What the HECK??

[greathorse]

It is great that these folks are building a shelter for their livestock. I think it is a very good thing to do. I will repeat that all of my stock has access to shade. I will however (for those that were all about calling animal control) state that it was 102 here yesterday, I did not see my horses shade up once, I drove to Denver and back and saw no less than 50 head of horses that either had no access to shade or had access but were grazing lazily in the sun or were standing in the sun with shade access.

Is shade a good thing? Yes very much so. Is shade so critical, I admit I am not famliar with where these horses are kept, that it is deemed inhumane treatment if they do not have it? The fact that the horses choose to go without it in the heat of the day would tell me that it may not be the horrific thing that some might beleive.

I am very gland that OP used some discretion and observation before creating an issue with animal control.

Good job

 

[debilorrah]

I watched my horses yesterday and most of the time they were in the sun, but towards the heat of the day, they were under the trees. They LOVE their corral when the winds kick up though. They will go right to their shelter!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

We have about 48 large (15x30) stalls in our community area. The only time I see horses in the half of their stall that is not under cover is when the sun angle has moved such that the uncovered part is in the shade, or in the late evening or night. Now that is at this time of year; during the winter they will wander all over their stalls.

 

[newchickgal]

When we lived in CA our neighbor had their horse in a mid size pen which gave it enough space. The problem was that it was during winter time and the whole pen was several inches under water. There was no shelter and no dry area for the horse to stand in. So I called AC and told them about it. A very short time later the owners moved the horse to another area. I didn't care what the neighbors thought, my concern was only for the horse. I just knew his health was at stake. Don't think the neighbors ever knew who called AC. It was right along a secondary road and many people used it for walking (exercise) in the mornings.

 

[Beekissed]

Exellent!!! I'm glad they are arranging shelter!

I too have noticed my silly sheep, who have a whole huge apple orchard for shade, will huddle next to the buildings, in the sun, and pant. Who knows why?

 

[Haviris]

I'm not there, but here, yes I think shade is very critical. My horse is out on pasture 24/7 w/ a shelter and lots of trees, she does spend plently of time in the sun, but spends as much or more under the trees (she prefers the trees to her shelter), and she sweats throughout the day. Haven't noticed my sister's horse sweating as much, but he's mostly white, my brother in law's horse sweats worst of all, and all three prefer to spend their time in the shades from the trees. Don't notice as much what our cows do in the day, but they are generally up in the woods (it's not shaded in the back), and you usually don't see them til evening (I'm guessing they hang out at the pond). And our jersey cow is pastured w/ my horse and spends about the same amount of time under the trees as she does, she's generally hot and panting when we bring her up for her evening milking. I think the only reason they spend anytime in the sun is because horses and cows spend so much of their time grazing and the best grass is in the sun. I have three minis in w/ the goats and they are lucky enough to have a large protion of their pen in shade, and they spend ALL their day time shaded. Dito for the two minis in the yard, I rarely see them venture into the sunny parts during the heat of the day.

I'm glad to hear these guys are finally getting some shade! I couldn't imagine keeping my horses or cows w/out some shade. It may not kill them (although it could), but it sure can't be a very comfortable way to spend their time.

 

[RiverOtter]

Quote:
Sugar, I'd like to point out that full sun in Northern Colorado and full sun in Southern California are very different things.
Heck, when I spent a few years in PA, when it was 95 in August, I was outside, I was working, I was fine
Now I am in AR, it is 95 and I am inside, on my butt at the computer, still feeling sweaty and thinking about hopping in the shower just to cool off. This is an entirely different 95 degrees. I don't know how they can measure it with the same equipment! My neighbor's horses are in the shade, my chickens are in the shade, my dogs are in sprawled out on the concrete floor, heck the cats have all hunted up a shady spot.

So just because the number is the same, it doesn't mean much! There are places in this country where it is flat out criminal to have a creature of any description without shade

 

[Skyesrocket]

I live in the same town as Debi. No shelter here is ridiculous. We live in a DESERT where the sun is intense, we've had a chance of thunderstorms the last few days and our high is over 100 degrees (103 tomorrow...not sure what today was, but similar). Even our city sends out newsletters reminding to provide water and shelter for animals if they must be outside.

I'm so glad they are getting some shelter. In that kind of heat an animal should at least have the option of finding shade. Mine graze during the night. They are smart...no flies and cooler at night. Then they go into their run in and sleep until noon. Then, they go out for a roll and a little grazing, then hang out in the shade until early evening when they go back to grazing. What a life....lol.
When it's really hot, like it has been this past week, I keep hay inside of the run in for them. Otherwise they are fine on just pasture grazing.​

 

[LyonFuzz]

Quote:
Sorry, but the "style of care" is not up to the owner when basic needs are not met. Not providing basics like protection from rain, cold, sun, etc is neglect. Not providing enough space to exercise is wrong and makes for a miserable life and poor health. Geez, why have the animal if you are not going to care for it??? To watch it suffer? Animal control is in place to educate people like this and should be called. Be a voice for the voiceless.

 

[firedove]

I'm glad that it sounds like the OPs issue is being resolved. I did want to add a couple of things.

First, it is always best to try to resolve issues over animal care with the owners before calling AC unless it is an emergency situation. In many places AC will take your animals first and then you have to fight to get them back, even if what you did was not actually cruelty, or you didn't know any better in the first place. The fact that the neighbors of the OP are building the shelter now shows that that was their intention all along. If AC had been called in first, they may never have been given the chance to correct their situation. I know it isn't like that everywhere, but it is like that some places. Even if they don't take your animals, how would you like to get a knock on your door from AC every time your neighbors didn't agree with what you were doing with your animals.

Second, if you notice that someone is not feeding their horse (notice, not just suspect) it is better to call as soon as you know that they are not and will not feed their animals. Waiting until a horse looks thin can be too long. Horses can go down hill fast and have a hard time recovering after significant weight loss. The same can be true for many types of animals. On the other side of things, do not assume that if you see a thin horse it is not being fed. There are many reasons why horses can appear thin, especially older animals. If you notice that someone has a thin horse that is dropping weight, you should look into whether they are properly feeding the horse and call someone if you find out that they are not.

Lastly, there are a lot of very expensive dressage horses, Warmbloods mostly which are big horses, that live in 12x12 or 15x15 stalls pretty much all of the time. I worked at a dressage barn where many of the horses were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and about half of them only saw the open sky if they were being shown in an open arena. They went from stall to being ridden or lead in the attached indoor arena back to stall day in and day out. Granted they got exercise from their ring work, but about 23 hours a day they were stalled, 24 hours if they weren't worked for a day. They were too expensive to risk the dangers of being turned out loose where they might hurt themselves. It's a sad existence for a horse but there are plenty out there living like that.