Signs of Neglect
What To Do If You See A Horse Or Pony Needing Help
Firstly, DO NOT enter the property. If you enter the
property without permission you could be charged with tresspassing. Also do not attempt to feed, water or buy the animal before the authorities have given you the go-ahead to do so.
Feeding or buying the animal etc often means that the RSPCA cannot investigate and prosecute the offenders thus leaving the way open for them to do it all over again.
Your first point of call, before doing anything else is to call the RSPCA. They have the relevant authorisation to enter the property, investigate the situation and in some cases
prosecute the offenders. Please do not take action until you have heard back from them in regards to your report. If you are concerned and have not heard back, call again to see
how things are progressing. If the animal is in dire straits and requires immediate attention, ensure that you have stressed this fact when making your report. Information you will need to
provide will include:
- The exact location of the animal in question including street name, number and location on property.
- What it is you are reporting. If reporting neglect, you may use this page and/or our Condition Assessment sheet for reference.
- Your name and contact details are important. Although all reports are STRICTLY confidential, the organisation you report to may need to call upon you to confirm details or you may be asked to provide an official statement in extreme cases.
- If at all possible, the horse owner's name and/or address.
Who to call?
RSPCA Complaints line: (08) 9209 9316
RSPCA After hours emergency number: 041 107 9378
Or alternatively contact your local Shire Ranger.
What is neglect?
One of the toughest things for people with limited experience is how to tell if a horse is neglected. Well the obvious answer is to ask somebody. However it depends on who you ask as those who inflict neglect on their animals often will tell you absolutely anything to justify their animal's treatment or condition and often it can be hard to separate fact from fiction - especially as horses and ponies are such complicated animals to care for with so many variables to consider. Here on this page, we aim to give you a simple, understandable and accurate description of how a horse or pony should be cared for to make life a little easier for you if you are concerned for the welfare of a horse or pony.
What is Neglect?
As defined in the Oxford Dictionary, neglect is:
- verb 1 fail to give proper care or attention to. 2 fail to do something.
- noun 1 the state of being neglected. 2 the action of neglecting.
- origin Latin negelegere, which means 'to disregard'.
When looking for signs of neglect, one of the first things to check out is the horse's actual condition. The Second Chance Condition Assessment document gives you an overview of feed and water requirements of horses and also a body condition chart to go by when assessing a horse or pony's condition. Feel free to print this document for your own future reference.
SCHRAR Condition Assessment
Basic Signs to Look Out For
Here are other things to look out for when identifying neglect in horses and ponies, apart from the most obvious which is an animal with a very poor body condition:
- Open or Untreated Wounds
Any horse or pony, if wounded, should have the injury treated immediately. If you spot a horse or pony with a fresh injury, please attempt to alert the owners immediately! Quite often most owners see to their horses once or twice daily so an injury may go unnoticed until they next feed. The majority of people are very grateful to a kindly person letting them know their horse is injured if they haven't already seen it, particularly if the horse is in a large paddock or out of sight of their home.
If you have already notified the owner, and notice a day or two later no treatment has been done (and bear in mind not all injuries can be stitched, and not all injuries are bandaged, depending on the veterinarian's recommendation), or see a horse with an old untreated wound, it is time to call the authorities. Untreated wounds are very obviously different to treated ones; most often untreated wounds are off colour, dirty, puss-filled or covered in flies. Treated wounds tend to be much cleaner and if not stitched or bandaged, will often have a coloured spray or lotion applied to help repel insects and assist with disinfecting the injury.
Injuries such as lameness, bruising, swollen limbs or other areas may often look untreated when in fact they may be. Treatments for injuries such as this can include bandaging, but most often includes injections applied against infection, or something as simple as hosing down or cooling the bruised/swollen area once or twice daily which isn't always obvious to the eye. - Hooves and Hoof Care
Hooves in good condition should be rounded and smooth. Not all horses require shoes; however, if a horse is shod, the hoof should not be allowed to grow over the shoe. Shoes need to be removed and replaced approximately every six weeks depending on the animal's individual hoof growth. At re-shoeing, hooves should also be trimmed and balanced carefully by a trained farrier to ensure maximum comfort to the horse.
