Probably controversial : Travellers/Gypsy

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tessybear

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As the title said this will probably be extremely controversial but what are your views on the way they keep their horses ? I know each person is different like we keep ours differently but generally speaking have you seen more bad ownership or good ? There are some near us on the way to school who keep the horses on a verge in front of their caravans ( no doubt they will be gone soon as it's council land) but the horses are always moved each day if not every 2 days and always have water. The only issue with this is there is no shade or cover for the horse but they all look to be in fantastic condition ! But then you see some and think :eek:....

so very controversial i know :o
 
Nothing that hasnt already been discussed before :p

Anyway you should be concentrating on squeezing that mares tummy or feeding her a curry tp push thing along!!! ;)

Im not a fan of them or they way they keep any animal.
 
Antw23uk said:
Nothing that hasnt already been discussed before :p

Anyway you should be concentrating on squeezing that mares tummy or feeding her a curry tp push thing along!!! ;)

Im not a fan of them or they way they keep any animal.
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Oh i should have done a thread search sorry everyone if im dragging up old news :o

I'm sorry I am off to buy a plunger ;)

Hmm i was shocked last week (not sure if you watched it but the channel 4 gypsy wedding programme about costs) her boyfriend got her a puppy and it was tied up on bailing twine, escaped and she said it's okay i will replace it :eek: If that was me i would be in histerics calling in the police to help me track down pup ;) :p
 
It's the same problem as with so many things; there are always a few that give a bad name to the rest.

I have found that the 'old school' gypsies and travellers tend to treat their horses very well. They take great pride in them and won't tolerate anyone who doesn't feel the same.
There is a traveller site near me that has been in the same family for forty years or so. The 'boss' is well known for his sticky fingers and you better make sure everything is well nailed down after he's been scouting around! BUT.. his horses are always fat and healthy, and when he sells them he's always keen to know that they are going to a good home.

The ones you see out ragging skinny little mites up and down the roads are just a disgrace. They don't know the first thing about horses and are akin to brainless teenagers racing hatchbacks around town centres. They are not 'proper' gypsies.
 
There are a lot of travellers horses around my way. There have been a couple of occasions that have caused me to ring the RSPCA but otherwise, I actually quite envious of the care a lot of them get.

Living out in good sized, well managed fields, access to haylage, only rugged if required and looking very healthy.
There are some cracking cobs driven locally too.

I've seen pretty neglectful care on livery yards, so I'd agree, there's good and bad everywhere.
 
There are travellers horses grazing a couple of miles from me and to be honest they all look in fairly good condition and they always have water and there is always plenty of hay in the winter months. He puts a large bale in every few days so they are never without access to forage. My only concern is the amount of ragwort in the fields as by July the whole field is yellow. Not sure whether this is due to a lack of knowledge or a lack of being prepared to spend the time it will take to pull it. This scenario isn't exclusive to travellers unfortunately.
 
LittleBlackMule said:
It's the same problem as with so many things; there are always a few that give a bad name to the rest.

I have found that the 'old school' gypsies and travellers tend to treat their horses very well. They take great pride in them and won't tolerate anyone who doesn't feel the same.
There is a traveller site near me that has been in the same family for forty years or so. The 'boss' is well known for his sticky fingers and you better make sure everything is well nailed down after he's been scouting around! BUT.. his horses are always fat and healthy, and when he sells them he's always keen to know that they are going to a good home.

The ones you see out ragging skinny little mites up and down the roads are just a disgrace. They don't know the first thing about horses and are akin to brainless teenagers racing hatchbacks around town centres. They are not 'proper' gypsies.
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This is very true and i suppose you can never say as a group if they are good and bad :) I guess its because of all the negative stories you hear in the media but then they wouldn't focus on any of the good !

horserider said:
There are a lot of travellers horses around my way. There have been a couple of occasions that have caused me to ring the RSPCA but otherwise, I actually quite envious of the care a lot of them get.

Living out in good sized, well managed fields, access to haylage, only rugged if required and looking very healthy.
There are some cracking cobs driven locally too.

