Hi All,
Welcome to topic 7 for 624EHS - Contemporary Issues in Equine Science.
This topic is all about the public feeding horses and the issues associated with it. Make sure that you look at the launch PowerPoint, which has been posted in the Classroom. DL students (and others who choose this option) are required to contribute to this blog as part of their CW3 assessment. All students have from now until 11:59 pm on Friday 7th of May 2021 to contribute to this blog, to debate the issues surrounding the public feeding horses without permission. Ensure you can also evidence your opinions and remember that you are also required to submit a reference list (word document emailed to module leader) by 11.59 pm on Friday 7th of May 2021. You will be graded on the quality and quantity of both your blog contributions and your reference list. Remember, the point of this is to debate the issues, so you should be replying to each other's posts. I will be keeping an eye on the blog, but if you have any issues, you should email me. Please remember to register your name with your comments so that I know who has contributed with which comment. Other FT students can contribute to the blog in preparation for the in-class debate but will not be assessed on this.
Rosa
More recently there has been more reports of horses becoming injuried and seriously ill because of public feeding. To solve this issue, the British Horse Society (BHS) created the campaign #BeHorseAware in June 2020 to warn the public of the dangers of feeding certain foods to horses. This campaign started in June 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, at this time the government guidelines (GOV.UK, 2021) allowed the public to go on walks throughout the day with the family as part of their exercise. During this time, the weather was nice so more of the public were going out for regular walks where they would then take the same routes.
ReplyDeleteWith the increase of public walking, this has caused more problems for land and horse owners. Before the campaign was created, the BHS were made aware of many cases where horses became seriously injured, extremely ill and even death from public feeding and leaving gates open (BHS, 2020).
Through the campaign, the BHS are trying to make the public aware of the dangers to public feeding through posters and leaflets as the public are oblivious to the dangers of feeding certain foods to horses. To educate families, the BHS created simple posters for horse owners to put up so that the public will stop feeding grass cuttings and other foods.
It also states in the countryside code “Do not feed livestock, horses or wild animals as it can cause them harm” (GOV.UK, 2021).
The BHS has also given the following advice to the public:
Any type of food, grass cuttings or any other plants can cause horses to become extremely unwell or even kill them
Fighting between horses could break out and cause an injury
Horses may mistake your fingers for food and accidentally nip them
If you cross land with a right of way where horses are kept, the above points will be applicable but also ensure you:
Leave gates and property as you find them
Keep to the right of way
Take your litter home
Keep your dog on a lead and bag and bin your dog’s mess
Give horses lots of a space and avoid coming between mothers and their young
If you see a horse in distress, alert the nearest farm/yard or check for a sign with owner’s detail on.
(BHS, 2020)
Recently more owners are coming forward and telling their stories about the damages the public are causing their horses. Many campaigns have been created and signed; a campaign on facebook called “stop feeding our horses” has 6600 members and two petitions have been created (change.org and the government) to change the law to make it illegal and an offence to public feed livestock and horses.
DeleteAlthough the BHS have create #BeHorseAware posters, the public still act oblivious when signs have been put around the fencing of paddocks to stop the public touching, during Covid-19 and feeding the animals inside. On many occasions I have witnessed firsthand the public going up to the paddocks and completely ignore the big red and white signs in front of them.
The RSPCA also include the dangers of feeding other people’s horses on their website. Under the heading of ‘Why feeding other people’s animals’ pets is bad for them’. This inclusion of horses along with other animals is important as it makes the information more accessible to people who otherwise may not see it (RSPCA 2020; RSPCA 2021). In similarity to the BHS (2021) some advice for the public is:
DeleteHorses may have specialist diets to control health issues such as laminitis or obesity.
Plants which seem harmless may be toxic to horses.
Horses’ food requires proper preparation in order to prevent obstructions in the horse’s throat and choking.
While accessible information online will reach people on a large scale, there are more ways in which this information gets out to the public. Printable signs from BHS (2021) and SSPCA (2020) give horse owners the opportunity to make people aware as they enter their fields of the dangers they may encounter.
