Nevermind...Issue resolved, Thanks

[Lil Chickie Mama]

Here are the pictures. Sorry it took so long. I had to get a combo of a bright enough day and them being close enough. Pic Heavy. Please tell me what I should do.
"Mama"

hip bone

ribs and back bone

Baby (maybe not her baby, on closer inspection I'm not even sure if he's a horse or a donkey! see how much I know?)

"Dad" his feet seem better now but the stance still seems off.

 

[Roll farms]

Yeah, baby horses do look a bit different when they're young...what strikes me is that one looks younger than '2 mos.' old.

And the mare is definitely under weight...could be she's a hard keeper who's also nursing and lost condition from that, but she definitely needs more weight.

Looks like she's been rubbing her tail, too... could use a deworming.

I hate to, unless someone's out and out abusing a critter, get in anyone's business because I don't like folk's to get in mine.

I don't see this as 'abusive neglect'...more as ignorance / laziness on the part of the owner. Kind of hard to tell on their hooves by just seeing his, but they don't look HORRIBLE.

I've seen folks lose their critters who didn't need to, and seen folks who needed to, get to keep them. I don't trust most 'rescuers'...

JMHO.

 

[helmstead]

Looks like a case of nursing dam who didn't get enough nutritional support through pregnancy and lactation. She needs help, the problem is getting her the help, as Roll has said.

 

[Lil Chickie Mama]

Yeah, baby horses do look a bit different when they're young...what strikes me is that one looks younger than '2 mos.' old.

I hate to, unless someone's out and out abusing a critter, get in anyone's business because I don't like folk's to get in mine.

I don't see this as 'abusive neglect'...more as ignorance / laziness on the part of the owner. Kind of hard to tell on their hooves by just seeing his, but they don't look HORRIBLE.

Okay, whew. I'm very glad I asked. It looked to me like she needed immediate attention but like I said, I don't know anything about horses so I don't know what an acceptable range is. The young one is at least 2 months because I remember seeing him after Thanksgiving but I'm not sure how long before that. I really didn't want to stick my nose in it unless they are being abusive and since you say they aren't I guess I'll just pipe down. Ignorance or laziness I can believe from what I've seen from this side of the fence, but I'm not about to start a neighbor war over it if she's actually okay. If she's still "sickly" looking IMO come spring, maybe I'll print out some info on horse care regarding acceptable weights, worms, ect and discreetly mail it to them without a return label. Thanks for all your help. I hope she starts looking better!

 

[freemotion]

I have to disagree....the mare's condition is bad. Notice the muscle loss along the topline. I can't see the feet enough to know if they are bad or not, but I suspect they are not horrible...if barefoot, she may be wearing them down.

She is VERY underweight. It worries me more that she is nursing a two month old colt, as he will continue to deplete her. She is giving him everything, he looks ok. She has no room in her condition for any further neglect.

HOWEVER......from the pictures, it does look like the grass is starting to grow there. If this is true, she should pick up condition if she has full access to plenty of green, growing grass. So this makes me a little less worried for her.

Either way, the owners seriously need some education. Although I do not know ALL the facts, I'd be inclined to call the authorities and state that these people need help, not prosecution. Then it would be out of my hands. They would get a visit, a lecture, and if all goes well, the horses would get checked up on another time or two. A little accountability can be a good thing.

JMHO.

 

[LauraM]

I agree with freemotion, the mare is in bad shape. IF the grass is growing now in your area (unlike here where we are buried under three feet of snow), then the mare may pick up.....though with a growing baby, she may not. As he gets older, he takes more milk,....some mares may simply not be able to recoup the weight loss on forage alone.

If you do have grass growing now, then maybe keep an eye on her and see if she starts to improve. If she does not look better in a month or so, then I'd probably take action of some sort.

 

[helmstead]

I would be ashamed to have a horse in that condition...just to clarify in case someone mistook my comment. She scores out at or under a 2...her body is eating her muscle mass and she's clearly infested with worms (as is the foal).

Thing with reporting them is that if there are other animals in 'good condition' in the pasture, AC won't do anything...rescues are all pretty well boiling over, too.

Its a real shame.

 

[Roll farms]

That's the thing, it's just at the border of "call them now" and "leave it be and hope for the best"...

Yes, she looks bad. I'd feel pitiful for her, too.

We had a guy north of us get 37 horses removed from his place, 19 of them were scored at 1-1.5. Maybe seeing that on the news several times has desensitized me, because compared to those horses (who weren't fed for weeks at a time and there was NO grass in their 3 acre pasture...) that mare looks better.

Maybe you could buy some horse dewormer and a small bag of treats, then offer it to them, say something like "We won this in a gift basket from (insert farm store name here) and we don't need it...thought maybe you guys could use it since you have horses."

Or write a letter to animal control anonymously (or a phone call) so they can't *prove* it was you.

You're in a heck of a spot, and I have to congratulate you for caring...

 

[freemotion]

Animal control won't respond to anonymous calls.....one way to weed out their tasks.

If animal control stops by to look and doesn't remove any animals, it puts them on notice and starts a paper trail. The goal is to get that mare fed and taken care of.....maybe a visit is all it will take.

 

[ducks4you]

Animal control won't respond to anonymous calls.....one way to weed out their tasks.

If animal control stops by to look and doesn't remove any animals, it puts them on notice and starts a paper trail. The goal is to get that mare fed and taken care of.....maybe a visit is all it will take.

I agree. My previous vet--too far away to go to now --who does ONLY equine, told me that broodmares often get fed up to 20 pounds of grain/day before and after they foal out to keep their weight up. She needs more calories. Grass alone won't do it. It is SSOOOO hard to put weight back on once they lose it. My gelding never got this skinny, even as an "Old Man."
Like I said before, Animal Control aren't going to "pistol whip" these people. They are probably going to educate them.