# How NOT to keep your horse



## ShutUpJoe (Nov 10, 2009)

News10.net | Sacramento - Stockton - Modesto, California | Video

!!!!! The Humane Society in that area needs a kick in the butt!


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## EquineLover (Jan 24, 2011)

Too right it does. Poor ponies.


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## Ray MacDonald (Dec 27, 2009)

It's not the worst situation but not the best.

Mud is not life threatening. The don't look starving.

One is injured which should really be looked at.

I understand that it is really hard to let something you love go.

And where would the horses go? are those people going to take care of them? Not trying to sound snarky, just a question that needs to be asked.

But I do agree that thy needs some vet care and a new pasture.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

This was on the Fugly blog yesterday. AC won't step in because the horses are being fed. The one in the dog kennel is a stallion....like these people should be breeding!!


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## Babes Ribbon (Jan 25, 2011)

That's just sad...


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## sullylvr (Aug 13, 2009)

this makes me so mad. If the humane society dosnt consider this neglect then i dont know what is. Honestly, no animal should be forced to live that kind of life.  i hope they get rescued soon!


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## Ray MacDonald (Dec 27, 2009)

Again.. There are worst situations..


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

Ray MacDonald said:


> It's not the worst situation but not the best.
> 
> Mud is not life threatening. The don't look starving.
> *Perhaps not imminently, no. However, horses that can hardly move cannot really get food and water, can they? Plus, what about the effects of the mud on hooves, skin, etc.....what do you suppose their feet look like under all that mud?*
> ...


And we all are well aware that there are worse scenarios out there. Fast forward this one a couple weeks or a month, and this will be right up there. Perhaps you think the ASPCA should just wait until then?
Sorry, I am with the others here. Poor ponies. They need out of there, and someone in that county need to get off their **** and pay attention.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

Of course there are worse situations, there will always be worse. Does that mean we bypass a bad situation because "there are worse"?


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

If the do-gooders were not afraid to get thier hands dirty they could have went to the owner and asked if they could help improve the horses situation. Fencing could be brought along with straw or sand and an acceptable solution could have been reached. Instead they demonized an owner that is probably trying to do the best he can for his horses and now they have lost all hope of him cooperating. The lady that called him a moron would have better served the horses by finding someone with a tractor to put some drainage material in the pen. Then she could have put on her muck boots and big girl pants and done some work. 

People like that only want to vent thier frustrations with other aspects of thier life. They don't really want to help. It's hard work to actually DO something but it's easy to cry in front of the camera and point out someone else's shortcomings. If all the people that I saw gathered there had brought $50 worth of materials and spent two hours improving the conditions of these horses the county wouldn't have to get involved. The horses would also be much better off.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

^Kevin, I completely see where you're coming from, but I have a feeling the place would look like that again in another few months even if they had cleaned it up. The owner doesn't seem to be willing to keep up with the work, or he would have at least flushed the cut with water. I do agree that calling him a moron was immature and did nothing but make the problem worse.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

The cut was not serious at all and how do you know he didn't flush it with Champagne and rub it with caviar? In a few months the mud will be dried up and a properly built fence will last much longer than a few months. Like I said, all they can do is complain.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

kevinshorses said:


> ...The lady that called him a moron would have better served the horses by finding someone with a tractor to put some drainage material in the pen. Then she could have put on her muck boots and big girl pants and done some work...


They could probably buy the horses, if they really mean to help. But to say that it is a 10 out of 10 in dire need? I hope those 'experts' don't come by on those rare times when we get 3 days of rain in a row in southern Arizona. My bone dry corrals turn into thick, slippery mud. I hate it, the horses hate it, and then it dries out. Sure looks ugly on day 3, though.


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## sandy2u1 (May 7, 2008)

> If the do-gooders were not afraid to get thier hands dirty they could have went to the owner and asked if they could help improve the horses situation. Fencing could be brought along with straw or sand and an acceptable solution could have been reached. Instead they demonized an owner that is probably trying to do the best he can for his horses and now they have lost all hope of him cooperating. The lady that called him a moron would have better served the horses by finding someone with a tractor to put some drainage material in the pen. Then she could have put on her muck boots and big girl pants and done some work.
> 
> People like that only want to vent thier frustrations with other aspects of thier life. They don't really want to help. It's hard work to actually DO something but it's easy to cry in front of the camera and point out someone else's shortcomings. If all the people that I saw gathered there had brought $50 worth of materials and spent two hours improving the conditions of these horses the county wouldn't have to get involved. The horses would also be much better off.


