04/06/2026
“Please Don’t Feed Us” — A Horse’s Story of Life, Loss, and Well-Meaning Harm
We don’t ask for much.
Grass under our hooves.
Room to roam.
Fresh air, quiet fields, and the safety of our herd.
For generations, we have lived this way — long before visitors arrived with cameras, kind hearts, and pockets full of food. We are hardy, resilient, and shaped by the land we call home.
But something is happening now that we do not understand.
People keep feeding us.
And horses are dying because of it.
When you hold out your hand, we come.
Not because the food is safe.
Not because we need it.
But because we trust you.
We don’t know that carrots can lodge in our throats.
We don’t know that bread can swell inside us.
We don’t know that apples, peelings, grass cuttings, sweets, and leftovers can cause terrible pain, colic, choking, or death.
We only know it smells good.
We are horses.
We eat first.
We understand the danger too late.
A mare once choked on pieces of carrot left for her. She fought to breathe, confused and afraid, but help came too late. She never returned to her herd.
Harmony, a rare Cleveland Bay mare in Wales, was carrying a foal when someone fed her over the fence. They likely meant kindness. Instead, she and her unborn foal were lost.
When you feed us, you change our behaviour.
We wait near roads.
We approach strangers.
We stop grazing as nature intended.
We learn to trust hands that may harm us.
We do not need treats.
We do not need handouts.
We do not need human food.
We need grass, space, safety, and distance.
So please — if you truly care for us:
Don’t feed us.
Don’t offer carrots, apples, bread, biscuits, peelings, grass cuttings, or anything at all.
Watch us from afar.
Take your photos.
Smile as we graze.
Let children see us living freely, safely, and naturally.
Let our foals grow.
Let our herds stay whole.
Let us live as we were meant to live.
Let us be wild.
Let us be safe.
Let us be horses.
