OT - Neighbors feeding horses treats

Opinions requested. Some well meaning neighbors see fit to feed our horses treats just whenever they feel like it. Apples, crabapples, carrots etc., generally items that they won't eat because it has spoiled or they have too much of. Our horses are not on any special diet but we have posted signs in the barn requesting that people do not feed them.
Just this evening I came out of the house to find one walking up from the barn, looked surprised to see me there.
We don't want to be rude and we don't mind if they visit the horses but now the expectation is that they will get treats every time they show up. My wife was wondering where other horse owners stand on this and how they deal with it. Other than this they are all great neighbors, good people and would help out at the drop of a hat so we really don't want to offend, just get our point across.

we have 4 horses and never had problems with people feeding, but have had alot of people just stop on the front of the road by the barn and look at them, take pictures etc.. it does cause some concern when you are not sure what people are doing and you don't know them, but if there are neighbors it is a way to to keep people neighborly. i myself look at it in a way, that you never know when you may need a hand.
hope this helps.

It is great that you have interested neighbors..

One thing to remember is that they probably know nothing about what a horse can and cannot have..
I am sure their kids get a thrill from giving the treats to the horses and watching them eat..
I think you should ASK them to please not give the horses anything, unless you or someone else that is responsible is there to give the "OK"...
It is so easy for someone to give them the wrong things and possibly too much, since it is not the normal feed for them..
Horses can "get down" so durned easily, and you can loose them if you arent careful..
Besides, if you arent there, one of the visitors may get injured..and you don't want to "go there"..!!!

Ron..

Wel if it was me , I'd tell them its ok to visit the horses but no more hand feeding them junk . Tell them you have them on special vitamins & feed , so please no more junk . If that offends them , well its your horses & if they get sick or get diareah from all the green apples , will they help with vet bills . Green apples do make horses sick if they eat too many . Sometimes being open in these cases is best for your pets & neighbor relationships .If they don't like the fact that you're concerned for your pets , well tough cookie . Back in the 70s , I had a large pony for my daughters . He hated dogs because of the PO let his big dog chase him in the pasture & nip at his legs . Anyhow, I had him in a fenced area with electric wire & one day I caught a young girl holding a podle inside the pasture trying to pat the pony . I yelled for her to get out of there before she got hurt or the pony kill that dog . I called the mother & explained the situation & asked her to keep the girl home & away from the pasture . Well by golly a few days later , I get a phone call from an irrate mother . She was demanding i pay for vet bills ,cremation of that poodle & a replacement because her little girl loved that dog . Well I reminded her of our phone conversation & my warninga plus the fact there was an electric fence to keep the pony on my property & her kid out . Nothing more was said or done about it . So one never knows . HTH ! God bless, Ken

It is about time you were.
Tell them somebody gave the horse a treat which was not compatible and it cost 300 for the vet,, that is why the sign is there.
"what was it?" "can"t recall now, it was a while back"
That's not lying, just a political approach.

I once had a similar problem with a neighbors child. I tried to be very patient, friendly & neighborly with no success. I did not have ANY problem whatsoever with the child coming to visit, groom, feed, muck stalls (she was horse crazy) as long as I was in attendance. That was my only stipulation. If that child had been hurt by one of my animals on my property, I would have been liable for her injuries. Because my property was NOT posted "No Tresspassing", at that time, the horses in a court of law would have been considered "An attractive nuisance". And as such, I was liable. Now this was back in the 80's, maybe the laws are written differently now, but who really wants to take that chance anyway. The problem I had with this child AND her parents, they would not abided by my rules on my property. I came home one day to find her in a field with the horses. As I told her to get out of the field, as was her NANNY, she proceeded to tell us that she could do as she pleased!!! 9 Yrs Old!!! With her, was a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, through all the commotion, that dog attacked my dog, the end result being MY dog died from the injuries sustained in that attacked. So my suggestion to you is that you "Nip it in the bud" immediately, before something happens to someone or something. In my opinion, if you have to be rude to get your point across, so be it. If they were such GOOD neighbors as you say, they would abided by your wishes. But if you don't want to be rude, print up release forms and have EVERYONE sign the release forms relieving you of any liability. If they are not willing to sign a release, you might want to consider telling them to stay off the property and then post your property "NO TRESSPASSING" to protect yourself. Hand feeding horses can be more dangerous than many realize if not done properly; I knew of a person who lost the tip of one finger, because hand was not totally flat. Plus like you mentioned, your wife is noticing the horses start to expect the treats, which can be a nuisance when constantly looking for something.
What if you did have a horse on a restricted diet due to laminitis or colic?? How would you handle that, when you discovered that animal was being fed "treats"? You must really see to it that they stop feeding the animals and REALLY they should not even be coming to your barn if you're not in attendence.
Good luck, I know you're in a tough spot, but bottom line is this, you need to protect yourself, forget about being Mr. Nice Guy. If something happens, you'll see just how nice, friendly and helpful they are in return.