Possibly putting up posters in veterinary practices or running segments on TV shows such as Countryfile and The One Show would help reach a vast audience.
The public have always fed horses that do not belong to them because of the access of footpaths and bridleways which may pass through or pass by a field with horses in. During the Covid-19 pandemic, this problem has risen in the past year, as people have been limited to what they can do, but going for a walk has always been an option. Because of this, it has become more common for people to go out and see horses and sometimes feed them (Nellist, 2021). Even though covid restrictions have improved horse welfare overall in the equine industry due to more free time for owners horses, owners have had to make precautions so that horses in public areas are not to be fed as it can cause a horse all sorts of damage. (Williams, 2020)
DeleteNo member of the public should be fed anyone elses animals without their permission. For example, people do not go up to people's dogs and start feeding them, just because a person has access to an animal it does not mean they are entitled to feed that animal. The countryside code from GOVUK also mentions that it is not allowed to feed horses or other animals as it can cause the animal harm (GOV.UK, 2021). A lot of the time the public may think they are doing well for the horse by feeding them, but there may be a reason a horse has restricted grazing or is out on a surface. Horses are friendly animals and most will approach someone with food. As horses eat 14- 20 hours per day, making it uncommon that they will turn down the offer of food as they are uncommonly full due to them being trickle feeders (Fraser, 2020).
tia
By the public also feeding horses, it makes the horse trust people other than the horses’ owner. This can leave horses vulnerable to all members of the public, even the ones who wish to cause the horse harm. Under The Animal Welfare Act 2006 (Legislation.gov.uk, 2021) it states:
Delete“ A person commits an offence to a protected animal if:
(a)an act of his, or a failure of his to act, causes an animal to suffer,
(b)he knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the act, or failure to act, would have that effect or be likely to do so,
(c)the animal is a protected animal, and
(d)the suffering is unnecessary.
(2)A person commits an offence if—
(a)he is responsible for an animal,
(b)an act, or failure to act, of another person causes the animal to suffer,
(c)he permitted that to happen or failed to take such steps (whether by way of supervising the other person or otherwise) as were reasonable in all the circumstances to prevent that happening, and
(d)the suffering is unnecessary.”
Horses are protected animals under the act, as horses are commonly found domesticated in the British Islands, and therefore any harm against the animal is illegal.
Horses can pick up bad habits in the field if constantly being fed by the public. They most commonly will be fed by hand which can cause them to become greedy, snatch and bit. This can also cause them to become vicious to other horses in the field causing many injuries to occur through biting and kicking.
ReplyDeleteHorses love apples and carrots, and will commonly have them for treats as a positive stimulus (Bausson et al, 2008). They prefer the sour taste of apples and the juiciness of carrots when compared to sweet or salty tastes (Janczarek et al, 2018) as carrots contain 80% water and 7grams of sugar making them a healthy treat for horses in moderation (Spillers, 2021). Horses gain 7.5% sugar intake from grazing for 24 hours (1.3kg for a 350kg pony) without the added morning and dinner feeds (2.5-7% sugar) (Spillers, 2021).
Horses receive enough sugar in their diet from being out in the pasture without any extra treats from the public. The public with be feeding them more sugar than they require in the forms of carrots, apples and cut grass which will cause them to get laminitis if the sugar levels aren’t managed (Spillers, 2021).
There are many stories that have been reported to the BBC of foals dying and horses being ‘poisoned’ by the public. Horses are unable to digest certain foods through their single chamber stomach. The endogenous microbiota in the digestive system helps with the enzymatic degradation of proteins, carbohydrates and fats in the small intestine and stomach (Cichorska et al, 2014). The food is then processed down to the caecum where it is microbiologically fermented (Cichorska et al, 2014).
