Horses to suffer another winter?

[roshep]

Sids, his comments concerning this matter may be relevant IF he owns the horse (not stated) but his personal attacks are not, the subject alone should be the focus of debate.

[Janmac101]

Roshep.......Perhaps we can all appreciate your thoughts of the poor horses, but they are hardy and sometimes, altho' they look ragged, they are OK.
If you are convinced they are in danger. then go to the authorities and ask them to check.
No one is going have a vendetta against you for kind thoughts.
I don't think there is a Majority or minority here/ you saw something that concerns you and said what you were going to do. All the best.

[hunsterboy]

Your verbal diarrohoea just confirms my point.

Your 'point' was to make a self-righteous personal attack on someone ("the owner?" as you put it). As other people here have now told you, you should engage your little brain before slating others for no reason whatsoever other than, as usual, to stir up trouble in the area. Some people have so much time on their hands that they don't know what to do with themselves. There is nothing to debate. These animals are in excellent condition - this is nature in a natural environment. What's your next campaign - taking the crabs out of the Pentland Firth because they look like they are wet and cold ?

[sids]

. What's your next campaign - taking the crabs out of the Pentland Firth because they look like they are wet and cold ?

They're all going to get chewed up in the tidal generators.

[roshep]

Your 'point' was to make a self-righteous personal attack on someone ("the owner?" as you put it). As other people here have now told you, you should engage your little brain before slating others for no reason whatsoever other than, as usual, to stir up trouble in the area. Some people have so much time on their hands that they don't know what to do with themselves. There is nothing to debate. These animals are in excellent condition - this is nature in a natural environment. What's your next campaign - taking the crabs out of the Pentland Firth because they look like they are wet and cold ?

I have never said that these horses were in bad condition, cruelly treated etc (read my post!). All I was pointing out was that perhaps some shelter could be made at the property to afford more protection from the worst of the winter weather, dry hay etc,, what is wrong with that observation (hardly a 'campaign'), why so defensive?, if anyone is making a 'self righteous personal attack' and pathetic vitriolic outbursts, it is certainly not me, I will no longer dignify your 'replies' with a response. as I said earlier I make no apologies for caring.

[Fulmar]

Horses evolved as animals of steppe grasslands able to roam many miles each day in search of food, water etc and able to find higher and drier ground to avoid having to stand around in mud. It is arguable that very few horses in the UK are kept in 'natural' conditions as there are not many owners with the necessary acreage and conditions to make this possible. So it is often necessary to give them supplementary feed in the form of hay in the winter just to keep them going or they will lose condition and suffer. Also, unless they are of a 'native breed' ie as tough as old boots and with a long, hairy coat, a rug may well be needed to keep a horse warm and to exclude the wind and rain. Likewise, an old horse, just like an old human, benefits from having a rug, shelter and good food provided. So there is not a 'one size' fits all policy.
I think that a caring owner would appreciate rather than denigrate someone being concerned. I have certainly known horses in this county absolutely neglected and abandoned by an owner and left to fend for themselves in awful winter conditions. It is worth bearing in mind that the advice to horse owners is that you should check up on them twice each day to ensure that they are not caught in a fence or injured or something like that and simple observation can soon show you if someone is bothering to do that or not.

[sids]

I'm not sure that even a caring owner would appreciate "Shame on you."

Does anyone else share my concerns about the condition of two horses kept just past Lochend, Greenland. I intend to write to the SSPCA to bring to their attention to the worsening conditions.The horse is in a field at a derelict property with no shelter whatsoever, not even a coat, to protect it from the worst of the winter weather and provide some modicum of comfort and protection. The owner sporadically gives bales of hay which of course are now saturated ,the field is a 'bog' with no grass just mud, surely this is not giving adequate care and attention by any reasonable means? The other pony is in a field adjacent so they are separated, horses are herd animals and should be together. Passing by this evening after yet another heavy shower and falling temperatures the horse looked a forlorn sight. The 'owner' of these horses? Shame on you

[donnick]

If as you say you are concerned for their welfare of these ponies why would you bother to post on here why would you not just phone the sspca .Have you spoken to the owners and voiced your concern and are you clued up on the keeping of horses .if your just seeing these ponies now and again how would you know what the care routine was unless your housed opposite them .