Figure out which is more important to you (your horse' wellbeing, respect for your wishes, money for an iffy colic surgery (if it's not too late), lawsuit cause dobbin took off little julie's finger with the carrot, etc) and run with your decision.....
I don't mix words with folks. Noone gives our horses anything but us. If they want to give them old bread etc, they drop it off at the house and we give it to them unless we have time to take them to the horses so their kids can feed them (not out of the hand). Wealmost lost the wife's favorite mare 2 days ago to colic because some idiot shook a bunch of apples out of a tree on the pasture. We came along just in time to see her twisting up and cramping and had the right stuff on hand to relax her and clean her out to avoid the surgery.... I've found stuff on the pasture that folks "fed" like old aples, potato peels (just basic kitchen garbage)... I knew who it was so gathered the stuff up and piled it on their doorstep.
Had a lady bring a mare for breeding and told her that she wasn't to show up unattended on the place that the mare was our responsibility while there. She didn't pay attention, was polite the first time and she said it wouldn't happen again. Next day, I slipped home and found her there again. Told her to get her horse off the property right then...
None of the dogooders are gonna set up with ou while you doctor an animal all night or lose it. If YOU don't respect your property and wishes, you can't expect your neighbors to.....

Feeding treats can lead to bad things...like "nippy" horse behaviour and chomped on fingers. If you like 'em, and they like the horse, tell 'em they are always welcome to rub on 'em, and show them a curry comb.

Good neighbors who like your horses are a great thing- ya never know when you might need them to round up an escapee or drop some feed during a late soccer game.

I've pretty much got folks trained but there is a place about 3 miles away that has horses they board and let folks ride. Thousands of acres and miles of trails to ride on and they have to ride the road that runs along our pasture fence. Public road and I can't do anything about it but have threw stuff and scared the horses off when they thought it would be cute to let their horse "visit" with ours over the fence.... Had a dog run in the pasture with 4 mares with babies and the stallion..... Poor thing won't be the same the rest of it's life..... One thing for sure, owners won't have to worry about it straying far away in an open field.....

I rarely give em treats myself, we get apple wafers from the feed supplier, my co-worker used to give em out a lot more than I. I guess I'm old school, half the crap out there today, we never had when I was a kid. I use em as a reward, just as I put em to work if they act up so they associate certain behavior with certain things. I have to say that it works well, because they're all pleasant to deal with and we try to keep em happy. Moderation.

Feed is something I don't take lightly and keep a watchful eye on, (I might even be paranoid about it LOL) don't come to my barn and think you can do as you like, feed what you like, ever. Its that simple. Long time friends or former students, (this place has been around a long time)know the deal, occasionally some bring carrots, apples, but are fed moderately, when one of us is present. I insist on that vehemently, cross me and I'll throw you off the premises without hesitation, which I have done once since I've worked there. We have enough trouble keeping an eye out for moldy hay or feed which I have seen at times, well the roof springs a new leak over the hay and or the darned feed supplier giving me bags that had to much moisture and it molds after opened. You can never let your guard down on feed, anyone who is hired is implored to do the same, and is why you don't come to our place and feed anything without us knowing. Mind you we are friendly and sociable people. Another thing is restricted diets, medications and the like, someone comes and feeds something they should not have to a horse that has special needs or same, are they going to the feed room, checking the dry erase board, the card on the stall, you don't know that, and is why you can't have people doing this. I am repeating myself here LOL !

We have a few apple trees in the stallions paddock, he does not mess with them, but we do remove as many as possible, on the ground or within reach to be safe.

I would be extremely unhappy with someone feeding something to my horse without me being present. Horses have been killed by someone who knows nothing about horses feeding the horse something that is bad for them.

Crab apples will colic a horse. It won"t show up until the horse starts to exert himself. They don"t cause impaction, but will result in cramping and pain. I haven"t had this problem myself, but read an article on it.

I would have a friendly chat with your neighbor. You might provide a list of "safe" treats. Since you say they"re good neighbors otherwise, I"m sure they wouldn"t want to do anything to make your horses sick.

Forgive my "horse ignorance", but is there some kind of "treat" you wouldn't mind them feeding the horses? If the only real concern is the type of stuff being fed, perhaps if you had something on hand that was OK to give the horses occasionally, they would know you didn't mind them visiting the horses and you could teach them why you would prefer for the horses not to have certain treats.

(quoted from post at 07:03:40 08/18/11) Forgive my "horse ignorance", but is there some kind of "treat" you wouldn't mind them feeding the horses? If the only real concern is the type of stuff being fed, perhaps if you had something on hand that was OK to give the horses occasionally, they would know you didn't mind them visiting the horses and you could teach them why you would prefer for the horses not to have certain treats.

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aside from the health dangers, we have only electric tape for fences and if someone is feeding treats over the fence to several horses, somebody will get pushy and I have to gather horses and fix fence is one reason.

Another is that if only the wife and I give the treats, the horses don't go near strangers unless we are there and ignore walkers....

Then I'm stubborn and the wife calls me a small puncture wound, but if I tell someone not to do something concerning MY property, they damwell better listen.

