Rant! - Is this reportable?

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TheOreoPony

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I'm really sick and tired of having to watch people's kids for them.
Someone at the yard brings their kids with them to the yard and lets them run around unsupervised because 'they love it here so much'. One of them is about 3 and constantly stands behind my horse.
Yesterday the yard owner gave a foal to someone who did some odd jobs around the yard. He has no idea about horses and has given this 8 month old to his kids. According to another livery a large group of this man and his kids turned up this morning to the yard and were shouting, screaming, swearing and throwing tantrums all over the place. They put the foal in someone else's stable (a tiny one) with five of them surrounding her and trying to ride her! She panicked and ended up kicking over a water bucket, soaking another livery's shavings and she then bit them. It breaks my heart because she is a wonderful little foal with a lovely temperment and if I knew the kind of home she'd ended up in I'd have taken her.
I can't stand by and watch them do this and I'm sick and tired of having to watch kids and dogs that have gotten loose whilst trying to control and educate a youngster in a pretty hectic environment. I was also accused of thieving when I arrived on to the yard! and I feel like I'm at the breaking point to move.

Is the fact they are jumping on her back a welfare issue as she's so young? And thoughts? :/
 
I honestly don't know but I would imagine so. What sort of YO does this? Do they have sense of responsibility re the foal's welfare? I would have a quiet word with the YO re your concerns, they have a duty of care for people and horses on their premises and this is an accident waiting to happen. Would the man with the foal be approachable so you could explain how she's only a foal and won't be ready to be ridden for a few years? Tell him it's not safe for the children or the foal. If you don't get any joy speak to one of the welfare organisations.
 
What does NOFA mean?

I plan to go down early to see it for myself and if I do I'll try to be as calm as possible and approach the man who brought her. Other liveries are livid and said if they stay, pretty much everyone else on the yard will leave. I don't know if he will be approachable as I was told he was blind drunk yesterday when at the yard as well.
I am really really disappointed in the YO to be honest I thought she was better than this. I am kicking myself for not taking her and offering her a safe home with me. I'm to the point of fear for this lovely little girl that I would offer him money to take her off of him but don't know how to go about that?
I will have a word tomorrow with the YO too and if I go unheard I will end up leaving as I don't feel safe having my boy there and can't stand people who put money before the safety of animals.
 
Contact one of the equine welfare charities, they will at least be able to give these ignorant people some much needed advice. What on earth possessed your yard owner to give these ignorant people a foal for goodness sake?????????????? It clearly wasn't one of her better ideas.
 
rascal said:
Contact one of the equine welfare charities, they will at least be able to give these ignorant people some much needed advice. What on earth possessed your yard owner to give these ignorant people a foal for goodness sake?????????????? It clearly wasn't one of her better ideas.
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I know it's so stupid. It's really heart breaking because she's so lovely as well, a real gem of a filly.
 
Can't see that the treatment of this weanling is a million miles away from the treatment of the one that caused so much media uproar on that trav camp. Point being, it's not right, fair nor acceptable. Call an equine welfare.

I'm sure if this particular incident is as described, was videoed and put on public media there would be outrage. Poor little thing. :(
 
Princess16 said:
What does that mean?
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It's probably something to do with keeping goats.


OP you will need to excuse some people's scepticism. We get a lot of new posters who make their first post about something outrageous or provoking just to cause reaction.

With no track record, it's impossible to tell if you are one of these people or not.

If not, then in your shoes I would offer to buy the foal and if they won't sell I would leave the yard.
 
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Please report this incident to World Horse Welfare, or the Welfare Department of The British Horse Society without any delay.
BHS Welfare 02476 840517, WHW 08000 480 180 , Redwings 01508 481000 ,
RSPCA 0300 1234 999, Bransby 01427 787369, EMW 07870860825.

The RSPCA Cruelty line is open 24 hrs/365, unlike many others. Tel. No. 0300 1234 999
 
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I know that I'm new and people being skeptic because of trolls is normal, It probably won't help but this is in no way fake. I was told this by another livery when I went up to see my boy this afternoon. I'm going to try and go up when they are there to see if it's as bad as I heard and if so I'll do everything I can for her, if not welfare organisations will be contacted.

Again I'm really disappointed in the YO, she seemed so caring about these animals when I arrived. :(
 
TheOreoPony said:
I know that I'm new and people being skeptic because of trolls is normal, It probably won't help but this is in no way fake. I was told this by another livery when I went up to see my boy this afternoon. I'm going to try and go up when they are there to see if it's as bad as I heard and if so I'll do everything I can for her, if not welfare organisations will be contacted.

Again I'm really disappointed in the YO, she seemed so caring about these animals when I arrived. :(
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Rather than going alone, can you not organise a deputation?

