horses in my field

[pembs]

I bought a field this summer and padlocked all the gates ready to take hay off for my beautiful horses next year.... a man who i caught yesterday has cut all the padlocks of the field and put his horses in-he used to own the field and had it seized the police say its a civil matter but its winter and the horses are wrecking the field and obviously I want to get him off as he has no right to use it ( i have told him he can rent it as to be fair he mayhave nowhere else to put them but he wasnt interested, can anyone suggest anything- he lives closer to the field than me but im willing to get a caravan and stay there if needed. i also know that he puts the horses out 7am-4pm.....thanks in advance

 

[aimeetb]

the police really annoy me sometimes - is criminal damage and tresspassing not a criminal matter??

Hope you get it sorted - you may need to stay there with a few guys to stop him in the mornings until you can get a court order or something.

x

 

[Orangehorse]

Oh dear, this could be difficult. Who did you buy it from, the bank? Your solicitor must have made sure that they had a proper title to it to enable them to sell it.

The Police always say "it is a civil matter" as they don't want to get involved, but I think they could be a bit more helpful, if only to have a word with him. Get the paperwork sorted out to show the police, and then maybe the Rural Beat Officer could have a word with him. Other than that, it is a case of changing the locks again, I think.

If he hasn't anywhere to put his own horses, could you contact the local BHS welfare officer or RSPCA, etc.

Poor you, this is going to be a headache.

 

[pembs]

well he cut and removed the padlocks which i thought was criminal damage/theft but the police really didnt care but I will take my documents to them as see if i can change their mind. my mum has suggested removing the gates altogther so he wont be able to secure the horses in the field but i dont know if that would make it worse from a legal point as then my field isnt secure????

 

[Mare Stare]

Hmm. Difficult one.

I don't think there is much you can do without seeing a solicitor.

When a horse was left in my field I put an abandonment notice on the gate which said that the horse becomes my property if left there for 14 days, but obviously if he is taking them in and out you can't do this.

Maybe get some livestock of your own? If you're using the field, surely he won't have a leg to stand on because at the moment, I think he can claim that you aren't using it. I remember a farmer having similar difficulties with gypsies until he started using his field to hold car boot sales.

 

[pembs]

I bought it at auction from the legal people that seized it- not actually sure who, but they had all the legal papers and i have the legal title and legal papers, i was warned he was a piece of work but only after i bought it, arr.

 

[Mare Stare]

Does your council have an animal welfare unit? Some do. They normally hold more weight than the RSPCA.

 

[merry mischief]

Plough it up then reseed when he's gone! Or put up huge signs everywhere stating you intend to use a toxic weed spray on xxxx date to see if that shifts him? The police really should be helping though harass your local bobby until they give in and help!

 

[Mithras]

Of course damaging propery ie locks is criminal damage! You might need to have some proof of him doing so though, but the job of the police is to investigate so as to find proof. Such as by interviewing likely suspects and following up other more circumstantial evidence, such as the horses in your field. I would give them a bit of a telling off for not taking rural crime seriously, but then I would tend to do that because I'm a lawyer and I don't necessarily agree with police interpretations of the law. I would suspect its because they are inundated with paperwork but you really need to insist they take it more seriously and investigate it as a crime.

Do you feel threatened by this man in such a manner that you cannot go onto your own property without fear? Is he harassing you?

Also consider bringing a small claim against him asap for damage to your grass. Quantify this by charging him the cost of the lost hay crop for next year. You will probably lose one cut at least.

 

[Mare Stare]

Plough it up then reseed when he's gone! Or put up huge signs everywhere stating you intend to use a toxic weed spray on xxxx date to see if that shifts him? The police really should be helping though harass your local bobby until they give in and help!

No point reseeding it - wrong time of year so wouldn't grow!!

But ploughing it is an excellent idea!! Would cost him a fortune in hay to replace the forage and if the horses started losing condition you could report him, if he hasn't already got the message and gone.

 

[katastrophykat]

id remove the gates- if you dont have a problem with off roaders in your area- or pop two metal gateposts in and weld a pole or two over them?? it does make it a pain in the ass for you to get vehicle access to the field- but by the time you need to get in, will he have found somewhere else to put his horses?? whatever you do, id do it sharpish, or you'll never have a crop as he'll continue what he's doing...

can you borrow a stallion at all?? one that needs turnout?!! (joke! before i get jumped on!)

 

[kiteman0]

I would, dare I say it!! Loose them out and put a new lock on the gate and when he puts them back in do it again.
The other thing is to get a local farmer to cover the field 6inches deep with box muck.

 

[Mithras]

And whatever you do, don't let him cultivate even a small part of it - that can create an agricultural tenancy by implication if you don't object to it (simple grazing doesn't). I would also make sure you write to him by recorded delivery stating you object to it and will be charging him for your reasonable expenses in removing him and correcting the damages - although doesn't sound as if he is worth pursueing if bankrupt. (NB bankruptcy only lasts one year now though so maybe not). Again more reason why the police should get involved at an early stage where peaceful resolution is more possible.

 

[pembs]

Thankyou so much for your help everyone, ploughing is an excellent idea and i will phone all the people suggested to see if we can sort it, i dont really want to put stock on incase he lets them out as i dont yet know how dirty he is willing to play.

 

[pembs]

he isnt bankrupt, he still has a lovely big house and two cottages and a garden, Its silly but i dont want to let the horses loose incase they come to harm as its not there fault, thanks for the info on cultivating, well if it stops him im happpy to take the gates off for now. i could plough it up now as it is wrecked anyway so will need reseeding come summer. he is the type of person that takes the easy way out so i just need to make it difficult for him to use it i think and i certainly wouldnt put my horses in a ploughed field!!

