Horse Owner Warns Against Feeding Horses Human Food After Near-Death Experience
By James Connolly
A distraught horse owner, Julie Kershaw, 58, rushed to her field in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, to find her 13-year-old horse, Frank, trembling and close to death after potentially being fed harmful human scraps by campers.
Julie discovered Frank shaking uncontrollably and unable to walk, leading her to fear that he might not survive the night. “He was really shaking and couldn’t walk,” she said, noting that Frank had lived safely in the same field throughout his life.
The alarming situation unfolded when a 13-year-old girl named Freya and her mother, Rachel, came across Frank collapsing while they were walking. Freya stayed with the distressed horse, offering comfort, while Rachel made a desperate Facebook appeal to locate Frank’s owner.
Julie, who was 15 minutes away at the time, was alerted by her daughter. “I must have had 20 phone calls, and it was all over Facebook,” she recalled. They managed to get Frank into a stable before a vet arrived within 40 minutes.
The veterinary examination revealed that Frank was suffering from colitis, a serious inflammation of the colon caused by undetermined food that he ingested. Julie expressed her fear of the situation, stating, “It’s just so scary – people don’t realize how dangerous it is to feed horses.”
The incident is not isolated, as horse owners like Julie have previously discovered dangerous food items such as chicken bones, tomatoes, and even Brussels sprouts discarded by visitors.
“This keeps happening, and it’s a nightmare,” she shared. Julie incurred over $400 in vet bills and care costs, emphasizing the ignorance surrounding what constitutes safe food for horses.
Julie urged people to be mindful and educate themselves on proper horse care, especially as foot traffic has increased in the area since the pandemic.
“Everyone has a phone—why can’t they just search what you can and can’t feed a horse?”
