Am I being over the top? Yard got broken into and i'm doing night checks?

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Ashleigh_

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Hi all,

Last night my livery yard got broken into (despite much security!) and all tack was stolen. My friend, also another livery, arrived first this morning to find both gates wide open and 3 horses loose that had been out at night, all others are stabled.

Police have been told etc and horsey community warned.

Anyway, tonight I find myself the only person from the yard doing night checks, I plan to go about 5 times throughout the night, I also live furthest away. I've asked others if they could also go up to check so we can all get some sleep but i've been met with excuses such as 'i'll be asleep at that time' and 'i'm exhausted from today and need to sleep'.

Out of around 22 horses and multiple owners I am the only person who is going up tonight to check the gates. Am i being over the top? Obviously all tack is gone but the horses are still there and that bothers me the most. Tack is replaceable, my horse isn't.

It's unlikely that they'll come back so soon, but it's rubbish weather here and I really don't want to run the risk. Am I doing the right thing or being over protective and paranoid? I'm really cautious not to make it worse for everyone by fueling more worry but I think it's a pretty important thing to do? blehhhhh :( :(

Oh and it should be said that luckily I happened to have moved all my stuff home/into my car after cheeky Ronnie decided to smash my big outdoor storage box the previous week... what started as an annoyance turned into the biggest stroke of luck!

Anyway, a long night ahead, two friends are accompanying me on tonight's trips, both of them completely unhorsey and being amazingly supportive.
Some opinions/reassurance would be fantastic, I don't want to be doing more harm than good :(

x
 
TBH I think you are probably causing yourself more hassle and stress than you need to. I know it horrendous when it happens, it has happened to me twice, the latest only about two months ago. They are very unlikely to strike again any time soon, and certainly not tonight.

If I were you I would get a decent night's kip (as much as you can!) and try to relax and put it out of your mind. After all - you can't do this every night forever more can you?

Put you energy into looking into how you can make your horses more secure - more cameras/signs/even dummy cameras.

Hope you manage to get some sleep tonight! :)
 
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Ashleigh_ said:
Hi all,

Last night my livery yard got broken into (despite much security!) and all tack was stolen. My friend, also another livery, arrived first this morning to find both gates wide open and 3 horses loose that had been out at night, all others are stabled.

Police have been told etc and horsey community warned.

Anyway, tonight I find myself the only person from the yard doing night checks, I plan to go about 5 times throughout the night, I also live furthest away. I've asked others if they could also go up to check so we can all get some sleep but i've been met with excuses such as 'i'll be asleep at that time' and 'i'm exhausted from today and need to sleep'.

Out of around 22 horses and multiple owners I am the only person who is going up tonight to check the gates. Am i being over the top? Obviously all tack is gone but the horses are still there and that bothers me the most. Tack is replaceable, my horse isn't.

It's unlikely that they'll come back so soon, but it's rubbish weather here and I really don't want to run the risk. Am I doing the right thing or being over protective and paranoid? I'm really cautious not to make it worse for everyone by fueling more worry but I think it's a pretty important thing to do? blehhhhh :( :(

Oh and it should be said that luckily I happened to have moved all my stuff home/into my car after cheeky Ronnie decided to smash my big outdoor storage box the previous week... what started as an annoyance turned into the biggest stroke of luck!

Anyway, a long night ahead, two friends are accompanying me on tonight's trips, both of them completely unhorsey and being amazingly supportive.
Some opinions/reassurance would be fantastic, I don't want to be doing more harm than good :(

x
Click to expand...

how awful for you, can you say what area of the country you are in?
 
Sorry to hear that there was a break-in at your yard and I understand your concerns: 10 mins walk away from me 4 lots of tackrooms were broken into about a month ago.

I was completely paranoid going down the yard at 1am, 3am all sorts pf random times of the night (I rent my own yard so it's just me, my things and my horses!) of course I didn't find anyone there...

In the end I bought a hunting camera from ebay and set it to watch over my storage container and entrance to the stables. I think that I thought undesirables were coming onto the yard every night to test my security, the camera showed apart from birds, next doors cat and the horses there were no visitors other than me in my pyjamas like a mad woman.

If they come back it will be in a few weeks time when everyone has replaced their stuff...
 
I can understand you being worried but in all honesty if they were going to take the horses it would have made sense to take them last night, they had time to clear out the tack, so why just put you on alert before coming back for horses? Try & get some sleep lol.
 
Thanks guys, you're all probably right :( *sigh*

You all know what it's like though, you see the posters and adverts from people who have had their horses stolen and it really breaks my heart to ever think I'd be in that position. I feel for them so much.

I just never forgive myself if they did come back and I hadn't had the initiative to do checks.

Such a horrible, and yet common situation for so many horsey people :(

Thank you all for being honest and helpful
 
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Really terrible when stuff is stolen from the yard, especially if its not close by, but at the end of the day If people are determined to steal, they will. All you can do is the usual precautions to make it more difficult.