I've seen pretty neglectful care on livery yards, so I'd agree, there's good and bad everywhere.
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Yes there are also some near us that we have had to ring RSPCA but then you see the good too :)

Crugeran Celt said:
There are travellers horses grazing a couple of miles from me and to be honest they all look in fairly good condition and they always have water and there is always plenty of hay in the winter months. He puts a large bale in every few days so they are never without access to forage. My only concern is the amount of ragwort in the fields as by July the whole field is yellow. Not sure whether this is due to a lack of knowledge or a lack of being prepared to spend the time it will take to pull it. This scenario isn't exclusive to travellers unfortunately.
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Ah yes, Ragwort is horrible stuff :( a lot of the cobs in fields near us rather than tethered hardly ever have anyone with them,
 
You would all be shocked if you went to southern Ireland. There is no law about ragwort there and the fields are literally FULL of the stuff!!!!!!
 
The personal experience I had of living for many years very close to an official traveller site shattered the positive image I had of a caring relationship between the traveller and his horse in that location :-( I completely understand that I may just have been exposed to the 'bad apples'.

Its hard to not be influenced by repeated beatings (OH beaten up for intervening :-(, tiny mares being covered by massive heavy stallions, tethered and fly grazing horses with cut mouths, and bodies of dead youngsters chucked out onto the roadside, trotter foals dragged behind speeding transits tied to the back - but I do try.....!!

Part of the issue is that we see horses as family members and as pets, whereas when it is seen more as a working animal and a commodity for trading then things are different - however even with that being the case that doesnt excuse the rank cruelty which was pretty much all I saw on a daily basis. While there are certainly cases of neglect in the settled community I do think they are out of the ordinary, and that there is an issue with the treatment of horses in some of the more urban traveller environments.

When we asked the travellers at our old place why they broke their horses at barely over a year old by beating them they quite openly said it was to get the fight out of them while they were young enough and small enough to dominate. To me that said it all, and the eyes of their horses were just 'dull'.

I have enormous respect for the proper gypsy horsemen but dont know whether the majority are like that or more like the bad apples I experienced. Sadly from seeing horses when travelling around the country I sort of think the majority of the horses owned by travellers in the UK dont appear to benefit from anything like that good gypsy tradition. Which makes me very sad, especially as it means the caring gypsy owners get regarded with suspicion, when it isnt warranted, which is the most unfair bit of all.
 
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Hmmmmm. Difficult one for me this. My mother's side of the family were Irish breeders/dealers - old school and as far as I understand horses were their way of life.
The summer before last I was involved with removing two coloured coblets from a group of English 'travellers'. Both were being ridden and driven (and publicly abused)....at approx 9 months (the vet said). One had liver damage. Both are now well and have been languishing in a paddock since then to recover and grow a bit. What long-term damage has been done to their little bodies tho :(....well time will tell.
 
I would think that part of the problem or a contributary fact to there being so many is that people outside the community have taken a liking to "gypsy cobs".

Going back to the seventies, no one would touch a coloured gypsy cob. There was no market to exploit.

Now it seems every other horse/pony is coloured.

What did people expect when a completely unregulated business suddenly found it's "product" in demand?

if people are going to buy "gypsy cobs", then it's no surprise that unscrupulous types are going to breed more and more.
 
Just the same as any other person, IMO.

Of course you get 'bad' and 'cruel' travellers, but you do with any other walks of life. You only have to look at the news bulletins on here to see bog standard people neglecting horses.
I don't think you can stereotype in such a way, or judge collectively.
 
Well from the ones that i actually now and talk to regularly their horses are very well kept. Also the gypsy that i bought my coloured from as a two and half year old, he was brilliant with them. She had been well handled but not sat on or driven. He obviously hadn't knocked her about as she is very friendly and came upto him with her ears forward and looking happy to see him.
I actually have no problem with the horses being tethered if looked after correctly, ie moved regularly and constant water supply, the only thing i don't like is no shelter but i have seen fields with no shelter on livery yards.
All the horses i have seen have been well looked after and live out all year with plenty of hay available. Obviously though there will be bad ones aswell just like there is with all horse owners.
 
Unwanted foals strangled then chucked over a fence.
Fly grazing and intimidation to hotel employees who complained about this in the hotel grounds.
Horses dumped in any available field and appalling fencing on the side of a dual carriageway ignored.
2 year olds being banged up the same dual carriageway time after time.
Intimidation of youngsters hacking out, chasing them and trying to grab the horse's bridle.
They strip everything off any horses turned out at a nearby yard.
They went to recover a lost horse in a pick up, tied baling twine round its neck and led it at a fast trot from the pickup.

