Theft – You know it’s going to happen!
Nov 10 2009
Guest blog from Ellen. We’ve talked about this stuff before but you can’t discuss it too much. We see theft stories every single day and often they are heartbreaking – a child’s horse, a pregnant mare, etc. Not to mention expensive equipment that may not be insured.
In a five mile circle of my front gate are fifty horses in thirty yards or pastures waiting to be stolen. A few Arabs, a cluster of stout grays, and any number of Oklahoma paints. Out here in the country, there aren’t any streetlights and more importantly, there aren’t any locks on the gates.
Think about it. You and I might take real care and interest in safely loading our horse. But our horse loaded without much regard for safety or comfort is in the trailer and the gate slammed shut in the proverbial sixty seconds. Would a serious thief cut the fence? Maybe, but he doesn’t have to because the gate is left unlocked.
I know a vet assistant two miles away who not only doesn’t lock her interior big pasture gates but never closes her gates to the road. Beyond the insurance nightmare of horses on the road, the personal nightmare of theft is being kept at bay by dumb luck. Can anyone say Schlage Lock. Not a combination, but the serious lock that has serious keys you can keep control over.
Wonder about feed supplements, tack, tools and tractors? Yup, they get stolen too. Of course, taking a picture, keeping sales receipts, and burning our identity under a saddle flap would help recovery. But why bother, it’s the other ranch that loses their stuff, right?
Even professionals get burned. A vendor with $200,000 worth of saddles, tack and custom gear waved good bye to everything after Tulsa’s Arab Nationals. The towing unit could have had lo-jack tracking and ignition cut off. The trailer could have had padlocks on the safety chains. But the thieves got the time to do their thing and even that extra moment to strip the radio out of the tow vehicle.
We can’t make theft go away. And frankly the fewer jobs to go around has something to do with crime going up. But we can make it hard for the thieves to make a dollar off a horseman.
Some very good points! I would particularly note that it is super easy to hook up a horse trailer within minutes and take off with it. If you go to work or church every week, the thieves in your neighborhood know. Put a hitch lock on your trailer and make it less of a target.
Another point – lights! Motion sensor lights do so much to discourage theft. There’s just a lot that you can do to make your property one of the least appealing targets in the neighborhood and that alone will often protect you.
96 comments to “Theft – You know it’s going to happen!”
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This is a great reminder- a lock is a must on any tackroom (including horse trailers!) and one on the gate doesn’t hurt. Make it a little harder for the theives, a little more time consuming and increase their chances of getting caught. Motion lights are a great deterrent too- crime is less likley to happen at homes with porch lights, same applies to barns.
Good post. It’s amazing to me the number of people in my area who have horses and have no driveway gate. If you do ANYTHING with your horses other than let them sit out in the pasture, they will eventually get loose in the driveway and make a break for it. Then you have the nightmare of chasing them down the road, hoping and praying no one gets hit or hurt. After dealing with a few incidents like this myself years ago, when we got horses again I insisted on a driveway gate. And no, not a fancy automatic one either. We have to get out of the car in rain, snow, sleet, and hail to open and shut the gate each time we leave or come home. But it’s worth it to me for peace of mind.
Separately, we don’t have automatic, motion-sensor lights, but we have three very large (100 lb.) dogs that have big, deep barks. People who don’t know the dogs sometimes don’t want to get out of their cars when we are standing right there in the driveway! I’m fairly certain a thief will pass by our house for a less “guarded” place down the road.
There have been a lot of horse thefts in Florida by third-world sub-humans who butcher the horses alive for meat to sell to their fellow third-world sub-humans. Can you imagine your precios loved horse being skinned and butchered alive???!!! PROTECT YOUR HORSES YOU IDIOTS !!!
I definitely worry about theft. And even if you have a hitch lock on your trailer, it doens’t stop someone from pulling in when nobody is home with their own trailer. Scary stuff. And really, nothing is going to stop a truly determined theif.
But one thing about insurance, if you just have one or two horses and they are not a business, they can be covered with a rider on your homeowner’s insurance, even if they don’t live at your house. My agent said that even if he’s boarded, if my horse gets out and someone hits him on the road, whoever hits him is going to sue the barn because their fence didn’t keep him in, and sue ME because he’s my horse. He strongly encouraged me to purchase a liability rider for my horse. It only costs me $22 a YEAR. I can’t recall the amount of coverage off the top of my head, but it’s certainly adequate, and also insures up to $3,000 worth of feed and tack, and insures my horse (an older Arab gelding) against theft for $500. This insurance covers any property damage or personal injury my horse may cause.
I am totally in agreement with everything said. I’m uniquely lucky in that I live on a very small island and I ride with the people who run the ferries to the mainland. Even if a thief could somehow sneak my horses out past my house and motion sensor lights, they’d never get off the island by the time everyone knew my horses were stolen. It’s just a very nice extra measure of security:)
I willingly handed over a real nice swiss made saddle to a thief.
Be careful who you use to sell your tack.
A “pal” I used to take dressage lessons with in NE Oregon ran a little used tack business.
I gave her a saddle of mine, a pair of boots , and some other horsey stuff, to sell on commission, and I never heard from her again.
(Hi Sharm! Even 10 years later, I’d still accept the check. You’ll feel a lot better too.)
I am a new (middle aged!) rider and owner. When I was looking for a place to board, I wanted a place that would keep my horse safe and secure and have a hands-on facility owner. I did not want to have to worry about my new companion. I found a wonderful place that has electric tape around the pastures where the horses are turned out. Thirty feet of natural thick brush, stone walls and wire fencing act as a border next to the public roads. There is only one way on to the property and to get to any of the horses, you must first pass the main house. The motion sensor flood lights gives the resident ex-police dog a better visual of where you are if need be.
http://wolfie-whatwasithinking.blogspot.com/
Interviews with ex-criminals have shown repeatedly that the biggest deterrent to theft is not locks, security lights or alarms, although these things help of course. Its a dog! Big ones may be scarier, but even a small loud dog can be quite effective apparently!
Yes locking gates is a good idea but if a thief is determined enough a fence is easy to cut with wire clippers, and those fancy PVC fence boards are very easy to pop out, & then back in after you’re horse is gone, and you’ll be none the wiser. Best thing is to keep the easy to catch & load horses as far away from the road as you can– put those that are more wary or don’t like strangers out front if you can!
Big dogs are also good– if you don’t have any, check your local pound— big farm dogs are always hard to place in homes. I know most of us already have plenty of dogs, but those that don’t, please do consider adopting one or more. Mine can look very intimidating to strangers, but are readily friendly to our regular visitors.
Good advice all around, from locked gates to hitch locks to pictures, ID #s and all that other stuff for tack and equipment. Horses are stolen from horse shows (tied to trailers, remember the $$$$ barrel horses and rope horses that have made the rounds on the ‘net?) We had a valuable rope horse stolen from around here recently, exactly how he disappeared was never made clear, but he was returned equally as mysteriously a few days later, minus his shoes and having been ridden hard and left to dry on his own. He was also covered with fly bites and a few zings and gows but is fine.
His owner was incredibly lucky. The horse had an identifiable brand — a wine glass (!) — one one shoulder. Other than that, the horse was just a gray QH type.
At my house, I have a heavy duty lock on the drive gate and two very yappy dogs and neighbors who are home all day. My routine is pretty easy to figure out, and just because the truck is there doesn’t mean I am, so a visible car is not always a deterrent, either.
My horse will go with anyone (one of the “joys” of having an animal that now trusts people), but I could use a hitch lock on the trailer, come to think of it. No sense providing a trailer for the horse thieves to use, now, is there?
Again, good advice. ALL of it.
