Horses Headford Road Shocking Conditions

crally

Has anyone seen about 20 horses in a field on Curragh Line on Headford Road Galway. Are they being fed? :mad:

Cherry Blossom

Do they either have shelter somewhere or have rugs on? What kind of horses are they? What condition score would you give them? A 3 is acceptable for light horses like thoroughbreds and connemaras but not for cobby types like the one in the photo in the attachment here.

I'd be more worried as to whether or not they have an adequate water supply as they will dehydrate very quickly in cold weather.

http://www.newc.co.uk/advice/documents/BodyConditionScoringofHorses-NEWC2005.pdf?PHPSESSID=da6a84cf9a57e2f78e538944b1e2d49f

Discodog

Email Niall O'Brolchain niallob@oireachtas.ie

He has supposedly lobbied the Council & has been publicising it.

Galway needs to be designated as a Controlled Area for Horses.

doctor evil

A 3 should be fine for a cob, they are not meant to look fat they should be workmanlike.

Cherry Blossom

doctor evil wrote: »

A 3 should be fine for a cob, they are not meant to look fat they should be workmanlike.

Yes but they should still be muscled as opposed to boney, also young horses and OAPs will always look like they have a bit less meat on thier bones. But it should be easy enough to determine the 'average condition' in a group of 20, unless they all have rugs on and you can't tell.

crally

hi i have mailed him, thanks.

crally

hi thanks for your mail. they are travellers horses, i have not been able to get out there because of the roads. a friend has seen them and she was distressed by looking at them!

TristanPeter

Copy of letter I sent to Dept. of Agri and Galway County Council:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Can you please tell me if the Dept. of Agriculture (Galway) or anyone from the County Council has been out to check on the neglected horses on the Headford Road? There is a lot of them and they are in very poor condition. These animals have been there for a very long time so this should have been dealt with already. I have already informed the GSPCA so please don't tell me to contact them because it has nothing to do with you. It is absolutely shocking and unacceptable that local government agencies whose bills the taxpayers pay would allow this to continue by turning a blind eye to it. These animals obviously belong to residents of the halting site. These people should be held accountable for this blatant neglect despite their the fact that it may be "part of the traveller culture". Regardless of who anyone is, they should not be allowed to flaunt the law.


I'm sick of their "pass the buck" attitude and those horses have been there for a very long time. Travellers get away with way too much neglect and usually it's because of p.c. brigade defending them. Okay...for the p.c. brigade...They're not all bad.

Cherry Blossom

Is anyone of any authority in this country aware of the fact that hundreds of Irish horses are being rescued by UK organisations, being shipped to mainland UK and sometimes back here to permanent homes at the unnecessary expense of the adopter, or does anybody actually care :mad:

Carolyyn

TristanPeter wrote: »

Copy of letter I sent to Dept. of Agri and Galway County Council:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Can you please tell me if the Dept. of Agriculture (Galway) or anyone from the County Council has been out to check on the neglected horses on the Headford Road? There is a lot of them and they are in very poor condition. These animals have been there for a very long time so this should have been dealt with already. I have already informed the GSPCA so please don't tell me to contact them because it has nothing to do with you. It is absolutely shocking and unacceptable that local government agencies whose bills the taxpayers pay would allow this to continue by turning a blind eye to it. These animals obviously belong to residents of the halting site. These people should be held accountable for this blatant neglect despite their the fact that it may be "part of the traveller culture". Regardless of who anyone is, they should not be allowed to flaunt the law.


I'm sick of their "pass the buck" attitude and those horses have been there for a very long time. Travellers get away with way too much neglect and usually it's because of p.c. brigade defending them. Okay...for the p.c. brigade...They're not all bad.

This is very upsetting, I haven't seen the animals but it's terrible that they are suffering like that in this cold weather. Poor little things are in the hands of these monstors. Bloody PC brigade should get a dose of this cruelty and they'd soon be converted.
Thanks for following up and I am going to do same tomorrow. I met O'Brolacain recently about something else and will email him too. Hope that other people will make some noise about this too.