 

[merry mischief]

Better to plough and then be able to use it in the longer term I think, get the scariest looking cattle grids you can find for the gateways so he can't get his horses in and lots of barbed wire to keep him out if it's just going to be a hay field evil genius me!

MM

 

[Alphamare]

Plough and then remove the gates!

 

[crabbymare]

First thing I would do is wait until the horses arre not in the field and take the gates away, that would give you time to take further action and decide if you want to plough it or not.
I would also go back to the police with all your paperwork and if they say they are not going to do anything take the name and number of the person who says it and ask for it in writing so that you can put a complaint in as that may make them take notice.

 

[Tinsel Trouble]

First thing I would do is wait until the horses arre not in the field and take the gates away, that would give you time to take further action and decide if you want to plough it or not.
I would also go back to the police with all your paperwork and if they say they are not going to do anything take the name and number of the person who says it and ask for it in writing so that you can put a complaint in as that may make them take notice.

Data! Data! Data! You need to get a diary and write in it when the locks were removed, how, what date did he move in, what has been said between you! Judges love bits of paper. You need to take this to the police and speak to someone. Look up the definitions for tresspass and criminal damage and then get them to sort it out. Deal with one person only and make sure that you speak to them face to face and follow up with a letter to them. You need to document your every move this puts you in a position of power!
You absolutely need to write to the man who owns these horses, and DO NOT OFFER LIVERY TO HIM!!! If you agree to him being on there then you agree with his actions! Get those horses removed to a safe place and let him know where they have gone. Can you box them up and deliver them to his driveway?!

 

[forestfantasy]

I would hava a couple of 'friendly' guys go and see him... & remove the gates.

 

[s4sugar]

Criminal damage is not a civil matter!

Back to the police but remove a gate when the horses are not there.


Ploughing will prevent your intended use of the land so don't but muck or slurry spreading is a good idea - any pig farms in the area?

 

[TigerTail]

Er bull***** that this is a civil matter. The man has broken and entered, damaged your property and is now trying to become a sit in ffs.

Get hold of someone higher up in your local branch and complain about their attitude for a start. Id also contact a solicitor for advice, whilst some of the suggestions on here are entertaining they are also going to put you on the wrong side of the law, which wont help you in the long run.

I do agree with removing gates and ploughing when his horses arent there, obviously that would have to be well timed though - if you wilfully removed the gates and let his horses escape and they caused an accident of some sort you would be liable.

 

[FairyLights]

put a notice on the gates to the effect that the horses will be sold st auction in 14 days of not removed by owner. Treat them as strays. This is what a friend of mine did who found horses on her land a couple of winters ago. the horses were promptly removed.

 

[maresmaid]

Police not getting involved - that's ridiculous - if you had a field of potatoes and someone came in with a harvester and removed the crop it would be stealing - his horses are removing your crop of hay so what's the difference? I would get a solicitor involved and go back to the police and kick up a right stink until they did something, sounds like they are being a bit lazy to me.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Trespass=civil matter

Cutting off locks=criminal damage ie arrestable offence

For those of you slagging off the police, get your facts right. It's so typical/boring, whinging about the police.

Remove gates. Easiest solution and send letter as previously recommended stating intended use of field and threatening solicitor.

I feel your pain: there's a lot of this same thing happening round here currently: my OH helped the owner of a field remove the fencing next to a dual carriageway (after temporary removal of horses) so the horses couldn't be put back in there.

 

[pembs]

THANNK for the advice, yes i will remove them once the horses have gone in for the night obviously, i said to the police can i remove the horses and put them back in their stables and he said 'no that would be tresspassing' even though he didnt care the man was tresspassing on me land???? just spoke to a better police man though and will hopefully get somewhere when he rings back- everything is written down-cattle grid=genious!!!

 

[Cuffey]

No idea where you are --do you have Horsewatch/Farmwatch they are the Police officers you need--they understand a little bit more about country matters

 

[Clava]

THANNK for the advice, yes i will remove them once the horses have gone in for the night obviously, i said to the police can i remove the horses and put them back in their stables and he said 'no that would be tresspassing' even though he didnt care the man was tresspassing on me land???? just spoke to a better police man though and will hopefully get somewhere when he rings back- everything is written down-cattle grid=genious!!!

I'm not sure you can trespass on your own land (given you haven't rented it out). Sadly a piece of electric tape across the gateway will keep most horses in so I'm not sure that removing the gates will be that effective. If the land is yours I would remove the horses to else where and keep them safe, charge him for their return (if that is legal, but car clampers manage it) and stop off all water and plough the field.

 

[VoR]

Cutting off the locks is Criminal Damage and therefore a criminal matter, taking said locks away is probably theft, a criminal matter, however, there is the small matter of proof! You don't have the locks, presumably noone saw this person cut them off, any solicitor worth his salt would have him out of the police-station in the blink of an eye with no charges. We can all get emotive about it but that is probably why the police won't investigate this.
If you planted stuff and it had been taken, that'd be theft, grass is a naturally occuring thing, so can't be stolen regardless of whether it is for hay, if this was the case letting your horse have a mouthful of grass from a verge would be theft. If it was baled, then yes it could be stolen.
The trespass element is civil.
As an opening gambit, get a solicitor to write to this person stating that the land is legally yours, he has no right to keep animals on it and requesting that they be removed within x-days or legal proceedings will be undertaken.
Given that the law is an ass be careful about taking direct action as you'd probably end up in the 'hot water'.

 

[Bobby Boy]

Could you not block the gateway with something, an old car, rubble anything really like you see used to stop travellers getting onto land?

Good luck, hope you get it sorted soon