Very well said, Kevin. The guy is not intentionally going out and abusing his horses. Times are tough for many people right now. Why not try and help the guy out instead of crucifying him.


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## Ray MacDonald (Dec 27, 2009)

I agree with all of you.

They do need help so why aren't people helping instead of trying to get the spca involved just to do something?


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## Jessabel (Mar 19, 2009)

I don't care if the idiot is doing it on purpose or not. That's totally irrelevant. The horses are not suffering any less just because the owner isn't neglecting them intentionally. There is no excuse. If you can't keep your horses in good condition, you don't have them. Period. 

I don't think it's just mud they're wallowing in. How often do you think the guy picks the manure out of his paddocks? That open wound on the one horse is an invitation for infection. And they are most definitely underweight.

Excuse me for being disgusted with the poor, helpless owner who's sitting in his house while his horses are outside, up to their elbows in filth.


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## Ray MacDonald (Dec 27, 2009)

Yeah it's sad but why can't people help instead of just trying to take them away from him? that would be quicker and then maybe he would more willing to let them go.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

No responsible horse owner puts their own wants before the needs of their horses. I would not say this is a 10, but it's sure up there. Here's Fugly's take on it:
http://fuglyblog.com/?p=2638


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## wyominggrandma (Nov 4, 2009)

Well said as usual Kevin. I am not closing my eyes about this, but its a reality of where some folks live. 

I live in Wyoming and right now we are fence high with snow, but guess what? In a few months(hopefully) the snow will start melting and since the ground is still frozen, my field, especially where the horses hang around most the time will be under water in dirty mud, the horses will be muddy and look like something the cat coughed up. There is no place to keep them dirt/mud/water muck free until the winter thaw is over. They are well fed, fresh water and the best vet care, yet if someone who thinks they know better would assume my horses are living in an inhumane situation.
My dog kennels/yard where my show dogs are will also be a pool of dirt and mud and water. They have the best of care and dry dog houses, but I can't keep them locked up inside the house to poop and pee because they are going to get filthy dirty during the spring thaw.
Alot of us living in some states don't have boarding facilities to keep our horses in box stalls. Heck even if I had the facilities close by, I couldn't afford it. Just because someone's situation LOOKS like inhumane treatment, that doens't mean it is.
My best friend lives in Northern California close by where these ponies are. Her dog kennels during the rains and sun, rains and sun are a mess, the dogs are muddy, the kennels are sloppy, just as her yard is where her goats. are. Does this mean she is inhumane? Does this mean she doens't go out daily and clean up and put down straw and gravel and such? No, it just means that sometimes you can't keep up with mother nature. 
Because my horses live in muddy gunk during the thaw, does that mean that I should not own my animals? Not in your life does it mean that, it just means I can't tell the snow/mud to go away, I have to deal with it an a daily basis. My horses have shelter to get under during the bad weather, they don't go in it, they stand outside in the snow and mud. On a ranch or farm, mud, dirt, manure, and messes are a part of daily life. Just because some do gooders decide to butt into a person's life and get on TV doesn't mean the person should have his animals taken away. Maybe those do gooders should send the guy money to help, hire tractors to bring gravel and stockpile gravel and straw and quit trying to make a person look inhumane.


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## Ray MacDonald (Dec 27, 2009)

I agree! ^^


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## ShutUpJoe (Nov 10, 2009)

Actually I do believe people HAVE offered to help him. They have offered to do stuff for him. Someone even offered to keep the horses at their barn until he could find a better situation for them. If anyone paid attention the horses have been in this condition for a year! 

I'm not one to sit and say that horses should have their arses wiped clean with a clean towel every time they poop but I would never let my horse wallow in mud up to their bellies for a year! He didn't even bother to go out and chop off the 10 pounds of caked mud off that poor horse's tail! Probably because HE doesn't want to walk through all that mud!


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

^Exactly. When spring comes we get bad mud, but they have dry stalls and their feet are cleaned regularly to make sure nothing's wrong from all the mud. I mean, for gosh sakes, at least take them out and hand-graze them once iin a while!