Cherry Blossom

I fear this has little to do with political correctness, it's simply fear of how these people might retalliate towards those that aproach them :rolleyes:. Since when was tollerating animal cruelty to this degree politically correct If it was any other minority group regarding any other species of animal this would not be tollerated to this degree even with this county's inadequate approach to animal welfare!

TristanPeter

Carolyyn wrote: »

I met O'Brolacain recently about something else and will email him too. Hope that other people will make some noise about this too.

I definitely think you are right Carolyyn about enough people "making noise" about them. The relevant departments are very quick to ignore concerns raised by a single person but if a few people do it...they can't ignore it because, shock-horror, they might actually be held accountable for not doing anything.

I and another Boards member (Sec) had a meeting with N. O'Brolchain about this issue very recently, so he is aware of it. He said he would try to lobby local gov. to make Galway a controlled area. However, since the IMF/government debacle he is keeping very quiet about it. I'm sure (in his own opinion) he has more important things to take care of at the moment but please email him anyway. The Headford Road (as he said himself) isn't in his constituency but I'm sure he could get some support if he wanted to.

TristanPeter

This is an email I just received from a Galway City Council member:

Good morning Tristan,

I travel the Curraghline road twice daily and could not agree with you more.
I have reported the matter to my colleagues but am being told that the horses are in the County Council area, even though they may be owned by the residents of the Halting Site.
It really bothered me on the very cold mornings as I come from a rural area and like animals.

I was involved in a similar situation in the City area.
The GSPCA were aware of the situation when contacted. They were monitoring how the horses were being treated.
This is probably a similar situation.

I will contact one of my colleagues in Galway County Council and request some information on the situation.

Interesting in that the GSPCA have been aware about this for some time now. I also emailed them about it a good while ago. Nothing has been done however. Hopefully the person who emailed me will get somewhere with it.

crally

i have been advised by the Irish Horse Welfare Trust to: contact the Galway SPCA or the National Animal Helpline 1890 515 515 as we don’t have inspectors on the ground as such.

i phoned the gardai last sunday and spoke to a garda who is not back till tomorrow, i will phone him tomorrow night. i will drop out food at the weekend and i wonder how i could hightlight for people to do the same...

crally

Dear all

Please mail the following about this: galway bay, niall o'brochlain, co council. It might help email addresses below!

letters@ctribune.ie
news@galwaybayfm.ie
niallob@oireachtas.ie
housing@galwaycity.ie

Carolyyn

crally wrote: »

Dear all

Please mail the following about this: galway bay, niall o'brochlain, co council. It might help email addresses below!

letters@ctribune.ie
news@galwaybayfm.ie
niallob@oireachtas.ie
housing@galwaycity.ie

Thanks Crally, I called Niall O'Brolchain's office this morning and followed up with an email. I have just emailed the council and CC'ed to Niall O'B too. Please do the same everybody, and hopefully something will be done because there is more bad weather promised.

TristanPeter

Email I received yesterday from Galway City Council:

Dear Tristan,

I have been in contact with Galway County Council.
I have been informed that their Vet and Housing Section will investigate the matter.
They hope to liaise with our Housing Section

Email I received this morning which I don't know is good or bad :

Good morning Tristan,

I did not see any horses out there this morning.
There was a bit of activity with a trailer, etc.
Hopefully we will improve conditions for the horses.

I asked if this was related to the County Council or just the travellers hiding the animals out of the public view. This was the response:

Anything is possible.
All we can do is monitor the activities as much as possible.

Hmmm, I don't know if they have been checked on by the Co.Co. No one in the Co. Co. responded to my email. Nor did the GSPCA or the Dept. Of Agri. The only person who did is working for the City Council and they don't have any jurisdiction there.

crally

hi. I have phoned the veg shop in shopping centre n am pickin up food for them on Sat at 12. I have spoken to Galway Bay and now they have moved them?? i have been told that someone has leased the field to them therefore they are not on PUBLIC LAND. please let me know if anyone sees them or knows where they are being moved to.