However, I can't resist kids and will usually swing one on the back of a horse and lead them around a little if I'm there and not real busy.. :roll:

(quoted from post at 09:03:40 08/18/11) Forgive my "horse ignorance", but is there some kind of "treat" you wouldn't mind them feeding the horses? If the only real concern is the type of stuff being fed, perhaps if you had something on hand that was OK to give the horses occasionally, they would know you didn't mind them visiting the horses and you could teach them why you would prefer for the horses not to have certain treats.

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We buy some treats from the feed store but we really prefer that they are only given as rewards. I was filling up their water last night and Vegas came over and "lipped" my hand looking for a treat, she just expected it. They don't get aggressive but anything is possible. When they see one guy in particular coming they line up for treats as they KNOW when he comes he brings them something. It is this behavior that we want to stop.

We just need to have a conversation with them and be honest about it. Something tells me we will have to be explaining things, just "because we don't want you to" won't suffice.........I just have this feeling.

(quoted from post at 07:33:30 08/18/11) Something tells me we will have to be explaining things, just "because we don't want you to" won't suffice.........I just have this feeling.

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Sometimes you need to PUNCTUATE things with a shovel handle.........

I've always found the short and to the point approach works the best. either the folks respect your position and change their behavior accordingly while remaining friends or they get em in a wad and don't show up again. Either way is perfectly acceptable for me......

Good Luck.

Dave

my neighbors do the same.

here's the best way I found to handle it.

1, give them a list of things horses can eat, and how to cut it so the horses won't choke, and how to hold it so no fingers get bit.

2, give them the label off a few brands of comercial horse treats if they want to go buy some to feed the horses.

3, put up my florida equine no-liability signs. In florida, if you choose to be around a horse and aprtake in horse activities, you essentially give up your liability rights if you get hurt. IE.. by vulentarilly working with a horse.. you can't sue me if he steps on yer foot or nips you.. etc.. etc.

as the econmy has turned down.. most of the 'extra' feedings stopped anyway..


soundguy

I don't think these folks will be buying any treats, I think it's more a way for them to get rid of things they won't use.

My family had horses for years, and I grew up around them. We NEVER let someone feed them "treats" like apples, carrots, or sugar cubes, as you used to see done on TV and in the movies. This was to prevent horses from getting in the habit of SEEKING OUT treats by nibbling on fingers, pockets, etc. and hurting someone.

Then again, Grandma had a pear tree in her back yard, and occasionally she'd pitch a few pears that had fallen to the ground to the horses, so that her yard/driveway wouldn't become infested with wasps that gathered over the fruit. But it only occurred during a limited season, and it wasn't a daily or weekly occurrence then; it was just an occasional thing.

If the neighbors want to bring their GEASS CLIPPINGS and dump them into an August-dry pasture, the horses would act as if it was an extra hay ration, and devour it. But anything that involved hand feeding was strictly VERBOTEN.

Worst problem we had with neighbors were the ones who'd get permission to fish in the pond, who'd then come when no one was home, and would enter the property by shorting out the electric fence. That usually resulted in chasing horses away from the highway where they'd broken the fence wire that was no longer electrified. And we decided that sometimes being "good neighbors" in that respect wasn't worth the repairs it cost us.

Come on now, how hard can it be to ask them to stop feeding your horses treats because A) of the bad habits it brings on, and B) of the chance of colic or such.
No need to be mean about it, just ask that they stop.

Well that is my thought Bobl1958 but the wife just stews about it and thinks of all the harsh ways to go about it. I figure a polite conversation should about do it. He knows we have signs in the barn, he even asked last year "does that mean me?" to which he was told "yes". Maybe he figures if they're outside they're fair game.

I'd worry less about offending anyone and just say what needs to be said.

Stating your concerns and wishes involving your animals is your business, doing so in a polite and courteous way is your business. If they take offense, that's their problem to deal with.

I'll bet the neighbor who had her potato peelings
returned thought you were a small puncture wound
also.

(quoted from post at 19:39:45 08/18/11) I'll bet the neighbor who had her potato peelings
returned thought you were a small puncture wound
also.

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Most are pretty much used to me and realize my ways are a little more direct than they are used to....... Prolly cause I don't hold a grudge.I'll choke the p!ss out of them today and mow their yard tomorrow if they behave themselves......

I wondered how the kids were eating so many priced
apples in the spring/summer. The fruit bin in the
fridge seemed to be empty when ever in the mood for
one.
Discovered the Amish horses next to us had never
had it so good before thanks to my daughter.

(quoted from post at 06:17:30 08/19/11) I wondered how the kids were eating so many priced
apples in the spring/summer. The fruit bin in the
fridge seemed to be empty when ever in the mood for
one.
Discovered the Amish horses next to us had never
had it so good before thanks to my daughter.

Click to expand...

I caught a little girl today setting on the ground by the fence talking away to 3 young stallions..... They were lined up on the fence takin in everything she said like they understood every word..... When I got up there to run her off, she never missed a breath and started telling me all about the horses and how well they liked her grandmas sugar cubes.........
Kid was 4 or 5 and had stole a big box of sugar cubes and some oatmeal cookies from her grandma and was "training" the horses............ We had a couple cookies and I had some capri suns in the tractor. Gave her a tractor ride home and gave grandma what was left of her sugar............
I'm a mean b@stard sometimes..............