Horse care questions...clueless and need advice

Hi there,

I hope I can get some good advice on this because I don't know what to do.

I am renting a home that has a 2 stall barn and corral next to it. I began to rent it out to a girl who had brought 2 horses. I have absolutely no experience with horses and don't really know the first thing about them, although I love animals and have come quite attached to the ones here.

Anyway, I found out soon after she moved them in, that one was pregnant and do within a few months. Well, things seemed fine to me. She would come in the morning and evening to feed them. They have seemed taken care of for the most part..I thought. I normally saw hay, although there was never quite that much, but enough. And food (pellets) were kept in the small fridge.

Anyway, I have noticed that the stalls have gotten pretty bad lately and I cleaned them out on the weekend, not because I wanted to (yuck) but because I felt sorry for them, especially with a baby. Sometimes I would notice that they were left locked inside, normally this was on very cold days but then started happening more and more in nice days when I would open the doors for them. Then notced they had no water and I would have to bring my hose out to give them some water. I really never cared about helping out, but she doesn't call to let me know if she wants me to feed them or anything and then I do sometimes and am not sure if they are getting double.

So..to try and make a long story short, my landlord was by and he said he is very worried about the horses. He said he could see ones ribs and that she looked bad. I never noticed much, but she does seemed to have lost alot of weight quickly or is sick. He insisted that they werent being feed properly. She also said she couldnt find hay and there wasn't any for 2 or 3 days.

I don't know if she is neglecting them or not. They are VERY dirty and I know that she doesn't bathe or brush them, but I don't know that she is doing something wrong or not. She feeds them about a half bucket twice a day and I would imagine gives a small amount of hay, not really sure how much. But, they do seem like they should have more..and now one does look pretty thin. Maybe she doesn't have the money I am assuming..she won't call me back so I don't know.

Anyway, I left her a message about what my landlord said and I noticed there was hay brought and that she had been coming here. So..I am wondering if my landlord is over reacting or if they aren't being properly fed and kept. There isn't any grass for them to graze on in the corral and I am not comfortable taking them out since they could run and we live on a very busy street. He acted as if she was abusing the horses and I am not sure she would do that or if that's the case.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

A horse typically needs to eat about 2 1/2% of their body weight everyday if they are eating grass/hay just for maintenance (about 25 lbs for an average 1000 lbs horse). Even with horse feed, they still need grass/hay for their digestion...and should always have access to water.
You may want/need to contact Animal Control or a local equine group if the owner does not return your calls. Sadly, it's not unusual that as people's lives change and feed/hay prices rise, people no longer have the time or money to care for them.

Alot of times pregnant mares will start looking thin befor they give birth because they really need a little extra care. Is the ribby one the mare?

You may consider upping the price that you lease the corral to her for in exchange for you feeding and watering daily (although I would still make her provide the feed).

I'm not sure what the laws are but my concern for you is that if the animals are too thin or on the "neglected" side, that because they are on your property (even though you rent) that you may in someway be held liable. I'm not positive that would be the case, but I worry... Does anyone know?

If there was any time she didn't show up for a few days and the horses were left without food or water I would call that neglect. She needs to be out there every day to check on them or make arrangements for someone else to do it. A yucky stall or needing a brushing isn't that bad, but no food or water is. If you don't hear from her and you notice they have no food or water you need to call animal control. They may not be able to take them but they should be able to point you in the direction of a horse rescue in your area.

I also agree with what has already been said.

A horse needs hay and water. Everyday.

I wouldn't tell the gal renting that you were concidering calling animal control as it may cause problems for you personally. Sometimes people can fly off the handle when you try to warn them.

I would do as Vidaloco said and if she doesn't come out for a couple days document those days and call animal control and let them evaluate the situation. They are trained in what to look for and the laws of your community.

I applaude you in taking time to ask about the horses that are not your responcibility. Its not an easy thing to do. Thanks!

I agree with the above... while dirty stalls and grungy horses aren't nice either, they won't die from it. If she's not coming out at all then you need to call the AC. Are you sure you're not just missing when she comes and when you check on them they're just done eating already?

I was a bit confused... the mare hasn't foaled yet, right? If she's close that's probably why she's ribby. The weight drops off of their topline and is all in the belly towards the end of the pregnancy.

Maybe like suggested above (if you don't mind) you could tell the owner you'll feed the horses once or twice a day and do the water as long as she comes out and cleans the stalls everyday or at least every other day... If you did that I would definitely raise her board though.