someone has been sneaking my horse extra hay?

Question

i have a Norwegian fjord horse and because of his breed he is prone to obesity, he was getting really fat so we put him on a strict vet ordered diet, he got a little under weight so we have been told we can change his feed a little and hes getting supplements now. We had been having problems with extra alfalfa showing up in his stall, so we put up signs explaining that he was prone to obesity and he was on a vet ordered diet, and a section with our phone numbers that said feel free to call if you have any questions concerning his diet and health. but recently someone put up a note that said its time to take him off the diet your horse is way to skinny your starving him, and there were to flakes of alfalfa that showed up in the corner of his paddock as well...so what should we do we have no idea who it is and none of the people with horses around our do either. please help, thanks

Answer 1

I say you file a police report because where I am from we had a person called the Infamous Horse Obeser and he would sneak into peoples ranches and feed the horses big macs and chicken tenders. Just go to your local precinct speak to the head of the police department (tell them its important) and tell the major "Someone is feeding my horse extra hay and i want them behind bars"

Answer 2

Everyone has good ideas (for the most part) but here are the steps I would take.



1) Tell your barn manager. They need to know because this could be happening to other horses. They need to be aware if you are going to do some investigating :)



2) Set up security cameras. Make sure there is one facing towards his stall, and then one that is facing towards the barn aisle to catch the face of the person and the act of overfeeding being done.



3) If the person is a boarder or someone who frequents the barn, keep reading. If not, skip to step four. Confront the person calmly and politely. Tell them you are flattered that they are looking out for your horses well-being, but tell them why the signs are up. Often, people who admire horses but don't know much about them don't understand the careful nutrition horses need. Tell them how alfalfa, due to its high nutritional content, can harm a horse if not fed properly. Explain what is going on with your horse and maybe even show the person what the vet has said. Tell them that feeding the horse irregularly and too much can cause colic, and if they really cared, they wouldn't want the horse to get hurt.



*Most importantly, don't tell the person you set up cameras so that you can monitor them after you confront them. If they deny it, then you can pull out some tapes.*



3b) If the person complies and understands, monitor on video cameras to make sure extra feed still isn't being given. If person continues, read step 4.



4) File a police report. Be prepared to back this up with some video evidence to make the case stronger. Horses are valuable and fragile, and overfeeding in some situations can be counted as animal cruelty. As a minimum, this can be classified as trespassing.



I hope this helps and good luck! I have always admired how cute Fjords are :)

Answer 3

First off I agree that he needs to be on a diet so this is from someone who understands horse diets! I had 4 FAT @ss animals and they are all at a healthy weight now. So I understand what you are going through.



Do you think the person will confess to doing it if you simply ask them? NO. It could be one of the other people in your barn and they of course said no it wasnt them...no way are they going to say it was them. They are doing it for a reason and have a goal. they wont stop till you stop your diet. And thats that. So its time you get the big guns out to stop them!!!



By big guns...I meennnn

A hidden camera in the barn filming your horses stall 24/7. Make sure the batteries are always good and its a high quality camera so you can see the details of the person. Make sure the camera is HIDDEN. and make sure when you bring the camera in and hide it- no one sees you doing it.....even your friend at the barn or your riding instructor..you never know who could be doing it!!!

Another big gun- hire someone to stay near the stall for a whole day and night and keep servelience. Or you can stay at the stall.

Answer 4

this is stable to characteristic a sprint of the two to help a horse benefit weight. you do no longer decide to be giving a horse ridiculous quantities of grain because of the fact they might get ill. this is super to offer horses loose determination hay and grass in the event that they could characteristic some weight. It won't be able to do any injury for the reason that horses are grazing animals. they could be grazing countless the day. Beet pulp is a super grain to characteristic some weight. you're able to desire to objective soaking some cups over nighttime. i take advantage of to feed my hunter countless beetpulp to maintain her the right weight. As for the hay on the floor, it particularly does not count. I even have continuously fed my hay on the floor. countless horses certainly decide to eat off the floor, so regardless of in case you place it right into a rack, the horse will push it out onto the floor. as long as you preserve your stall sparkling, the hay could be sparkling. maximum horses won't eat the grimy hay in any case.

Answer 5

Tell your barn manager or go around and ask if anyone has any suspicions. :)



I completely agree with ready to run. If you can afford to set up a little camera or something, you can see who is doing it. Then you will have proof and put a stop to it. Show the barn owner the note and your video and this will surely get them to stop when they get a stern talking to ;)



Well, unless the mysterious alfalfa feeder is the barn manager. Hehe



Anyway, hope I helped :)

Answer 6

Wow, never heard of something like this happening before. But what I would do is set up a video camera in the barn or stall to see who is doing this. If this continues it could be potentially dangerous to your horse. I would tell the barn manager (if you ride at a boarding barn) if you haven't already..

Answer 7

Does your barn manager know? I'd set up a little camera system around the area to catch the annoying bugger. Also, go talk to some fellow boarders; Gossip goes around barns like wildfire. Had something similar but it was someone taking hay OUT of my horses stalls. They were asked to leave :)

Answer 8

Don't mean to sound rude but if her went from overweight to underweight with in a short time his diet was cut back way to much. weight loss shouldn't be so dramatic just like with people it needs to be slowly. Maybe you can compansate with more exercise and add to his diet. I know it can be hard as I have an extremly easy keeper as well who gets fast off of air. Before I bought her they said at one time she was so big she couldn't carry the weight of a rider. I do agree they are wrong to be feeding your horse but it seems like they are worried even though they should have called you. I would find out who they are and confront them about it.

Answer 9

If your horse is currently in good condition or overweight, then I hope you catch them.

Feeding a fat horse extra, when an owner is struggling to get weight off is awful!



However, can you take a photo of your horse, as he looks today, and post it, please?



The fact that someone is taking the time, effort, risk and is spending the money to feed your horse extra... AND the fact that they left a note saying he is too skinny...

Does make me wonder what his condtion is?



I will reseve judgement on this person, until such time as I see your horses condition.



As I have done this myself, when someone failed to feed their skinny horse adequately.

Answer 10

file a police report. it could be animal abuse sense obesity is a medical problem. they could set up cameras for you or you could do it and take it to the police. handle it now before it gets out of control and your horse has weight problems that lead to long term joint problems.

Answer 11

it could be the wild norwegian hay beast, every year it chooses one horse to feed extra hay. the only way to prevent it is to feed your horse extra hay