[cazmanian_minx]

There's a sensible article here on why horses don't always need to be rugged in winter: http://thesoulofahorse.com/blog/a-am...ted-in-winter/

It's got lots of helpful pictures including one of an Arabian horse turned out in temperatures of about -27C showing how the coat fluffs itself up to provide extra insulation, and one showing how the longer top hairs channel off water, leaving the insulating undercoat dry. When I checked mine in the rain the other day, I gently parted some of the hair on their backs and they were completely dry at the skin and warm as toast.

Another link that might be useful is how to body condition score a horse: http://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/right-weight As an example, I've got one that's on the upper edge of an acceptable weight:


and one that needs to lose a good 50kg to be a healthy weight (it's coming off at 4-5kg a week at the moment):

[Mackerel]

Those links are excellent, thanks very much!
My wife and I, rather late in life, have acquired our first pony. I soon discovered that it needs to be defended against well-intentioned people who want to see it swaddled in a coat whenever the weather turns bad!

[Fulmar]

So this is why we see thin coated and thin-skinned thoroughbreds and race horses routinely kept out in the winter cold, wind and rain without a rug on and happy as pigs in muck (silly owners for thinking that they might need some protection) and why the welfare/rescue centres throughout the UK are not snowed under (forgive the pun) with pathetically skeletal equines that have become that way through lack of food, warmth (which a rug would have helped to provide) and shelter? Of course, some of these poor creatures may have been old and weak or mares with a foal and foot and needing that bit more TLC and in the natural world, they would have been picked off by a hungry predator. Perhaps we need to bring back wolves and lynx and then we could all fully rejoice in the operation of the natural world in relation to horse welfare and close down all the many rescue centres!

[Alrock]

If there was money in fattening up horses for consumption you'd see a lot less neglected horses.

[denzel]

I'm with you Fulmar - very eloquently put!

[sids]

So this is why we see thin coated and thin-skinned thoroughbreds and race horses routinely kept out in the winter cold, wind and rain without a rug on and happy as pigs in muck (silly owners for thinking that they might need some protection) and why the welfare/rescue centres throughout the UK are not snowed under (forgive the pun) with pathetically skeletal equines that have become that way through lack of food, warmth (which a rug would have helped to provide) and shelter? Of course, some of these poor creatures may have been old and weak or mares with a foal and foot and needing that bit more TLC and in the natural world, they would have been picked off by a hungry predator. Perhaps we need to bring back wolves and lynx and then we could all fully rejoice in the operation of the natural world in relation to horse welfare and close down all the many rescue centres!

Sarcasm was really all that was missing from the thread.

[cazmanian_minx]

I think it's common sense really; elderlies and clipped horses will need a rug more often than full-coated younger ones - but the majority of animals at World Horse Welfare's Belwade Farm in Aberdeenshire, where the weather can be pretty horrible, are rugless all winter.

Mackerel, congratulations on your new pony, hope you and your wife are enjoying him/her

[denzel]

Bet the "rugless" horses seen in Aberdeen in the care of World Horse Welfare have shelters to tuck themselves in during the worst of it!

[arransinclair]

I have never said that these horses were in bad condition, cruelly treated etc (read my post!). All I was pointing out was that perhaps some shelter could be made at the property to afford more protection from the worst of the winter weather, dry hay etc,, what is wrong with that observation (hardly a 'campaign'), why so defensive?, if anyone is making a 'self righteous personal attack' and pathetic vitriolic outbursts, it is certainly not me, I will no longer dignify your 'replies' with a response. as I said earlier I make no apologies for caring.

Can I just say that there is shelter in the field, in the form of a custom built, insulated shed, the horses always have the choice to go in but tend to stay outside during the day. I am also assured that there is always dry hay in the shelter.

[Fulmar]

If there was money in fattening up horses for consumption you'd see a lot less neglected horses.

You are in illustrious company! Princess Anne has been saying the same for quite a while now. And your Christmas dinner will be.........?