A HORSE nearly died after people thoughtlessly fed her treats, despite her owner asking them not to.
Chloe Milligan’s mare, Abbi, had to be treated by a vet over several days before she began to recover.
When the vet was first called, Abbi was showing signs of colic and over the week she developed an impaction in her gut.
The horse, which is kept just outside Langholm, has had to be tubed on six occasions and took a few days to recover.
After her first treatment, she was kept in her field because it is better for a horse to be outside eating grass and moving around than be kept indoors.
Chloe said: “She is fed carrots by different people every day and after she got colic, this caused an impaction because they wouldn’t stop.
“I know who some of them are and I asked them not to but they don’t understand and keep doing it.
“I thought if I publicised the problem in the paper, people would read it and it would get their attention. I don’t know how to stop them. Some horses can be allergic to carrots.”
Allyson Ross of Ark Veterinary Centre in Lockerbie said it was important for the mare to be outside.
She said: “We were trying to starve her but people kept on feeding her which made her condition worse so she had to go in her stable.
“We would rather she was out on grass walking around when it’s impaction colic. It can help move things along and grass is more digestible.
“She was in a field next to the road and people were calling her and she came down to them because they were feeding her carrots.
“It was not helping the situation. People don’t realise how severe an impact it can have. Some horses are on special, low-sugar diets.
“If a horse has had laminitis and people feed them carrots and apples, it can recur because of the sugar.
“Do not feed horses anything unless you have the owner’s permission. Some horses are allergic to apples. Cut grass will also cause colic because it’s too rich for them.”
![](javascript:sharePopup('https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.eladvertiser.co.uk/do-not-feed/&picture=https://www.eladvertiser.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CHLOE-MILLIGAN-1.png&title=Do not feed"e=Do not feed', 'Share with Facebook','600','400','100','300')){kind=link}