Owners urge walkers to stop feeding their horses ‘lethal treats’
CONCERNS OVER ANIMALS BEING GIVEN ‘TOXIC’ SNACKS
COTTINGHAM horse owners are calling for people to stop feeding horses snacks when spotting them on lockdown walks.
In Inglemire Lane and Priory Road, owners have seen people feeding horses anything from carrots and apples to bread, which is said to be toxic to the animals.
Residents are being asked to refrain from giving out “treats” as the consequences could be deadly.
A number of horses have suffered from over feeding, including a Lancashire horse named Lightning being killed from an overload of passers-by snacks.
Cottingham mum Alysha Forbes, who owns a horse named Niamh, has witnessed numerous people repeatedly giving horses food.
She said: “It’s not a lie, you are killing our horses.
“It’s mainly bread, which can be very toxic, and even carrots and apples have bad consequences when given in large quantities.
“One family per hour feeding a horse is a result in a lot of unnecessary feed as well as the owner feeding the horse it’s correct balanced diet.
“For years we have tried to put a sign up around Inglemire Lane and Priory Road, but it has not worked.
“People see skinny horses in winter and think they are starved, however they are very healthy. If a horse is fat in winter and then comes summer on lush grass it will become obese and have many health problems.
“If my horse was to be found dead because the public had fed her, I would be lost in myself.”
Competitive horse rider Victoria Turner said: “I have not lost any horses, but in each of the lockdowns people have been feeding them.
“People have even trespassed and climbed over fences to feed them.
“It is so dangerous.
“Members of public do not know whether that horse could be potentially allergic.
“It could cross-contaminate through the food into the horse’s digestive system.”