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## wyominggrandma (Nov 4, 2009)

Again, unless you are living in his boots, you don't know what is going on. Maybe he is afraid, and probably the truch,that if he lets the horses go to someones barn, he will never see them again. 
Funny that it says the horses have lived in this condition for a year? Gee, two months ago it was still HOT and dry in northern california, it was summer before that and spring before that. If conditions were so bad, why didn't the do gooders try to step in then and offer to help before winter hit. If it has been a year, then they watched it last year and again, instead of trying to help, waiting a WHOLE year to call in the tv reporters. Maybe the guy is sick and tired of folks butting into his business.
I don't have stalls and my horses can be clean, feet picked and manes and tails combed. A storm hits and they are packed with snow, mane and tails are frozen with ice and they have rolled in the snow and their long fuzzy coats look like they have not been taken care of for months. When spring starts rolling around, they look horrible. Coats are matted, tails and manes are caked in mud, their bellies are full of mud balls and even their heads are caked and muddy. Is it because I have not kept them well cared for and groomed? No,its because they go roll in the muck, lay and nap in the muck and run and play in the muck. 

You can't keep animals clean in muddy snowy conditions in everyday life UNLESS you are one who's animals are kept in blankets in stalls full of straw and shavings, groomed(alot of times by the barns professional groomers) turned and and brought back inside and the whole scenerio started again. I think that is great if you can afford to keep your horses that way , but for the ones that can't, the horses live in nature. Don't even tell me that "maybe you should not have animals then" until you have lived a winter in Wyoming or Utah or California and your animals live on ranches outside.
Oh yea, for all the humaniacs on the forum who cry and try to get everyone to sign petitions to stop horse roundups, maybe you need to go look at wild horses on the range, they sure as heck are not groomed and they live in mud up to their bellies, paw for food and walk miles to find water. So its okay for wild horses to live hard lives, but not okay when a person is feeding and taking care of his animals but just not up to some peoples standards.
Think about it.


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## ShutUpJoe (Nov 10, 2009)

These aren't wild horses that we are talking about. I don't see how anyone can look at those pictures and say that is okay. But that is just me...


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## wyominggrandma (Nov 4, 2009)

I didn't say it was okay, just that there might be alot more to the story than is being told. . 
I was just trying to say that if someone looked at my horses or my neighbors horses during the spring thaw, they would probably accuse me of not taking care of my animals which is very far from the truth.
When my husbands horse tore a HUGE hole in his leg and it took months and months to heal, I cleaned it two and three times a day, I medicated him, etc. As soon as I would walk back into the house, he would have rolled and the wound would be a dripping mess again. It must have looked like I didn't take care of him, but I did.
Everyone's circumstances and living conditions for their animals are different than the next person. Might look inhumane, but doesn't mean it is. A 32 yr old gelding down the road looked horrible skinny, coat icky, he looked like a humane case if there ever was one. BUT, this horse had weekly vet checks, was fed special foods since he had no teeth, the farrier did his feet every two weeks. I can't tell you the number of times the vet and sheriffs office was called on this owner to the point of nasty letters being written to the paper. But this old guy was loved, was healthy for a horse his age and loved to stand in his pasture by the pond and just watch life pass by. He finally was put down when the vet came out one week and he was anemic and sore.
So, I just think sometimes the newspapers and do gooders make more out of things than they really are. It happens all the time.
Again, this is not good, but maybe instead of calling him a moron and making him not want folks around, they should have tried to be nice about offering help.


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## wyominggrandma (Nov 4, 2009)

In case nobody noticed, this is a mute point. The next video showed the horses were rescued and placed at the rescue ranch.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

I didn't see the second video, do you by chance still have the link?


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## wyominggrandma (Nov 4, 2009)

just go to the first link in the first post and the next video to play is the one where they have taken the horse to the rescue


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## Buckcherry (Nov 18, 2010)

Really sad that those horses have to walk around in knee deep mudd....And the horses are skinny you can see their back bones and hip bones easily 
AND if you cared about your horses you would want better for them than living in tiny "dog kennels" and mudd to their knees. 
Thats why their are horse rescues all over the place!!!


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## ShutUpJoe (Nov 10, 2009)

I'm glad the horses got out of there : )


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## Ray MacDonald (Dec 27, 2009)

Good for the horses! They are now in a better pasture and hopefully some vet care for that leg 

But still....... it wasn't exactly "life threatening". Just saying.


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## Buckcherry (Nov 18, 2010)

I really can't believe some people don't see much wrong with that situation. Would you like to be walking in mudd up to your knees and have no way to get out of it. I don't think so. 
When you decide to own animals you are taking on a life that relies totally on you to feed it, and provide it with water and shelter. NOT a small pen filled with manure and mudd

Next time you decide somethings not that bad, think about if you would want to live in those conditions and how you would feel if your horses had to live in like that...


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## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

Ray MacDonald said:


> Good for the horses! They are now in a better pasture and hopefully some vet care for that leg
> 
> But still....... it wasn't exactly "life threatening". Just saying.


