We have the best neighbors. They are a welcome change from what we had living in town. I want to introduce ya’ll to a couple of my favorites.
These two sweethearts are the friendliest of them all. I don’t know their real names, I just call them Sweetie and Sweetpea.
They answer to those names just fine. Besides, those names just seems to fit.
I just have one concern about these ladies. (I’m assuming ladies, because I didn’t see any junk when I looked, if you know what I mean.) Their necks and chests are covered with spots of blood.
I don’t know if it’s normal or not. I think it just might be from the horse flies and other pests biting them or maybe even from rubbing up against the barbed wire fence, but I’m not a horse expert.
I know I have a few people who sometimes visit the blog who DO know horses (I’m looking at your Mikey) so if you do know horses, could you do me a favor click on the images and look at the full sizes of the pics and then tell me if this is normal or something to be concerned about? One of the people who lives on the land where these horses graze works with a Veterinarian in some way so I can’t imagine that something could be wrong and they wouldn’t be aware of it and take care of it, but you just never know.
You know?
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I wonder if they’re rescues? How long have they been there? Honestly they look a little emaciated to me, and with the blood, I would hope that they’ve been rescued and this person is keeping them and nursing them back to health.
I am no horse expert. But I don’t think that those streaks of blood look normal. As Leanne said, maybe they are rescues? And they look a tad on the skinny side, that could be there breeding but with the blood streaks its suspicious looking.
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You know, they have been there since spring and they’ve been kind of skinny the whole time. It’s not bad at first glance, but its disturbing to see the ribs, you know?
Last night on Twitter @ninjapoodles and @jasperblu agreed that they appear to be leaning into the barbed wire fence to get to the good grass on this side and that barbed wire and horses do not mix.
I probably have watched WAY too many episodes of Animal Precinct, but those horses look to be in poor health. Have you talked to their owners about it?
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I know that my in-laws’ horses are NOTORIOUS for leaning over fences and cutting themselves - not necessarily to this extent, but they’re also dark-haired horses and you can’t see the cuts as well on them. However, this is MUCH worse than what we see on Sonny and Blaze…do you have any kind of relationship with the owners?
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My husband went to college for a semester or two with the guy–knows him from the dorm floor. Back then they kind of clashed but have put that behind them. Husband plans on approaching the guy to talk to him about the horses.
Like I said, either the guy or the wife (can’t remember which) works with a veterinarian. Hoping this isn’t a bad case of neglect. If it is I will have to report them to someone and dude, I hate having to do that. But I will.
What adorable neighbors you have. I have to say I think they might be cutting themselves accidently on that fence. Our grandpa bean has a horse, and they don’t seem to have cuts on their body. Only when they brush up to the fence or sharp objects.
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I’d agree, they look like they’re either leaning on that fence to get grass or rubbing their necks because they’re itchy (from fly/mosquito bites)
Barb wire and horses and t-posts like that aren’t a good idea for horses. I know you hate to do it, but I would take these pics and forward them to your local animal control and see what they say about it.
Tough situation. But that’s a little much in terms of blood and scratches. I can’t even tell you the times I’ve seen a horse get their foot caught in barb wire and do hideous damage to themselves.
I’ll also cross post this and see what the rest of the horse bloggers say. Thanks for posting it though, it IS something to be concerned about.
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I am one of the many horsey bloggers that saw Mikey’s post about your post. My horse was a rescue many years ago and he has scars from being abused and hit with objects…those cuts don’t look like what my horse had. I would agree with everyone else in the fact that those cuts look like they came from barbed wire. I am always one to give people the benefit of the doubt and maybe your neighbor is just really busy at the moment knows the problem and just hasn’t corrected it. I don’t know how well you know these neighbors but maybe you could go over and drop off a batch of cookies or something and just causlly mention that you saw her horses and ask if she needs help. I wouldn’t want to start any uncessary trouble with neighbors if possible. If those horses keep getting cut though it can mean a lot of trouble for them…there are all sorts of things that can really hurt a horse if they have open wounds. There is standard infections, having a fly lay its eggs in the cut, and many more problems. Those horses need attention quick! Did you check to see if ANY of the cuts have been treated? It is hard to tell with all the dried blood in the pictures.
Thanks so much for commenting and contributing your knowledge. I cannot tell if they have been treated or not. I couldn’t really see the cuts very well, just the blood spots and streaks. I’m trying to give the neighbors the benefit of the doubt, like you I don’t want to jump to conclusions. Husband will speak with the guy this week (hopefully!) and depending on what we find out, we’ll take it from there. I’m hoping they are aware of the problem and working on it.
Hate to disagree with y’all, but it doesn’t really look like cuts from leaning on the barb wire to me.
Most horses in my part of the world are kept in barb wire. I have NEVER seen cuts/scratches like that just from leaning over the wire to graze on the other side. Most barb wire cuts are pretty nasty, these don’t look great but they don’t look very deep. Also most horses that would scratch themselves up grazing over the fence soon learn to stop an therefore wouldn’t be THAT scratched up.
Is it possible that it is some kind of skin condition/rash/allergy? Or what about something (trash, old equipment, thick brush) in their pasture that is scratching them up.
Awww…..you have beautiful neighbors. Until they poop and you are downwind anyway!!!! LOL!
