Animal neglect

[Handcannon]

I live in a small town outside of Sioux City, Iowa. Everyday I & many others drive by a house w/ a horse. This horse is the survivor of 2 that were there this winter. A little history 1st.

Remember those super cold days we had this winter? I drive by one morning & see a horse laying on the ground. No big deal, horses lay down...all animals do. I drove by on my way home to lunch & the horse is in the same spot. I thought "no way, that horse was fine the other day". Drove by on my way home & 4 guys are trying to get the horse to stand up. A couple days later the horse is gone. Now there is one horse left. I look closer at the "barn" - a tiny metal shed not big enough for 2 horses & no bedding & is too open to retain heat & to shelter from wind.

So, I keep notice of the only remaining horse now. Sunday the horse is near the road. I can count his ribs, his butt is gone & you can see all of his hip bones & etc. Kinda looks like a milk cow now. This pisses me off. I can't stand it when people get animals for pets or hobbies or whatever & then DON'T TAKE CARE OF THEM PROPERLY. The horse is wasting away.

Do I call the sheriff or the Humane Society? Having grown up on a farm w/ 13 horses, 100s of cattle & too many hogs - I hate to see this kind of thing. Stupid...just stupid.

 

[Critter]

I would probably go talk to the Humane Society first. They might be able to give you some good advice, and have probably dealt with similar situations before. Pretty sad either way, unless the owner has as little to eat as the horse does.

 

[JNRBRONC]

How old is the horse? We had an old stallion that we couldn't put weight on no matter how much senior feed we offered him. If it is truly neglect, they need reported.

 

[nannyslayer]

Humane society is the first call you need to make. They won't jump to conclusions first, they will find out the diet of the horse and the age, which can be big factors in they way it looks. If it is truely neglected, they will take care of the situation.

 

[Handcannon]

I called the sheriff. They are going to have a deputy come out & look at the horse. Both horses were fairly young, not old by any means. The diet is a big old crusty round bale, been there a long time. No pasture, just a dirt lot.

 

[timekiller]

Handcannon- You chose the correct route. With your having grown up on a farm you know better than most what a healthy horse and its food should look like. Your SO will probably check it out and call a vet out for a professional welfare check. You did the right thing.

 

[dominator]

i found a couple 4 month old puppies out in the woods when i was shed hunting this spring. they were very skinny, and one of them couldnt move and wouldnt stop shivering but they seemed pretty wild and looked willing to bite whenever i tried to aproach them.

there are places for animals like these so they dont have to starve to death. some people are just nasty