Which sensible welfare agency can I call to attend urgently?

D

Dexter

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 October 2009
Messages
1,608
Visit site
Long story short, but there has been numerous issues with a 2 yr old colt that was turned out with my youngsters. Lack of handling, not worming or having his feet dressed, not feeding him etc. Anyway, last night we had all our hay stolen from the field, including the hay that was actually in the field for them to eat! and rugs stolen off the backs of 2 of the youngsters. So today I gave up on the idea of keeping them out 24/7 and moved them to a youngster friendly livery yard. We told the owner of the colt first thing this morning that we were going ASAP. She wasnt interested. We managed to find somewhere with enough room to take him too and organised transport for him.

We werent allowed to move him :( 3 times we called asking, and 3 times we were told no, she couldnt afford to lose money, a whole 4 days rent, so about a fiver...

When it became apparent that we couldn't take him we asked them to be there when we took ours away. No one came. It broke my heart taking my happy confident babies away and listening to the other colt screaming and galloping up and down :(

He is now alone with nothing to eat as we have pretty bad snow here. He also has no rug after being rugged in a MW for the past week.

When I went back to check him tonight he was lathered with sweat but freezing cold and was past himself. I strongly suspect hes on his way to colicking due to stress. We again rang the owners who said he was fine, they'd been there for 2 hours, and it would do him good to be alone!?! They couldnt have been there for 2 hours as we'd only been gone an hour! They are apparently getting another one, eventually. But as of right now hes alone and very distressed. There are sections of the fence down that we had fenced with electric, but that was stolen as well as the rugs and hay, so its a very real possibility he could get out and within less than half a mile be out on a very busy and fast dual carriageway.

Who the hell can I ring to come and see him and talk some sense into them before this ends horrifically?
 
Your post has made me well up- poor little guy. Some people just should not have animals.
Phone World Horse Welfare and/or the BHS- they will be able to get a welfare officer to investigate.
Do you/ or anybody local have a spare rug that could be thrown on him overnight? Colic is the last thing the wee guy needs :(
 
....sneaks in under cover of vino and whispers..... catch him, take him out of field, ring police / welfare people and tell them them caught a loose pony on the road.... surely they'll do something then?

In a more sensible light does anyone have a rug you can put on him in the short term and can you spare him some hay? I know its not your responsibility and you don't want to start of pattern of looking after someone else's pony, but he is in trouble at the mo...
 
Will welfare agencies be actually able to do anything if he has access to water and forage? Sadly I reckon they will only be able to do something if he escapes/injures himself, I may be wrong. I would chuck an old rug on him and give the owner a barrage of abuse on the phone. That's just me though.
 
It looks like the scum that stole the rugs and hay have been back up tonight, judging by the quad tracks in the snow :( The main reason we moved ours is that we strongly suspect they will just keep coming and removing hay and rugs.

They are also not easy people to deal with. I have been accused of bullying them when I requested they geld and handle him, oh and repay me for the money I've spent feeding him for the last 3 months. Thats another post though, lol. If I thought there was a chance in hell I could have taken him and not be arrested for theft he'd be tucked up in a stable with a mountain of hay right now.

I could take him hay tomorrow, and TBH thats what I will do, but thats not a long term plan. I've told them what they are doing is abuse, other people have told them the same. We are all bullying them though! I'm working on the basis that if someone 'in authority' turns up they might take it on board. I have someone who will buy him off them and give him a fab home, but they refuse to sell him as they 'want a horse'. They aren't capable of looking after a pot plant!
 
If there is snow on the ground then I would report them (If they are not bringing in or feeding extra forage like hay on a regular basis each day), a youngster most certainly needs more care than that and it would bother me intensely to see that. There are the five freedoms.

1. Freedom from hunger and thirst - by providing fresh water and the type and amount of food to keep them fit.

2. Freedom from discomfort - by making sure animals have the right type of environment including shelter and somewhere comfortable to rest.

3. Freedom from pain, injury and disease - by preventing them from getting ill or injured and by making sure animals are diagnosed and treated rapidly if they do.

4. Freedom to express normal behaviour - by ensuring animals have enough space, proper facilities and the company of other animals of their own kind.

5. Freedom from fear and distress - by making sure their condition and treatment avoid mental suffering.

Good luck and I hope the situation is sorted out for him as soon as possible.
 
BHS Welfare Helpline. Here is info / contact details cut and pasted from their website:-



If you have genuine concerns about a horse or pony, you should report it to the BHS and one of our local Welfare Officers will pay a visit to investigate.


Welfare concerns can be reported on 02476 840571 or 02476 840574. Alternatively, you can e-mail welfare@bhs.org.uk.


For genuine emergencies outside office hours, please ring 02476 840570 and then call the mobile phone number given in the answerphone message. However, this number really is for use in emergencies only.
 
They are failing to provide any of those. There is 3 or 4 inches of snow lying the field, even if he scrapes the snow away the grass is frozen solid, he has no company and is suffering physical and mental harm due to being alone. However having had dealings with the BHS and the RSPCA I know they dont do anything unless they are collapsing due to malnutriton.
 
do you have any sort of evidence of the money she owes you for feeding and handling him for the last few months.
if you have and you have requested payment and shes refused could you not take the horse as payment??

i know very drastic idea but only one i can think of

what about the owner of the field, could you not talk to them and explain that theres a horse alone in the fied and theres every chance it could wreck fencing and get out on the road and cause an accident??
 
ew1801 said:
do you have any sort of evidence of the money she owes you for feeding and handling him for the last few months.
if you have and you have requested payment and shes refused could you not take the horse as payment??

i know very drastic idea but only one i can think of
Click to expand...

I do and I told them a week ago, after sending really stroppy texts/e-mails etc to make them turn up, and then staking the field out until they turned up, that I would be invoicing them for the feed/time etc. At that point they told me their solicitor would be in touch first thing Monday morning, which was fine by me as i hoped that doing it officially would have some response. I am still waiting for the solicitor to call/write...

My solicitor told me that its very difficult to take a lien (sp?) over the horse. And realistically I really, really dont want to take on the expense of him. Its costing me way more to have them at livery, I can afford it, but taking on responsibilty for another one isnt something I want to do if I can afford it, esp considering the market at the minute. As 2yr old uncut colt with some behavioural issues, that will make 14hands tops of LW cob, ie destined to be a childs pony, but without the right temperamental to do that, I wouldnt even re coup the costs of gelding him:(

If I could I'd take him and sod the cost, but it aint gonna happen! :(
 
BHS have a very good record of dealing with welfare cases and I would try them in first instance. Ignore those who say this is not your problem - animal welfare is everybody's business!!
 
Bless him, that's awful! :( People like that don't deserve to own horses! :mad: I hope you can organise getting him taken off them. I would imagine the World Horse Welfare would be the best place to contact. Keep us updated!
 
At least someone from WHW may advise the owner of better care. It will probably mean jack s*** but theres a small chance the owner may get a conscience if an a welfare charity come calling.

In the meantime, i too would tell the owner again that the current level of care is unacceptable and go and give the horse hay and water myself.

You cant save them all but at least you would have done something and not just knowingly left an animal in distress- even if its not your responsibility.

Some people!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top