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LK, I have seen them lean on the barbed wire, but I didn’t know if that was causing it. They do have a lot of brush (smaller trees including locusts (don’t know if thornless or not) and cedars and pine trees in their area. I can’t even see if they have a shelter or the people’s home from our house. Just this one area of the fenced property. It’s possible…
Take a look at the fifth and sixth picture down. There is one of the culprits for the blood drips. A nice big horse fly. I’ve watched a horse fly bite my horse and leave blood streaks just like some of these. My horse is black though and once it dried you would hardly notice. You can see every little scrap and scar on a grey. The bits may be itchy as well. The fifth picture looks like he might have some welts from the bits.
I would have to say that some of those are from the barb wire as well. The horse is leaning right into it. Not much you can do about that except put up some hot wire, or do alot of refencing.
When I was a kid, our fences were barb wire, bit it was not near as sharp as the stuff they sell now. The stuff they sell now, you barely touch it and it pricks you like a needle.
-Susan
I’m a horse owner as well and I’m with Mikey on this one, Those horses are getting caught up on the barbed wire fencing. That kind of fencing is inappropriate for horse keeping. T-posts should be capped and people should not be using barbed wire, no matter what. No excuse , make a phone call. Also, there shouldn’t be crap in their pasture for them to get injured on like old farm equipment.
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I’ve found your blog via Midwest Horse & Mikey. I would say that these horses definitely need some groceries and medical treatment. The injuries are surely from leaning into the barbed wire and not fly /insect bites. If the these wounds are not treated they could get infected.
It’s a hard decision when they are neighbors but if talking nicely to them gets no results I would contact an animal agency to investigate, because like it or not this is animal abuse pure and simple.
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Looking at their pasture, it looks like they have eaten everything except the weeds so they are hungry and leaning over the fence as far as they can to get more grass. The cuts attract flies that compound the problem. It won’t go away until 1) the cuts are treated 2) they get some fly spray 3) they get some more food. I agree with everyone else that your husband should casually mention it. I only report things if the people indicate they won’t do anything about it. Also, many people are having trouble affording hay. I would try to find out if they won’t or can’t do anything about it or just don’t recognize that there is a problem.
Hi Sleeping Mommy-
Found you through fellow equi-blogger, my dear pal Mikey. First, what a great site here! Love your sense of humor…
Now for some observations about the horses:
First: Picture number 5- on the shoulder of the horse in the photo, there seems to be an area of raised, irritated skin- alomst like hives. Most often this is a reaction to irritants, such as fly bites. (I have a pony here right now for allergy treatments. When the sand gnats are attacking him strongly, he has “hives” similar to this.)
Second- I have had stock in barbed wire before, and not - NOT- had incidents like this on their hide. Let’s face it- horses are not stupid. They are most likely not going to continue to do something if it hurts. The main reason that they would continue to test the fence would be a complete lack of food.
Third- In reference to the above, there really is no good forage shown in the pictures. If the entire pasture looks like that, and the horses continue to drop weight, they will do what they have to do in order to survive. Including trying to reach through a barbed wire fence to get forage.
Fourth- THAT being said, looking at five strands of barbed wire there, and the location of the wounds, being mainly on the chest area, I have doubts about it being the fence. Were it the fence, I would expect to see more wounds on the head- and here is why: when a horse is trying to get the grass on the other side of the fence, they will get creative with those long necks and agile lips. They will most often reach their HEADS under the bottom strand of the fence, to stretch their lips out and snatch grass. There are no wounds on the head that indicate that to me. There are no marks on the legs that indicate they have been going down on one knee either, to extend their reach.
Fifth- Fly bites. Flies can and will do some big damage to sensative areas. I have not ever seen THAT MUCH damage done from fly bites, but it is not out of the realm of possibility that there are some HUGE horseflies near you that are doing a good bit of damage there. (I have seen some flies along the east coast that were bigger than my thumb.)
Sixth- Overall, my observation is the horses are thin, but not dangerously so. There seems to be an irritant, creating a reaction in their skin. The barbed wire may be partially responsible for the apparent visible wounds, but I do not think it is entirely to blame. Flies may be partially to blame, but also not entirely. With out seeing the rest of the pasture, or knowing more about the horses daily routines, it is pretty hard to say the exact cause of the injuries.
As to what to DO about it- listen to your gut instinct. If it says to contact the authorties, then do so. If your husband has a realtionship at all with the owners, and you can calmly and quietly ask them about the history of the horses, and what their care routine is, then go that route. Gather as much information as you can- sometimes pictures are not enough should you need to pursue this matter with Animal Control.
Unfortunately, the problem with the internet is often times we are not able to get the entire story, through no fault of the posters. Many details are left out that could aid in the giving of advice.
Best of luck with them, and please keep us posted on how things go!
I need to add one more thing…..There may be fly bites there as evidenced by the bumps, but flies are attracted to open wounds and I really believe that the barbed wire has started that mess, just by the location of the wounds and the simple fact that they are leaning over the fence to make contact in the pics. There are wounds on the knees at the level of the wire and there are some face wounds suggesting that they may have reached under that fence. Anyway, poor things, they do seem sweet. And I agree with Mrs Mom on their condition, they seem just a bit thin but not emaciated.
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I don’t know about horse health… but I can comment on how fun it must be for the kids to have these kinds of neighbors. Sure hope the horsies are OK
I have read all the comments here to see what other’s opinions are. I am in agreement with Mikey, Mrs Mom and so forth. It looks like they have both the barb wire cuts and some nasty fly bites that have been irritated from being open wounds from the barb cuts. But, I am not expert. I do hope you hubby can ask the neighbor and that you keep us posted.
Nice site you have!
take care and happy horsin’ around
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