went to view a pony- shocking!

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ellis9905

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im a bit stunned, i accompanied a friend to view a pony this morning- we were stunned, we turned up to discover a emaciated poor mare, little more than skin and bone- owner told us shes very quiet- yes cause she's starved and doesnt have the energy to move!!

shes covered with rain scald, fully clipped, bad feet, hip bones sticking out, concave thigh muscles, neck is wasted away, then tacked up with ill fitting tack.

when asked about lack of condition the girl couldnt see any problem!

we walked away and now i just dont know what to do- would the rspca/other welfare organisation be interested? or are they so overstretched already? not sure i can just turn a blind eye... feel sick at the thought of leaving her there.

i took pictures but dont know how to post them
 
Try World Horse Welfare as well if RSPCA won't help you. Well done for doing the right thing by the pony, even though it's hard to leave her there, at least you're trying to help :)
 
Worth reporting I viewed a pony once that had twisted back legs(yes ) I was looking for a companion and the poor mite looked so spastic. The lady wouldnt tell us where she got it from but it was being well cared for with her. Goodness knows what had happened to the poor thing.

I would report as at least it will be checked out..ask whoever you report to let you know what they think etc. No harm done if they are happy then.

Dont ever feel bad, its good idea.
 
Open a photo bucket account and upload on to there, then you copy IMG code and paste in your post.

How awful. Def report to authorities.
 
lets see if i managed !

photo-1.jpg


will add more
 
Goodness, I had hoped that you were exagerating, but I can see you were'nt:(

Def report, it looks like neglect through ignorance.
 
Well they can be a bit thinner coming out of winter, but oh dear ..... THAT is not good:mad:

Bit concerned you've posted pics of the faces of the people, which may mean the post will get reported and removed but .....can defo see why you're shocked
 
Good god. My 36 year old is in better nick than that poor mare and I have been panicing for weeks trying to put weight on him.

Whereabout in the country is this poor little scrap.
 
What work has this pony been doing? Is/was she in hard work? What is the condition of the other horses on the yard? She could just be a terribly bad doer.

To be honest, I was expecting something far, far worse. Obviously photo angles can be deceptive and we can't see the full picture but from the back end photos she just looks as if she could do with a few more groceries and some spring grass. But my remarks are just based upon the three photographs as a bystander, up close and personal it obviously upset you enough to comment on it here.

I won't comment on the feet or tack as I haven't seen it.

OK, seen the head shot now, I am still not going to start screaming "Welfare case" because, in my opinion, she isn't. Yes, she can do with some flesh on her bones but she isn't that bad in my opinion. I've seen worse. I think a Welfare Officer would give general management advice but they wouldn't be able to do much more.
 
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shes only ment to be 10yrs old. she just stood with her eyes closed most of the time.

i had to hold the sellers sandwich whilst she went to get something- literally had it in my hand 30 seconds and handed it back, was stood next to the mare who nearly pulled her head off trying to lick my hand- grunting in desperation- for the crumbs on my hand!

could cry thinking of it.. especially when we got home and saw our much pampered ponies.

pony is in midlands :(
 
I would say pony is probably worse in real life. Its hard to show how wasted a horse is on a photo, sometimes welfare organisations wet horses coats to make the msuscle wastage clearer.
 
As horrible as it is I don't think she's bad enough for rspca or any other welfare to do anything but give advise to owner. Iv reported animals In much worse condition and nothing was done. It's sad
 
Visible ribs and a slightly jutting hip wouldn't necessarily worry me too much (although with the mild winter we've had obviously indicate that this horse has not been as well fed and cared for as it could be!) I think what would concern me most from what I can see in the photos is the muscle wastage in front of the hip and in the thigh area. Can't comment on her feet and tack as can't see a clear photo of them. I'd say worth reporting to WHW for them to at least come out and look
 
I agree with Enfys, was expecting a lot worse even allowing for bad quality of pics. I think it all depends on whether you are used to fit horses in work or tubbies at leisure; if the latter then yes, she's a bit thin on her back but her shoulders and neck don't look sunken in at all in that last pic.
 
Definitely underweight, but certainly not emaciated. TBH, from the photos (and I will stress that photos can be deceiving) it looks as though it would condition score on the right side of 1/5. A condition score of 1, according the WHW's fat scoring traffic light system is "amber" - the same as a condition score of 4 - and just think of how many horses you see / see ads for who are clearly 4 or higher (and therefore are an equivalent health "risk" and cruelty/neglect case).

People get very up in arms about dramatic photos of "emaciated" neglect cases but a photo of a condition score 4 wouldn't provoke this sort of response. And no, just because people do worse doesn't mean its ok, it's just not the sort of case welfare charities will be able to actively intervene in. However, call them, they can always try to educate the owner and advise them on how to improve her condition :)
 
I am going against what has been posted to get a pony of this size looking like this you have to be going some in terms of not feeding, my ponies even 14h plus this winter are already on restricted grazing.
Our twenty plus tbs are doing very well this year, our ponies have barely been fed anything other than vit and mineral licks, they are as fat as pigs.

As for suggesting this pony is in hard work it has no muscle and looks wasted,is there more starving horses yes, does it make this acceptable no.

I buy and sell a few horses so could be seen as a dreaded dealer would I ever sell a horse like this no way.

The horse charities are overun so you may not get much of a response how mush is it for sale for and where.
 
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