Why wont people listen!....GRRRR!

Vicki100

Vicki100

Well-Known Member
Jun 12, 2009
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West Mids
People being a young 12yr old girl at our yard who loves finnley a bit to much.

and insists on sneaking him vast amounts of mints and carrots when im not there. :banghead::stomp:

She doesnt come up the yard everyday, probs around 2/3 days a week if the weather is nice. She is one of the ladies daughters at the yard btw.

Anyway she hasnt been up the yard for a good couple of weeks as the weather has been really crappy. But she came up tonight, her & her mom were up the yard before me And as soon as i saw fin i knew he had been given treats.

He was licking his lips, trying to nip me, nudging me, biting my coat and kept looking at my hands constantly. He hasnt had ANY treats for the past 3weeks because he came down with mild lami.

I have told everybody on the yard that he is to have absolutly NO food or treats. I have seen the young girl sneak him treats ALOT of times in the past. Each time i give her a telling off saying she musnt do it, as it will make him ill.
I have spoken to her mom & dad about it too, saying its really dangerous for him to have anything sugary and they musnt let there daughter feed him treats.

I have even put a sign on his stable door in massive red letters 'DO NOT FEED!'

I dont blame the parents as such because she is so sneaky, she does it so quickly no one can see. Also her mom n dad dont keep a constant eye on her because she is 12.

It just really annoys me because i can instantly tell if hes been given these sneaky treats as he acts totally different.

I lunged him tonight and he was really full of beans and difficult to manage (totally not like him) he is usually a total dope on a rope.
Im guessing its a sudden sugar rush.

I have told them all again at the yard that no treats are too be given. I trust them all as they are all 40-50's and not the type to go behind my back and go against what i say.

I just dont know what else i can do, its really made me angry because im working so hard to get the weight off him at the moment. Im using every bit of energy i have to get him excercised. And for what? for her to go ruin it by shoving treats down his throat :stomp::banghead:

OH is going to talk to her dad again, they are really good mates so hopefully she will get a telling off.

*Sigh* Rant over :wink:
 
Can't you tell the girl herself that she hasn't to feed him and exaggerate the consequences like he might die (a bit OTT i know). I don't know if you allow your horse treats at anytime or not but maybe you could say that when you are there she can give him a treat, or if she really likes him could you offer her a reward of grooming him with you instead of the treat feeding.
Hope you manage to solve the problem.
 
Would her parents keep a closer eye on her if you said that if he comes down with lami within a few days of her treating him they'll be getting the vet's bill? I'm sorry, but if you bring a kid to the yard you are responsible for their behaviour.
 
I agree the parents have the responsibilty to lay down the boundaries for their daughter. My children are never allowed to touch anyone elses horse down the yard unless the owner says it is ok first, and only when the owner is present. I wouldn't like someone elses child messing with Molly so I do not let my children mess around with the other peoples horses.

The parents can stop her sneaking treats if they carry the treats and she has to ask for one before she feeds the horse, they simply don't let her carry them.

I am sure she is only doing it out of genuine pony love but that isn't goint to help you if he comes down lami.
 
Could you buy some lami friendly treats? Then teach her how to drop them on the floor for him so he doesn't start nipping/pocket pushing.[/QUOTE]
Sorry but at twelve she doesn't need to have it all her own way.She shouldn't give him anything,after all that's what it says on the sign.Think you should warn the parents that they will get the vet bill if he goes down with lami again.This is a sore point with me as have trouble stopping half wits feeding my laminitic pony ;banghead:. Have changed my sign as it said not to titbit him & have come to the conclusion that people don't see giving him carrots as giving
titbits.So now sign doesn't say please don't titbit it very rudely says Do NOT feed this pony ANYTHING in red letters about three inches high.It incenses me that people do give other peoples animals things without asking the owner :banghead:.I have made it known on the yard that if I find out anyone has been giving him anything they had better be able to afford plastic surgery :stomp:. If telling parents doesn't do it go to Y/O & lodge a formal complaint.
 
