Desperate horse owners are pleading with people to stop feeding their animals after three nearly died on Sheppey.

Mum-of-two Helen Scudder from Minster said: "Since lockdown, people have been walking more and seem to think it is OK to feed horses they see in fields. But it's not.

"My yearling Joey, who was kept in a field near the canal at Sheerness, nearly died after being fed carrots. People think they are helping but they are not.

"Carrots have to be cut a certain way. Horses can't be sick so the carrots can lodge in their throat and choke them."

She said her horse collapsed and had to have its stomach flushed with a hosepipe through its nose.

She said: "I first realised something was wrong when he refused to eat. Then his back legs started collapsing. Finally, I couldn't get him up off the ground.

"I nearly lost him that night. It took the vet two days to help him recover and left me with a bill for £4,000.

"The whole horse community is very worried. There have been many deaths reported all over the country from horses being fed the wrong food."

Helen, who has three other horses, added: "People even feed them grass cuttings which are very dangerous for a horse.

"Apples can be OK as a treat from the owners but too many can turn to alcohol and release acid in a horse's stomach.

"People also feed horses white bread which swells up inside and can lead to colic."

Julia Bird who runs the Elm Lane Equestrian Club at Minster, has 12 horses.

She added: "We had someone near the yard who kept feeding the ponies buckets of apples and carrots. As a result, one of the ponies, Horace, ended up with colic.

"Another horse, Jack, ended up with laminitis which is excruciatingly painful.

"The sugar from things like grass cuttings attacks the lamin in hooves which breaks down and allows the pedal bone to pierce the bottom of the foot. Luckily, Jack survived. But once they get laminitis they become prone to it. It's a nightmare."

She added: "The public don't realise what damage they can do. Giving a horse an apple or carrot could sign its death warrant. It can be very scary."

Julia's riding school has had to close because of the coronavirus lockdown and is raising funds to keep going.

'Giving a horse an apple or carrot could sign its death warrant. It can be very scary...'

She said: "We have no money coming in to pay for the horses' keep. I don't qualify for a council tax grant and as we haven't made any profit for a few years we can't get government money.

"If we can't get any help I may have to rehome the horses and close our doors for good.

"We have a lot of kids with various learning difficulties like ADHD and autism who come to us. I have had specialist training for this. I really want to be able to reopen for business once lockdown is lifted."

But she added: "It is surprising how very generous some people are. Sometimes it makes me cry. One mum has continued to pay for her son's lessons during lockdown even though he can't visit us. We are determined not to be defeated by a virus."

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