Furious with trespassers

[My_breadbagel]

my neighbours have children, so often when I’m riding, I have to deal with the screaming/ shouting/ rough play that takes place, often with the children kicking a football full force into a goal post against the fence, freaking out my horses. They know I’m there, and I won’t say anything because I don’t have a right to complain.
sometimes a ball comes over the fence. I’ve always been happy for them to hop over the fence to retrieve it, but a few days ago I was leading the horses across the feild with my mum.
Long story short, the horse she was leading lost his head (very out of character) and ploughed into her. He was visibly in a bit of a state, so I tried to lead my second horse over. He caught sight of something over the gate, and ploughed into me, knocking me into the fence and winding me a little. I realised two people were watching me from over the gate. I’ve seen people before, watching us. The horses have never had this adverse reaction. I know these horses, and the way they looked at the boy in particular was a look of pure terror.
They said they were just going to retrieve their ball. Like they were just going to walk in if I wasn’t there. I said “fine, I’ll finish up and fetch it for you.” They sort of looked at me like “can’t we come into the field to fetch it?” They left and I was left to deal with too extremely nervous horses and a nervous, non-horsey mother. Wonderful.
I went over, and waited for them to come out to get it. They wouldn’t come outside to get it so I put it back over the (low) fence.
I’m really upset, I can’t lie. I have this gut feeling that they have been coming into my place when I’m not there. They have to cross my whole property to get to their fence, so it’s less effort to step over the fence. Im so worried. I don’t need vet bills, and most importantly, I don’t need the issues that will come when my horse eventually flips out and causes someone injury.
I’ve also put a lot of work into getting both my horses into a manageable condition where they aren’t petrified of people. I don’t begrudge them wanting their ball back, and I wouldn’t mind so much if they hadn’t been so… off. The way they were going to open the gate and just walk in. The way my horse was looking at the boy. The way they didn’t so much as say thank you. The way they acted out out that I wasn’t going to let them over.
I’m certain they’ve been climbing my gate. I can’t even barb wire it because I need to open it on horseback. Oh, what do I do?????? I’m too nervous to confront them and ask them not to.

 

[shortstuff99]

Put up CCTV and big signs saying so, that will either put them off (if they are doing it) or catch them in the act and then you can do something official about it.

 

[Gallop_Away]

I would be livid to! Poor you and your mum and of course your horses. How dare they just wander into your property!
Get some cctv cameras and also put signs up stating "Private Property No Trespassing" and "CCTV in operation"
It's for your own protection also as if any of the little "darlings" get hurt on your property, you are liable as barmy as that is!

 

[bonny]

I doubt boys retrieving their ball would be put off by a cctv sign. What age are they?

 

[nagblagger]

CCTV, get the evidence, then can you approach the parents to discuss it with them. Concerned for their children's safety .!!!

 

[Gallop_Away]

I doubt boys retrieving their ball would be put off by a cctv sign. What age are they?

In which case you can catch if they continue to trespass you will have evidence and can then approach the parents to explain why it's not a good idea for them to be wandering around your land unsupervised with your horses...... oh what if the little dears got kicked!!! ?

 

[Leandy]

I'm a bit confused by this! So next doors children like to play ball. I can see that this upsets your horses when it is close by but have you ever actually asked them to stop when you are riding? It seems from your post that you think you can't do this and are too nervous to speak to them. Yet you seem to think they should know that they are causing you problems and that they should know that they can't come in and retrieve their ball (even though you said yourself that you have always been happy for them to hop over the fence and retrieve it). So have you actually spoken to them about how their behaviour is affecting you and your horses and that you do not want them to come onto your property any more? If you haven't then I don't think you can expect them to know. Likely they are just kids and it hasn't occurred to them that any of this is a problem. So the first step is a sensible conversation with the kids and their parents and explain your perspective. Hopefully they will then be more considerate and there is no need for confrontation. Alternatively, they are actually bullying you despite your having made your concerns known. I'm afraid I'm not sure which it is from what you have written? Why are your horses so nervous and why has it taken you ages to get them not petrified of people? What has this to do with next door? You suspect they have been on your property regularly and not just to pick up a lost ball, but you have no evidence?

 

[Hallo2012]

can you increase the height of or modify the fence to stop it coming on to your side?

problem solved except the noise (is it right next to your arena?)

 

[Sandstone1]

Cameras. you can get sim card cameras or trail cameras if not wifi or electric.

