What can I do about my friends horses?

Question

I think my friend has 2 horses and they don't take care of them. They don't have access to water, they just have a bucket that is usually emtpy or frozen. They aren't up-to-date on farrier or vaccinations or deworming. They don't even have shelter. The owners have a brand new pole-barn, but it is fenced off from the horses. They just have their cows go in to drink from an automatic waterer. I am not quite sure about what the current situation is ,as i haven't driven by their place in a while, but I am sure it hasn't changed. When I ask my friend if they have any horses she says I don't know, and if she says she does, then she doesn't answer me if they are ok,she acts like she doesn't really care. What should I do? I have contacted the local authorites before, but they don't do anything. They just check it out and talk to the owner. Is it possible for me to take the animals away from them, with the escort of the police? what can i do?

Answer 1

Your friend doesn't sound like a very nice and caring person, if she keeps changing her story and doesn't care if the horses are fed and have water.

I don't know where you live, but where I live if you contact the Humane Society, and tell them what is going on they will usually start investigating.

If they don't have shelter and water, it is definately neglect.

I would contact the Humane Society and if they can't help you, then they can give you other agencies that might be able to help the horses.

That is wonderful that you are concerned about thes horses and want to help them. Good for you. Keep up the good work.

Answer 2

Legally, if horses have food and water and are not thin, there is nothing you can do. Horses do not HAVE to have shelter, although it is cruel for them not to provide the horses a comfortable place.
There is no law that dictates horses must be dewormed or trimmed, or even vaccinated if they are just kept as pasture ornaments. This again is not right, but as long as they have adequate food and water, they're legal. Now, the frozen or empty water buckets concern me. Why do they keep the horses separate from the cows anyway? They could rig it where the watre trough serves both pens.
Maybe your friend knows you contacted the authorities before and that is why she is being close-mouthed.
If you haven't been by there in a while, you can't judge whether the horses are being mistreated. I'd go check it out, and if they seem to be in poor health, call the animal control. If they are in bad shape and the authorities won't help, call your local newspaper. A story might shake things up.

Answer 3

It would be illegal for you to take the horses- it would be stealing.

Police do not really know anything about animal care, you need to contact a local rescue group or humane society. If they went out to the place and checked it out and said it was fine- I am sure you missed something or are over analyzing the situation.
You are talking about only going out there a couple times. Your friend may not own the horses- they may be the neighbors. The side of the barn may provide adequate shelter. The horses may also have water given to them 3 times a day, but the owners do not leave water out there because it will freeze (no electricity to the buckets).
Also, horses traditionally in the wild would only drink twice a day when they travelled to a watering hole. At some stables I have worked at, even with fresh water available 24/7, a few horses would only drink from the bucket twice- once at am feeding and once at pm feeding. The rest of the day, unless it is really hot out, horses usually will not drink.

What you need to do is go out there and make sure nothing has changed, and that the horses do seem neglected. Confront your friend and say how are you taking care of them, if she blows you off, mention calling the humane society, etc. It may get her to do some action.

The reason the humane societies/etc usually do not take calls seriously is because most of the calls they get are not valid cases. For instance, we had them come out because someone reported our dogs were neglected because they are outside dogs (with insulated shelters and heated waterbowls, as well as being overweight no matter how much they run).

Answer 4

Try calling the SPCA, and let them know that you believe the horses are being neglected because they don't have access to water or shelter. They'll probably come and investigate the situation. If you don't have an SPCA, call local animal control or the police.

You won't be able to take the horses away unless the authorities that investigate actually find something wrong. Besides, since you don't actually live there, it's possible that they are taking care of the horses out of your sight. If the authorities don't do anything, and you're truly convinced that the horses are being neglected, then you might want to offer to buy them, but only if you already have a suitable area for horses and experience taking care of them.

It's good of you to be concerned about this. Keep trying with the authorities.

Answer 5

Call your local humane society and report it as a possibly cruelty case. Don't bother with the police since they are not trained to understand the specifics of animal care and if the horses aren't skin and bones, may not appreciate that the horses are not being cared for properly.

Do not attempt to deal with the situation yourself because if you try to take the horses, you can be arrested. The police will not help you with this. Keep calling the humane society - they do keep track of cruelty calls. And if the horses are not in immediate danger, they will periodically check up on them to make sure that the owners are caring for them properly.

