Someone feeding your horse - how to stop them?

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zoeshiloh

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OK, I have a problem.

Someone is feeding my two horses when I am not there, and I can't stop them. I noticed one was getting REALLY food obsessed, like banging down the door at feed time. I thought it was odd, and then a few days ago I turned up at yard to see someone feeding him a carrot - he wasn't just feeding it to him though - he was holding it just out of his reach, so the poor horse was having to stretch for all his mite just to get his lips round the end before it was pulled away again. I told the lad off (we only have one child on the yard, and it was her brother doing this) and he skulked off. However, for the last few days I have found bits of carrot/bread - even chocolate and crisp wrappers outside my stables! This morning I was mucking out the other horse, and his poo stank (not normal!).

I cannot go to the yard at 'odd' times to catch them out, and even when I have, they don't listen to being told off. YO just says "oh no dear, they wouldn't do something like that" and no one else seems to believe me either!

Short of locking their top doors shut, how can I stop these people from feeding my horses!! (I feel a yard move is imminent!)
 
Put a big note on A4 paper outside your horses stable saying along the lines of

'please do not feed this horse ANYTHING - if you see anyone feeding this horse please stop them and tell the owner'

I have no social cringe factor. i dont see why you should be polite about it.... who knows what else they are feeding your horse!

Also talk to the kids parents!

Good luck
 
I'd personally tell the childs' parents you have seen them feeding your horses and say should one of the horses become ill and require veterinary treatment due to THEIR child feeding said horse THEY will be liable to pay any resulting vets fees!

Worked a treat for me a few yrs back
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i would personally chop the little b*@{*x$s hands off!!!!!!! someone at my yard keeps feeding my horse treats over the door, and he is getting "nippy" now everytime someone walks by, i have told people not to yet someone is still doing it!
ive put up a laminated sign...."DO NOT FEED MY HORSE, IF FOUND TO DO SO YOU RISK BEING KICKED, NOT BY THE HORSE, BUT THE OWNER"
This is on my door. it makes people chuckle, but since putting it up, he has not been given anything!
 
Someone has been seen with their two children feeding my gang a couple of times - I really want to catch them and offer the children a big bag of e laden sweets - mother will object and I will point out that you feed my horses so I can feed your children.

Also a sign is going up about not feeding - the joys of a foot path across a field - see yesterdays post
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Put a sign up on your stable door.

Leave a polite notice on the yard notice board, asking that anyone bringing children on to the yard, to make sure they are not feeding other peoples horses.

Hopefully they will get the hint.
 
This does annoy me, I wish people would leave horses alone, I had someone throwing potato peelings at mine and also used to find chocolate wrappers in the field.
We keep them at home now so we do not have this problem anymore.
I would sit in wait and catch the culprits and give them a bollocking and prepare them for the vet bill when the horse gets Colic!
 
our horses used to be out in field next to pub, burger and chips diet for horses :-OOO, so we put up electric line above fence (with notices as required) and pub owner removed the signs saying they made the pub an unwelcoming place. B8*&&* cheek!

I would put up the notice, if theyre not doing anything, it wont apply to them! so no cause for complaint!
 
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the joys of a foot path across a field

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yeah, walkers feed our ponies & then they wonder why ponies become a nuisance by following them & field owner gets complaints about "dangerous" animals, damned idiot people
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Somebody gave my old boy a piece of bread roll with hamburger relish on it (we found bits of said item in the field). when I got up the field to catch him, his eyes had swollen up so he couldn't see out of them and his nostrils had swollen up as well so they looked like tiny little slits and he was struggling to breathe and his flanks were heaving.

This always happens on a Sunday doesn't it? So I called the vet ASAP who said he'd got anaphylactic shock and if I'd left him another ten minutes he'd have been a gonner.

What we think had happened was that somebody had had a hamburger the night before and chucked the bits over the hedge where Guzzle had come along and eaten it up.
 
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I suppose that you're not allowed to shoot them, so move yards.

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The law is an ass i am with you, shooting would be my first option failing that move yards.
 
I've had this too, I kept finding bread in the pony's field. I've covered the posts in signs saying - For medical reasons this pony follows a strict diet for her health and welfare please do not feed her under any circumstances. I've not found anything since and she's not pushing for food any more. I think if you put medical reasons people are more likely to take notice.

It is so annoying though - I just don't know why people think they have the right! BTW I have kids and they would never give treats to another horse so they're not all bad.
 
ive had this nearly two years now with a local woman feeding carrots to mine , ive asked her not to , even my partner asked her to aswell ,i put a sign up saying PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE HORSES OTHERWISE YOUR KILL THEM , its a bit sharp but seems to make a difference
 
i cured the local water board bloke from feeding mine macdonalds (he used to use my gateway as a layby for lunch) by borrowing a friends big food obsessed & very rude Cob, i was deliberatly in the yard at lunchtime & whan i heard the shouts cos Rar had him firmly by the collar i went & explanied how him feeding them had caused illness to my very old gentle lad & id had to get this thing to give my other company (ok a white lie) then i made Rar let go
grin.gif

he hasnt been back since (now uses the lorry park up the road.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Put a big note on A4 paper outside your horses stable saying along the lines of

'please do not feed this horse ANYTHING - if you see anyone feeding this horse please stop them and tell the owner'

I have no social cringe factor. i dont see why you should be polite about it.... who knows what else they are feeding your horse!

Also talk to the kids parents!

Good luck

[/ QUOTE ]


he he ...thought it was just me with the 'to the point' notices.
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I would go along with the the large notices too and speak to the parents- threaten them with any potential vets bills too.....
 
I had this problem not so long ago! (search 'numptys at my yard' and it'll probably come up
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) It was serious as my gelding is very prone to colic and people were just chucking haylege over, when i have to weigh his nets every day and he's on a vet diet plan
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I hate people feeding treats too - just makes them nippy!

I put an A4 sign on both horses doors saying 'Please do not feed me - i'm on a special diet!' - this still didn't work much but it at least made everyone aware that a certain few people were feeding them. I kicked up a fuss with the YO who was a bit useless, and then after a few days i made sure i told everyone who would listen how serious it is not to feed my horse, and that if they did and he got colic then they'd be paying for the vet, and if he died from it then they could expect legal action! This worked
grin.gif
 
I would imagine the kid(s) probably just think they are being kind to your horses, and don't understand the dangers/consequences. I would take the approach of informing in a kind way first, maybe put up a sign saying that some treats are dangerous for horses and can make them very ill, and ask that people don't feed either of them treats for this reason. You could always soften it by saying if you would like to treat them, please leave any treats in their feed buckets so that they get them at dinner time so that it protects their fingers from the horses' grumpy teeth.

I don't think there is any need to start off with strongly worded signs or words which make people feel you are being bitchy. You can always go there if the softly softly approach doesn't work.
 
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