I live out in the country, a few years ago on a summer night I heard my mares running and snorting late at night, I could hear voices coming from the pasture, too. A group of boys had cut my fence and went out to catch the mares to joy ride, I am sure alcohol was involved. I called the sheriff and in a few minutes I had blue lights everywhere. Lucky for me my mares don’t like men! The boys took off across the creek and were never caught.
Off topic, great story:
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/291518.html
On topic:
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/289122.html
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/291195.html
A question for all of you: how do you balance the need for security against the risk of fire? Everyone’s talking about locks, and that makes sense for trailers and tack, but I’ve always heard that a barn should not be locked so that animals can be easily evacuated. How do you balance that?
Doesn’t always matter if you do all the right things. I rode at a stable that had a tack room in a cinderblock building, no windows, with a stout door and a stouter looking lock, and they still busted the lock and cleaned it out, and took a trailer to boot (not sure if the trailer was secured). They replaced the lock with a really, really serious looking one that had the really short shackle that’s hard to get a boltcutter around.
These guys were professionals. Another place nearby, they cleaned the place out, waited until insurance paid and they’d replaced everything, then cleaned them out again. I’m pretty sure they had someone local scouting for them.
It scares the crap out of me to think about someone stealing Denali (although, I think that if they were stealing her for a riding horse they’d quickly return her after they got to know her personality-Joking-I know they wouldn’t ;0( ) It’s because of this fear that I picked her current residence. If anyone were to come to “steal” a horse they’d have to drive right next to the house of the barn manager. There’s also a gate out front. I also lock up my tack locker and tack box tight. I trust everyone at my barn, but someone borrows something then leaves it out, then someone else borrows it… it could take a while to get it back.
At my old barn I had a heartless human being steal my stuff when I moved to Denmark. I confronted her accomplice and got some of it back, but it was worn out or broken. Grrr…
Denali is currently being treated for EPM so she’s on REALLY expensive medication that I’ve asked the manager to lock up when she’s done giving it to Denali. If that goes missing I really might cry.
BTW-Medication to treat EPM from my vet quote $1000 a month, Medication from an online pharamcy with a Rx from the vet, including shipping, $750 a great way to save some money when faced with an expensive bill. Especailly since the online pharmacy will sell me a single tube, something that the vet said she can’t do.
http://www.wildponybeast.blogspot.com
A question about big dogs- I have two, and they simply will not stay on my farm. My fencing is designed to contain horses, not dogs- they can squeeze out between/under the rails of the post-and-rail fencing or dig under the wire fencing. I had to make them their own “paddock” to contain them for fear they’ll get hurt or cause an accident or get shot by a hunter when they leave my property. So they’ll bark at an intruder but can’t get to him.
Do livestock guardian breeds like the Great Pyreneese (sp?) actually stay close to home? Or will they too disappear for hours or even days on end if given a chance?
@mtponygirl – you are dead on girl. we’ve done many things to keep our stuff safe and the dog is the number one reason our operation gets left alone. good advice.
I started locking my paddocks not after a horse got stolen but after my neighbor’s mini was let out of his paddock late on night, and was hit by a car and killed (two gates with two different latches were opened, and no escapes by the mini had ever happened before). Prior to that morning, other neighbors and I had woken up to find the gates to our backyards (fenced for dogs) left open. My dogs were across the street before I realized what had happened. Thankfully, it was early and traffic was minimal. I’m sure my horses would have been let out too except that they were stalled at night. All this coincided with a rise in graffiti and other vandalism in my end of a nice, small town. So it’s not only thieves you are protecting yourself from, garden-variety troublemakers can cause you heartbreak as well.
FreedomTreeless – yes, the livestock guardian breeds are much more likely to stay with their adopted herd than other breeds. Pyr’s are especially known for staying with their herd.
Cattle grates are also a good way to keep the horses on your property- it won’t deter professionals if they have a trailer, but at least they can’t just walk them off your property.
Also, to minimize “borrowing” at the barn, brightly label everything, or for everyday stuff, use hideously-colored stuff- like a puke green saddle pad and polos. I just bought a can of bright orange spray paint to mark my grooming stuff, and puffy paint for my saddle pads and polos. You can also do it to blankets, halters, and lead ropes as well. I’ve seen people go into others’ cubbies when they’re unlocked (because the horse’s owner is there and accessing stuff) and snatch stuff. Labelling/ ugliness helps when your horse is used for lessons and you can’t lock the cubbies so the right tack can be used on your horse.
I, too, would be hesitant to lock the horses in the barn in case a fire breaks out. Instead, don’t WD-40 that screeching barn door- that way even the neighbors can hear the door opening.
At the barn I ride at, they have a people door and a horse door. The horse door gets locked, and the people door is open most of the time. People can get in and out, but the horses aren’t going to fit through it. The barn dogs (big and small) announce the arrival of every person, so someone coming in in the middle of the night is not going to go unnoticed. In the pastures, there are floodlights, and a sea of mud between the gate and where the horses usually locate themselves- and they can be hard to catch if you don’t know the technique for each individual horse. If it weren’t for the mud, I’d gladly board my own horse there (if I had one, lol).
This just happened http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/edmonton/2009/11/09/11689231.html
Unbelievable.
We know people in th enext town over who lost TWO horses (at the same time) to theft last year. It was a HUGE wake up call for us. Security lights and 2 very vocal dogs help me relax – but in truth, you never know. Great post.
~DD
http://besthorsegifts.blogspot.com/
Anyone counting on a dog to provide security is quite naive. A thief could easily throw a dog a chunk of poisoned meat and silence the dog permanently, and then you are out both a horse and a dog. DUH
“A question about big dogs- I have two, and they simply will not stay on my farm. My fencing is designed to contain horses, not dogs- they can squeeze out between/under the rails of the post-and-rail fencing or dig under the wire fencing. I had to make them their own “paddock†to contain them for fear they’ll get hurt or cause an accident or get shot by a hunter when they leave my property. So they’ll bark at an intruder but can’t get to him.
Do livestock guardian breeds like the Great Pyreneese (sp?) actually stay close to home? Or will they too disappear for hours or even days on end if given a chance?”
to answer your question no …the property next to our barn has 2 pyraneses, the older one is ok but have walked her home a time or two…sometimes they stray because they are chasing coyotes off the property (onto ours)…but the younger of the two was at our barn all the time! eating our cat food, grain or just hanging out…it got to the point where the owner wanted to get rid of her ( i wonder if she was spayed that sure could have made a difference, cause she lookes pretty scraggaly most of the time so i wounder if they would have spent the $) i wonder if they did get rid of her since she hasn’t been around for a while…
My BO used to have a german shep she was great , she would occasionally go for a walk with the neighbour but that was it…I’d look into invisible fencing, not sure if its all across north america but i’d think it should be
We’ve decided to get a camera for our place. I’m not afraid of thieves as much as someone is trespassing and throwing whatever they can into the pasture. We’ve found beer cans (some full, some empty) pieces of concrete, and just yesterday a big coil of wire. We have a strong suspect in mind as he’s caused problems before by releasing my husband’s horse or the camels.
Our neighbor keeps a close eye on our place due to this person’s history. This neighbor is gun happy. My mom came by to feed while we were on vacation. Neighbor didn’t recognize their car (they just got a new one) and came out to question my mom on who she was and what she was doing there. My mom only found out later that behind the neighbor’s back was his shotgun.
My dog is about 75# and 13 years old. She’s still my protector but her age is catching up to her. My next dog will be something even bigger. There are times when I’m home alone overnight and feel safer with a large dog to keep an ear out for stuff (my dog is pretty much all deaf, so things sneak up on her). Unfortunately, she’s dog aggressive so I have to wait till she’s gone to get another dog.