 

[HashRouge]

I'm a bit confused by this! So next doors children like to play ball. I can see that this upsets your horses when it is close by but have you ever actually asked them to stop when you are riding? It seems from your post that you think you can't do this and are too nervous to speak to them. Yet you seem to think they should know that they are causing you problems and that they should know that they can't come in and retrieve their ball (even though you said yourself that you have always been happy for them to hop over the fence and retrieve it). So have you actually spoken to them about how their behaviour is affecting you and your horses and that you do not want them to come onto your property any more? If you haven't then I don't think you can expect them to know. Likely they are just kids and it hasn't occurred to them that any of this is a problem. So the first step is a sensible conversation with the kids and their parents and explain your perspective. Hopefully they will then be more considerate and there is no need for confrontation. Alternatively, they are actually bullying you despite your having made your concerns known. I'm afraid I'm not sure which it is from what you have written? Why are your horses so nervous and why has it taken you ages to get them not petrified of people? What has this to do with next door? You suspect they have been on your property regularly and not just to pick up a lost ball, but you have no evidence?

This.

It's just a little unclear from the OP what exactly is going on. You said you've always been happy for them to hop over the fence and retrieve the ball, and that you've never told them their behaviour frightens your horses. So it strikes me as unsurprising that the kids looked like they were going to climb in and get the ball. I'm not saying this is your fault btw OP, but I'm also not completely sure how these kids are supposed to know what is and isn't acceptable if you haven't told them. I also wouldn't read anything into your horses having a freak out - my share horse always has a mini-meltdown if a person appears out of nowhere, but he's not actually remotely scared of people!

If you do want to put up some sort of fencing to stop them climbing over, what about a strip off electric? You could have it all along the top of you fencing and the top of your gateway, and just undo it prior to riding so that you can still open the gate from horse back. Make sure you put signs up though!

 

[My_breadbagel]

Put up CCTV and big signs saying so, that will either put them off (if they are doing it) or catch them in the act and then you can do something official about it.

I’m tempted to try a wildlife camera first- maybe a few dummy cameras as I don’t have Electric ?

 

[Ossy2]

I don’t understand either? Were the kids already on your land at that point or we’re they peering over their fence? If already on and wandering around extensively then I can see how that might be different but if they just so happened to be about to retrieve a ball that you let them do anyway when you were coming then it’s unfortunate but you can’t really blame the kids they haven’t been told otherwise. Either you need to tell them (or the parents) they can no longer do that or you let it continue. If you do tell them not to climb over, which I think you’d be perfectly entitled too I’d try put some better fencing in to discourage it even some electric fencing, with appropriate signs obviously. You don’t need electric for electric fencing you can run it off a battery.

 

[My_breadbagel]

I'm a bit confused by this! So next doors children like to play ball. I can see that this upsets your horses when it is close by but have you ever actually asked them to stop when you are riding? It seems from your post that you think you can't do this and are too nervous to speak to them. Yet you seem to think they should know that they are causing you problems and that they should know that they can't come in and retrieve their ball (even though you said yourself that you have always been happy for them to hop over the fence and retrieve it). So have you actually spoken to them about how their behaviour is affecting you and your horses and that you do not want them to come onto your property any more? If you haven't then I don't think you can expect them to know. Likely they are just kids and it hasn't occurred to them that any of this is a problem. So the first step is a sensible conversation with the kids and their parents and explain your perspective. Hopefully they will then be more considerate and there is no need for confrontation. Alternatively, they are actually bullying you despite your having made your concerns known. I'm afraid I'm not sure which it is from what you have written? Why are your horses so nervous and why has it taken you ages to get them not petrified of people? What has this to do with next door? You suspect they have been on your property regularly and not just to pick up a lost ball, but you have no evidence?

Firstly, I think I should clarify that I have occasionally said “horses coming past!” But I feel outrageous asking them to stop. And there was a parent with the child, and that was the one who was moving as if to open the gate.
And the horses are only so nervous because one is a rescue, and the other came to me in a bit of a state (no idea on what happened to him, but he used to be pretty defensive and skittish). He’s a people person now, but the way he looked at the boy was like a snippet of the horse I first bought, you know? Like he was half feral again.

 

[My_breadbagel]

can you increase the height of or modify the fence to stop it coming on to your side?

problem solved except the noise (is it right next to your arena?)