To me, it's up to her parents to stop her from giving him treats - they are already aware that there is an issue so therefore, THEY should be keeping a very close eye on her. Yards are not playgrounds for kids - they should be supervised closely at all times. Harsh, but true.

I'd also be warning them that any vet bill that comes in that could have been caused by their daughters actions will be winging its way to them
 
Thanks guys some good suggestions there.

Its difficult to tell them off because we are only a small DIY yard, including me theres only us 5.

Excluding me the other 4 are really close to each other, 2 being sisters and then other 2 being best mates for years. So i dont want to make anything awquard.

I hated having young children on the yard in the first place, but unfortunatly i had no say in the matter :stomp:

I have actually grown to quite like this 12yr old, she somtimes rides with me and does make me laugh.
But at the same time she does my nut in, she follows me around like a bad smell at times LOL!

Lami treats - never knew they existed, but all treats of any kind have been banned. Not even veg. Mean mom arent i haha :happy:

Getting OH to make an even bigger sign tommorrow for his stable door.

Ive subtly hinted to her today that if he was to have any treats it would make him 'REAAAALY POORLY' so hopefully she will go home and think 'uh ohh'
 
We put on ours "anyone found feeding this horse will be sued for criminal damage" or you could get a false finger and nail it to his stable door saying this was his last victim.:biggrin: seriously it would drive me mad why do people feel the need to feed horses that don't belong to them.
 
Take her out for a hack and tell her straight that should you catch
her feeding him again you will 'beat her' then when she gets
back and tells her Mum, deny all knowledge:biggrin::mstickle:
 
I used to have people feeding my horses in the field they were in - like I would get there and the neighbours would have turfed out all their vegetable peelings and things into the field. I started off with a 'please do not feed' sign and it continued. So I swapped it for a notice that stated that feeding could make the horses seriously ill, cost a small fortune in vets bills and that they might die. I'm not sure if it was the threat of the cost or the death that stopped them, but it worked! (and no, I don't mean I threatened to kill the people feeding them if anything happened!).

There are some muppets at yards though. At one place I was on, there was a guy who insisted on feeding treats to my horse. I never treated him as he would start biting and he also cribbed a lot if he was fed anything sugary - even a polo mint would induce a good 10-15 minutes cribbing. So I told this guy repeatedly that he didn't get treats and told him why. Yet he carried on. He fed him when he thought I wasn't looking (but I always knew he'd done it), so I asked him why he kept persisting in doing something he knew I didn't want him to do. The answer? That was "but you've never actually told me not to do it". Ummm....ok....so I told him then not to do it and exactly what would happen if he ever did it again!!! On another yard someone used to feed my pony half a loaf of bread every day when he was in to lose weight, because he 'looked hungry' despite him always having hay to eat.

So I can share your pain, and I really think that to stop it you can't be too nice about it. You've done nice and it doesn't work, so time to give them a reality check I think. I wouldn't say that lami treats are ok - if you don't want your horse fed, you don't want your horse fed and people should respect that. I don't go round giving crisps to random children that I see (I think it can get you arrested if nothing else) - it would never be seen as being acceptable. People don't generally feed other people's dogs or anything else, so why is it ok with horses?
 
Perhaps it might be an idea to sit the girl down and give a full on description (with pictures) on what lami actually is and the horrible suffering it can cause.

And emphasise that his is triggered by diet and that even the smallest amount of uncontrolled sugar or treat can cause it - does she really want to know that if he comes down lami it is likely to be her fault? Could she live with herself if he had to be put down - just becasue she wanted to give him a treat?

Yes it would be a harsh lesson but it's the truth.
 
That is so annoying! Unfortunately, I have seen people feeding other peoples horses treats / carrots and stuff and they don't always think they are doing wrong. However, this girl knows it is wrong of her! I would have another word with her parents. Don't know what else you can do if you've put signs up! Some people eh????!
 
Unfortunately we lost a pony on our yard recently due to other people feeding him.