People are so desperate these days. And desperation causes them to do stupid things.
Oh lordy… just one more thing to think about now that I have a horse again! My saddle might be 25+ years old, but it’s the only one I’ve got. Thank god it’s in a locked tack room….
What a great topic!
Not very long ago we were having issues with stolen saddles. We have 4 big tack rooms at our barn and they all are kept locked. But kids were coming in at night with lock cutters to get to the saddles. People stayed late, left lights on, filed a police report, and put up signs, at it soon stopped.
But we’ve had a bigger problem with the other boarders steeling things. Everything from saddles to bridles to brushes. I’ve never had anything big stolen, but there was a girl who snapped my show reins when she “borrowed” my bridle and left the reins hanging and the horse stepped on them.
These things are the reasons why i keep all of my things in a seperate locker, and why i keep all my expensive stuff and show stuff at home.
Our neighbor (we have 16 acres, they have the adjoining 50) have 2 Great Pyranese, and their male is the only dog that has ever bitten me…and his owner had him on a leash at the time. They bark and chase everything (horses, elk, people, etc.), and fight with other dogs. They come to our property and bark at us while we’re working in our barn. They’ll attack our dogs if we don’t chase (with a pellet gun!) the GP’s back home. Our Golden Retriever and German Shorthair have barks that will keep anyone away, but will only lick you to death if you get too close. Dogs are great, but the GP’s I’ve been around are no good.
We have a gate at the main driveway, motion sensor light, driveway alarm (beeps in the house if a car/4-wheeler drives up, which sets the dogs off!), and my husband is a Master Hunter! Our very best tack (couple saddles, couple bridles), we keep in the house. We’re pretty far out in the sticks, but you never know. Thinking about this, we need more lights outside. Another “to do” to add to our 4-page list!
All of our horses are branded and our brand is registered, so I hope that helps. We also have 4 german shepherds that are fenced in with underground fencing. They have the run of the place and keep anyone that comes down the drive at bay. We have also branded our tack as well. Not that it could not be burned again to destroy our brand, but if they do not see it, if it is in an inconspicous area, we could at least prove ownership if it was found.
I have never heard of someone not have a driveway gate. So the horses just can walk from the pasture down the drive and out the road? That cannot be correct, I must be missing something.
freedomtreeless: pryeneees (and other livestock guardians) are one of the worst breeds for roaming. not only roaming, but staking a claim (guarding) to the areas they visit. they need serious fencing. beware the person who says “my dog never leaves the yard”, either they are not paying attention or rover cruises the night. i am thrilled with our anatolian/pyrenees cross, 125 pounds of snuggly love that barks like he is ready to dis-embowel an intruder,and keeps coyotes from eating my barn cats and sheep. but we had to re-enforce fencing to own him, and thankfully he is not a jumper. now that i have had an lgd i’ll never be without one (or more) again.
Well here’s my thing. I boarded my horse at a facility that DID have locks on the barn, the horses were inside when no one was around and the doors into the barn were locked when no one was there.
What if there’s a fire? If your gate is locked can someone still get in to rescue your horses if you aren’t home?
I live out in the icy artic tundra of the Northeast. We get storms of freezing rain and I can’t even tell you how many times a lock has needed to be thawed out to get somewhere. What if there was an emergency?
How do you keep your horses secure but make sure if the worst should happen they aren’t trapped?
As for the equipment I think in the horse world we still trust each other. It’s naive but I don’t think it’s a horrible awful thing. The way I figure it if you have something you care about don’t leave it where it can be stolen. But what about my saddle that’s in my trainer’s tack room in her barn? Should I assume that someone who is familiar with the barn is going to go in there and heist all the tack? My trainer’s saddle cost her $5000. Her horse is worth over $300,000 right now. She doesn’t lock her barn doors. She has a motion sensor but her house is on the other side.
You can drive yourself crazy trying to keep all your stuff under lock and key – energy better expended enjoying your horse instead of worrying about it.
(That said, I have two dogs and a loaded gun, we’re installing a motion sensor on the barn, putting boards up behind the hot tape and the tape is wrapped around the gate so that’s electrified as well).
As far as your dogs, it might be the breed. We have a rottweiler, a rhodesian ridgeback, and a german sheperd that roam our property, we can leave the gate wide open and they won’t leave.
@MelissaV- Great point regarding evacuation. Two years ago I was in that very situation. My community was evacuated before I could make it home to get my horses. All of the roads were closed & were patrolled by out of town city police who would not let us up. I was on the phone with every rescue group I could find requesting emergency evacuation (the police were letting them up) only to be added to waiting list after waiting list. For 5 days I searched every local spot housing evacuated horses, from the rodeo grounds, to the home deopt parking lot with no sign of them. It was an agonizing week to say the very least. Finally after a week of fruitless searching I received a phone call from a neighbor who lived a few houses up to let us know that our horses were safe at a local boarding stable. He and his wife had seen our horses on their way out and took it upon themselves to get them to saftey. We hadn’t met prior to the fire.
In that scenario it was a good thing our property was not locked up, because if it had been my horses would’ve been dead for certian as the fire burnt the entire property (fortunatley our home was spared). However, the situation could have just as easily ended with my horses being stolen, luckily for me there are still good people in this world. When we finally did meet face to face he made a comment about how nicley my mare loaded & and joked that if she ever needs a new home I have his number, lol.
So I guess protection vs overprotection is really reletive. I have a good watch dog that alerts me if there is anyone on the property (even my landlord whom he sees everyday) and flood lights at night, but I don’t have my horses under lock and key.
I do know what it’s like to have a horse stolen, but (I have posted this story before) but it was done by someone very close to our family… who had been caring for the horse on her property, giving her son and I lessons, and her, her son, my aunt and I had been showing together for years prior. It’s hard to know who you can trust.
You don’t lock the barn. You DO lock paddocks…that’s the normal compromise. The barn is best protected by a barn dog. (It does NOT hurt a dog to live in a barn or outdoors, contrary to what a lot of people seem to think). Tack rooms and feed rooms should definitely be locked. So should the gate to the road. Oh, and paddock and road gates should be locked on *both sides*. I’ve seen so many times when there’s a nice lock…and a thief could just lift it right off the hinges. A chain lock on the hinge end/side of the gate will stop this.
Horses can also be freeze branded with an identifying mark and/or microchipped. Stamping tack appears to be of little value, but if it makes you feel better it’s not expensive.
It’s my experience that equipment is more likely to walk than animals, though.
At my farm I have a combination door handle lock on my tack room, gates on each driveway and 2 big dogs that will bark and scare the pants off anyone who doesn’t know them. But if you go into my barn the horses will talk to you and I will hear them from the house and go investigate.
I once had my horse boarded in Tacoma and someone broke in and stole all the tack. I sent flyers via fax to all the area tack & feed stores and put ads in the local papers plus all the other owners were doing likewise. The culprit was caught and we got back most of our stuff.
I have 1 of my horses not only microchipped but also freeze branded and eventually I’ll make sure both my new hoses are freeze branded too. I have already made STOLEN HORSE flyers with photos & identifying marks for my gelding, so just in case it happens, I will have all the info on hand and within minutes the flyer can be on the internet, at sheriffs departments and all other pertinent places.
My insurance company did not charge me anything to add my horse to my homeowner’s liability policy. They said that in CA, up to two horses can be added for no additional charge, whether they live at home or are boarded.