But doing night checks is not the answer :( Look at it a different way, what would happen if you actually came across these low lifes in action. You really could get into more trouble than its worth.

I know its not an easy thing to do but try not to get too hung up on it as it will start effecting your everyday life. Really sorry to hear this by the way, terrible when these kinds of things happen.
 
OP I think the best thing you can do if you havent already, is get your horse(s) freeze branded for your own peace of mind.

Stuff is just stuff, bad as it is, it can usually be replaced eventually.. The thieves are very unlikely to be back for a while yet, they will wait until you all are likely to have replaced all your things with shiny new stuff then come back for that. My friend gets burgled every few months to a year, she doesnt keep anything valuable at her place any more but they still come and break in, steal bedding and stuff.
 
Heard from a friend who lives close by that the police are around the area. I've already done one check tonight so think I might do one more a bit later and then leave it until the morning and go up early :(
If the police are there I don't want to cause more problems by interfering and dithering around. Thanks again for all being helpful and honest, it's so hard when you get shocked and shaken by something to not keep rational x
 
Echo the people who said that they will wait a few weeks until you have replaced all the stuff. That should hopefully give you enough time to beef up security a bit, and maybe install CCTV.
 
Moomin1 said:
TBH I think you are probably causing yourself more hassle and stress than you need to. I know it horrendous when it happens, it has happened to me twice, the latest only about two months ago. They are very unlikely to strike again any time soon, and certainly not tonight.

If I were you I would get a decent night's kip (as much as you can!) and try to relax and put it out of your mind. After all - you can't do this every night forever more can you?

Put you energy into looking into how you can make your horses more secure - more cameras/signs/even dummy cameras.

Hope you manage to get some sleep tonight! :)
Click to expand...

Ditto this..good advice!
 
I'd be the same as you but when my friends 4x4 was stolen from our yard two years ago the police said thieves are very rarely interested in horses, too much hassle xx
 
You are being very sensible in going up to your yard to check all is well in the late hours but please always take someone with you.
On a practical note get all your horses freezemarked in a place that the freezemark can be seen when being ridden.
www.farmkey.co.uk
www.freezemark.biz
Also ensure that all your horses are micro-chipped.
Ensure that all your horses record on www.nedonline.co.uk have the horses freezemark and microchip added to it.
Get all your tack tack marked with your home house number and post code. You would be suprised how much tack is recovered by the police but it is impossible to identify the owners. You can buy a tack marking kit from Halfords etc or the internet. (Rolson Quality Tools 26138 38 piece automatic number and letter stamp set).
Ensure all horseboxes and trailers have your home/yard postcode written in large lettering on the roof.
Inform the Horsewatch alliance of your theft so that the details are circulated to all the equine crime police officers and the horsewatch team.
www.ukhorsewatch.org.uk
 
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dont worry about looking after the yard, look after yourself. you'll just get annoyed and bitter towards the other liveries for 'not doing their share' and tire yourself out. hold onto all that energy for the week after you have all replaced your tack etc as thats when they will return to nick all the new stuff. they wont come back now they have cleared you out they will wait until it has been replaced otherwise its not worth their while - think about it.

its alright to feel protective but insurance will cover it and thats why we pay it and you dont need to run yourself into the ground.
 
PeterNatt has great advice. I can understand completely how you feel, but as others have said, if they'd wanted the horses, they would have taken them that night, not come back later for them. I'm so sorry for the upset.
 
So sorry for you! Must be dreadfull!

Have you thought about getting a big dog? We have 24/7 security plus cctv and some really nasty dogs! Would be stupid to try and come onto our yard but one dog coulld be such a detterent to someone, specially if its properley trained!
 
I would be going checking too. I agree with whoever said that they may come back in a few weeks to see if it has been replaced.

We had all our tack stolen a few years ago. In broad daylight - think it was just an opportunist crime.. I now keep all tack in seperate lockers in each stable, and hide unused rugs away (previously everything else was lovely and organised in the tackroom). I also leave some decoy tack out - a broken saddle and crappy old bridle and headcollars so that they think they've found everything!

Touch wood they haven't come back for us. I half wonder if we were hit because we had liveries in those days - one of whom always had £400 turnout rugs on her horse, so it looked like there was expensive stuff around.. Now its just ours in their £40 turnouts..

Re the guard dog comments - my friend had a fierce dobermann on her yard, that wouldn't even let her in the tackroom on occassion! Thieves came and doped the dog with doctored meat, and still stole everything..
 
Re the guard dog comments - my friend had a fierce dobermann on her yard, that wouldn't even let her in the tackroom on occassion! Thieves came and doped the dog with doctored meat, and still stole everything..[/QUOTE]



Oh, i didnt think of that! I guess its different as ours are out with dog handlers so they would never get a chance to eat anything!

What about security lights? If a cat trots across the yard its lit up ike daylight and this must put people off!
 
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