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SKINNY horses next-door!!!
So, DH and I live on a farm, renting from a college professor of mine near Charlotte. I love horses. We care for two on the farm that we're at. A few months ago, a family moved into the vacant little house down the street from us. I have never met them but we drive past their home every day and I was excited when I saw they brought 2 horses with them.
They staked out a portion of a field used for growing corn last year and fenced it in with barbed wire. The horses seemed to have finished off the grass within a month. It was amazing. I noticed that the horses lost weight rapidly and that I only ever saw them being fed hay. Horses need grain and all kinds of things in their diet, not just hay.
At this point, I was feeling moved to A. stop by to say hi and gently ask how things are going with the horses. B. put in a call to the nearby animal control center. I didn't want to turn anyone in but will not put up with animal cruelty or neglect. When I saw huge mounds of hay being delivered, I settled my thoughts, realizing, they were doing their best to care for their animals and it is really none of my business.
DH told me that they randomly stopped by yesterday to see if we knew anyone who would want to take in two horses that they could no longer afford to care for! He told me these were the "new" neighbors!
What can I do!?!? I want to do something!!! My landlord has 3 pastures and two horses so I wonder if she'd let them graze-but is it my place to jump in??? My first thought and comment to DH was that I would go by Tractor Supply this evening and pick up a bag or two of feed to donate to them. I don't have a lot of money but we've been incredibly blessed and have never had to worry about putting food on the table-especially for our pets. I feel like if they're desperate enough to start asking neighbors for ways out, then I can afford a stinkin' bag of feed!!!
What do y'all think???
Re: SKINNY horses next-door!!!
I wouldn't ask your professor if he would allow the horses to graze. I feel that would put him in a weird situation. However, you could tell him the neighbors stopped by and asked if anyone was interested in the horses and explain the situation. Maybe he would have some suggestions as to who might want them if he didn't.
If you can afford the bag of feed, then maybe I would donate a bag or two.
If all else fails, you may need to call animal control.
I hope the horses can find a good home!
Hi Ladies! Thanks for your thoughts! Horses do lay down on occasion. If they lay down for too long, I believe it can hurt their digestive tracts and lead to organ functioning problems. Another bit of information is that normally, they get up when a person or fellow horse gets close to them or disturbs them. (I have a sweet story from recently: my favorite of the 2 we look after was laying down for a rest one night. He actually let me walk all the way up to him, sit down with him, feed him lettuce and rub him all over. He never once tried to get up and I was so touched! Not many will let you get close while they're vulnerable like that.) Anyway, so they do lay down, but if it's from exhaustion-obviously that's horrible. They can sleep standing of course. I hear of a lot of animal surrenders these days because of people having lost their jobs. The dog pounds are full and horse rescue places as well. I wish these neighbors had asked for help sooner, but it's better late than never at all.
I think I will go ahead and pick up the bags of food. Even if the people are not home, leaving them on the front step, I hope will be a blessing to them. I feel so badly for animals who have NO control over these things! My heart aches! I will chat about it with my landlord but not bring up any ideas. I'll let the pros (landlords) handle that part! I'll post later tonight or tomorrow-once I've delivered my secret June Santa gift!!!
Mama of Moose--I feel your pain! If I ever saw neighbors mistreating their animals, I would be terribly concerned as well.
I think the bags of feed are a good short term solution. If you don't mind taking over ownership of the two horses, then ask your landlady if she would mind 2 extras. The worse thing she can say is "no."
As far as calling animal control, I might only use that as a last resort. My guess is that most aren't equipped to properly care for horses themselves. If they have to take them, you may want to find out EXACTLY what they plan on doing with it (they may have to put them down).
Perhaps you could stop by, and mention that your DH mentioned they were looking to get rid of the horses and strike up a conversation with them. Maybe suggest a craigslist post? Unfortunately in this economy, I know horses have had an exceptionally difficult time because of how expensive they are to keep. I'm PRETTY sure there's a horse rescue group in either Greensboro or Summerfield if you can't find someone local to you to take them over. You may want to look that up to see if they have any availability.
Poor horses.
I keep checking back here because I can't stop thinking about these two horses!!! Thank you for your posts! I will be looking up the rescue place here in a minute. I can't take them in because DH and I are moving to Raleigh at the end of the month. I also cannot afford them unfortunately-because I've been offere two other FREE horses last year as well!! I hate turning them down because it's my dream to own a horse someday. Now is not that day and I'd only be putting off the long-term care that they need. The feed bags are definitely a short-term help, but I hate feeling so helpless and I wonder how much more helpless the residents and horses feel!
My plan for today is to contact the horse rescue place that one of you mentioned (very helpful, thank you) and to go by with some feed and just lend a smiling face, a helpful hand and some prayer to go along with it. I know a couple of girlfriends who've come riding with me that might be able to help me find good homes for them if nothing else.
Y'all rock! I'm glad to be a nestie!!