We live in the country and we have great neighbors who look out for each other. We have a huge yard light that comes on at dusk and illuminates our entire barnyard. Still, when we are not home we lock the front gate. We lock the tack room door, the door to the house and there is a lock on the trailer tongue. We have a 100+ year old house on the property that we are using for storage and we lock that too. A lock keeps an honest man honest, but it may be enough of a deterrent to keep a dishonest man looking for the easy haul.
Theft is one reason I never turn out horses with halters on, just makes it so easy for someone to grab them.
At the moment my boys are basically impossible for anyone but me to catch. Even my SO can’t get near them in the paddock and though he can lure them into the yards he still can’t catch them in there. I doubt a stranger could get close enough to even herd them in, they have 5 acres to zoom away on.
I would have rather had them in a paddock around the corner in town so they were closer to me but chose not to for security reasons, just too many idiots in the world. It seems the drunks around here go “PONY! LETS GO RIDE IT!” I don’t want my unbroken babies terrified, traumatized and most likely injured by these idiots.
All my horse stuff is in the house, protected by 3 large dogs.
I pity anyone foolish enough to try getting past them….
My not so great neighbors next door have a Great Pyrenees. If you asked the dog he would tell you he stays at home. The issue is what do you consider home. I don’t consider my property and trash and everything else on our little road part of his home. He does. So he poops here and patrols here regularly. He has been aggressive with intruder types in the neighborhood and did a great job when an indecent occurred. If he were my dog I would feel very secure and make the fence better for him. The only problem with the GP dog is his owners.
He also has so much hair it seems to insulate him against the hotwire I used to manage my pasture. He takes it down. I think he is a good dog but he needs an upgrade. I am not prepared to give him one. I feel secure enough with my small dog and the screaming peacocks that live all over the property. They scare visitors so I am hoping they would scare intruders.
Freedom Treeless: I would say the breed of dog you have will tend to be of lesser importance than the training the dog has received. Try an obedience class?
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A wandering dog is a tough problem to correct though. You could try invisible dog fencing for them so they can have the run of your place to the extent of the fence. In case you don’t know what that type of fencing is, it’s a system installed into the ground of the area you want the dogs in, and then you put an electric shock collar on the dogs. You install flags where the underground fence is so that the dogs realize it’s there, and train the dogs to back up/go a different direction at the line. Their collar emits a beeping sound when they get close to the fence, and shocks them (to the power you set) if they go over the line. Works really well for my uncle’s dog
“People are so desperate these days. And desperation causes them to do stupid things.”
That’s exactly it. People are desperate. Did you all read the CNN article about the TRUE jobless rate? It’s more like 20% if you count the people who can only get part time work and the people who have given up trying in frustration. So right now you are going to see people stealing who do not have prior criminal histories but are facing eviction or similar if they don’t find a fast source of cash.
Most barns I’ve been at have been pretty lax about locking things up but these days it’s smart to be careful. If your barn doesn’t keep the tack room locked, a tack trunk or cabinet that is locked can deter thieves from your equipment.
“I have never heard of someone not have a driveway gate. So the horses just can walk from the pasture down the drive and out the road? That cannot be correct, I must be missing something.”
I see it all the time and I agree that it is definitely safer to have perimeter fence and a driveway gate. If you can set that up, you won’t regret it. That said, I’ve seen a horse get loose and run into traffic despite a brick wall enclosing the whole property – it was just that bad timing thing where the big gate was open when the horse got away from the handler.
Cheri says:
NOVEMBER 10, 2009 AT 9:59 AM
There have been a lot of horse thefts in Florida by third-world sub-humans who butcher the horses alive for meat to sell to their fellow third-world sub-humans. Can you imagine your precios loved horse being skinned and butchered alive???!!! PROTECT YOUR HORSES YOU IDIOTS !!!
If we are not protecting our horses, it could be due to lack of knowledge or lack of caring or anything in between. Does not necessarily make us idiots. My trailer is locked. My tack room is locked. My horses are trained to be easy to catch and easy to load. I would like to think they would not respond to a total stranger the same way, but you never know. After reading all this, I may ask a ‘stranger’ (someone I know), to try to ‘steal’ them and see what happens.
My barn is not locked up, in case of fire, I want a chance for someone to get them out. I’ll probably put locks on the paddock/pastures gates, but it may get complicated w/multiple horse owners on site.
My biggest beef here is ‘Cheri’ talking about ’3rd world sub humans. Lets please not put our North American sensitivities on other cultures eating habits. Someone from a different country eating something we would never consider eating does not make them sub human. I would hope the horses had their throats slit 1st and were bled out before being cut up. I don’t know of any cultures cutting up their meat while the animal is still alive.
I have never eaten horse meat, as a personal choice. I don’t eat any baby animals (veal, lamb) either, as a personal choice. Same thing for rabbit meat.
I still hope the people responsible for the theft of those horses are prosecuted to the maximum. Let’s put our anger to good use and make sure our government stop horse slaughters, because as a country we have decide not to eat horse meat. Let’s also put our anger to good use and make sure our meat animals are treated better on their way to becoming our next meal. Read Temple Gradin’s book (did I spell her name correctly?)
As a horse owner/lover, if anyone hurts my horses, I would castrate them myself. I would do the same to anyone hurting my cats.
The sub-human third-world scumbag pigs in south florida who are stealing, torturing, and brutally slaughtering horses in their stalls deserve to be hung from a tree and set on fire, and if you have a problem with that then you can go fuck yourself with a broken broom handle Digit2009.
@ Digit:
Cheri was not speaking of the regular slaughter culture.
There is a huge problem in Florida where people will steal someone’s horse and butcher them alive on the side of a road and sell the meat. It’s true, it happened to a friend of mine and traumatized her greatly.
On one episode of Animal Cops, they bust in on a couple of guys after they’d killed one horse, and there were other horses (who hadn’t been killed yet) nearby, spattered with the blood of those that had been killed. The guys took a chainsaw to the living horses, and body parts were found nearby from previous butcherings.
Incredibly sick. And incredibly true.
Most of the time, those caught are illegal immigrants who sell horse meat to other immigrants.
Someone mentioned fire safety and locks. I don’t usually leave a comment but this is something that is really is important to me. I am a firefighter (career and volunteer). My volunteer station is known locally as the Large Animal Emergency Team. I give lots of demos and talk to barn owners, especially horse owners, about how to make things safe. First of all, feel free to put a lock on a driveway gate. Even if you aren’t available, aren’t at home, if we see a fire on the property, especially a barn fire, we will dismantle fence and/or gates as need be. Locking barns on the other hand is a big no. A lot of people lock the main doors of the barn so that it can only be opened from the inside and then leave a smaller door unlocked. This sounds good in theory, but if a barn is full of smoke, it is not going to be easy for me, a firefighter, to navigate a barn to open the door. In fact, I won’t. Barns are too full of hay and dust. Opening that door is a potential hazard if I do not know what is in the barn. Just going in to such a flashy environment is extremely dangerous. More than likely, if your barn is on fire with horses in it and the doors are locked, your horses are toast because no firefighter is going in after them.
That being said, there are ways around that. For example, I would be willing to enter a barn that I knew, especially if I knew where the heaviest fire loads were. Therefore, if you want to keep your barn locked with horses inside, tell your local fire dept. They are there to help. For our volunteer dept we make detailed maps for rural housing and we include info about barns. In many places firefighters may not be horse savvy. You can always invite them to come meet your horses, learn some horse basics and help make an emergency plan. My horses get used for this a lot. I like firefighters practicing with my horses because I know my horses will not panic because someone is wearing PPE and SCBA and sounds Darth Vader. This even pertains to people who keep horses on pasture. What if there was a wildfire? Do you have some place to keep those horses safely? Do you have access to water on your property? (Ponds, creeks, wells) Doing a little bit of planning in advance can save you heartache and headache later on.
