Horse stolen from field who’s responsible

[The Irish Draft 2022]

Hi everyone nothing has happened but the livery yard has move my horse and a few others horses to field beside a main road outside the property. My issues is that there is no lock on the gate anyone can easily open it and load horses up without being noticed. I just a bit worried since a lot of horse are being stolen and going missing . So who’s would be responsible if horse were stolen.

 

[FlyingCircus]

I'm not sure I'd care who was responsible if either of mine were stolen, I'd be heartbroken. So I do my best to try and avoid - like by only having them somewhere there is someone who lives on site. I wouldnt be comfortable with the set up you describe

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

The first thing I would do is buy a gate lock, the 2nd is look for a new yard with a more secure set-up

 

[ycbm]

I just a bit worried since a lot of horse are being stolen and going missing

There are very, very few horses stolen since microchipping started and most of those are stolen on loan or a civil dispute about who actually owns the horse. Unlike quad bikes and expensive push bikes, horses are difficult to hide, easy to identify, and need feeding.

Having them let loose by an idiot is a real risk, though, and you should get a combination lock on the gate so all the owners know the code.
.

 

[ihatework]

The person who steals the horse is the person responsible.

By leaving your horse in the field now you are aware that is where he is, you accept the risk (which is v low IMO)

 

[only_me]

The gate should be chained shut with a padlock
It’s more for safety tbh, you want to make sure horses can’t escape onto road and cause injury to others.
Theft would be my last worry tbh!

If yard won’t provide lock then you should ask if they have insurance to cover escaping onto road & that each horse in the field (the owner) has minimum 3rd party.

Mine have fields on the road and it’s the reason I keep BHS on them, their gate is padlocked and chained.

 

[HashRouge]

I wouldn't be remotely worried about horses being stolen. I would be worried about some idiot leaving the gate open and the horses getting loose onto the main road. I'd just buy a combination lock and share the code with the other livery owners.
It's not uncommon for livery yards to have fields that are a bit of a walk from the main yard. I used to stable at one where two of the summer fields were a 10 minute walk down the lane, and well out of sight of the farmhouse. However, the gate was kept padlocked, so I never worried. I also rented a field where the gate opened onto a main road through a village, and again I just had a good padlock on the gate.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Hi everyone nothing has happened but the livery yard has move my horse and a few others horses to field beside a main road outside the property. My issues is that there is no lock on the gate anyone can easily open it and load horses up without being noticed. I just a bit worried since a lot of horse are being stolen and going missing . So who’s would be responsible if horse were stolen.

Sorry I would not be happy that done to my horse without my consent. Sorry may sound harsh but I would be moving my horse to somewhere more secure.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I'd also worry about people coming to feed my horse inappropriate things more than theft tbh.

 

[Jellymoon]

I would go and buy a chain with a padlock immediately, put it in the gate, and tell the YO and owners of the other horses what the code is. Don’t even ask, just do it. I wouldn’t worry about them being stolen, but I would be extremely worried about them getting out onto the road.

 

[Spotherisk]

I’d have a concern of getting one out of the gate without the others barrelling through.

 

[Boulty]

Would agree that if the gate is accessible from the road it should have a padlock for safety. That said I've been on several yards with a field directly next to a busy road with zero issues. Most of these the gate was only able to be accessed from the yard but in the one where we had to walk them along the road to get to it there was a lock & the YO kept the key.

 

[Birker2020]

Hi everyone nothing has happened but the livery yard has move my horse and a few others horses to field beside a main road outside the property. My issues is that there is no lock on the gate anyone can easily open it and load horses up without being noticed. I just a bit worried since a lot of horse are being stolen and going missing . So who’s would be responsible if horse were stolen.

I'd firstly put one hinge upside down so gate cannot be lifted off or chain and lock at both ends of the gate.
I'd display a load of posters saying that your horses are freezemarked.
If they wear rugs paint them with ficticious freezemarks.
Poster saying CCTV cameras are installed - buy a cheap camera and pretend wiring onto something.
Find somewhere else to move to ASAP
If they were to get out onto the road due to fencing being inadequate then the yard owner/land owner would be responsible if they strayed onto the road. She should have third party liability insurance anyway as should you.

 

[ihatework]

I must either be completely irresponsible or something else, but I’m no where near the OMG this is awful state.

I mean there is a serious lack of grazing land and horses in fields up and down the country next to roads *shock horror*. Indeed my winter field boarders a road and I’ve never given it a second thought.

Obviously a chain on the gate and a check for adequate fencing. But other than that I can’t get my knickers in a twist over it.

 

[milliepops]

I must either be completely irresponsible or something else, but I’m no where near the OMG this is awful state.

I mean there is a serious lack of grazing land and horses in fields up and down the country next to roads *shock horror*. Indeed my winter field boarders a road and I’ve never given it a second thought.

Obviously a chain on the gate and a check for adequate fencing. But other than that I can’t get my knickers in a twist over it.

Both my fields at home border onto roads -one a quiet lane and the other being the main road through the village. both have a lock on and we pay particular attention to the boundary fence on that side but that's about it.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Both my fields at home border onto roads -one a quiet lane and the other being the main road through the village. both have a lock on and we pay particular attention to the boundary fence on that side but that's about it.

Same. I did have a bit of a fit last year when the game keeper cut a huge great hole in my hedge for beaters (and burglars) to walk through unseen but other than that I’ve never thought too much of it. The gates are locked though.

