ATTEMPTED THEFT OF HORSES - The Priory Binfield Berkshire

O

OWLIE185

Well-Known Member
Joined
21 June 2005
Messages
3,535
Visit site
Thieves leave stolen horses in Binfield roadTwo stolen horses were abandoned in the middle of a road by thieves who had taken them from a field in Berkshire.

The thieves parked a lorry in a layby on Church Hill, by the rear entrance to The Priory, in Binfield sometime between 06:00 and 07:00 GMT on Monday.

They crossed the fields, cut through an electric fence, removed the battery unit and stole two horses.

When trying to load the horses they were disturbed by passers-by and drove off leaving them on the road.

The owner was alerted and the horses recaptured and taken back to the field uninjured.

Police want to speak to anyone who saw any suspicious behaviour in the area at the time of the attempted theft.
 
I understand there there is very often a domestic dispute or other relationship breakdown involved in this kind of incident. It's an odd time of day for professional horse thieves to be out and about, far too big a risk of being caught in broad daylight.
 
How terrifying for the owners.

Our 2 miraculously got out of their field yesterday at some point and my friends horse has suffered some fairly deep gashes on his face and around his eye. They are both OK and my ex-boyfriend's parents had rounded them up back in to their stables as they were quite shaken. By the time I got there yesterday evening (knew nothing had happened!) they both seemed jumpy still but my usually annoying, cocky and bulshy Native was the quietest I've ever known him. He stood completely still (unheard of) for my ex who held him whilst I mucked out etc as he never learnt the concept of being tied up. It does make you wonder. Gate was wide open, find it hard to believe the horses managed that. However, I'm in Shropshire so miles away!
 
Even if it had been dark, and it certainly isn't dark here at six am, surely no-one goes to steal horses just when the owner might soon be expected to be doing a morning check on them, while also having their lorry seen parked suspiciously nearby, allowing it to be identified and stopped as it tries to get away into the increasingly busy morning rush hour traffic.

If I lived near where this happened, it would not be worrying me at all. If it is a genuine attempt to remove the horses, then I strongly suspect a civil dispute of some kind is involved.
 
Last edited:
cptrayes said:
Even if it had been dark, and it certainly isn't dark here at six am, surely no-one goes to steal horses just when the owner might soon be expected to be doing a morning check on them, while also having their lorry seen parked suspiciously nearby, allowing it to be identified and stopped as it tries to get away into the increasingly busy morning rush hour traffic.

If I lived near where this happened, it would not be worrying me at all. If it is a genuine attempt to remove the horses, then I strongly suspect a civil dispute of some kind is involved.
Click to expand...
I agree its probably nothing to worry about...logically even if it was before dawn its possible they just escaped after the unit was stolen the night before and a passing lorry was trying to help catch them but gave up!
 
Haynag1 said:
I agree its probably nothing to worry about...logically even if it was before dawn its possible they just escaped after the unit was stolen the night before and a passing lorry was trying to help catch them but gave up!
Click to expand...

Thieves strike at all times of the day and night. When my saddle (and several others) was stolen it was just after 7am on a weekday morning - I only missed them by a few minutes. Someone at a property a few yards up the lane actually saw them but assumed it was the YO loading up to go to a show. The description was a perfect match for a livery who had recently been chucked off, and his aunt who he had mentioned once was a bottle blonde! I've known other tack thefts occur on quite busy yards, mid morning. If you look confident and like you should be there doing whatever, people don't question it. A good few years ago Harrods got done over by thieves who walked in wearing smart overalls and told the cashiers that all the till drawers had to be swapped for the ones they had brought with them - and the cashiers handed them over without blinking.
 
fatpiggy said:
Thieves strike at all times of the day and night. When my saddle (and several others) was stolen it was just after 7am on a weekday morning - I only missed them by a few minutes. Someone at a property a few yards up the lane actually saw them but assumed it was the YO loading up to go to a show. The description was a perfect match for a livery who had recently been chucked off, and his aunt who he had mentioned once was a bottle blonde! I've known other tack thefts occur on quite busy yards, mid morning. If you look confident and like you should be there doing whatever, people don't question it. A good few years ago Harrods got done over by thieves who walked in wearing smart overalls and told the cashiers that all the till drawers had to be swapped for the ones they had brought with them - and the cashiers handed them over without blinking.
Click to expand...


It's a bit different trying to nick a horse. You can hardly sling it into the boot of your car :D
 
cptrayes said:
It's a bit different trying to nick a horse. You can hardly sling it into the boot of your car :D
Click to expand...

I know what you mean but if I saw someone leading a horse out of the field into a lorry quite early in the morning I would think they were trying to get away before the rush hour traffic hit. I really don't think I would be imediately suspicious. If they had simply been loose in the road and the lorry driver tried to catch them to help, why didn't he call the police? I came across 4 in the road on my way to work once and going by the amount of piles of do-do in the road they had been out for quite some time. The first thing I did was call the police as obviously they were a traffic hazard. Luckily another horse person came along shortly after and between us we managed to sort things out. The police turned up and knew straight away who they belonged to and toddled off to the local gypsy site. They were being fly grazed in a field and 4 had escaped - the other 8 were still in the field.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top