From a equine loving firefighter
I think that in this day and age it is an unfortunate but true reality that once safe neighborhoods and communities may not be anymore. The barn I keep my one horse at has an electronic security gate at the main entrance, and all the tackrooms/hay shed/barn doors are kept locked with key locks. The pasture gates have heavy duty padlocks on them as well. Plus there are motion sensor lights, video cameras posted in multiple places, and the care takers live on-site and are situated in between the 2 barns/pastures with a perfect view of the horses and the driveway! The barn that my other horse is at has a pair of very large German Shepherds who make a ton of noise any time someone comes on the property. They also have motion sensor lights and care takers that live on-site with a view of the driveway. I feel pretty fortunate for my horses to live where they do, but you just never know.
Cheri says:
NOVEMBER 10, 2009 AT 9:59 AM
There have been a lot of horse thefts in Florida by third-world sub-humans who butcher the horses alive for meat to sell to their fellow third-world sub-humans. Can you imagine your precios loved horse being skinned and butchered alive???!!! PROTECT YOUR HORSES YOU IDIOTS !!!
That’s very harsh. The buyers probably come from cultures where horses are meat animals and have no idea they’re eating someone’s personal pet. The people who do the butchering are another matter and calling them sub-human is fair enough. And skinned and butchered alive is just hyperbole. Someone doing a quick butchering job would want the animal dead as quickly as possible.
I realize that not everyone can do this (people with more than a few horses), but we have trained our horses to come only to a signal given by us. And we are the only ones that they come to when using this signal. Not even the bucket of grain will bring them running! We have used other people that they knao and some that they don’t and they will not come to anyone but us. Our barn owner doesn’t approve because her horses run away when ours do… But we have one less thing to worry about. Our horses were rescues, and very nervous of strangers to start with so it made it quite easy to teach them.
You’re close, it’s Grandin
Most dogs will stay on a property if they consider it more interesting than wandering. Dogs that aren’t with their people look for other things to do, so mine sleep with me and have a dog door. They may wake me up a few times at night, but it’s worth it. I have field fence all around and my dogs know not to go through a gate until I tell them to. I don’t like using devices like invisible fencing in place of training. If it works for you, great, but I have heard of dogs running through the fence in an excitable moment but not being able to come back in. I have to admit that I have a great dog, though. He’s an English Shepherd, we call him the Hall Monitor. He knows where everyone should be and tattles to me if someone gets out. He has tells me who is at the gate and has a different yip for my husband, my friends and the tolerated delivery guys. He has a special bark for strangers. I recently lost my 90 lb. Rhodesian mix to cancer. I think he was a great deterrent, he even sent some missionaries packing. The combination of a smart, aware dog and a big doofus with a big woof worked well for me.
Motion sensing lights work better than those annoying “security” lights (annoying for neighbors that like to look at stars). Robbers don’t like change. Put up a few motion sensors in strategic locations, solar powered ones are pretty cheap now. Get a timer with 15 minute intervals, set it on a random-like pattern and plug an interior light into it. Do some internet shopping, I just found some reasonable 600 foot range alarms at gadgetshack.com.
Wow it feels like Fugly fans are all paranoid–I do not worry about theft. I do have 2 dogs that bark at newcomers and stay home(neutered and spayed and fed properly, played with and loved–why would they leave?), my horses live outside 24/7, 365, (with all the good hay they can eat, heated water and a wind proof shelter). Nothing is locked, and I would find it hard to live that way.
I’ll agree with the Pyr thread as I’m on my 3rd & 4th – they do roam if not contained. Though I disagree with the poster who said they were aggressive, they are known as “gentle giants” – not to coyotes or intruders…but if properly introduced are lovely, though vacuum killing, dogs.
And with insurance, many horse organizations offer an upgrade to membership that provides insurance for horses. NC Horse Council is one that comes to mind, and NATRC is another.
I live WAY out in the boonies and don’t worry about horse theft as much as stuff theft. I did wake up one morning to find the dressing room door of my trailer wide open. Still not sure if I’d left it ajar and the wind got it, or if a curious neighbor came prowling, but nothing was missing. Since then I keep it locked at home, and have a hitch lock.
good thread
The problem with invisible fencing is, there’s no way I can surround 17 acres with it! And even if I just put it across the front where the post-and-rail is, it has to have a power source to work and there isn’t any power up there.
A theft-related story- I was at an organized trail ride at Coldwater Rec Area near Munson, FL, a few years ago, and all the participants were up at the pavillion haivng dinner and a dance, and while everyone was celebrating and camp was empty, somebody rode through camp and stole every nice Western saddle that was easily available. Lots of people leave their tack sitting around when camping- or leave their tack compartments hangng open or closed but unlocked. At Coldwater there are saddle stands in the barns and lots of people leave their tack piled on the saddle stands, unsecured.
When you camp (and at shows, too), you have to be even more paranoid about theft than at home- if you unhitch from your trailer, put a hitch lock on it. Keep your tack locked into your tack compartment. Don’t leave your truck unlocked and especially don’t leave it unlocked with your keys in it! Don’t go off and leave your horse unattended. And don’t leave feed unsecured, as wildlife will steal even faster than people will!
Other tips to discourage theft- keep halters and lead ropes locked up- don’t make it easy for a thief to just grab a halter and walk off with your horse. Put one of those signs you can get from netposse that says your horses are microchipped out front of your property. Actually microchipping is even better, but that’s kinda like having a home alarm system- the signs are the deterrent, more so than the alarm itself. Consider freeze branding. A visible brand, especially on a nondescript colored horse, is a big deterrent, plus if your horse is stolen and you have photos of the brand you can easily distribute the brand photos and your horse is then very easily identifiable by anyone. You’d know your horse anywhere, but if a non-horsey cop is looking at a picture of a solid bay horse, how will he know if the horse he’s comparing it to is the same horse? Even an experienced horseperson can have trouble identifying a particular solid-colored horse out of a group of solid colored horses.
Take pictures of your horse’s unique features- close-ups of any white markings, scars, or other identifying characteristics. In my case I have a very uniquely marked tobiano- I have a set of pics showing her from all angles, clearly showing her markings, and I have close-ups of the more unique markings (she’s got ink spots all over her white areas) with actual text on the photos that says “Right side” “Left side” or whatever to identify the area in the photograph when the whole hore isn’t shown. Anyone could use those photos to compare to an actual horse and know without a doubt if it was my horse or not, in seconds.
My dogs were notorious for getting out of their pen at our old farm- digging under, climbing over, whatever. Once we moved to our bigger farm we tried letting them loose and they did roam quite a bit the first while, but would always return, and now stay pretty close to home. They go just beyond our perimeter fence- how they know that is the end of our property, I don’t know! : ) They follow me all around the farm as I do chorses, and wait by the door if I am in the house. I don’t know why but I always feel safer out in the back pastures by the woods when they are around!
Regarding four-legged intruders, my stallion is great at keeping strange dogs or coyotes out of his pasture!
If I lived in wildfire territory, at least two trusted neighbors would have keys to the property…probably by an exchange mechanism, as it were.
At least people in this country don’t think they can substitute a cattle grid for a driveway gate. A cattle grid will stop cows. It will stop a horse that’s thinking. It won’t stop a bolting, crazy, panicked horse, and then you can easily end up with a DEAD horse. Mutter.
I have nightmares about my horses being stolen. But over the past five years, we’ve weathered not just fires, but floods. During the flood, the water was armpit deep in some areas at our ranch. It was worse in other parts of the valley…four horses at a neighboring ranch drowned in their stalls before anyone could get to them. You can unlatch a gate by feel underwater, but I’d hate to try to unlock one. And in either situation, roads are blocked and owners — and even barn managers — sometimes can’t get through. It’s a tough decision to lock or not to lock…
If you’re worried about your Western saddle:
http://www.bigoxsaddlerack.com
I”ve seen several versions locking English racks, too.
