Sarah Cross, 32, has been forced to put signs up telling people not to feed her horse Blackberry (Picture: Sarah Cross/Media Wales)
A horse has become ‘clinically obese’ and could ‘explode at any moment’ because she is eating too many treats.
Sarah Cross, 32, is the proud owner of Blackberry, who she bought two years ago in south Wales.
Blackberry initially stayed on a secluded farm, but has recently moved to a farm nearby which is easily accessible to passers-by.
People have been throwing all kinds of treats into the horse’s field – mainly carrots, but also lawn cuttings, potato peel, green vegetables, and apples.
Sarah now fears the treats have taken a toll on Blackberry’s health and says she thinks the horse is now ‘clinically obese’ and could ‘explode’ due to overindulgence.
The problem is now so bad Blackberry is eating around 60 carrots a day – and while treats are okay in moderation, things have got to change.
Sarah said: ‘She’s going to explode at any minute if it doesn’t stop.
‘It became so bad that I noticed she started to struggle walking. People seem to think it’s okay to do this but they couldn’t be more wrong.
Sarah said Blackberry is now ‘clinically obese’ (Picture: Sarah Cross/Media Wales)
No more extra snacks for Blackberry (Picture: Sarah Cross/Media Wales)
‘The other day I asked a gentleman to stop feeding her carrots and he sort of shrugged it off as just a carrot. But it’s not just a carrot because if that happens 60 times a day that’s an extortionate amount of food.
‘There is more than four grams of sugar in a carrot – it’s unbelievable how much sugar she is having daily.’
Sarah says Blackberry has more than ‘doubled in size’ as a result of eating the treats, and has been forced to put up signs warning people not to feed her.
She fears if the horse eats any more she will develop colic and laminitis.
Sarah does not want this to happen because Blackberry plays a vital role acting as a ‘therapy horse’ for local children with learning disabilities.
Blackberry plays a vital role as a ‘therapy horse’ (Picture: Sarah Cross/Media Wales)
‘I’m really concerned that in a couple of months she could die,’ Sarah said.
‘We’ve just come off the back of a difficult summer with little grain so she should be eating more hay than usual because she should be thin and healthy. Instead I need to be really careful what I feed her through the winter now.
‘I’m stuck because she’s so fat. I don’t know what to do to be honest.’
According to the RSPCA, Sarah’s case is not the only one and they urged people not to feed horses without the owner’s permission.
There has been a rise in illness and deaths of horses as a result of lockdown walkers feeding the animals.
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A sign has been put up telling people not to feed the horse.