TristanPeter

That whole "Public Land" is such a cop-out for the authorities. Gets them right off the hook with dealing with cruelty. It's like me beating someone up in a house and the gardai saying they can't intervene because it's not public property. Well, that's what I make of it anyway.

Discodog

crally wrote: »

hi. I have phoned the veg shop in shopping centre n am pickin up food for them on Sat at 12. I have spoken to Galway Bay and now they have moved them?? i have been told that someone has leased the field to them therefore they are not on PUBLIC LAND. please let me know if anyone sees them or knows where they are being moved to.

Be very careful about what you feed them & only feed in very small quantities. A lot of greenstuff could be fatal as it could induce colic. Also bear in mind that if well meaning individuals feed them then the owner can state that they are being fed.

The "owners" will know the law. By keeping them outside of the City boundary they will try to exempt them from any proposed Controlled Area legislation. There is no way that the Co Co would designate the whole county as a controlled area.

The key to doing anything about this is gathering reliable, regular & accurate evidence.

It doesn't matter if they are on private land. The 1965 Protection of Animals Act Section 16 states that:

For the purposes of any proceedings the occupier of the land where an animal is found is presumed to be the owner of the animal, unless the contrary is proven.

So in effect the owner of the land would be very keen to reveal who owns the horses otherwise he gets prosecuted.

If the Council would just shift it's arse & make the City plus certain surrounds a controlled area, which they can do with a simple by law, then every horse would have to be licensed. They could insist on every horse being microchipped & the Gardai would be able to stop & search.

Cherry Blossom

crally wrote: »

hi. I have phoned the veg shop in shopping centre n am pickin up food for them on Sat at 12.

Veg will have little nutritional value to them, not at all a suitable diet and likely to cause gut problems and fights, a few bales of hay would be much better and more cost effective.

<ETA> Hayledge should also be fed with caution!

Discodog

If people really want to stop animal cruelty there are clear cut steps that you have to follow. Firstly a Vet must examine the animals & agree that they are in sufficiently poor condition to constitute cruelty. The Vet must be willing to provide evidence. Next you go to the Gardai, with the Vet evidence, & report the matter. You should make it absolutely clear that you expect immediate action & that you will not hesitate to make a formal complaint if the matter is not dealt with urgently.

If the Gardai have evidence from a Vet they know that there is a very good chance of a successful prosecution as the defendant would have to find a Vet that would testify that the animals are OK. If the Gardai believe that the animals are being subjected to cruelty they have quite wide ranging powers of arrest & seizure.

The problem with all of this is that the animals may well end up being put down. The other problem is that people will deny owning the animals. One way around this, if one is brave enough, is to seize the animal. I have witnesses a SPCA inspector taking a tethered pony. All of the spectators denied that it was theirs. But once they saw it being led away an owner emerged. This was in the good times when the horses were worth money. Today the owner might be glad to see the animal being removed.

crally

hi. food: i googled this n it said horses can eat anything apart from apple seeds. i do not know much about horses and i do not want to make matters worse. how much is hay anyone?? I contacted galway bay n asked them to hightlight this matter. they did, gspca spoke n said it was an epidemic cattle n horses n could people feed them! no mention of what with! same day a garda ph me. i had ph them the prev sun n when the radio station ph them they said no one had made a complaint about this!! i ph the cops again n said that i do hope he had logged my complaint. he prob did nil. after the radio a cop ph me. he had it chk out. did not see 20 horses anywere. saw 7 n one field, further in a dead horse in a field! and up the road on the other side 2 horses v thin but being fed! i had planned to get the veg n go there. can i give them any veg? any idea how much hay is?? i could get some. any horse advise welcome re the water etc if it freezes again.

TristanPeter

I went into Olympic Saddlery about a week ago to get some food for another abandoned pony in my area. The shop keeper told me that it was okay to feed them almost anything. He said if they don't like it they won't eat it and I asked him specifically about vegetables. He said no problem at all. I bought 2 bales of hayledge for the pony on his recommendation. He said to give them the meal stuff could drive a non-working animal a bit mad whereas the hayledge (treated hay I think) would sustain them for longer periods. Also, they can't eat it as quickly as meal.