Unfortunately, you can't force an owner to love and show interest in their animals. But the law does set a minimum standard for care and requires that all animals (including horses and livestock) get proper food, water, medical care and shelter.

I would seriously question your friend about the horses and remind her that not caring for them properly can result on her (or her parents if she is a minor) being arrested. Authorities are taking these cases much more seriously. If she still responds negatively, this may not be someone you want as a friend. I personally could not be friends with someone who didn't care for their animals properly.

Answer 6

There are two different ways you can go about this. You can call Animal Control, not the police and report this. Animal Control will check on them the same day or the following morning. They do not announce they are coming, they just show up. This way, they get the true conditions the animal is in that has been reported. They will not give out your name. Everything you tell them, they will check on. If they are neglecting all these other things, you might mention that you suspect they haven't had their teeth floated in some time. What Animal Control will do besides writing up a report, will let the people know, they have a given amount of time to get everything taken care of and they will be back for a follow up. If they come back and things have not changed, then the horses will be removed. This is the best method. However, if Animal Control sends the horse to slaughter if they are not adopted, then you might want to take this other alternative. Call up an equine rescue agency. Let them know that you did not call Animal Control because you didn't want the horses sent to slaughter. The equine rescue agency will then go out and check on the horses. If, the equine rescue people find the horse to be in serious danger or neglect, they will ask the owners to take the horses to their rescue. If, in this case, they are met with opposition, then the rescue will call in the police. The police will many times have the horses taken off and placed in the rescue's custody until they have a court hearing to determine what is what. If the horse is not in serious danger or neglect, the equine rescue people will try to educate the people and try to work with them. Again, if they meet opposition, they can either bring the police in again and get a report made. Then it will again go to court and the people will have to listen to the rescue agency and if not, the courts will remove the horses.

If you live in Arkansas or Texas, Bluebonnet Equine Rescue is the rescue that does the most checking on reports of abuse and neglect. If you live in California, Animal Control is really good about taking care of reports on horse abuse and neglect. If you live in South Dakota, I would definately use a equine rescue. If you are in another state, you would have to let me know what state ot is and I can check which would be better, Animal Control or equine rescue, for you to call.

If you want me to check on other states, email me and let me know which one. My email address is:
[e-mail]

Answer 7

This is serious and something needs to be done. Even though you may not be a horse expert, you still care and have the ability to see that they are not being cared for. What I mean by that is, your friend may 'know' more about horses, but she is obviously not a good owner.

Definately, drive by her house someday and see if they're still alive or in bad conditions. If they are, I would drive to your local humane center (or wherever you can adopt puppies and kitties from) and just ask for help. They'll probably either know of someone who can help you, or they might be able to themselves. Sometimes those places have corrals and stalls to keep larger animals in.

Good luck!

It's so sad when people mistreat animals that way. I have no problem with people being a *little* careless or not knowing much, as long as they are willing to change and learn. Your friend is obviously a pretty heartless person and should definately be reprimanded for treating anything that lives that way.

Answer 8

First I would make a trip back out to this place and check to make sure conditions really have not changed. You wouldn't want to go stirring an empty pot.

If things are still looking bad for the horses then I would make my next move: call the animal shelter, ASPCA or other local animal rights group. Though an animal shelter may not be able to help you with large animals they should be able to give you a number to call.

Do leave it to the authorities however - you don't want to be charged with horse thieving in your attempt to help. If you can't get help from them, keep calling - and call other places. Search online for local animal rights groups until you find someone who shares your passion to get these horses into a safer and more nurturing environment.

Answer 9

I would contact the humane society about a possible negligence case, and you can collaborate with them to come up with a plan to help these horses. but first, check your facts. maybe just ask your friend if you could come visit the horses, would like to see them. i dont really know what you could say, because I don't know how close you are to this friend. maybe just call the humane society for tips until you know more truth about the situation. good luck, i hope you can stop this!

Answer 10

Hello!
It's very nice of you to care! If it was me, I'd go over and see if she needs help hauling hay or making their pole barn easy for the horses to get inside to drink and eat! Owning horses is fun, but also a big responsibility! Hauling hay and getting water tanks set up with water heaters and water could help your friendship! Who knows, maybe she has a bad back, or no way to haul hay, or no money! I'd try and be her friend and get the horses fed and watered ASAP! It seems like some people just aren't thinking! It could be a fun Sunday afternoon project for both of you! Keep it fun! And hay and water ASAP, please? Thanks for keeping a watch over things!