Unshod horses and ponies can live very happily without shoes, depending on their individual circumstances (such as work load, surface they are worked on, their own natural hoof strength and growth rate). Hooves should NEVER be allowed to grow excessively long as this can cause pain and discomfort to horses and ponies. Hooves should not be cracked and badly chipped or breaking off. Some chipping is to be expected in unshod horses but large chunks of hoof missing is not acceptable. - Living Conditions
Horses require food, water and shelter just the same as any other animal. They also require space in which to move around freely. Although not ideal, it is accepted that most racing horses and some riding horses are kept in small enclosures, stables or yards for most of the day; sometimes even the whole day. These enclosures are required to be in acceptable condition and safe for the animal to be in. Manure must also be removed daily and bedding kept dry to prevent hoof disease. Of course water must be available to the animal twenty four hours a day unless otherwise specified by a veterinarian or if the animal is being cooled down immediately after a hard work-out, in which case it should be walked and not in its stable in any case.
Horses living in paddocks also require water to be available twenty four hours a day. Paddock fencing should be in acceptable condition and contain the animal safely. There are no laws indicating what materials may or may not be used for fencing, however, barbed wire and ringlock, although commonly used, is less than ideal. Fencing with loose wire or in very poor repair is putting the animal at risk of unnecessary harm and therefore not acceptable.
Paddocks themselves are required to be free of rubbish. Small items such as bits of baling twine, broken glass and old wrappers can be trodden on or ingested, causing horses a great deal of agony. Large things like tin, piles of bricks, wire can all cause injuries to horses and puts them at risk of coming to unnecessary harm.
Shelter must also be available to all horses and ponies. This might be a purpose-built paddock shelter or three-sided shed, or you may have plenty of trees in your paddocks. A paddock without sufficient shelter is not acceptable, especially when horses are exposed to the hot Australian sun all summer without a shady spot under which to cool off. - Rugging
Not all horses require rugging. Horses and ponies are naturally equipped with winter coats throughout the colder months, which if left in their natural state are quite adequate to keep them happy. The coat grows in a manner to allow rain to flow off the animal and is also full of natural oils which keep them dry underneath, even if they look saturated. Did you know horses will coat themselves in mud in the wet months to help provide an extra insulating layer to keep them warm and dry?
When we humans have horses for riding and competition, we will often rug and/or clip to make pre- and post-riding care easier, quicker, and more convenient. Also, if you see a horse that has had their coat clipped standing miserably in the cold with no rugs, notify the owner! There are actually heartless thugs out there that will steal the rugs off a horse's back. Literally!
As always, if you are unsure - just ask! It is better to be certain that a horse is being neglected rather than reporting one that may not be kept ideally but is still in fair health.
Please Bear In Mind...
When reporting a case of neglect, cruelty or abandonment, the authorities will [b]always[/b] follow up your report. It may take up to two weeks to hear back, and this is because organisations like us and the RSPCA have very limited resources, and the staggering amount of reports do take some working through.
Frustrated that a neglected horse or pony you reported has had nothing done to improve its situation? Again, please bear in mind that our laws mean that in many instances, nothing can be done. Second Chance, the RSPCA, the Police and Shire Rangers are all bound by law and it can certainly be as frustrating for us as it can be for you when the laws state that the animal is considered not in danger and therefore we are unable to do anything more than try to keep an eye on the animal to then swing into action should its condition deteriorate to the point where the law allows direct action to be taken. Also we beg of people, please do not report cases of abuse or neglect just to get back at somebody for wronging you in some way. Please ensure that the animal really is in trouble before making that phone call as the level of false reports means that the animals that really do need help are suffering longer as ALL reports need to be followed up once they are made.
Horse Owners: Are You Frustrated Too?
Fed up with having your horse or pony reported for neglect when in fact it has simply dropped condition due
to being recently ill, or because your pony is restricted to his diet yard to prevent him over-gorging himself and making himself ill on the winter grass?
Or because you don't rug or because you have just taken in the animal and are rehabilitating it yourself? This is a circumstance that happens all too often for
caring horse owners and can certainly drive them crazy! Perhaps hanging a sign on your fenceline to outline the reason your animal may not look its absolute best
may help. Also bear in mind that people reporting are often only concerned for the horse or pony and while they may not have any idea of the true story behind the
situation, can you imagine what WOULD happen if nobody bothered reporting cases at all? How many horses and ponies would suffer at the hands of neglectful or cruel
people? Being reported is often just a part of horse ownership in many cases and something we as horse owners must learn to live with. So as frustrating as it is,
try to shrug it off as just another kind heart trying to do the right thing even if they are misinformed. Also, keep your feed, vet, farrier, and dental invoices and
receipts as showing them to authorities saves a lot of time and hassle for everyone.