I don’t want to modify the fence as I want them to be able to lean over to retrieve a ball rather than giving them an excuse to walk over. They back onto my schooling zone, and I only school once a week so it’s not a huge issue, but tedious to have to ride cautiously

 

[Fieldlife]

Are you thinking they have come onto your land and done something to deliberately frighten your horses, hence they are now reacting so strongly?

 

[My_breadbagel]

I don’t understand either? Were the kids already on your land at that point or we’re they peering over their fence? If already on and wandering around extensively then I can see how that might be different but if they just so happened to be about to retrieve a ball that you let them do anyway when you were coming then it’s unfortunate but you can’t really blame the kids they haven’t been told otherwise. Either you need to tell them (or the parents) they can no longer do that or you let it continue. If you do tell them not to climb over, which I think you’d be perfectly entitled too I’d try put some better fencing in to discourage it even some electric fencing, with appropriate signs obviously. You don’t need electric for electric fencing you can run it off a battery.

An adult was with them. They are allowed to step over the fence to retrieve their property but I don’t want them cutting across my property from the front gate as they will have to walk past the ponies. The horses are fenced far back from them, so that’s why I don’t mind them just stepping onto the boundary.

 

[My_breadbagel]

Are you thinking they have come onto your land and done something to deliberately frighten your horses, hence they are now reacting so strongly?

I just have a gut feeling from looking at my horses very violent reaction. maybe they’ve just ran across, startling them, or messed about as kids tend to do (we were all kids once and remember being a little not so self aware). It might not have been deliberate, but the way they act when I’m riding lets me know they know absolutely nothing about horses- so it’s not a stretch to think they don’t know horsey etiquette

 

[Sandstone1]

I’m tempted to try a wildlife camera first- maybe a few dummy cameras as I don’t have Electric ?

You can get solar cameras that do not need electric. Reolink works pretty much like a mobile phone with a sim card so you do not need electric or wifi. just a sim card for about £4 a month. I wouldnt bother with dummy ones. Better to just get a real one then you would know whats going on.

 

[nagblagger]

It sounds like you need to go back to the basics, explain how dangerous horses can be, although you are 'allowing' them to come on to your land to get their ball they can not go anywhere else on your land. When i ride pass people playing football, or trampolines are the latest scary thing, i ask/shout to be heard, whether they would stop for a couple of minutes until we have ridden past. Clear instructions are needed to the non horsey, no one has continued, obviously thanking them profusely..maybe clear direction when you ride pass them is all it needs?

 

[Leandy]

Obviously this is all upsetting you but I think you need to put yourself in your neighbors' shoes a bit here. Clearly neither the kids nor the parents are horsy so they probably have no idea that their actions are causing you some difficulties. Even if they were they are unlikely to be aware of your horse's particular history and sensitivities. You are going to have to just explain to them. Hopefully they are reasonable people and good neighbors and will try to accommodate you. If you only school once a week, it is really perfectly reasonable to ask that whilst you are doing that they keep the noise down and don't kick footballs towards your property because it frightens your horses and is a safety issue as well as being disruptive of your schooling. Good neighbors will take notice and try to be more careful! Similarly, I suspect they don't know why you have a problem with them stepping onto your property and into a field to collect a stray ball. It doesn't matter though in that case, if you ask them not to they should abide by what you say as it is your property not theirs. You may find yourself having to throw their balls back though if you won't let them retrieve them and I don't think it would be kind not to return them at all, in the interests of good relations.

 

[Melody Grey]

Sorry if I misread- it sounds like the boundaries are unclear for the children. I think it’s either yes you can come into the field (to retrieve your ball) or no you totally cannot. We used to get balls kicked over accidentally and I threw them back when I saw them, but the culprits were never allowed to retrieve them themselves. Kids being kids, I don’t think they can see the difference between coming in for ball retrieval and perhaps coming in to explore?

 

[Melody Grey]

If you’re going to try to stop the ball against the fence, I think you need to ask for their help as a favour trying to get them on your side (perhaps in return for posting the stray balls back over?). They’re well within their rights to be playing football however noisily they wish in their garden, so I’d try to avoid rubbing them (and parents) up the wrong way as it might become deliberate!

 

[Nudibranch]

If the horse is so terrified I'd put some work into desensitisation. Kick balls round the field, take them out random places, use umbrellas, plastic bags, whatever. The world is never going to stop for horses so it does everyone a favour, including the horse, to expose them to noisy/wierd/spooky things. Kids are kids, we trespassed all over farmers fields and went places we shouldn't have as kids despite having no lack of countryside to explore without doing that. It's just kids.