I have the use of family-owned land (approx. 100 acres) in Sligo. It's no longer a working farm. I would have no problem putting abandoned horses onto it but it's the feeding that's the problem. There are fields that we used to make hay/silage from but how much does it cost to get a contractor to bale it? Is this a feasible idea?

Discodog

TristanPeter wrote: »

The shop keeper told me that it was okay to feed them almost anything. He said if they don't like it they won't eat it and I asked him specifically about vegetables. He said no problem at all.

Horses will eat anything if they are hungry enough. I am not a horse expert but I was always told to be very careful with horses that have been denied good food. A friend of mine was involved with the horrific RSPCA horse rescue in the UK. It took months to get the horses feeding properly.

I believe (horse people please correct me) that it is a simply a case of rich food after no food. We would suffer if we starved & then ate a big steak. A stomach upset for us is nothing too serious but for a horse it can be fatal as the gut can twist & block.

Might be worth seeking advice in the Equestrian section here.

TristanPeter

I have been keeping an eye on the 4 horses alongside the Rahoon Road (by the Linen Supply factory). One of them has a hugely swollen stomach. Could it be pregnant at this time of year I already emailed the GSPCA and the Dept. of Agri. about it because it doesn't seem well. It stands turned away from the other horses and it doesn't seem to be feeding. There is silage there now but it was only put there fairly lately after putting lots of pressure on the GSPCA to help do something. it's stomach isn't symmetrically swollen. It looks like it's more-so on one side.

Discodog

I would call the GSPCA & get them to get a Vet out just in case. From the net:


Among the most frequent causes of this form of colic are to be mentioned sudden changes of food, too long fasting, food then
given while the animal is exhausted, new hay or grain, large quantities of green food, food that has lain in the manger for some time and become sour, indigestible food, irregular teeth, crib-biting, and, in fact, anything that produces indigestion may produce flatulent colic.

The symptoms of wind colic are not so suddenly developed not so severe as those of cramp colic. At first the horse is noticed to be dull, paws slightly, and may or may not lie down. The pains from the start are continuous. The belly enlarges, and by striking it in front of the haunches a drumlike sound results. If not soon relieved the above symptoms are aggravated, and in addition there are noticed difficult breathing, bloodshot eyes, and red mucous membranes, loud tumultuous heart beat, profuse perspiration, trembling of front legs, sighing respiration, staggering from side to side, and, finally, plunging forward dead. The diagnostic symptoms of flatulent colic is the distention of the bowels with gas, detected by the bloated appearance and resonance on percussion.

Cherry Blossom

It's as simple as this lads, horses are trickle feeders there digestive systems are designed to deal with a small amount of forage, their stomach is tiny, they cannont deal with a large amount of food in one go and they don't have a gag reflex so cannot bring up anything that doesn't agree with them. Most people who own horses haven't a clue, most people who own saddlerys haven't a clue! A bale of hay is about €3.50, silage should never, ever be fed to a horse and is most likely the cause of that baby belly you describe!

How many times now have I posted on this forum for people not to feed horses ffs!!

TristanPeter

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

How many times now have I posted on this forum for people not to feed horses ffs!!

So...leave them to starve? What do you propose? Seriously. Do you have an alternative?

Cherry Blossom

TristanPeter wrote: »

So...leave them to starve? What do you propose? Seriously. Do you have an alternative?

Yes, find someone who knows what they are doing and let them do it, or follow the correct procedure as Discodog has stated. Even if you start feeding and are doing it properly, once you start you have to keep doing it and there is no way of knowing how many people have taken it on themselves to feed the same horses. To feed 20 horses you are going to need a round bale every 3 days at a cost of €35 a time. How long do you plan to feed someone else's horses at this cost?

It amazes me how many people are so quick to jump in and start feeding them whatever and think they're doing a great job. Have you checked the water supply for any of these horses?