The second report indicated that some of the 10 horses may have to be euthanized, and the video clip showed one that was nearly three-legged lame. I'd say that qualifies as life-threatening...


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## Ray MacDonald (Dec 27, 2009)

Not arguing this. The horses are now saved and in a better home.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Ray MacDonald said:


> Good for the horses! They are now in a better pasture and hopefully some vet care for that leg
> 
> But still....... it wasn't exactly "life threatening". Just saying.


I disagree with this. As someone who has to deal with intense mud every single spring, thrush is a constant threat, as well as scratches and heaven forbid anyone gets injured because keeping it clean is next to impossible.

That amount of mud for any amount of time can be EXTREMELY lethal - regardless of it's a severe skin fungus, a badly infected wound or even colic from eating off that all the time.

I would argue that these conditions are almost as bad as it gets. A horse is not a pig, they are not designed to be wallowing in filth and feces without severe consequences.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

As a note, I am totally unable to locate the second video - the link only shows one video and none of the related videos seem to have anything to do with it? :-|


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## Buckcherry (Nov 18, 2010)

If you wait for a minute after the other video is done playing the second will play automatically, At least it did for me


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Jessabel said:


> I don't think it's just mud they're wallowing in. How often do you think the guy picks the manure out of his paddocks?


I am guessing if you took a survey of the horse owners on this BB you would find that a good percentage of them never pick their paddocks.

:wink:

Just saying.


Glad the horses have found dryer ground.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

I have never picked a paddock IN MY LIFE! Also I think the comment about some of the horses needing to be put down is probably fiction. If there was a horse in bad enough condition that it needed to be put down they would have shown close ups of every wound and blemish over and over. I don't trust television news to report only the facts particularlly when the whole point of the story is to stir up emotions. 

I'm glad the horses are in a better place but it's too bad that someone couldn't have been a little more proactive and helped the owner improve the conditions before they deteriorated to that point.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Kevin you are not the only one. I would guess there are more people who do not pick their paddocks than do pick their paddocks. 

I pick mine because they are right near my house and I have a horse who manures all in one spot so you end up with a huge pile of manure if it is not picked regularly. 

I do not see not picking paddocks as a sign of a bad owner.


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## Ray MacDonald (Dec 27, 2009)

MacabreMikolaj said:


> I disagree with this. As someone who has to deal with intense mud every single spring, thrush is a constant threat, as well as scratches and heaven forbid anyone gets injured because keeping it clean is next to impossible.
> 
> That amount of mud for any amount of time can be EXTREMELY lethal - regardless of it's a severe skin fungus, a badly infected wound or even colic from eating off that all the time.
> 
> I would argue that these conditions are almost as bad as it gets. A horse is not a pig, they are not designed to be wallowing in filth and feces without severe consequences.


Okay, I'm wrong


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## GreyRay (Jun 15, 2010)

Alwaysbehind said:


> Kevin you are not the only one. I would guess there are more people who do not pick their paddocks than do pick their paddocks.
> 
> I pick mine because they are right near my house and I have a horse who manures all in one spot so you end up with a huge pile of manure if it is not picked regularly.
> 
> I do not see not picking paddocks as a sign of a bad owner.


I dont pick our paddocks 
When they need it, I hook a Belgian up to the drag and pull it over the fields, but I personally find that 13 acres is too much to be out there with a bucket and a fork.


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## Buckcherry (Nov 18, 2010)

I pick the small paddock that leads out to their large pasture but thats it.


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

Glad the horses are in a better environment. Had they been my neighbors, we would have offered to help improve their situation. He didn't look all that strong to me, so I can see the job was probably too daunting for him. Of course that's just speculation on my part.

I do pick out my paddock regularly, as well as the stall. I do not do the fields. I like my place to look neat and clean, and I want my horses in as clean an area as possible. I also lime the areas regularly too. But that is me. I am ever watchful for thrush and other hoof ailments. Rather prevent than try to treat.


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## KANSAS_TWISTER (Feb 23, 2007)

my pastures and paddock is a mess in the spring!!! not that muddy, but muddy!
as for picking up after my horses, i personaly don't, although I've been known to send a punished child to clean them out.


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## Ray MacDonald (Dec 27, 2009)

Ahahahahaha! Nice!


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain (Apr 20, 2009)

This makes me angry.... at that woman and the news crew! The barbed wire needs to go, yes, but y'all can come on over to my side of the fence and take a look at the mud we've been dealing with here in Central California.


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