DeleteDigestion starts in the oral cavity where the saliva is secreted by the sublingual, mandibular and parotid salivary glands (McCall et al, 2008) before going down the throat to the oesophagus. The oesophagus is 1 – 1.5 m long and lined with stratified squamous epithelium (Cichorska et al, 2014). A horse’s stomach is small and can only carry around 8-15 litres making the horse only able to eat small quantities of feed in short time intervals (Cichorska et al, 2014). Horses kept in stables with access to roughage and concentrate throughout the day, are able to not be exposed to excessive food load in the stomach; compared to horses with high concentrated diets, such as sport horses, are exposing their stomachs to overload (Cichorska et al, 2014). An overload of the stomach contributes to tightening of the pyloric sphincter of the stomach inflow, creating gas eructation (Cichorska et al, 2014). The tightening causes colic pains, insulin resistance, rupture of the stomach and laminitis (Eisemann et al, 2013).
As well as the possibility of harming a horse in a drastic way, feeding horses that someone does not know can also harm the people doing it. It is unknown how a horse may react to receiving food if the person doing it does not know the horse, which could lead to the horses biting a person or even following them and lashing out as they now know the person has food. Another risk factor to consider is that if horses are together, giving food to them could cause a fight, which could result in injuries to the horses, but also the public if they are in the way.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe main problem coming out of the public feeding horses they don't know, is that it can have huge implications on a horses welfare, which can make them very unwell, give them an unbalanced diet and can sometimes cause death. A huge risk factor of causing colic in horses eating products that are not normally in their digestive system, which can cause an impaction or gastric colic (Gonçalves, 2002). If colic is not treated quickly, it can do severe damage to a horse and can sometimes cause the horse to experience long and painful death. The general public is not aware enough on this top and it must be addressed how feeding someone's horse can cause huge problems.
DeleteSome of the public do not understand how complex a horse's digestive system is, and feeds them anything they can get their hands on such as large vegetables or sometimes even meat. Some public feeders may also think it is okay to give a horse grass clippings as it is grass, which in their eyes horses are allowed, when actually grass clippings can be very harmful to horses, as they can contain poisonous plants and chemicals (Mount Horeb, 2021). Horses are unable to throw up, so if a large amount of food is given to them in one go, a horse could choke from this, and may not be found for a long amount of time, which can also lead to health problems, and in severe cases death. In some cases, feeding horses food that may have gone off or has become mouldy can also give horses digestion problems and sometimes diseases. (Schwarte,1937)
Some horse owners have also reported horse muzzles being taken off horses which is also a welfare issue. If a horse has a muzzle on, it is to control their diet, so by taking it off the horse can gorge graze, which could lead to impaction colic, or could make a bigger issue for horses that are prone / have diabetes or laminitis (Davis, 2020).
A large number of equine welfare issues in GB are down to a lack of knowledge amongst caregivers. Laminities and obesity are already problems that horse owners contend with (Horseman et al. 2016) without the added stress of public feeding. The rise in walkers through the COVID-19 lockdown has led to an increase in occurences (Jones, 2020) although it is believed there is no malicious intent to a majority of these cases, the ones that end badly still cause a great deal of pain and heartache. Although the government Countryside Code discourages public feeding of horses and other livestock (GOV.uk, 2021) it is not a criminal offence to do so, despite the risks to animal welfare. Other organisations such as British Horse Society (BHS) the RSPCA and Horse & Hound have all highighted the risks on their websites and a number of warnings have been issued to the public however it is quite common for these warnings to be ignored, even when horse owners print of their own warning signs. Once again a lack of knowledge quite often results in welfare implications, maybe educating the public alongside warning them would prove to be more successful as the general public may not understand the risk involved or how intricate the equine digestive system really is.