The fact is that animal welfare in this country, like everything else is a complete mess. There aren't enough people who give enough of a crap to change this fact and those that do give enough of a crap have to go down the correct routes or nothing will ever change!

Discodog

TristanPeter wrote: »

So...leave them to starve? What do you propose? Seriously. Do you have an alternative?

Yes. Start gathering proper evidence. Take photos, note dates, when they are fed, watered etc. Build a case & then publicise it widely. "Galway Council refuse to help suffering horses". Force the Council to either make Galway a controlled area or suffer the bad publicity.

Put some videos on youtube & link to them. Write to the press "Green Senator hypocrisy as they act on puppy farms but leave horses to suffer". Do a press release but don't refer to any one specific horse. Keep it general.

The Councillors, Politicians do not care one jot about the horses but they do care about their image. We are approaching an election so use it. Force them to take a position. Send each one a letter. "Will you agree to a by law to make Galway a controlled area for horses - Yes or No. An immediate response is required to enable us to decide who we vote for. A failure to respond will be taken as a No. All replies/non replies will be notified/published. "

If you feed my horse & it gets ill I can sue you. You could even face a cruelty charge - OK unlikely but possible. I can also say that I haven't fed them because someone else is doing it for free.

If you want to feed then get some hay bales. Then break off a few handfuls, put them in a big liner & take the to the horses. But take some pics of them eating the hay to cover yourself.

crally

Hi, just to let you know that On Galway Bay on friday they highlighted the starving horses/cattle in galway area. the GSPCA spoke and said it was a huge prob n for hte public to feed them...did not say with what!!

On Saturday about 11.30am Galway Bay had a campaign 'feed the horses'. they had people phoning in donating hay and also people donating their time with means of transport. They gave out a phone number, i only got the mainline one 091 770000. they said for people to phone to report where these horses are. This is great news and i am presuming that they are organising this. i looked it up online now and i cant see any ref to it so i emailed them asking if it will be adv online and if it will be ongoing.

I spoke to a garda on Fri n he had gone out to the headford road (prob foll radio ad) said there were 7 horses in a field, one dead horse in a field further in (all on Tolca Antiques side of the road), there were other horses with rugs etc on with access to the river and on hte other side of the road there were 2 horses looking very thin but being fed. i am going to go out there today to see how it looks.the big prob is that they might end up being overfed? So could people phone Galway Bay reporting where starving horses/cattle are so that the campain is kept going! i am going to phone them on Monday just to say congrats to them for doing this and also to find out more about it. thanks

Carolyyn

It's great that we've raised awareness about this to shame the Garda and Council get up of their ass and do something. It's a shame that it takes that in this country to get the people that our tax money pays for to take responsibility and do their job to act against blatent animal cruelty.

I'm going to go out for a look when I'm off on Wednesday to see what is going on there, and see if they need fodder. Thanks to everyone for their efforts and kindness.

Discodog

Whilst it is good that GBFM have become involved it doesn't solve the problem. The owners of these horses may love the idea of leaving their feeding to someone else. How will volunteers know which horses to feed ?. Will they be aware of any specific needs ?. If the Council see that the horses are being fed it may make them delay the control legislation.

The Gardai cannot act unless a crime has been committed. Cruelty is defined as "causing unnecessary suffering". We cannot expect a Garda to be an expert in animal welfare so they rely on Vets & SPCA's.

The Control of Horses Act has been around since 1996. The Council have had many years to address this issue. The key reason for the Act is to ensure that any horse can be traced to an owner. The owner can then be made responsible for it's care & or prosecuted.

