A HORSE owner is pleading with the public not to feed horses on their walks after two animals were taken ill.

Jodie Sargeson from Oswaldtwistle owns 24-year-old horse Toby, while three other horses in Stanhill Fields are owned by her friends.

Toby became ill on Sunday after overeating sugary foods and was on the brink of death. Because of this, Mrs Sargeson wants to ask people to understand why horses should not be fed things like apples and carrots.

She said: “Since the lockdown, people are out walking and come to see the horses, which is great.

“But people are feeding them things like bread, carrots and apples that they think are okay for horses to eat, but this food makes them ill.

"I like that people enjoy seeing them and stroking them but feeding them these things gives them stomach aches and for horses, this can be deadly.”

Fruit contains a high sugar content for horses often resulting in stomach aches, which causes horses to violently roll on the floor, twisting their intestines.

She said: “Toby got colic, so he would roll on the floor and twist his intestines in the process.

"Usually, the only way to fix it is an operation and if Toby had that he would not have survived.

“It also costs a lot of money, and my vet bill is already going to be expensive.

"While he was thrashing around, he hurt his eye and now has an eye trauma too."

Toby has had an injection to treat him, as well as a new special diet, which is why it is vital people do not feed the horses anything during walks.

Mrs Sargeson said: “I had to go out in the field to watch him when he was first taken ill, I could not let him lie down, otherwise you have to get them back up.

“It was awful and when I first got to see him on Sunday, I thought he was going to die. I let him rest his head on me while we waited for the vet. He is part of our family. I have had Toby for 18 years, I was 11 then and now I’m 29.”

Mrs Sargeson and her friends feed their horses hay bales and pony mix, which is the right food for them.

She added very few horses recover from the things Toby has been through, so Mrs Sargeson and her family are relieved that he is doing better.