The line between interfering and helpful? Where is it?

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WishfulThinker

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New neighbours are horses, have pony for daighter. Really nice family etc.

Thing is that grazing is not v good - grass is low and kinda greyish/white. In our field its green and lots off it.

Pont was fat when it was bought, and its gradually lost weight. to the point where I could like, see its butt muscles and its bum has a hump then slopes down at the sides and you can SEE its ribs. The girl likes it like that and thinks its fine. It gets ridden prob every day as there are 2 of them riding it.

The girl who rides my horse has said that she is concerned about it being soo thin. So it has been in our field a few times - it used to be in there for a while but its field mate died from colic or heart attack - never found out as it was buried next day.

So I have mentioned to this girl that it does need more weight on, but it wont go fat if its being ridden to etc, even a day in, day out of my field would help. Or in there at night, theirs during day.

They have started using other ponies saddle on it as its own doesnt fit.

Now I dont want to bee seen as interfering so girl who rides my horse is asking me stuff then trickling it down to this girl - but she isnt listening. She wants to go to a local PC but I know that they are going to say something about the horses weight, and it will prob upset the girl.

The horse seems moody and not v happy. I feel bad sitting back and litting it be moody and skinny, but I have to right? I just dont want some do gooder to report it to the whw or something.
 
I think the girl going to pony club is the best idea, mind you IMO you should be able to see the muscle on a horse which is ridden every day. I think we have got very used to seeing overweight horses and the grass hasn't come through well here yet and we are glad that ours are a bit leaner than they will be in the next few weeks!
 
Oh yeah, I know what you mean about seeing the muscle. However it is a native pony - conx welsh or something. It is V thing, as in rather than there being a gentle curve from the point of its croup down to hips its slanted. But like a saggy old person bum if that makes sense.

Its a 1-2 on this diagram (you can SEE ribe and really feel them. and can see spine clearly): Which for a native is surely a bit thin? And they have NO grass so without hard feed its going to get thinner.

98-101f3.jpg
 
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Agree it sounds too thin, but hard feed is not the answer IMO. We are feeding hay and straw still, they will go on the grass next week (hopefully) but the native type will be brought off it for part of the day, as she will balloon. Good forage should be enough for a native type. If you are worried, then call redwings or similar as they are good at educating owners and will not implicate you as the person who reported them.
 
Sounds like pone may have something wrong with it too, so if somebody could persuade them that seeing a vet is a good idea that would be useful.

If there is a basic horse owners certificate course, or a lecture on grassland management nearby, perhaps you could invite them to go with you?

I also agree the PC will help them: so anything you can do to help them get into and to PC rallies etc would be great.
 
if she is going to pony club then it will get picked up there along with a suggestion of health/teeth issues as well as just feeding more. Poss suggest a light tea of non mollassed chaf with pink powder, or supplementary hay being put out for the pony? I would absolutly not put it on your grazing. My mare is slim (2-3 on the above diagram, which I think is fab as she is fit and well, after the spring grass I keep her at a 2 or just above which imho is healthy and fit for her) and in the fatty paddock which is bare. To an observer this would seem odd as all the other fields have more grass in and she isn't apparently a fatty. But if she goes out with more grass she colics as it is too rich for her and she gets warm feet with barely any grass - last week she went out for 2hrs in a greener paddock (most def not lush or long grass or a large field, just a bit more cover than she has in the fatty paddock) and when she came in she coliced. Grass is not always a great thing and can be a source of a bunch of trouble too, esp with native types (mine is a connie cross). Hay is best for such a pony I think, assuming worming, teeth and health are all ticked off.
 
It is a hard line to tread I know. Do bear in mind that you may not know anything about the pony's particular needs and, like glosgirl, there may be a reason the pony is as thin as it is.

Encourage them to join the local PC and let the adults there handle it. Your post reads like you might be quite young yourself and many adults don't take kindly to advice from a young person even when the young person knows far more than they do. Not fair I know - but just life!

Otherwise you could try calling redwings or the local WHW person. They will visit without saying where the info came from and make sure the pony is well looked after. (The RSPCA will tell the owner who reported it so, with the best will in the world, I'd stick to WHW!)
 
Shay said:
It is a hard line to tread I know. Do bear in mind that you may not know anything about the pony's particular needs and, like glosgirl, there may be a reason the pony is as thin as it is.

Encourage them to join the local PC and let the adults there handle it. Your post reads like you might be quite young yourself and many adults don't take kindly to advice from a young person even when the young person knows far more than they do. Not fair I know - but just life!

Otherwise you could try calling redwings or the local WHW person. They will visit without saying where the info came from and make sure the pony is well looked after. (The RSPCA will tell the owner who reported it so, with the best will in the world, I'd stick to WHW!)
Click to expand...

Lol,. yes and no. Im 28 in december
 
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