Why You Do Not Feed Horses in a Field

With the summer months fast approaching and hopefully warm sunny days ahead please bear in mind when walking the Countryside your responsibilities.

Please do not feed livestock in the field. Any change in their diet can cause stomach upsets (colic) which for horses can very quickly lead to severe illness or death. A number of horses during lockdown unfortunately lost their lives due to the "kindness" of the general public.

Horses can also easily choke which again is a very distressing scene and can occur hours after they have eaten unsuitable food. If not noticed it can again result in death.

Livestock are attracted to the cereal in dog poo and so if bags of dog poo are left where animals can get to them they could break into the bags, eat the faeces resulting in either colic or choke. That does not take into account the unsightly nature of plastic bags strewing the countryside. Please be responsible and take your poo bags home or dispose them in a proper receptacle.

See also our post on Grazing Muzzles