Its hard to be truthful especially when you know it will hurt....

So how to you tell someone that they are not doing the best for their Pets?  Those of you who know me will know that I am not backwards in coming forwards especially when it comes to animal health and treatment but how do i respond when its a neighbour!  I torture myself about the best words to say and then just blurt out those words to the animal guardian and then cry in private!!

My neighbours 2 horses escaped from their field on Friday and i found them in my field.  i got up at 7am and heading off to the loo when i heard the snorting noise of a horse so looked out the window to see the two ponies from the big house so immediately got dressed and coaxed the two wee cuties into my stables - i tried to put the wee boy into one stall but as soon as i shut the door so he was separated form his pal he started going off his head so i opened the door and let them both be together and just shut the main door to the stables and then went off to track down the owner.

Little did i know that the ponies escaping was due to a burglary at the big house so as i headed up to the big house and discovered one of the doors wide open I didn't realise i was going to be the witness to the aftermath of a burglary - and at the point where i knocked on the door to the house and waited for the horse owners to answer i had no idea that they had been broken into and at that point neither did they!  I just assumed they were up early and about but in fact they were all in their beds but the side door to the house was wide open.

So without the knowledge that there had been a break in the big house owner came to pick up his horses from my stables.  Now i had noticed when i lead them into the stables that the cute wee male had really badly over grown feet - not something that was a little bit out of control but something that was at least a year since it had been seen too.  He looks healthy except for this but this kind of treatment is unacceptable - horses need to have clean happy hoofs and his definitely were not, so i had decided i would say something but when the door was answered i couldn't find the words so i walked away and up the hill to my house berating myself for being such a coward - then the owner came and as he struggled to open the stable door i knew i had to just go and say some thing so off i went and with a friendly face i helped him open the stable door and as he lead the first pony away i just blurted out 'the wee man desperately needs his feet seeing to' - god knows why i went so Scottish in that moment but it doesn't matter as i said those words and the owner turned to me and said 'oh yes he is getting sorted on monday' - now i would love to say that his owner was being honest but he was being too defensive and tried to hold eye contact for a tad too long.  So what do i do?  I don't think this poor boy is going to get seen too so as i mull over my options and shed a few tears for this wee cutie who just needs a bit of help i hear that the big house has been broken into and some stuff has been stolen.

Is it terrible that my first reaction was that if they have just been broken into then there is no chance that the pony will actually be seen to on Monday?  well we will wait and see but my friend who is due to look after the ponies from next week is going to keep an eye on them and offer the services of her farrier if necessary.  The thing is i would happily pay the money to have the ponys feet fixed if it was money that was the problem but these people live in a house that is currently up for sale for £1.2m so you sort of hope that they will have the money to look after the animals they have?!

i will of course let you know how both ponies get on but the lesson i think is always to speak up - if i hadn't i think my worry would have eaten me up.  but i told the owner i was concerned about the feet and his defensive response showed that he cared and actually knew the feet were a problem - and it must have been awful to have someone point this out - i would have been completely mortified if someone had said that to me about one of my animals.   I really hope he does something as i will call a rescue organisation if i have to - it will be a horrible thing to do but my priority has always been for the animal not the human.  I am sorry if that is hard to understand but as Lady Gaga says I WAS BORN THIS WAY - and i wouldn't change that for the world.

suz
xxx