I've had horses 40 years and I still find my non-horsey family doing daft non horse pleasing things now and again. They just don't see things the same way, why would they? Try to see it as an opportunity rather than a threat and you might be pleasantly surprised.

 

[My_breadbagel]

If the horse is so terrified I'd put some work into desensitisation. Kick balls round the field, take them out random places, use umbrellas, plastic bags, whatever. The world is never going to stop for horses so it does everyone a favour, including the horse, to expose them to noisy/wierd/spooky things. Kids are kids, we trespassed all over farmers fields and went places we shouldn't have as kids despite having no lack of countryside to explore without doing that. It's just kids.

I've had horses 40 years and I still find my non-horsey family doing daft non horse pleasing things now and again. They just don't see things the same way, why would they? Try to see it as an opportunity rather than a threat and you might be pleasantly surprised.

that’s the thing though. Both horses have been bombproof saints for the last few years. That’s why I’m concerned as it’s out of character. I ride them past cricket etc on the regular

 

[AmyMay]

An adult was with them. They are allowed to step over the fence to retrieve their property but I don’t want them cutting across my property from the front gate as they will have to walk past the ponies. The horses are fenced far back from them, so that’s why I don’t mind them just stepping onto the boundary.

So pop around and tell them that.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

This is a hugely unsatisfactory situation for a lot of reasons:

Firstly you suspect the kids have been coming in to your field to retrieve balls when you are not there.......... for me, this raises the issue of what happens if one of them is injured. Don't want to frighten you but if Little Johnny trips and hurts his knee playing football (not necessarily in your field) and doesn't want to fess-up to it, and Mummy notices it, it is very easy to say ohh the horses chased me and that's how I did it. Unfortunately this does happen in this ridiculously litigacious society we live in.

The kids obviously think they have a right of access to retrieve their balls as you haven't challenged this in the past.

I wonder.......... YES this will cost you a bit - and NO you shouldn't have to do it - but maybe it would be possible to put up some netting high enough to stop these balls coming into the field in the first place?? You'd need to have a think about how you could do it, but the netting itself shouldn't be too pricey?? I don't see what else you can do tbh. I think you somehow have to try and stop this situation from escalating.

The other thing I would say is to be careful if you are intending to put up CCTV; this rings "Safeguarding" bells to me, you have to be very careful indeed if you are capturing images of children - even if the little perishers are indeed trespassing onto your land.

Perhaps a way forward would be to go and have a chat with the parents involved. Explain the dangers and you are concerned that they may be going in with your horses - and you don't think this is advisable, horses can be scatty creatures etc etc and you don't want Little Johnny to get hurt - and see if perhaps discussing it might help a solution to be found.

Tis a difficult one, but I do think to do nothing is not an option here.

 

[scruffyponies]

I would pop around to the neighbours, and explain that you have noticed your horses becoming agitated by the transgressions, and that you are concerned that the children coming into the field unsupervised could lead to an accident.
Add that you are will of course return balls as you find them, or that you're happy for the parent to come over.
Any parent worth their salt would then set appropriate boundaries.

 

[jnb]

Electric fence across the top of your fence, zap the buggers. Sounds like they think they're entitled to almost use your field as an extension of their garden - somehow you need to get across that they're not and any instances of them on your land is trespass.
You have the right to quiet enjoyment and not to fear being decked by your horse (indeed on the nth degree if they caused you to be injured having been asked to stop scaring the horses their parents are liable - might be worth telling them that?)

*Disclaimer* I am the least kid friendly person I know so if it were me I'd have bellowed at them by now having lost my temper on the 20th kick of the ball against the fence. Kids sound bored tbh

 

[mariew]

As others have said, the kids are just being kids and probably have no idea, and if parents are not horsey neither them. I suspect the easiest step to take is just to have a chat and ask them not to kick the ball against the fence when you are riding and explain about the dangers of going into horse fields unsupervised.

 

[TotalMadgeness]

Electric fence with warning signs, and solar powered sim only cameras with CCTV signs strategically placed. The cameras should be placed so they are only facing your land (so you are clearly protecting the horses and can't be accused of filming children!). You can set up the sensitivity on the camera to record and/or get it to alert you.