They've taken over lots of common land round here and god help you if you stray onto it. They've taken over plots of land in a very nice area nearby and built on them, they don't pay for rent etc. It's a constant battle with the council.

Sorry, massive site near here and they have a deservedly awful reputation.

They don't care a monkeys for their dogs and find it disgusting that my dogs are kept in the house.

That Dragon Driving ad is sickening: shoes on a 10 month old? Already broken in? There is a odorous traveller site in Ashford, bet you it's the same one.
 
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Not really qualified to say as I've never experienced gypsy horse keeping first hand, but I've seen ones that look very poor and tethered to the local common where I ride, and I've also seen some pretty decent looking ones in local fields. Can't really say what I don't know though.
 
We have the old Romany Gypsies round here with their beautiful Vanner's pulling the old fashioned caravans. Their ponies are their life line and are mostly kept better than they keep themselves! and the Romany's are immensely proud of their heritage and the work they have put into developing the true Gypsy Vanner Cob.

The modern day Gypsy is a different kettle of fish and the horse is no longer their "4x4" and is just a comodity, and the true Romany would probably agree with a lot of what has been said on here. Different generation and different type of people from what I can gather.

My own vanner - bred by Irish Romany's and shipped over here nearly 3 years ago is a credit to them. He is totally bomb proof, well broken to ride (and we think to drive), soft mouthed and respectful. Couple of things he didn't know were leg aids and going out on his own (Romany's always have a "spare" tied to the back of the caravan!).

They aren't angels, but do wonder if it is the minority ... or perhaps I am just wishful thinking?!?

I've had worst experiences from non gypsy's tbh!!!:D
 
There are travellers down the road from me and their horses are in Amazing condition. They are usually in a huge field but they get tied up at the halting site when they are washing their abundance if white mane, tail and feather. I have no idea how they get them so white. I did try to buy a filly off them once and they were looking for mega bucks. I have also seen them bring a horse to the vet clinic. No expense spared on these horses.

Some settled people who keep horses in rough housing estates etc could learn a thing or two about horse care from the travellers
 
a true gypsy's life is his horse and without his horse he basically has nothing.... so they keep them in excellent condition. we have a yearly 'visit' (ties up on council land for about 2 weeks) from a 'proper' gyspy family who must have 4 or 5 cobs....but they are some of the most proper and true gypsy cobs ive ever seen and their condition and care puts mine to shame!!! moved every day, groomed, rugged if necessary and always have water...

however those who run round the council estates calling themselves 'travellers' are a whole other matter!!!!
 
I'm afraid I have only really been exposed to the worst and I have seen what can only be described as hell. Not just for the equines but every single animal living near. If I put everything I too would prob be banned but I will say, at times it's just downright disgusting.
In the interest of fairness I have to say i have come across the odd few that you just cannot fault and really do love their horses.
 
On the outskirts of a local city to me there are many horse owners who are not travellers but who want to own horses so tether them on any bit of spare ground going and sometimes just keep them in a postage stamp of a garden. Most of these animals are in excellent condition and seem well looked after but it is not the ideal way to keep a horse but neither is keeping it in a stable for 14 hours in every 24. Not sure which is worse to be honest, tethered or stabled??
 
I have very limited knowledge and no direct experience; I've only ever seen the horses-tethered-at-side-of-road scenario from a car.

I've seen a few scruffy horses, but TBH I've never seen one skinny (or obese!) and never one without water. They always seem tethered in an reasonable way - I've never seen headcollars digging in or anything like that.

I don't personally have an issue with tethering vs stabling as long as it's introduced properly, and the horses are cared for. In my very limited experience, I can't take issue with what I've seen.

How's that for controversial :p
 
Good and bad everwhere. The ones down from me take very good care of their horses and ponies. Watched them breaking one in to driving. Horse was 3. I was mighty impressed with the fitness of the young lad trotting up and down the road behind him! I will say this, all of them are in regular work and fit and healthy looking. Not fat, not thin.

Terri
 
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