sugarpuff
Well-Known Member
I've been forwarded, via email, the following information. (Quoted from email): and I'm just passing the info on:
"1) 2 irish men have been to several yards now in the Chard/Crewkerne area in the past week.
2) I was contacted by a lady from Nottingham, where they have been having problems for a few years now (with the twisted plait present).
Their problem does not appear to be theft but that of 'bleeding' horses, especially mares.
Apparently people have come to yards & fields & bled horses in the middle of the night, leaving a calling card - fine twisted plait, a cut in the tail - both not obvious at first sight, sometimes walnut shells, heather or stones outside the doors or in up turned feed bin lids. Sometimes horses have a clear sticky residue on their muzzles, and you can feel little lumps along the jugular vein where the needle has gone in. The lady who rang me said that her mare, with a foal at foot wasn't looking as bright as normal & then was found to have collapsed in the field. The vet said she was suffering from anaemia & had probably had between 4&6 litres of blood drained from her the night before but that it wouldn't have been the first time."
and from another attached email:
"Apparently some well dressed Irish men in a silver people carrier with registration no of 07C 9153 is doing the rounds appearing to sell various things or offer services. They have been reported a couple of times for suspicious behaviour and according to the police they are well known horse thieves targeting horse owners, stealing their trailers and using them to steal their horses."
and another attached email:
"I received the email below a few days ago (beginning of November), read it, passed it on and thought no more about it until today.....so please read, particularly if you are in the SOMERSET area....it came originally from Shropshire Crime Prevention Unit. I have extended the distribution this time so hopefully more people will benefit.
Horses in the TAUNTON AREA are now being targetted. *********(edited to remove name) found a plait in her Shetland pony's mane today, and closeby in a field a few miles away another horse had also been marked with a plait - fortunately also noticed. The horse thieves also can put a small plait in a tail and/or leave some stones near the gateway to identify which field to go in.
Please be on the alert as there are no further details or descriptions of anyone visiting the fields. If you do see anything suspicious please email round or contact your local Horse Watch so that more information can be collected.
The field that the shetland pony was in, was securely padlocked at both ends, so this is obviously not much of a deterrent for them. Fortunately it was noticed and the pony has been removed."
I have also heard of a pony being marked (plait) in the Brent Knoll area recently.
I've never heard of mares being bled?.....Why would someone do that?!
"1) 2 irish men have been to several yards now in the Chard/Crewkerne area in the past week.
2) I was contacted by a lady from Nottingham, where they have been having problems for a few years now (with the twisted plait present).
Their problem does not appear to be theft but that of 'bleeding' horses, especially mares.
Apparently people have come to yards & fields & bled horses in the middle of the night, leaving a calling card - fine twisted plait, a cut in the tail - both not obvious at first sight, sometimes walnut shells, heather or stones outside the doors or in up turned feed bin lids. Sometimes horses have a clear sticky residue on their muzzles, and you can feel little lumps along the jugular vein where the needle has gone in. The lady who rang me said that her mare, with a foal at foot wasn't looking as bright as normal & then was found to have collapsed in the field. The vet said she was suffering from anaemia & had probably had between 4&6 litres of blood drained from her the night before but that it wouldn't have been the first time."
and from another attached email:
"Apparently some well dressed Irish men in a silver people carrier with registration no of 07C 9153 is doing the rounds appearing to sell various things or offer services. They have been reported a couple of times for suspicious behaviour and according to the police they are well known horse thieves targeting horse owners, stealing their trailers and using them to steal their horses."
and another attached email:
"I received the email below a few days ago (beginning of November), read it, passed it on and thought no more about it until today.....so please read, particularly if you are in the SOMERSET area....it came originally from Shropshire Crime Prevention Unit. I have extended the distribution this time so hopefully more people will benefit.
Horses in the TAUNTON AREA are now being targetted. *********(edited to remove name) found a plait in her Shetland pony's mane today, and closeby in a field a few miles away another horse had also been marked with a plait - fortunately also noticed. The horse thieves also can put a small plait in a tail and/or leave some stones near the gateway to identify which field to go in.
Please be on the alert as there are no further details or descriptions of anyone visiting the fields. If you do see anything suspicious please email round or contact your local Horse Watch so that more information can be collected.
The field that the shetland pony was in, was securely padlocked at both ends, so this is obviously not much of a deterrent for them. Fortunately it was noticed and the pony has been removed."
I have also heard of a pony being marked (plait) in the Brent Knoll area recently.
I've never heard of mares being bled?.....Why would someone do that?!