When I was in Jr. HIgh, my parents looked at a really nice farm for sale. Gorgeous horse barn (had show Belgians), big pond etc. The property owner was a little bit paranoid – there was a balcony & staircase for all the upstairs rooms (in case of fire), and a pretty hefty security system that included an automatic gate & intercom system at the end of the loooooooooong drive.
He told us this story…
One night about 10 pm, a truck & stock trailer parked at the end of the drive. He turned on the intercom to hear two guys discussing how they were going to manage getting a couple of horses into this trailer etc. After he’d heard enough to convince him these fellows were up to no good, he hailed them on the intercom – they about peed their pants, and told a lame story about how they thought he had a horse for sale & they were coming to look at it. Then they up & left…..
I thought it was pretty brilliant, myself.
There aren’t a lot of well-secured horse facilities around here, though our campus stable locks the doors fronting the parking log & street, and the fire department has keys. The tack and grain rooms lock, but it’s true – maintaining security while considering fire/flood/zombie invasion and subsequent speedy evacuation is a delicate balance.
If a pyr is roaming, it wasn’t trained/raised right. Seriously – I’ve met the kind of pyr that roams, threatens, etc…and every time it’s been a training issue, not a breed issue. And there will always be individuals that don’t match the general characteristics of the breed.
This is making me upset. Look at this horse ad, why don’t you stop breeding her and give her meds? Or, put her down and STOP HYPP!!! http://www.dreamhorse.com/show_horse.php?form_horse_id=1471119&share_this=Y
Freedom Treeless: From what I’ve heard, it has a lot to do with whether the dog was raised with boundaries or not. I’ve seen plenty of dogs who were raised on a large farm without fences, and they stay home. Mine have all been fenced and all wander to some extent when they don’t have a fence – the Lab/GSD is the worst, he annoys the neighbors and I can’t even let him loose when I’m outside because he’s gone the second I turn my back. My collie much prefers to me near me, she’ll go across the street to visit the neighbors dog but is always in calling range.
My theft losses over the years have, thankfully, been minimal. When new to horse ownership and boarding I forgot to put equipment away, went missing…duh…..nice reins and lunge line. Stuff out of the tack room was when people were asked to leave and a headstall went missing. The funniest one was when I donated a nice new fancy nozzle for the wash rack, when the crazy boarder was asked to leave and it disappeared, we all knew it was her because it was her favorite color. She moved across the street and nobody said a word, wasn’t worth it to confront mental illness. WE had peace.
I had my mare in a remote area with a crazy landlord and I had high anxiety for many reasons. I lived there but still didn’t trust the place, I had to work and be away. Won’t ever do it again. Do the slaughter houses check for chips? What is the window for response?
*****These horses need help soon**** I am too far away (Alaska) hope someone can help them…
Located in Pierce Wa
http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/grd/1460387155.html
one of the slaughtered horses in florida was deemed by exam to have had been cut up still alive, i believe it was the mare with the foal at her side. sneaking in the night and murdering others animals makes one less than sub-human. dispicable, disgusting, trash , no matter where they are from, no matter their culture. just as eating certain other things in other countries would horrify the natives. this is america, we do not generally eat horses, dogs or cats, and if you do it, especially by stealing, you are a sub-human creep. we are still allowed to dislike, even hate those who do awful things, even if it’s okey-dokey where they are from. there are south american cultures that encourage the “de-flowering” of young girls by their older male relatives, do we really have to talk sweet about such maggots? i refuse to embrace any culture such as the above. the line needs to be drawn about what is acceptable behavior here and mine is firmly drawn at this, no nice-nice when it comes to pet slaughter.
Dogs are my area of expertise.
Guardian breeds have to be raised with their flocks. The puppies go in with the lambs or kids, 24/7, and have little contact with people.
Fencing them in near the flock does NOT work. Most of us are too soft-hearted to do this right. And having baby puppies in with horses and/or cattle would be pretty risky for the puppy. (Most guardian breeds look like sheep for a reason!)
What makes dogs good theft deterrents is the noise they make, not the potential to bite. But breeds with the *reputation* of being attack dogs (Dobes, Rotties, GSDs) or vicious (Pits) can work well, since the best of them are bred to be friendly, and trainable. (Owning a *real* attack-trained dog is a huge legal and insurance liability.) People that are not afraid of guns can still be afraid of dogs. If the dogs are highly visible all day, punks will stay away. Especially if you post “guard dog on duty” signs.
Invisible fence is a really BAD idea, for four reasons. First, most folks, if they do train their dogs for it at all, do not keep up the training. This leads to the second problem: The dog learns to mistrust people (of all ages) because when he goes to greet them, he gets a shock. Classical conditioning: a stranger approaching means pain.
Third, speaking of classical conditioning, many dogs will break through the pain to chase things – and then they get punished for trying to come home. Great idea, huh?
Last but not least – invisible fences keep nothing out. Put this and #2 together, and you get a bitten child.
If you want your dogs to roam the property, make your perimeter fence of v-mesh woven horse fence. It will keep your dogs in and other dogs out.
Ruthie
Just this week my friend had her saddle stolen out of her barn, most likely by the neighbor looking for a quick way to make some cash to feed his drug habit or to sell to friends cheap. He has no horses of his own. He left the work tack and took her good saddle of course.
Funny story ( sort of )….another friend came home to find two of her horses loose in her backyard eating grass. After some investigation, she found out that the neighbor kids came into her barn, walked passed her stallion’s stall and took out two unbroke yearlings (or two years olds) and thought they’d take them for a ride. Too bad for them, it was the fillies that took them for a ride. The skid marks all over the driveway told the story. Apparently, horsies turned out not to be alot of fun to ride, the kids mostly likely got dumped, and they ran home. If they would have taken out the stallion, they would have gotten an even bigger reality check.
We’ve never trained any of our dogs to stay on our property, they just do. They are all neutered, which probably helps. I think alot of people think of farm dogs as hunting breeds, they will never stay on your property because it’s instinctual for them to roam as they hunt. Breeds like labs, for example. Also, the husky breeds are bred to run, they will never stay put, in my experience. We used to have pitbulls, for some reason they are runners too. We’ve had the best luck with the sheperd and rottie breeds as far as staying home.
Some cousins of mine have a big ranch in Texas with cattle, horses, chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl and geese. The geese act as their guard animals. These geese make more noise than believable if anyone who is a strnager to them set foot on the property by the barns. Also they have chased off a few drunken fools and trespassers (theives?) Also more people than anyone realizes are petrified of birds.
Off topic here, but anyone in California got a place to upgrade a free pony? (I have no idea where in CA, sorry.)
http://bakersfield.craigslist.org/grd/1456090007.html
An alert for Fugly!! Not about theft, but about ass-hattery at a horse “rescue” establishment. Look for speedrider 2013 on YouTube, particularly her video called “My Riding Bloopers”, in which she goes from one rescued equine to another, riding them – a Mini, a resting donkey, a blind horse, etc., etc., even a cow. Where are her parents? Of course, at all of 14, she sees herself as god’s gift to horsedom, and blows off anyone who criticizes her. (Even worse, she has a whole raft of other teeny-boppers who think she’s a great rider!) Head desk!