 

[dorsetladette]

There are very, very few horses stolen since microchipping started and most of those are stolen on loan or a civil dispute about who actually owns the horse. Unlike quad bikes and expensive push bikes, horses are difficult to hide, easy to identify, and need feeding.

Having them let loose by an idiot is a real risk, though, and you should get a combination lock on the gate so all the owners know the code.
.

Like YCBM said I would be more worried about someone opening the gate and letting them out on the road, or in my case a clever little pony undoing the gate and letting all his friends out.

It sounds like your yard owner has rented some land off a neighbour to turn your horses out on. Sounds like they are being careful with there land and allowing it to rest or avoiding overgrazing.

Personally I'd just mention a combination lock for everyone's peace of mind. Yes its a bit further to walk, but a least the weather is nice and your horse will have plenty of grass to eat.

 

[ester]

I don’t see why putting a lock on the gate is a big issue/deal? Or why anyone would be against it?

Someone did nick a rug off F when the field was off the road. There were def nicer rugs on other horses. I just put my postcode on the replacement.

 

[eggs]

My winter field at home has a gate onto the lane which is used to let the tractors in for field maintenance. I just have a good quality chain and padlock on it.

If the only exit/entrance to the field is via the gate on the road I would be tempted to use electric fence to have a small penned area around the gate so that you can get a horse in/out of the gate without being mobbed by the other horses.

I would be far more worried about horses getting out onto the road than being stolen.

 

[ester]

Ah we do also have an electric pen though that’s more to keep them off the telegraph pole anchoring cable.

It does also mean that no one can feed them (people just hang bags of apples on the gate instead, we have an orchard not a shortage ??)

 

[Leandy]

This is common surely? What country are you? In the UK very few horses are stolen and that really wouldn't be my worry at all. Anyway locking the gate won't prevent someone stealing one if they want to, they will just break down the fence.

 

[ester]

The biggest issue seems to be them removing fence/gate to steal other items stored in field (trailers/quads etc) and then horses escaping.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

A lot of fields are on a road it can't be helped just padlock a chain round it, my field has a gate on the road which I don't use so it permanently has a chain and lock on it.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Also vehicles crashing off the road and taking the fence down. We seem to have a lot of holes in hedges/fences round here which are marked off with police tape.

 

[Red-1]

The way you ask makes me think you possibly wanted/expected everyone to say the yard owner was responsible. I don't believe that to be so, as you are the owner of the horse and decide where to take him for livery. The YO offers facilities, which you can choose to accept or decline.

If I had a horse at livery in an agreed secure area, then the yard owner moved my horse to an insecure field without warning, and it was stolen before I knew it had moved, then I would say the yard was responsible at they had broken the agreement.

Now you know where the horse is, it is your responsibility to decide if this is adequate. If not, you could choose to secure the field until you were satisfied or move the horse.

 

[ester]

Also vehicles crashing off the road and taking the fence down. We seem to have a lot of holes in hedges/fences round here which are marked off with police tape.

An elderly neighbour reversed into our field with very little run up, took the post out at ground level. She got the wrong pedal in her automatic….
Thankfully the horses peed off in the other direction and another neighbour helped her remove car from field and patch up the fence ??

 

[Tiddlypom]

There's been a new hole made into a field on the main road by the vets last night. Police were following a man in a Range Rover who sped off. He crashed it and died .

Fortunately no one else injured.

 

[PeterNatt]

I would suggest that a field next to a main road tneeds o be securely fenced with Post and Rail Fencing and Equi-Fencing on it (A tight form of sheep netting). I would also suggest that you need a metal gate with a box lock container attached to it so that the lock can not be cut off as well as the hinges reversed on the gate so that it can not be lifted off the hinges. Also be aware that you should have Third Party Public Liability insurance for your horse to a sum of no less than £20,000,000 (Twenty Million Pounds) as you are by law responsible for any accident your horse causes even if it is not you fault. Also make sure that your horse is micro-chipped (and the details updated to the data base and also Freeze Marked. It is alot easier to see a Freeze Mark. Also take photos of your horse from all four sides so that in the event of it being stolen you have them available.

 

[Wishfilly]

If it's just the field/one gate/straight onto the road, I'd definitely want a second internal barrier e.g. an electric pen between the gate and the road, and something decent to secure the gate shut. If there's a long fence line very close to the road, I'd probably want a second internal fence inside the field too.

The livery yard I'm on is very close to a major road, and all fields have at least 2 gates/barriers between the horse and any sort of road, because of the risk of damage or escape! We don't padlock everything in, but the owner is on site most of the time, and it's a busy yard with a lot of people about, plus the roads are ironically busy enough that it would be difficult to load a horse on one of them! There's nothing of value to steal in the fields, either.

The biggest concern is definitely some kind of escape onto the major road!

 

[ycbm]

Also make sure that your horse is micro-chipped (and the details updated to the data base and also Freeze Marked. It is alot easier to see a Freeze Mark. Also take photos of your horse from all four sides so that in the event of it being stolen you have them available.

When was the last time a horse was verifiably reported as stolen by a stranger, rather than being sold while on loan, disappeared while on loan, taken by the other party in a broken business/personal relationship or simply strayed and later found?

Just why would anyone steal a horse when they can steal a carbon fibre framed pushbike worth more and easier to hide, transport and sell?

I'm sorry to bang on about this but I hate to think of people losing sleep over a stranger theft possibility that is vanishingly rare these days.
.