in thick black pen on my fly mask do not feed me I also worry that if anyone goes in the field my mare will go for them as she will think they have food there were kids in the field on sunday if she kicks them it could be fatal as a big horse
 
FionaM12 said:
I agree with being polite. Also keep the sign short and clear. People tend not to read longer signs with more words :rolleyes: in my experience.

Being rude just antagonises and makes you look like a prat. Mostly people who feed horses are misguided animal-lovers, so if you make it clear there are health issues you have a better chance of getting them to comply.
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Absolutely agree with this. I was once the ponyless little girl who saved her lunch time apple to give to the ponies on the way home. It would never have occurred to me that it was wrong or that I would have got abuse from the Owner if they had seen me. A polite sign mentioning health reasons would have done the trick and made me think.
 
Nettle123 said:
Absolutely agree with this. I was once the ponyless little girl who saved her lunch time apple to give to the ponies on the way home. It would never have occurred to me that it was wrong or that I would have got abuse from the Owner if they had seen me. A polite sign mentioning health reasons would have done the trick and made me think.
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Me too. :o

No-one ever told me that feeding horses over the fence (bread usually) wasn't a good idea. I used to feed the shires at the end of our road. In fact, I'd climb over the wall and stand at their feet. I was so small that if I dropped a bit on the ground and they picked it up from there, their heads were as big as the whole of me. :eek:

I never thought it was dangerous. My parents (knowledgeable animal-lovers but not horsey) knew I did it and didn't think it was wrong either.
 
I am so glad my boy's field is not a on a public road anymore.

It never fails to astound me that people think it's ok and in fact their right to feed horses. The last bloke asked what he could feed when I stopped him giving pounds of carrots to a laminitic mare: try nothing, mate, it ain't your horse!! I asked if he had a dog-yes, he says. Would you like me to come and feed it sausages over the fence? No, he says. What is the difference, I asked. He was nonplussed. I especially didn't like the way the kids with him were chucking massive carrots at the horse's head!! :eek:
 
I think just saying "diet controlled" or "special diet" might make people just feel sorry for our poor deprived horses and sneak them food anyway! :D

Plain English is always the best for signs, eg "it will make them ill" is likely to have a better effect than "on a special diet". It makes it clear that it's in the horse's interest they don't feed them.

When I was a child I might not have understood what a special diet meant, but I would never have knowingly done anything to make a horse ill. :(
 
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