One person can easily be labelled a nut case, half a dozen carries some weight. I think I'd also try to make a mass protest (even two is better than one) to World Horse Welfare. The local WHW man we have around here is an ex-cop with masses of tact, patience, and knowledge. These guys are hand picked for the job they do.
 
I'd report and start looking at other yards, it's not your fault for not buying the foal.. it was entirely the yards owners duty to find a suitable home for the foal.. and she has failed it. If you offer to buy and the "owners" don't want to sell you will probably end up paying over the odds to rescue her and they could go out and buy another poor foal or little pony that you will then also feel sorry for (and I hate to say this, but you can't save them all) and you will still have to deal with the uncontrolled children and dogs :( not to mention that if you keep the foal on the yard they may still well view it as "their foal" as the children will see it that way.
 
Doesn't pass the basic troll test requisite for me... OP wrote a literate post. Normally our little Trolls seem to lack basic English skills!

Your yard sounds horrendous. If this is what you know to be happening, what do you think goes on when you aren't there. I would move (and try to buy the filly too)
 
Poor little thing. OP I would definitly speak to the YO, and if nothing is done report it to the relevant organisation. The poor little thing will be ruined for life if this carries on :(
 
If you don't want to contact a welfare charity at this point, could you approach the foals owner? Not all people who are ignorant of horse care are rude and nasty. Approached from the point of view of the welfare of their children and the cost of vets fees might achieve a better result. It's possible they don't realise the dangers of an unbroken, uneducated foal and the physical damage they could do to it. Even PTS is expensive. You could, if they seem at all interested in listening, help them find a suitable older lead rein pony from one of the charities and help them sell the foal to a more suitable home. Keeping a pony until it's 3yrs is expensive. Lots of ways to put them off whilst offering a suitable alternative.

The yard sounds like hell TBH but if you're going to stay then maybe keep your horse in the stable not tied up outside so nobody else can stand behind it. I'd also be padlocking the stable door when the horse wasn't in there to prevent anyone else using your stable. The drunk YO I'd avoid as much as possible and lock up all your stuff if there's petty theft about.
 
What on earth sort of yard and YO is this that anyone would want to stay anyway?!!

Maybe remind the YO that they have a LEGAL duty of care to animals on their yard.
 
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I'd be a bit concerned about it being weaned already to be honest, aside from the rest which is clearly bonkers. When on earth was foal born?
 
If you think the children are at risk, could you ring social services? I cant bear it when children are left unsupervised on the yard. Its not a creche and its unsafe.
 
UPDATE -

Saw the YO yesterday and brought up our concerns, turns out she didn't give the foal to them, and another livery had offered her up to the kids, which confused us because she said she offered them livery when they don't have a horse? But she didn't seem to bothered either really. We stated that if it carried on with kids running and screaming and dogs always out we would be forced to move as we didn't want our horses stressed, to which she replied "well I'm not going to move off someone just because you don't like them, if you want to move then move." and "If you've got a problem go and talk to them."
 
TheOreoPony said:
UPDATE -

Saw the YO yesterday and brought up our concerns, turns out she didn't give the foal to them, and another livery had offered her up to the kids, which confused us because she said she offered them livery when they don't have a horse? But she didn't seem to bothered either really. We stated that if it carried on with kids running and screaming and dogs always out we would be forced to move as we didn't want our horses stressed, to which she replied "well I'm not going to move off someone just because you don't like them, if you want to move then move." and "If you've got a problem go and talk to them."
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I had a YO a bit like that. A new livery moved on and quite apart from the fact the poor horse was kept in disgraceful conditions ( a thin layer of sawdust, yes sawdust, not shavings) and inadequate food and water, the last straw came when she refused to worm it before turning it out (yard rule) claiming to have done it just before she arrived; at the next worming date she used a wormer that was more than 12 months out of date and the wrong one for the time of year anyway and the horse had explosive diarhhoea all over the field the next day so I doubt it had been wormed in years. We complained en masse to the YO and were told that if we didn't like it WE could all leave. Turned out she had been hacking out with the new livery and they had already got a bit chummy. We had the last laugh though because the livery then did something or other which I can't actually remember and did a moonlight leaving the stable not even fit for dung beetles and a big outstanding bill.
 
Looks like your lovely YO has made the decision for you - report to either BHS or WHW and leave.

Hope something gets sorted for the poor foal.
 
Yup! Been scouting yards today looking for somewhere else to move my boy, makes me nervous of being on another livery as this first experience of it wasn't too great, but I like having people to talk to so wouldn't want to be on my own either, decisions :/

FatPiggy - That's exactly it! I went down today and this new livery had left a haynet all over the floor (in front of our stables) and it was an absolute mess, but she kisses bum there like no one's business! They've already given away two other horses and I had a cat off them that had to be sedated and shaved the poor thing was that matted, and they were worried about having to put her down because of how malnourished she was.
 
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