Gypsy handles in west malling!

[D66]

Don't worry, it is a wind plait, but if you haven't had your horse chipped or freeze branded have them done now.
Our yearling filly had a wind plait last winter - it grew bigger and bigger until I had to cut it out in April. Her mane is kept short now and it hasn't reoccurred.

 

[am3l1a]

Well, I'm saying this kindly, no, that is not what the plaits are about, and what is shown in those photos isn't a plait anyway. Anyone who has horses with a longer mane that go out in the wind will recognise them as being a natural result of weather, and also I think sometimes caused by rolling.
People may sound harsh, but there have been loads of threads about this, and time and time again people have taken the trouble to contact the police to confirm that there are NO recorded thefts of horses that have been "marked" in this way. There have also been real facts and figures quoted that prove that horse theft in general has decreased.
The best way to protect your horse is to get it freezemarked. I hope nobody who is worried about finding these plaits, or who is passing texts around, or telling others to take "extra precautions" owns a horse that isn't freezemarked...

p.s. I don't know who told you everyone is "nice" here, because they aren't. Some are afraid to post here because there are members who can be quite forthright in their opinions, and every now and then someone is actually quite nasty. However, I think it can be quite interesting.

well actually yes it is one of the reasons why thieves would plait a mane.

p.s there is being forthright in their opinions and there is being rude. i do not find it interesting,i find it appalling.

 

[*hic*]

well actually yes it is one of the reasons why thieves would plait a mane.

I don't think it can be as there are NO recorded instances of horses that have been "marked" being stolen.

 

[Tinseltoes]

For goodness sake thieves DO NOT PLAIT HORSES for theft.Anyone who9 believes that Well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Might as well put a label on it saying TAKE ME!!! Get real will you. URBAN MYTH!

 

[Tinseltoes]

well actually yes it is one of the reasons why thieves would plait a mane.

p.s there is being forthright in their opinions and there is being rude. i do not find it interesting,i find it appalling.

Please show us PROOF that thieves plait to steal and that there have been horses stolen!!!!!! You cant cause there are NONE
Case closed!!!!!

 

[christi]

i do agree , there are ways of getting one's point across without being rude and nasty .
( she knows who she is )

OP just ignore the posts that are nasty , sadly you find it seems to be the same people over and over again who are yet to grasp the art of "typing" without being rude and nasty.

!!!

 

[chestercharlie]

"tagging fields is also a myth".....

NO, I beg to differ on that one, I suggest you join Horsewatch and read up!!

 

[Zebedee]

"tagging fields is also a myth".....

NO, I beg to differ on that one, I suggest you join Horsewatch and read up!!

Could you perhaps just tell us of any actual instances where a field has been 'tagged' (not just random rubbish in the hedge) & a horse has been stolen?
None have ever been reported on here. A good friend of mine is a very active Horsewatch member, along with two members of the police that I know who are the Horsewatch liason officers for their areas. None of these people have ever mentioned tagging in connection with any thefts that have taken place.

 

[lhotse]

i do agree , there are ways of getting one's point across without being rude and nasty .
( she knows who she is )

OP just ignore the posts that are nasty , sadly you find it seems to be the same people over and over again who are yet to grasp the art of "typing" without being rude and nasty.

I do hope you are not referring to my post, because it was neither rude or nasty, but it was the post you replied to first.

 

[christi]

Ihoste .. no not intended for you , if it was, i would have quoted you . i had not even noticed your post until just now.

 

[Tinypony]

"well actually yes it is one of the reasons why thieves would plait a mane. "
Here I might be accused of being mildly rude - FGS it is nothing do do with thieves. If you don't believe people who have taken the trouble to contact the police about this, then waste their time again by speaking to them yourself. There have been NO reported instances of theft of "plaited" horses. The tangle in the photos that Op posted aren't plaits in any case, they are just caused by weather and general horse activities such as rolling.

I'll just mention again that any horse thieves operating in the West Malling area on the days Op posted about would have had to be very determined, as the road conditions were awful. I am just a few miles down the road.

 

[christi]

Ive never believed in this .................

 

[lhotse]

Ok, cheers for that, you had me worried for a moment there!!

 

[christi]

Ive never believed in this .................

even when i posted of my experience, all i got was ridiculed and name calling , so unnecessary & unkind.

 

[christi]

Ok, cheers for that, you had me worried for a moment there!!

YW

 

[*hic*]

even when i posted of my experience, all i got was ridiculed and name calling , so unnecessary & unkind.

Ah but if it made you realise that your worries about your horse being stolen were unfounded don't you think it was worth it?

 

[Tinseltoes]

When you get a phone call saying your horse and pony are in the lane,then worry.Happened to me few weeks back.Police think it was youths that let tjhem out.Believe me that was scary/

 

[christi]

Ah but if it made you realise that your worries about your horse being stolen were unfounded don't you think it was worth it?

