Neglecting Horses

Some people, who own horses, think they are doing the right thing. They think that all that horses need are hay, water and a paddock to walk around. Some people believe that domesticated horses can live the same way as wild horses with the minimum of care.
Some people believe that natural horse care means not giving a horse any attention to their hooves, or only feeding a horse whatever they can scrounge up on a few acres.

I wasn't going to talk about this or post the photos I took 2 weeks ago. And at least not until I contacted the authorities to investigate this first. But I feel called to do so now because of the importance to share how thinking you're doing the right thing, is not the same as doing the right thing.
There are too many experienced people to go to for advice and help. And there is a wealth of information available on the internet and in books. There is no reason why any horse should be neglected or abused.

Two weeks ago, while driving around the East Mountains on the Fiber Farm and Studio Tour we discovered a farm with camels....and horses. The camels were fascinating and looked very content.

The horses, all of them, had 'possible' neglected hooves, way overgrown. And several of the horses could barely walk. Two could only crow hop because their feet had grown so long they were affecting the horses' movement and possibly even causing founder or laminitis, or ringbone. Or who knows what else.

It made me sick to see them that way. My 5 yr old daughter is the reason why I even noticed. She loves all horses and must go up to visit them. She was more interested in the horses than those odd, fuzzy camels.

I asked two of the people who worked at the farm if it might be a good idea to have the horse's feet trimmed. But for the two horses in question, they said that the horses' feet were too sensitive to trim. And one horse, who had been a rescue, they were more focused on getting some weight on him before trying to trim his feet.

They believed in natural horse care and natural hoof care. Their horses, all 5-6 of them were on less than 2 acres. Thankfully they had access to hay and didn't seem to be too thin. But their feet were horrible.

I debated saying anything to anyone because I'm just a new horse owner, and what do I know? Maybe their feet are too sensitive. Maybe feeding a horse is more important than hoof trimming.

But I couldn't get those poor crow-hopping, slipper-hoofed horses out of my mind and heart, so a few days later I contacted our local horse rescue 'Walkin' N Circles Horse Ranch and though they were concerned and wished they could help, their hands were tied. But they encouraged me to contact the NM Livestock Board, which I did.

And finally after a week of playing phone tag, I did get my story out, along with the names, address and phone #'s of the owners (they were listed in the Fiber Tour). The Livestock Board have promised to investigate the situation.
I do intend to follow up next week to find out what, if anything has been done, but a couple days later, I was even more concerned to find out that problems at the camel ranch are not new.

While I was at the feed store, chatting with Mike and Kit, like I always do, and buying some chicken feed, one of the workers over at Walkin' N Circles Horse Rescue came in. She shared how they ended up with some neglected horses not too long ago from the camel ranch. And the terrified horses were still worked up about their ordeal of having to live with those huge camels.

She also talked about some of the horrific situations of horse neglect and abuse that happen in this area, such as the guy who 'gelded' his horse, by cutting off it's penis. It bled to death.

And the poor little filly, named 'Holly' who was savagely attacked by dogs, after the owners took away her Mother, and later claiming they didn't even know who Holly's mother was or that she had given birth. But worse is that even after the dogs attacked and left her for dead, the owners didn't seek any vet care.
A Sheriff Deputy found the poor filly and immediately carried her off the property and drove her to Walkin' N Circles.

What got me about this story is that the owners are now going to court to try and get sweet little Holly back! In my opinion they shouldn't have any horses at all.
But what a crazy world, eh?

You can read more about Holly's story and donate to her care, by clicking here:
Walkin' N Circles Ranch. Just click on Holly's photo for the full story.

(I only was able to take photos of one of the horse's with severely overgrown hooves, as the other horse, a beautiful black gelding, was standing too close to the owners and I didn't want to look suspicious snapping photos of his feet.)

So, I bet you want to see some of the photos I took of those poor horses at the camel ranch?

Neglected Horses