TristanPeter

The fact is these horses are NOT being fed now by their owners regardless of whether there is an act in place or not. As one poster pointed out above, a horse was found dead in a field on the Headford Road. Until the council enforces the act (which could be a long time given that it has been around, as you say, from 1996) there needs to be some form of intervention.
These animals are starving to death now. I agree that the issue has to be dealt with through the correct channels but in the meantime the horses have to be helped. The people with the expertise i.e. the vets with the council and Dept. of Agri. are not doing their jobs. As it is now, the GSPCA and the Gardai can verify that these animals have been abused. It's on record so surely that's enough for prosecution of the owners in the future?
The situation is far from ideal but I would hate to stand around doing nothing whilst waiting for some owner (who may never be found) to be prosecuted for cruelty. Also, as far as I know the GSPCA were looking for donations of food to a depot so that they could distribute it themselves and not for people to do it themselves.
The neglected animals should be assessed by a vet, photographed and placed on record. This could be used to prosecute the owners in the future. In the meantime they should be fed if possible and impounded.

Discodog

Of course they need to be fed now & this must be coordinated. The GSPCA are the obvious candidates however I have heard that they have not got involved with horses before & have referred horse queries to the Min of Ag. They are also very short staffed & I believe that their only inspector has been put on a three day week. Seizing the horses means making a long term commitment to their welfare. In reality many horses in this situation have been put down as the long term care costs are significant.

I would love to see GBFM devoting as much effort to getting the Council & Gardai to do their job. If this had been done last year then we not have the problem now.

I may sound negative but I am trying to be realistic. Feed now but don't let the negating of the immediate issue stop the introduction of a long term solution.

Carolyyn

An update on the horses on Headford Road. It was busy out there today!.

I was out there and met up with Valerie from Galway Bay FM and lady from GSPCA. A load of 7 bales of sillage and hayage was delivered by farmers from the Headford area who had organised a collection from farmers in the area. These 3 very kind men had taken time out from their own work to bring in the fodder. They used 2 fine big Massey Ferguson tractors with front loaders to get the bales in, and let me tell you these were needed in the boggy land! It was difficult to get into the land but they were excellent at manovering the tractors. There should be enough fodder there to do them until early January.

We rounded up altogether 9 animals and there were another 2 lying dead on the land. Two of the mares were in foal. There is no grass for them to feed on out there, and they were trying to saw them eating the thorny bushes.
A reporter from RTE news was there also filming for a feature on the issue of neglect of horses nationwide. This should be on the news this evening.

If anybody wants to help out in some way please contact Valerie in Galway Bay FM between 12 and 2 on 091 - 770 000. She is co-ordinating the collection and delivery of fodder for horses in need. She is wonderful and has done so much to highlight this issue. They got a great response to the campaign from the farming community which is wonderful because they can provide and colllect the fodder amongst themselves and have suitable transportation for getting onto the land. They also know what fodder suits the animals and how to distribute it, etc.

TristanPeter

Carolyyn wrote: »

We rounded up altogether 9 animals and there were another 2 lying dead on the land. Two of the mares were in foal. There is no grass for them to feed on out there, and they were trying to saw them eating the thorny bushes.

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

How many times now have I posted on this forum for people not to feed horses ffs!!

I understand that it's not a good idea to feed a horse just anything but look what happens when no one feeds them anything, or doesn't give them any water or shelter. Two dead horses and they are so hungry that they try to eat thorny bushes. Would the horses in foal survive without intervention? It looks as if the owners were never going to do anything about it whether someone else fed them or not. At least now awareness of the situation has been raised.

Thanks for the post Carolynn. The weather is due to turn really nasty from tomorrow onwards so I'm sure any help those animals can get will be of huge benefit to them.

Cherry Blossom

TristanPeter wrote: »

I understand that it's not a good idea to feed a horse just anything but look what happens when no one feeds them anything, or doesn't give them any water or shelter. Two dead horses and they are so hungry that they try to eat thorny bushes. Would the horses in foal survive without intervention? It looks as if the owners were never going to do anything about it whether someone else fed them or not. At least now awareness of the situation has been raised.

Thanks for the post Carolynn. The weather is due to turn really nasty from tomorrow onwards so I'm sure any help those animals can get will be of huge benefit to them.