Well as i did not post about it in here until 6 months after the event and as i said in my original post about it i did let it be known ive never believed in any of this sort of thing .... do you think i was in a mad panic ? ... or not ? I have owned horses for 33 years so i feel i know when to panic or not .

And No , i dont think it was worth being spoken to like a young child in such a rude nasty and unkind manner ... No !!

( she knows who she is )

 

[am3l1a]

"well actually yes it is one of the reasons why thieves would plait a mane. "
Here I might be accused of being mildly rude - FGS it is nothing do do with thieves. If you don't believe people who have taken the trouble to contact the police about this, then waste their time again by speaking to them yourself. There have been NO reported instances of theft of "plaited" horses. The tangle in the photos that Op posted aren't plaits in any case, they are just caused by weather and general horse activities such as rolling.

I'll just mention again that any horse thieves operating in the West Malling area on the days Op posted about would have had to be very determined, as the road conditions were awful. I am just a few miles down the road.[/QUOTE

look, i believe in it, otherwise where would have it all come from? its my opinion, and because of how rude you have been i do not respect your opinion.

btw, yes i live down the road from West Malling too so yes i agree with the icey road comment.

 

[Tinypony]

It's come from urban legend, or should that be countryside legend or something? There was a thread on here some time back which, when checked by police, proved to be a troll thread. However, it was too late, the rumour was out. It was about a mare being plaited, stolen, then found abandoned at the port where she would have been shipped to Ireland. All pure fiction.
I don't care if you believe me (and I didn't think I was really being that rude to be honest), just ring the police, they will confirm this. The problem with this rumour is that it spreads panic. Earlier this year it was all over the area where I keep my horses, someone even moved theirs because of it.
Do you believe that the tangle in your photo could have more likely been created by weather than human hand?

 

[HazellB]

..... just ring the police, they will confirm this.

Sadly Lincs police have been adding to the story and telling horse owners to watch out for plaits, so police in some areas are falling for it too!

Plaits used to be put in a mane by assorted gypsy groups many, many years ago. Now they aren't. These days they have a box to collect the animal there and then, years ago it was a marker for future thefts as boxes and trailers were harder to come by.

Seriously, don't let it worry you now and don't think if your animals aren't plaited they won't get stolen.

 

[Tinypony]

Bit daft of them really, when there's no cases isn't it?
Seriously, is there anyone on this thread who hasn't got their horses freezemarked? And if not, I'd be interested in why not. Someone near me got in a real panic about this plaiting rumour, but in spite of all that her horses aren't freezemarked. That doesn't compute to me.

 

[christi]

Bit daft of them really, when there's no cases isn't it?
Seriously, is there anyone on this thread who hasn't got their horses freezemarked? And if not, I'd be interested in why not. Someone near me got in a real panic about this plaiting rumour, but in spite of all that her horses aren't freezemarked. That doesn't compute to me.[/QUOTE

utter madness not to have it done i agree

 

[The_snoopster]

Totally agree with freezemarking I had all mine done within weeks of a filly being stolen in the next field, wakeup call or what !!! And I must offer this bit of advice the field was tagged with carrier bags, also the 1/2 mile long bridleway was tagged every 100meters or so, and when you followed the bags it led you to where the trailer had been hidden by the thieves, it appeared the person who took the filly did not know the directions so followed a pre-layed trail that had been layed earlier.
The area had lots of dark B/Ws and walkways, and a large piece of carpet was left wear the trailer was, carpet had hoof prints on and was thought to be used to muffle the sound of the filly being loaded. Must say no plaits were used by thieves, and the picture of the OP,s horse looks the same as tangles my horses get if they do not have their manes brushed for a while, they can appear over night if its windy.

 

[La Fiaba]

It's come from urban legend, or should that be countryside legend or something? There was a thread on here some time back which, when checked by police, proved to be a troll thread. However, it was too late, the rumour was out. It was about a mare being plaited, stolen, then found abandoned at the port where she would have been shipped to Ireland. All pure fiction.

so obviously a made up story, who in their right mind ships TO ireland?

 

[Tinypony]

I might be wrong, but I believe you can still export horses live for meat from Ireland?

 

[turkana]

When my old mare was young she was worth a lot of money, her mane was kept short & she was never tagged.
But when she was old & not worth anything I stopped pulling her name & suddenly she became very taggable.
It certainly wasn't to see if I brushed them out, to test if she was checked because I never brushed them out. They would be cut out in her annual trim in the spring.
I do understand that people get worried but seriously think about it; why would the theives alert you that they're going to come back & nick your horse?
They don't do it to cars or houses so why do it to horses?

 

[FairyLights]

they are wind plaits,called Witch Plaits around my neck of the woods. Watch out for witches riding the horses at all night.

 

[Tinseltoes]

they are wind plaits,called Witch Plaits around my neck of the woods. Watch out for witches riding the horses at all night.

lol lol lol lol

 

[thinlizzy]

who knows how they think ?