Motion sensor lights are not too expensive and are very effective against theft, it also lets you know where your hooligans are if they are not stalled at night. Every gate is locked with a pad lock here, and my neighbor (goat farmer) knows the combo in case of an emergency. I am nestled in a Swiss Alp village between houses, even though I have 2 acres , it is not visible from the street. my only concern is the children in the village getting drunk and messing with the horses at night , so they are taken up to a small pasture under our house until morning. I have my whip, a flashlight and bailing twine at the front door incase I find a drunk kid in my pasture. I am more worried at shows though. Any ideas about keeping horses safe and secure at a show ? I worry about competiters slipping them something toxic to eat in the night.
By the way … there are a lot of countries that slice and dice while the animal is still alive, but its mostly with seafood , and monkeys. However I did sign a petition this morning with a video that i did not watch showing puppies being skinned alive to be eaten . I dont mind people eating animals for food , pig, cow , dog or horse ….however when you add torture and severe pain to the process for your pleasure (or belief) I do consider you a “sub human worthless piece of trash “, and would like to see these people destroyed in the same mannor. There is no reason to torture animals in the process of killing them for food, even here in the old villages 100 years ago pigs , sheep goats etc were all slaughtered in a quick and humane fashion, bloody, but quick. Everyone with 1/2 a brain knows that an animal suffering releases endorphans (sp) that make the meat tough, and taste bad . Sorry about the spelling , my computer does not download the spellcheck from here (switzerland) and I am in the process of learing 3 new languages all at once , brain is fried.
Sorry, off topic:
It’s the Adelaide International Three Day event from now until Nov 16.
Adelaide has been in the grip of a bad heat wave – even for November – the equivalent of, I suppose, May in the US.
Celsius temperatures will top at 39 degrees (102.2 degrees fahrenheit) for Friday (dressage) and Saturday (cross country) then 40 degrees (104 Fahrenheit) for showjumping on Sunday.
Is this acceptable? Are there regulations in US eventing, or other show events, re. what temperature is the maximum you can ask a horse to gallop and jump? If so, what are they? I don’t have a good feeling about this.
Oh, I should mention Adelaide is a city in Australia – sorry!
http://www.australian3de.com.au/
I see they’re at least taking some cautionary action.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/11/2739831.htm
I think there’s a fine line between between accepting other culture’s eating habits and objecting to cultures not becoming more enlightened about what they eat and where they get that food. First, people eat horsemeat — are we saying the French and Italians are third world? Nevertheless, if it’s a cultural thing to just help oneself to domesticated horses you haven’t paid for, that’s another thing altogether. But I think it’s more a criminal thing to steal and slaughter, not a cultural one, and shame on those who participate in it and eat the proceeds.
As far as cultural eating habits, I think the world is generally becoming more enlightened about animal welfare, and what’s going on that is objectionable. Most people don’t agree with whale hunting, or killing sharks for their fins, or eating foie gras (although the argument still rages about whether that’s cruel or not). In our country, people are asking that animal farming become more responsible about the welfare of the animals as well. It just takes time to educate people.
Anyway, most of the time theft is all about the money, not eating a horse. It’s probably lucky that most petty thieves have no idea how much tack costs — as the urban areas get closer to the rural ones, non-horsey and horsey people come into contact more often. So protecting your animals and equipment gets even more important. I imagine that in Florida, as the population grows, people are thrown closer together in rural areas, thus resulting in these horrific crimes of opportunity.
When I was growing up I worked for lessons at a nice suburban hunter/jumper farm – one morning we showed up to find a skinny, wormy donkey in one of our paddocks. Since we could not figure out where he came from, (with help from animal control) the barn owner ended up being responsible for him. If I remember correctly, she had him for almost a year. So there’s another reason to keep the gate to your property locked!
Invisible Fencing works great for some people and dogs, not so much for others. Some dogs will either decide that they’re willing to take the shock, or are fast enough that they’re through the shock zone before they get it (sight hounds, in particular). One of our huskies is in the first category – I’ve watched her *completely* ignore a training collar turned all the way up (and watched my father-in-law jump when he tried it on himself!). Consider your breed and individual dog’s personality when shopping.
OT, but is there anyone in North TX who can help this girl before she takes a one way trip to Mexico?
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/grd/1462658372.html
Speaking of poisoning horses at shows- recently at a local show, I heard somebody fed a pony that was winning everything rat poison.
What kind of person would poison a child’s pony? Quite probably the parent of a child who kept losing to that pony. Disgusting.
In the USA, we don’t eat pets. Those people in Florida are stealing and murdering people’s pets. I don’t know of any culture where it’s acceptable to steal and murder your neighbor’s pet. This isn’t about wether it’s right or wrong to eat horsemeat- it’s about how wrong it is to steal a person’s pet horse, an animal that the person probably loves like one of their children, and then murder it in a horibbly cruel fashion and slaughter it to sell its’ meat.
Anyone who can steal somebody’s beloved pet, butcher it alive, and sell its’ meat for profit, definitely fits into the “sub-human moster” category as far as I’m concerned- and I’ll bet most other people from their culture would be just as disgusted with their behavior as we are.
We used to board at a farm surrounded by housing developments so I worried about bored rich kids sneaking over to bother the horses. Luckily the electric fence kept them out and the horses in. The scariest thing was in the summer when they would shoot off fireworks in our direction. …4th of July weekend was like a war zone! Our horses adapted well, but I always worried about fire, especially during the drought a few years ago.
Now we’re boarding out in the country, with a whole different set of concerns. Like many rural areas, we have our share of meth labs bringing in a hardcore criminal element. Meth is big business in rural areas, especially with the current economic conditions. These people will raid farms looking for meth “ingredients” such as annhydrous ammonia (fertilizer). Once they’re on your property, who’s to say they wouldn’t take other stuff. We also back up to a wildlife area which makes for tense weeks during hunting season. There have been hunters who have followed the deer into our pasture but so far nobody has shot the wrong species.
It may sound paranoid, but no place so remote that you are 100% safe. I grew up in a high crime area where we learned at an early age to lock doors and watch for potentially dangerous situations. I’m vigilant, not fearful, and there is a big difference. What is this need for some people to leave their doors unlocked? To me it’s a privacy issue as well as security. It’s my house and if for some reason you need access when I’m not there to let you in, I will give you a key. Most criminals are opportunists and will cruise by a locked gate because they know eventually one will be open. Why make it easy for yourself to be victimized? Many insurance companies offer discounts if there are security systems in place, so why not take advantage of the cost savings?
” I have my whip, a flashlight and bailing twine at the front door incase I find a drunk kid in my pasture.”
That sounds… kinky…..
AMAZING how many people think that the world is their petting zoo, and that they are within their rights to ride YOUR horses!!!!!
Also, yup, a lot of people get freaked out by birds.
I think motion sensor lights and good locks are going to be more effective than dogs – I would die if anything happenned to my dogs during a robbery!
But the lights would be a definite detterrant – this post has made me decide to invest in some more.
Also, we know a family who’s house and tack room was robbed wile they (We) were at their father’s funeral! Thieves scour obits and prey on people attending funerals. I guess they want to goto hell and don’t want to stand in any lines?!? :O
StPetersGal – totally with you on the invisible fence thing. There are a few instances where I would accept one, but only as a last resort. And the thought of using one to control a guard dog is somewhere between scary and laughable.
Same for the training – if you really want a dog to be tied to your stock and property, odds are you’re going to have to treat it more as stock than as a pet. You want it to bond to the stock, which means time with the stock with minimal supervision and so putting a puppy or young dog at risk, and accepting that hard knocks are part of the learning process.
One side note: be very careful about posting “guard dog” or “attack dog” signs on your property. There have been cases where someone’s dog bit an intruder, or even just charged an intruder, and the intruder’s attorney then using the sign as proof that the owners were knowingly keeping a dangerous animal. Sucks, doesn’t it?