DeleteAs Tia mentioned, some owners have even reported the removal of muzzles, to the general public a grazing muzzle could look unecessary or even cruel when in fact they are used to prevent conditions such as laminits which as horseowners know is much worse than the muzzle itself. Although it has never really been a priority to educate the general public about horse related things outside of riding on the road, the increase in public feeding is really pushing for this issue to dealt with. #BeHorseAware could also be used as an educational platform where the public can learn WHY is it important to listen to these warnings
Abbie
DeleteEven though the issue of the public feeding horses can not exactly be monitored, there are things that can be done to prevent this from occurring. Owners can put up signs, provided from the BHS which are easily downloadable from the BHS website. These signs are to the point on how dangerous feeding horses can be (British horse society, 2021). Fines should also be put in place to make it clear to the public that they should not be feeding horses. Campaigners in 2019 pushed for fines to be in place for people feeding wild ponies in the new forest, as many ponies over the years have had issues because of this (BBC, 2019). Fineing people should be put in place as well as educating the general public on why it is important to leave horses alone and not feed them, and make it clear for the public to understand why it is such a large issue and why it has only gotten worse as years have gone by. Surveys and research should be done to understand how much the general public knows about this topic, so equines can start a conversation about the importance of a horse's diet and respect for other peoples animals.
ReplyDeleteAthough there are signs available for horse owners to print out this are quite often ignored by the public (Jones, 2021). The campaign aimed at educating the public on the dangers of feeding horses that don't belong to them is gathering momentum however, I agree with Tia that there should be some sort of fine in place to really make people aware of the consequences of their actions. Unfortunatley people might be more willing to listen if their actions leave them out of pocket rather than with a warning or a story of dispair from a horse owner whose pain they just don't understand.
DeleteQuite often people are aware of the fact a cow has four stomachs, or a pig will eat almost anything and digest it, therefore it is understandable that people with jump to the conclusion that horses are amongst these hardened snackers. What they are usually not aware of is that even grass cuttings can be detrimental to an equine digestive system. Until the government make it illegal to public feed horses and livestock, I do not believe that the warnings currently being issued will do the job as there should be real consequences for the action of public feeding regardless of whether it was an act of kindness
Abbie
Horses are housed in herds in an attempt to meet their social needs, as a result of this a hierarchical system is established and the horses will respect each other’s boundaries. In cases where food may be introduced, e.g from people feeding groups of horses in fields, could cause a breakdown of this hierarchical structure causing the horses to become aggressive to one another. Once horses are biting and kicking each other injuries can occur. The force from a kick can be up to one tonne, a shoe on this hoof will add to the peak force therefore causing greater risk to injury (Donati et al. 2018)
ReplyDeleteHorses kicking each other in fields is an important cause of fractures. According to (Derungs et al. 2004) 42% of kicks were associated with fractures in a retrospective study involving 256 horses, and 14% (17) of these horses required euthanasia. The main factor associated with the recovery was the type of bone involved, acute fracture, high grade lameness and comminated fracture, which often occurred in combination, had an adverse effect on recovery. Kicks from other horses are the single most important cause of fractures in the equine population, with recovery rate primarily affected by the fractured bone, the comminution and severity of lameness at the time of presentation. Group housing and behavioural needs of horses must be managed correctly in order to prevent kick injuries (Donati et al. 2018)
The risks of feeding horses that are out in a herd include aggressive behaviour leading to injury, however on the other side of that are the horses that are turned out individually. Horseman et al (2016) mentions Hockenhull and Creightons findings; 9% of horse owners do not turn their horse out with access to other horses and this number has continued to rise as a number of livery yards tend to offer paddock grazing as oppose to herd fields nowadays. As social animals this can be seen as a whole welfare issue in itself but with regards to public feeding, horses that are deprived of social interaction may be more willing to approach strangers, this friendly behaviour can lead to the return of these strangers with 'snacks and treats'.
DeleteIf any of these treats cause health implications with these horses, there might not be anyone around to notice for several hours as there are no other horse owners accessing the paddock (BHS, 2020). In these cases the animal in question can be alone and in pain for an extended period of time and that is just so unfair on the horse and owner.