The yard is situated up a lane that we share with a couple of campsites so there are often people walking up and down, from where they can get to the top couple of paddocks that isn't usually permanently used for turn out, however there were a couple of small grey (children's) ponies in there at the time.

An unknowing tourist picked some 'flowers' from the bottom of the lane while walking back to their campsite and then decided to feed them to the pretty pony... unfortunately their lovely looking flower was hemlock and the poor pony died a rather traumatising, horrific and most likely painful death shortly after. Luckily somebody was on the yard as he started having seizures, called the owners and vet who managed to get to the yard in time to put him out of his misery.

Still, it wasn't pretty. Although people mean well it's naivety that unfortunately means they just have no idea of the potential consequences.
 
People don't generally feed other people's dogs or anything else, so why is it ok with horses? Zingy

Exactly. It bugs the pants off me that people think it's OK to go round feeding horses in fields etc just because they can be reached. I have told off many people for feeding endless carrots etc over the fence-get lost, not your animal! I am amazed that people then ask why they can't feed them! One woman told a 10 year old pony owner to f**k off for politely asking her not to feed! Since when do you lean over the garden wall and feed your neighbour's dog? Same difference.

An old dear at my yard comes up at 10/11pm-weird-and gets all the horses up to 'check that they're alive' and to feed humbugs, even tho the dentist told her not to. She was horribly offended recently when two people put up signs saying do not feed (lami and box rest) and took it v personally-well, yeah, it is cos she's the only one that does it!

I'd be having very serious words with the kid and do this in front of her parents who are horsey and will therefore understand. If you do it with her parents present, there can be no 'mix ups' and then all of you are aware of the situation and can all remind her. I'd be using terms such as 'you have no right' as children tend to listen to strongly worded rules.

Roxy's Mum said:
Unfortunately we lost a pony on our yard recently due to other people feeding him. An unknowing tourist picked some 'flowers' from the bottom of the lane while walking back to their campsite and then decided to feed them to the pretty pony... unfortunately their lovely looking flower was hemlock and the poor pony died a rather traumatising, horrific and most likely painful death shortly after.
Click to expand...

God, that's awful. How horribly sad.:(
 
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It used to really annoy me too, still does but luckily my horses aren't in view of the public and at my own stables.

Honestly, if it was me I would lie. If you have already asked a few times and she is ignoring your wishes (probably thinks "well he hasn't got ill from me feeding treats before") I'd say something like "I don't know what my horse had yesterday but he has been poorly so I can't ride with you today, I really hope he is ok and I doesn't need the vet, I have been so careful making sure he doesn't eat much" obviously within reason, if questioned by anyone ill could mean hyper from a sugar rush or anything you wish to dumb down. It might be enough to shock the girl into stopping. After all, she has been ignoring your very justified and important wishes. Or go down the route that he has started biting.
 
My OH was approached by some angery passer by as Kate had Bitten his MIL and she was traumatized. OH asked if she could read, to which the bloke replied of course she can, he didn't like the reply he got from OH as he pointed to our sign, and ask if MIL had had all her jabs so the horse wouldn't catch anything. On an other occaision we pulled up in the car just in time to catch some bloke smack our filly around the head because he was feeding peelings ad she was being pushy OH made the bloke pick up all the veg peelings with threats of prosecuting him for fly tipping, and and taste of his own medacine.
 
Cheers for the replies guys :biggrin:

OH had a word with her dad tonight, so hes going to give her a telling off :giggle:

Also made a second sign and put that up.

What really annoys me is that she is very aware of lami and knows all to well the consequences.

Basically before i had finnley, there was another pony who used to occupy his stable. Young girl used to ride him quite regularly until he came down with really bad lami...owner was to soft and felt guilty that he was in his stable constantly. So she fed him to much hay, to much food, and lots of treats. She also didnt mind others giving him lots of treats.
In the end he had to be put to sleep, young girl saw this happen and was devastated.

I just hope she gets the message now. *sigh*
 
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