Tethered horses...what can i do?

meesha said:
A couple of months ago I stopped at side of road to check on a horse that was tethered - went over - gave it a pat - I was worried as I couldnt see the chain and it looked like it was loose near the road !

As I was giving it a pat (at this point had realised it was tethered very securely) 4 men in a car pulled up and asked if everthing was ok - I just explained I was worried it wasnt tethered as couldnt see chain - we had a little chat I commented on what a nice pony it was and they explained that in their camp it was too muddy for the horse hence tethering and police were aware ....

One way of checking if it is being seen regularly is to see if it has eaten all the grass around it, this one had lovely fresh grass meaning they had been moving it regularly - it also looked in good condition.

I wished them well and left - better to check than leave it but it can be done in a friendly way - walk over comment on what nice horses they are and give them a pat that should halp you decide if anything needs to be done.
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Thats a god outcome and a logical explanation. :)

I dont feel comfortable, as i am really not one to get involved and really dont understand the laws etc around tethering...
 
Hope it's resolved OP will admit I wrongly read this as being about tethering and not the water :o ignore my first semi retarded comment.
 
DD you have done all you can , unfortunatly its ok to leave them without water all the time
I hated going on tethering calls.
 
Serenity087 said:
You told a horse that?

Mine would often tip her bucket over in the morning and then not get checked on until the evening, thus going a whole day without water (knew it was morning from the fact it was always bone dry!)

Her other favourite trick was dropping muddy sods of earth into her bucket making it undrinkable, again, for the whole day.

Seriously. Wild horses don't have water at all times and tethered horses don't die from being watered once or twice a day. Get over it!
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You have issues OP...i think you need a time out!!!

Wild horses have the ability to find water when they feel like it, they have the ability to choose...a tethered horse has not...
 
Delicious_D said:
Considering ive won an award for my contribution and have been promoted...i think im doing wel. ;)

By all means, call my manager and ask ;)
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Don't worry seems to be a running theme here that you get called a busy body etc for being worried about an animal, I've had it as well. I do wonder if they only water them once a day to keep them docile? Or maybe they just need someone to tell them about the old bucket in a tyre trick?
 
Woah some people just type in pure acid dont they :confused:

Horses should have access to water, if we were in august and these horses were out in the baking heat with no shade and no access to water they would certainly dehydrate and die.

What annoys me is that just because a certain sect of society thinks its ok to keep equines in this way (ie cares not met unwormed, unwatered, underfed and tethered) its not allowed to be questioned as it might be racism. Sorry its wrong. If someone turned up at a livery and kept their horse in this way there would be outrage yet gypsy ponies there is no problems :confused:

DD well done. There should be far more 'busy bodies' helping these ponies.
 
A busy body to me is someone who tells you what colour tack to wear, how to ride etc when you dont ask for it, triva matters. Anything concerned with welfare is a concerned onlooker...i am concerned... i cant believe people think i am trying to bash gypseys :(
 
Buds_mum said:
Woah some people just type in pure acid dont they :confused:

Horses should have access to water, if we were in august and these horses were out in the baking heat with no shade and no access to water they would certainly dehydrate and die.

What annoys me is that just because a certain sect of society thinks its ok to keep equines in this way (ie cares not met unwormed, unwatered, underfed and tethered) its not allowed to be questioned as it might be racism. Sorry its wrong. If someone turned up at a livery and kept their horse in this way there would be outrage yet gypsy ponies there is no problems :confused:

DD well done. There should be far more 'busy bodies' helping these ponies.
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I hate tethering but it is legal and a lot of travellers are very skilled horse people and we should not tar them all with the same brush.
Unfortunatly helping tethered ponies is not at all easy.
One thing I learned horses can survive on much less water than I was taught.
 
Serenity087 said:
You told a horse that?



Her other favourite trick was dropping muddy sods of earth into her bucket making it undrinkable, again, for the whole day.

Seriously. Wild horses don't have water at all times and tethered horses don't die from being watered once or twice a day. Get over it!
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mud mixed with water makes it undrinkable? Try telling a wild horse that
 
Delicious_D said:
A busy body to me is someone who tells you what colour tack to wear, how to ride etc when you dont ask for it, triva matters. Anything concerned with welfare is a concerned onlooker...i am concerned... i cant believe people think i am trying to bash gypseys :(
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No I don't think for one moment you are a traveller basher
 
Buds_mum said:
Woah some people just type in pure acid dont they :confused:

Horses should have access to water, if we were in august and these horses were out in the baking heat with no shade and no access to water they would certainly dehydrate and die.

What annoys me is that just because a certain sect of society thinks its ok to keep equines in this way (ie cares not met unwormed, unwatered, underfed and tethered) its not allowed to be questioned as it might be racism. Sorry its wrong. If someone turned up at a livery and kept their horse in this way there would be outrage yet gypsy ponies there is no problems :confused:

DD well done. There should be far more 'busy bodies' helping these ponies.
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Wow, congratulations, the award for uneducated sweeping statement goes to you.

Let's tar all gypsies with the underfed, unformed, unwatered, cares not met and tethered
brush.
 