@ Krissy3-
A girl on Yahoo Answers had a huge problem with other competitors at shows. The other riders were very jealous of her winning and made threats against her and her horse. I do not know if the girl went to the police or even told her parents.
One of the other girls was caught giving toxic leaves (maple?) to the girl’s horse and was banned from that show circuit.
About a month later, the girl comes onto Yahoo Answers saying that her horse was found in his stall, breathing heavy, and his kidneys had shut down completely because someone had been feeding him the toxic leaves (a lot of them) over the long period of time. He was euthanized, and this girl lost her show horse.
Whenever I show, I go with a lot of people from the barn so we always have a bunch of people always with the horses and trailer. If you leave your horses alone for any period of time, it’s going to be so easy for someone to steal your horse- especially if they’re neatly in their trailer that’s conveniently hooked up to a pickup with the keys on the front seat. And no one else is going to stop anyone from loading a horse into a trailer at a show. If we have stalls, we usually get a couple of extra- one for feed, one for tack (both are locked up) and another one to camp out in (they can actually be really comfy with a lot of shavings in there!). Just staying on the show grounds isn’t going to keep your horse from being stolen. If you’re actually in the same aisle as your horse, odds are you’re going to hear everything that’s going on, and your horse will be much harder to steal. Heck, my trainers’ snoring is enough to keep anyone away!
Seems to me there are two kinds of cruelty to animals from people:
1) a culture so poor that animal welfare is wayyy down on the list — people aren’t eating or have basic needs met, let alone an animal. So who cares if it suffers (in this case, I don’t think people are actively cruel, but they will beat an equine to make it carry heavy loads or not take care of medical stuff for animals, for example.)
2) a culture/society that seems to have lost their ability to have empathy for animal suffering (thus apparently the skinning the puppies thing, what is up with that?!) in pursuit of their own pleasures. In the 19th century, people believed — incredibly– that animals couldn’t feel pain (I know, but look it up). We certainly know better now. So what’s the justification? It’s just plain selfish and self-centered behavior.
So is stealing, for that matter. I have had things stolen out of my car, in my driveway, a few times now (it always seems when I forget to lock up, I come out and someone has rifled thru my car looking for cash). I live in a very nice neighborhood, so it’s doubly weird when it happens. I always feel so violated and upset it happened when I was in the house and had no idea — and I have three dogs that bark at the drop of a hat, but only when there’s a noise or something outside that triggers them, the dorks. The person is clever — they leave the car door open, so there’s no noise of a slamming car door. And when we are sleeping, so are the dogs, on their comfy dog beds.
I am not afraid to stay alone, however, because anyone who might be looking to see if I was a target will hear a lot of barking most of the time. Most petty thieves won’t bother a house where they might get caught or there are dogs around (or so I believe!!)
A person I knew also had a horse left in their driveway without a word, but it was a horse they had given away and it came back more starved than when it left. Apparently the people didn’t want the horse anymore. No gate or warning signal at this farm, either.
I also wanted to add, if your boarding barn doesn’t have a gate or anything, you can bet that people are coming in and wandering around when no one is there. If people see a sign for a public barn, for sure some are going to come in, park, and look around. Now for the most part, that’s fine, but sometimes it ends up in inappropriate behavior such as petting stallions, feeding treats to horses that shouldn’t have them, or whatever. If I am checking out a new place, I want someone to be there to greet me or at least notice a strange person is wandering around the property! A gate is a good deterrent for aimless strangers. We have a gate, that is locked, but I have been riding at my barn and observed people stopping on the road and feeding the pasture horses treats thru the fence … it’s probably harmless, but I hate it.
Off topic
Older free TB on CL
http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/grd/1463482151.html
looks quite thin to me
@NotaFollower, thanks forthe really good points re dogs! That’s really something to think about – especially the signage and legal ramifications therein. Reminds me of the ppl in California who got sued when some drunken men broke into their backyard to swim in their pool and then sued them whe one of them nearly drowned. (rolling eyes).
~DD
The problem with motion sensors in the country is that every stray cat, coon, possum, dog, etc. will set if off. We took ours down because they went off so much we just ignored them. What HAS worked really well is a baby monitor in the barn, we can hear the horses when they start getting restless, strange voices, shuffling around, etc. Couple that with a few barky dogs and some good locks.
As far as the ‘beware of dog’ sign, just put up a sign that says ‘do not open gate – dogs on premises’. Our attorney says that is not an implied warning of anything other than you don’t want your dogs to get out.
It’s my opinion that those cultures that elect to eat horse meat should raise…or pay somebody to raise…meat horses. I consider it unethical to eat ANY individual animal that has been raised as a pet. I wouldn’t have eaten my friend’s pet pig either…even though I’m rather fond of ham.
Besides, most of our riding horses are given medications that render the meat unfit for human (in some cases animal) consumption. There are horses that are bred and raised for meat…if they want to eat horse, let them eat those horses.
The Florida matter has nothing directly to do with cultural consumption of horse meat…it’s rustling, plain and simple.
Yes, on the signage. I may be quite wrong about “guard dogs on duty.” In my state, having a “Beware of Dog” sign makes you liable – you knew you had dangerous dogs. But “No Trespassing” protects you. Go figure.
I lived in a slum a few years ago – two old tenement buildings, with 3 apartments each. I was on the ground floor. I had a lovely, but very shy shepherd-coyote cross. He didn’t bark, but would slink around the walls (inside) warily.
In the few months I lived there, the other apartments were broken into several times. Mine? Never. I thank my dear dog for that. And he was the gentlest of souls! He taught me so much about dog body language, and how to treat frightened dogs.
I agree with the earlier poster; I’d probably settle for something like “Keep door/gate closed – loose dogs inside.” Maybe one of those diamond-shaped yellow signs, with a picture of a Dobe or Shepherd on it. Like here . (no affiliation; just a Google result.)
Ruthie
For those of you who don’t believe me when I tell you that those sub-human horse thief butchers are butchering the stolen pet horses while they are still alive, read these news posts describing the utter horrific brutality of these crimes. I’m not making it up nor exagerrating. Do your own Google search on “Florida Horse Killings” and find even more news articles describing it. Once you read these, you’ll understand why many of us would enthusiastically torture and kill these repugnant criminals for what they’re doing to these horses:
http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI132040/
http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/22/second-man-arrested-in-florida-horse-killings/
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=8223214&page=1&page=1
Recession or ignorance? I had a couple of thieves cut through 4 strands of a 6 strand fence to steal electrical wiring from an old chickenb house on my property, so for a few feet of wire they pose a risk of my horses escaping onto a mjor highway into oncoming traffic and not only causing an accident and injuring but more than likely killing a few innocent people in the process…we have an auto gate coming into the property and gates and locks on ALL pastures, but that didnt stop someone…I am currently cleaning fence rows and am going to plant blackberry and briars alll along any outside fences, maybe if it is more difficult and someone actually has to work to get in will be a deterrant, but if someone thinks you have more than them they will always try….bastards!
I also have big dogs which would sooner knock you over trying to get you to pet them as harm anyone but seems to be a deterrent, the auto gate at the front was the best 800 we ever spent. I could not believe how many people would drive down a dead end,road drive through the gate (which at the time was left open) to just “take a look around” ya right! now they sit out at the front gate and stare trying to see if they can open it manually or not. I am also investing in a “wildlife camera” which is activated by a motion sensor, i would rather catch 100 critters and one thief than no critters and no thief, because,thank you personal injury lawyers, it is still my responsibility as to what happens on my property. Also, I have my phone number posted on the front gate and a note to call if anyone needs to be on my property for any reason…
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