I agree it's great that the GSPCA have stepped in but it took them long enough, is there any indication on what caused the death of the 2 horses? I'm not sure how accurate that point on the silage is, I'm sure the GSPCA would have more sense than to feed siliage to emancipated horses. To be honest I'd expect them all to die if they are being stuffed with siliage after being starved. In my experience farmers generally have no clue what suitable forage for horses is. I'll be watching out for it in the media.

TristanPeter

At least they are trying to do something.

Discodog

With 2 dead horses the GSPCA can hardly say that there is a lack of evidence but I am willing to bet that no one will be prosecuted. It sounds as if all of these horses need a veterinary examination & PMs on the dead ones.

Carolyyn

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

I agree it's great that the GSPCA have stepped in but it took them long enough, is there any indication on what caused the death of the 2 horses? I'm not sure how accurate that point on the silage is, I'm sure the GSPCA would have more sense than to feed siliage to emancipated horses. To be honest I'd expect them all to die if they are being stuffed with siliage after being starved. In my experience farmers generally have no clue what suitable forage for horses is. I'll be watching out for it in the media.

It's really easy to sit down and moan and b*tch on an Internet forum about this, much harder to get out and do something practical about it :rolleyes:
What are your suggestions on improving the animals condition?, what have you contributed in a practical sense to help them?

All the farmers who helped out yesterday are lifelong horse owners who know how to care for them and what to feed them. They are doers not talkers which is why they gave up their day and came up from Headford with the fodder. It is much more likely that the animals will die from starvation over the next cold spell than die from eating siliage.

Discodog

I think that you are being rather unfair. I believe that AJ comes from Donegal - hardly easy to pop down !. Also the advice given by AJ is correct. I am too far west to get GBFM but what concerns me is the absence of the word Vet.

I have personal dealt with starving animals & it is torture. One of my own dogs only survived by eating the dead bodies of her companions. She was on an IV for 3 days & it was a month before she could eat properly. I had to watch the poor girl begging for food that I could not give her.

The first priority on Valerie's list has to be a Vet. There are many experienced rescuers here & you will notice that we all say to go to a Vet before you act unless you are 100% sure of what you are doing. I could drive down & "assess" these horses but I am not qualified or capable.

If two have died of starvation, which may not be the cause, then it is a major cruelty incident - even in Ireland the owner could well get jail time. Before you feed any starving animal a Vet has to establish it's overall condition & especially it's internal organs. If you feed & what you feed depends on the ability of these organs to process the food.

I am sure that Valerie could appeal successfully for Vet assistance. There may be some niggling over whether it is the responsibility of the County Vet. Once the animals have been assessed then the Vet could give Valerie a list of requirements including medication, food etc. She could then launch an appeal for financial help, feed & manpower. Usually you need to feed very small amounts several times a day so manpower is important.
The Vet reports would also provide the evidence for a cruelty prosecution if the conditions were applicable.

Sorry but I disagree that the horses are more likely to starve than die from silage ingestion. I have seen quite a few starving horses & it takes a lot to kill them. Colic can kill in hours.

If the farmers are horse experts then they will know the necessity of Veterinary advice. In my experience there is some merit in AJ's comments regarding farmers & horses. I am surrounded by ponies. All are being kept by farmers that have lifelong experience. Some are being kept well but others are definitely not.

The only expert on starvation is a Vet.

TristanPeter

I don't think anyone is arguing against the points you are making. All that is being is said is that something has to be done. Simple as that. Without help the horses will starve to death. Whether or not colic is a problem is besides the point because they will die anyway. Yes, a vet is absolutely essential and it should be the number one priority. Saying that farmers might end of causing more problems than there is at the moment doesn't make any sense. How could their situation be any worse than it is at the moment? It's like saying "I can't feed my starving dog because it might kill it."

Great care has to be taken when feeding these horses: Fact.
Not doing anything will certainly kill them: Fact.

Carolyyn

Discodog, excellent idea! now pick up the phone and call Valerie and pass on your advice.

The DSPCA Inspector was onsite yesterday and they intend to arrange a vetinerary inspection, people doing something not talking forever around the issue and getting nowhere.