Delicious_D said:
You have issues OP...i think you need a time out!!!

Wild horses have the ability to find water when they feel like it, they have the ability to choose...a tethered horse has not...
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That's not strictly true, same as any wild grazing animal.

There isn't enough forage close to where all the animals are coming to drink so all grazing animals have to move long distances to eat. So they "schedule" trips to the water.
Everybody has seen it in the animal programs.

Even here on the forest they go for hours without water. Every evening there's a small herd that comes to drink in the stream running at the bottom of my field. Even in this weather, they come down the road to the water fast, have a proper drink, before moving up to the higher ground for the night.

Of course at this time of year (and this winter:eek:) there is water everywhere, but the behaviour is, I suppose, ingrained.

It's probably far more "natural" for horses to not have access to water all the time?
 
Before coming to Kent regulary I'd never seen a tethered horse before let alone on the side of an A road. I was so shocked but o/h said it was the norm round there and he is right by you! I've never seen a gypsy camp before going to Kent either....clearly lived a very sheltered life :D
 
But what happens when the tether becomes loose? I once rescued a gypsy cob colt wandering down the wrong side of a very busy A road. It was tethered around the neck with a chain, and then a rope tied to the chain, and then tied to a tree at the side of this road. It had no water, and only about 3 ft from the side of the road, and 3ft either side of grass then it was dense trees and bushes. It was very underweight and had nasty scabs.
Ill agree that the majority of gypsys know how to look after horses and are very good horseman, however there is always the odd few that don't. If I hadnt stopped and resuced this horse, it would have been hit by a car and caused a serious accident and might have injured someone else.
I didnt involve charities, I found him a home with a lovely lady who had a herd of horses and offered to give him a home for life. I drive past this field everyday and he is still there and very happy.
Is that being a busy body?
Sorry if that comes across as nasty, but it gets abit annoying when people seem to think that offering help is seen as interfering. Obviously if the horse is looking well and obviosuly lives a life of luxury then I can understand.
If that makes sense! :P
 
Serenity087 said:
Define tethered illegally?

And coming out of winter, I'd be more worried if they were anything other than on the thin side. They're never gonna be porkers when they're tethered... but generally it won't kill them, otherwise they wouldn't tether them!
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Perhaps you should read your rather silly posts back in the morning when you are in a better frame of mind. You are making a bit of a fool of yourself tbh.
OP you are right to be concerned if you see nobody to see to the horses needs in 10 hour.
 
I wouldn't exactly want my horse having to just 'survive' on the bare minimum of water it gets. I would want my horse to be able to drink whenever she feels the need. I'm sure everyone here has been in the position of being so thirsty, but not bein able to drink, but that they'd do anything to have a drink? I know I have and it's a horrible feeling! And after that feeling of thirst I sure don't have a couple of sips of water, I drink and drink and drink, by the sounds of it, it seems to me the horses are given one bucket a day, And once they've drank that, that's it till tomorrow? Unless I have that wrong in which case, I apologise....
And in terms of wild horses, the horses OP are explaining clearly arent wild, therefore if in the ownership of someone, there should be no excuse not to be given the proper care they deserve and the responsibilites of horse ownership the owner has taken on?

Defo did the right thing, if people went round with their eyes shut horses would probably be dropping like flies!
 
To be honest most of the gypsies do take good care of their horses as they are usually their pride and joy and want them to look as flashy as they can . However there is the minority that don't .in this case It sounds as though they are giving them water and caring for them . Therefore you would be wasting your time reporting them
 
OP you did the right thing, better the be safe than sorry. If you had left it and they had died or suffered you would have been slated. Damned if you do, damned if you dont :rolleyes:
Hope it all gets sorted :D
 
OP better to be concerned and report the matter so that those more experienced in this kind of thing can look into it, than ignore it and an animal suffer.
 
I fully admit i have no experience of tethered horses, so someone more seasoned probably wouldnt be concerned. Better to be safe then sorry :)
 
I don't have a problem with the OP reporting the horses, as people say, better safe than sorry.

What I do find objectionable is the way people are making so many assumptions about whether these horses are being looked after.

Has it been established that they only get watered once a day?
The OP says they are present for 10hrs/day, there's 24 hrs in a day.

There's thread after thread on here moaning about fields full of mud and no grass, problems with mud fever, problems with weight maintenance ect.

Are people really so sure that a tethered horse with access to ungrazed grass and not standing ankle deep in mud is so badly off in comparison?
Providing there are moved regularly and attended to.
 
Aarrghimpossiblepony said:
I don't have a problem with the OP reporting the horses, as people say, better safe than sorry.

What I do find objectionable is the way people are making so many assumptions about whether these horses are being looked after.

Has it been established that they only get watered once a day?
The OP says they are present for 10hrs/day, there's 24 hrs in a day.

There's thread after thread on here moaning about fields full of mud and no grass, problems with mud fever, problems with weight maintenance ect.

Are people really so sure that a tethered horse with access to ungrazed grass and not standing ankle deep in mud is so badly off in comparison?
Providing there are moved regularly and attended to.
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I think that the whole point of the OP's post is about the fact that they are not being attended too.
 
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