What am i going to do?

Question

well my friend knows that i really like horses and everything and where we live there is non but close to her house is horse and we went to see them and i went to pet one because she came to see me and she wasn't cared for at all and she had all bug bites and so did the other one and they weren't brushed or anything and their manes and tails look terrible. and i just don't know what to do.
If anyone could give me any advice or anything at all i would very much appreciate it!

Answer 1

Not much, really. Having bug bites and not being brushed and not having their manes and tails perfect is no crime, let alone neglect. If they were starving, or without water or something, then that could be called neglect. But really, as anyone with horses knows, horses are not always perfectly cleaned and groomed like they are in movies and books. This isn't neglect- there is nothing to worry about. You don't have to do a thing. You could ask to groom them- but I can assure you the owners will be thinking "WTF?" and turn you down. Not because they are mean, but because they just had this random kid come out of nowhere and ask to go into their pasture to groom their horses. They would be suspicious, and even if they were not wouldn't want you to do it because of worries that you would get hurt and sue them.

Answer 2

unless the horses are in a situation where there is no water, no shelter, no food, dangerous objects in/around the pasture, they're injured, etc, there's nothing you can do about it. my horse is the absolute most spoiled horse in the world, but hes pasture boarded. this means no matter how many times i brush him, hes dirty in ten minutes. horses like to roll in mud, so my horse may not look like hes brushed, but he's brushed every single day for at least 15 min. the wind blows, he runs, he rolls, he plays, this leads to a not so pretty looking mane and tail. hes also allergic to gnats, so no matter how much spray i put on him he gets some nasty looking bug bites. these horses may look bad to you, but chances are they're just fine. they're probably just being horses. if you're truly worried about it, call animal control. i kinda doubt they'll do anything though- i called them once when i was like 10 because the horses were in a nothing but mud pasture, i thought it was awful. animal control said there was nothing they could do about it. its so nice of you to have such a great heart, but rest assured these horses are probably fine :)

Answer 3

How does their pasture look? Lots of manure, weeds growing. Basically like its not kept neat, not like a perfect pasture but keeping weeds out, and not a whole lot of manure seen.

Does the land look barren? Hardly any food to eat and just dirt that you see.

Do they have water and shelter? Are they unable to access water and shelter from the pasture that is a sign that they could be not cared for because they should have access to a shelter and water so they could shield themselves from the hot sun and so they dont bake.

What kind of fencing do they have? Barb wire, not a good fence to use ith horses because it can hurt them, but you cannot really report them for that. If their fence looks dilapidated, like its about to fall down then that could be a sign that they are not being taken care of.



How do they look in terms of health? Do their hooves look bad? Cracked hooves or hooves left uncared for to grow long. Are they limping like they are in pain? Sign that they could. Can you see bones like ribs or their hip bone showing? Horses that look skinny or are getting skinnier that could signs of not having proper care and could be another sign of not being cared for.



You may want to report them to the Humane Society or the ASPCA if the signs are bad. If it is just minor there may not be anything you can do.

Answer 4

hmmm....i just had a similar situation. what i did was call the SPCA and they went out to the place and checked it out, and now the woman's on their records and being watched. Unless the horses are like close to death, the animal services can't take them away. but it's good if you call the SPCA cuz then they check on the horses from time 2 time.

Answer 5

The only thing you can do is if they fall into abused/neglected category would be to contact the ASPCA....if they are fed well but just not brushed you could ask the owners if you could groom them up for them otherwise you shouldn't touch them or feed them without the owners permission, plus if you were to get hurt the owners could get sued.

Answer 6

you should mind your own business. a few bug bites and un brushed hair is fine. Calling the SPCA on them would be a stupid move, since there are probably 100,000 worse off horses that really need help.

Answer 7

It's hard to get people in trouble for neglect. A horse at our stable just died b/c of neglect of a infection. Animal services did nothing.:{

Answer 8

Best to report it to animal control or SPCA quickly, just so they can asses the situation and fix up the horses. If something doesn't seem right, it usually isnt. Report it soon!

Answer 9

Call the local shelter in your area. If you think it is abuse, report it.