Discodog

Carolyyn wrote: »

Discodog, excellent idea! now pick up the phone and call Valerie and pass on your advice.
The DSPCA Inspector was onsite yesterday and they intend to arrange a vetinerary inspection, people doing something not talking forever around the issue and getting nowhere.

I emailed that advice to Valerie nearly a week ago !. I guess that you mean GSPCA if so then getting a Vet in should of been their absolute first priority. By now evidence relating to the dead horses will be irrelevant. Again you may not realise that some of us have previous experience with the GSPCA.

You should bear in mind that some of the people posting here have been rescuing animals for many years. You seem to have the impression that the people trying to advise you do nothing. I offered to run a Galway group for monitoring neglected horses a long time ago.

Making derisory comments at those who offer advice is hardly constructive.

Discodog

TristanPeter wrote: »

Whether or not colic is a problem is besides the point because they will die anyway. Yes, a vet is absolutely essential and it should be the number one priority. Saying that farmers might end of causing more problems than there is at the moment doesn't make any sense. How could their situation be any worse than it is at the moment? It's like saying "I can't feed my starving dog because it might kill it."

Great care has to be taken when feeding these horses: Fact.
Not doing anything will certainly kill them: Fact.

I could not feed my starving dog until we were pretty sure that she was medically strong enough. Believe me a dose of Colic is 100 times worse than what you have now because it can kill so quickly - any horse owner will tell you this.

I think it's a shame that people cannot accept that, to be of any benefit, advice has to be straight forward & truthful. There is no reason to see contradictory advice as a reason to brand people as "talkers & not doers".

Neither do I think that we need to sink to the level of TV adverts that use the word "Fact". Trust me many here know the "facts" far more than you could imagine.

TristanPeter

How many times do you have to tell us the same things? You are like a broken record. WE KNOW about the colic problem. Get over it. We are trying to deal with the problem so stop trying to have the last word all the time. Why don't you put your energy into helping rather than saying the same things over and over again. Give it a rest. If it wasn't for us taking the initiative ALL those horses would be dead. If I hear about colic one more time...No one is arguing about the points you have made.

Cherry Blossom

I do what I can, within a reasonable distance of where I live. I have been out at 3am with a mare that was having difficulty foaling where the owners were nowhere to be found. I have cut headcollars off young horses that were in danger of growing into their face or restricting their grazing. I've kept a stallion for a month that I found wandering on the road. I have 2 rescued ponies here that will stay here for the rest of their life and a horse that I've no doubt would have been factoried otherwise. As for feeding it's fortunate enough that I have yet to come across a senario like this anywhere near me. If I do, I have some knowledge and the means of doing it and wouldn't hesitate to do so if it came to it. I would also call out my own vet and pay for it myself if I felt a situation called for it. Believe me I do my part.

In saying this this I do acknowledge that I haven't seen for myself what is going on in Galway, all I can do is judge from 1st hand accounts to the best of my ability and pass on relevant knowledge to those who may be in a position to execute it. It seems to fall on deaf ears though so maybe I should stop being a talker and keep it to myself!

<ETA> On re-reading this post, it seems a bit condecending and abrupt which was not the intention but I don't know how to re-word it while still portraying the sentiment.

Yenwod

Fair play lads for being so active in trying to get those horses sorted. It's shocking that something like that can just be ignored by the relevant authorities and things only get done with a lot of pressure. And all that red tape bull**** of "public land" and leagal loopholes...boils my blood

magentas

guys this is getting a little bit silly, you are all concerned for the horses and have thier health and welfare interests at heart and by the sounds of it you are all actively involved in helping in one way or another...so why are ye all bickering???

carolyyn and tristan peter, I think you are been very unfair with your comments to discodog and adrenalinjunkie, they are trying to offer good advice based on their years of experience working in animal rescue, you should try to respect that instead of attacking every comment they make

seriously, maybe if ye worked together and listened to each others ideas/suggestions/expertise instead of criticising...

well done to everybody involved though