Abbie
During the covid 19 lockdown people were restricted in the amount of activity they could be involved in away from home. GOV.UK (2020) stated that all people must stay at home, except for very limited circumstances and should the not follow these rules, authorities, including the police could fine them. Under these restrictions the countryside and public footpaths saw more use than before for families to exercise and also meet with other friends and family in a socially distanced safe manner.
ReplyDeleteThe human-animal bond is something which is well established where it is generally acknowledged that the relationships between humans and companion animals are meaningful and good for human health (Brooks et al. 2018). Over 40% of the UK are estimated to own at least one companion animal (Bedford 2021).
Shoesmith et al. (2021) undertook a survey regarding the influence of human-animals on the mental and physical health during the first covid lockdown in the UK. The findings highlight how important interaction and relationships between both companion (dog, cat, own horse) and non-companion (other people’s animals, horses, wildlife) can emotionally and physically support people during a period of time when the population is experiencing environmental changes. Members of the public who did not have their own animals during this time may have sought out animals such as horses to provide that emotional support during this time. Giving the horses food would be a way to create that relationship and bond they were looking for.
As the pandemic increased public footfall through the countryside the exposre to horses also increased (Nellist 2021). Horses experienced disruption to their routines (Hockenhull & Furtado 2021), and as their care givers movements were restricted horses now had longer turnout times and reduced exercise. Many governing bodies supported riders who chose not to ride during the pandemic as to lessen the strain on the NHS, at a time when hospital space was limited (Williams, Randle & Marlin 2020).
DeleteWithout this regular interaction from caregivers and the increased footfall through horses’ fields, some horses may actively seek this interaction as well as the public wanting to be near the horses. This behaviour from the horse may have inadvertently encouraged feeding by the public.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAs stated in the above comments, the BHS have been working hard in the past couple of years to combat the ongoing battle of public feeding horses. It is under a general understanding that most people mean no harm, however, there has been an increasing amount of reports regarding the welfare of horses as a result of being fed unsafe items of food. In June 2020, Eleanor Jones published an article in the Horse and Hound regarding a warning to the public about feeding horses, with an update on the countryside code. In January 2021 Jones uploaded another article following on, with further warnings about the affect it can have on the horses, as well as the new, greater determination from horse owners.
ReplyDeleteFrancois
Since lockdown begun in March 2020 there has been a huge increase in cases of horses being fed by members of the public passing through. Sport England (2020) revealed some statistics relating to lockdown and outdoor activity. It showed that 63% of people in the first 6 weeks of lockdown said that getting outdoors was an important part of their mental health. The increase in outdoor walkers has increased the traffic through public footpaths, meaning unknowledgeable people may misunderstand the rules around horses and livestock. In an attempt to educate the public, the BHS (2020) have created and provided signs for horse owners to put up nearby the horses, in the hope they have the desired effect. The signs are free to print for anyone who may need them. Although the signs are beneficial, it unfortunately does not stop the issues entirely, this needs to be combatted by an increase in educational promotions through social media etc.
DeleteJasmine Holmes
As most of the above comments cover the risks of the public feeding domesticated horses, it is important to look outside the UK and towards the wild horses, in countries like Namibia. In 2019 the Namibia Wild Horses foundation released a warning attempting to refrain the public, and mostly tourists, from feeding and watering the horses by the road. The increase in public interaction is drawing the wild herds closer to the road, causing an increase in road accidents and traffic. Following on from this, Namibia had to begin a controversial Hyena cull, to save the population of wild horses. The onset of the drought caused the Hyena’s usual prey to migrate, leaving the horses are easy prey. The interference from the public has been the cause for more hyena sightings around public roads and urban areas.
ReplyDeleteFrancois
DeleteArguing the point Francois put forward about the Namibian horses, on research it seems that the interference of the public feeding the wild horses not only helped to improve the horses conditions, but also prompted the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to convey the seriousness of the hyena problem, as they reduced numbers from 286 to just 73 individuals, they looked for ways to safeguard the horses. The intervention has resulted in the birth of 8 foals for the first time in 6 years and the beginning of redemption for the breed (Swilling, 2020)
Jaz