HORSES PLAITED AND ATTEMPTED THEFT IN TEFFONT WILTSHIRE TODAY!!

[CharCharSlide]

As above. I dont kno any other details at present only that horses have been marked and theives attempted to steal 2 horses from a field in Teffont! Please pass on information and let me know if you know anything else. Thankyou!!

 

[RuthnMeg]

oh no. Bit close to home that one. Hope the horses are safe now.

 

[lhotse]

How did you finf this information out, was it from the police or first hand.
Only this is now beginning to sound a whole lot like last years scaremongering about the eastern europeans going around taking photos. The txt and emails then go flying around and suddenly there is mass panic setting in.

URBAN MYTH

 

[Sugarplum Furry]

The thing is, urban myth, scaremongering, whatever it is, it's going to make people sharpen up their act when it comes to making sure their horses are safe, and surely that's good?
Anything that makes people more pro-active, getting their horses freezemarked, checking them more often, making their yards and fields more secure, even starting their own local horsewatch groups, has got to be a positive outcome. Yep it's sad we have to be scared into it, but it's a good wake up call in my opinion.

 

[lhotse]

Oh, totally agree that people should always be on alert but this is getting a bit out of hand now. If it was for real, then don't you think it would be on the police web sites by now. The email about the horse found at Holyhead had urban myth written all over it. It's amazing how a little bit of truth can be blown out of all proportion.

 

[The_snoopster]

The thief brigade will just turn up one day/night and take your horse/pony like it,s their right to take them. Most do not plait the mane they have already been to your field and chosen their victim, the reason some do this is because the scouts choose the horses then different thieves move in later the plait is to point out to the thieves that this is the one the scout wants. Always keep your wits about you as you never know who as been scouting your fields. I wish i could say it was scare mongering but the truth is i know of 5 horses being stolen close to me, mostly cobs and shetties. Being as i own a cob and a shettie maybe i,m paranoid.

 

[smithsmob]

You are quiet right there snoopysue. It is NOT scare mongering. Last year my coloured pony was stolen and she had a knotted plait in her mane the day before if only I had know then the implications things may have turned out better. She was defo a target because 3 others were left in the paddock!!
You are also right when you say they access your property before hand to check out the animals so those of you who say 'no one would catch my horse' beware they will have fed them bread or treats before hand to get the animal used to them.

 

[xebec]

[ QUOTE ]
How did you finf this information out, was it from the police or first hand.
Only this is now beginning to sound a whole lot like last years scaremongering about the eastern europeans going around taking photos. The txt and emails then go flying around and suddenly there is mass panic setting in.

URBAN MYTH

[/ QUOTE ]

A quick Google with the words 'horses plaited manes horse theives' gives these - all on the first page and respected sources of information. The other hits are this site and a couple where the links are only downloadable

http://www.thisisdorset.co.uk/fosseway/n...il/article.html
http://www.thisisdorset.co.uk/fosseway/n...il/article.html
http://sbra.co.uk/horsewatch.aspx
http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_tack_room/839318-I-called-the-police-today
http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2470356

There are many references to the information regarding the plaits having come from the police

 

[Aredis]

[ QUOTE ]
I have been forwarding on a post to most of the people in my address book about a microchipped horse that was stolen in Guildford and recovered abandoned on the docks in Anglesley, obviously having been left behind becuase the theves realised that the horse's microchip number had already been passed to all ports.

In this post it mentioned that the owner had noticed a tiny plait in its mane the day before the theft but had ignored it as just a tangle. She has since learned that this is a signal the theives use to identify the horse to be stolen and I have also been e-mailed as an update that the theives concerned are targetting broodmares (which this one was) and that sometimes they lop bits off the tail instead if they cannot get to the mane.

So you all been warned, mircochip your horses (especially broodares) and check them for odd changes in their manes and tails.

Jan has also told me that there is a page for notifying thefts on NED (which I did not knwo about and obviously needs to be promoted more) so that might help as well if you do find your horse or pony has been stolen.

[/ QUOTE ]

Copied this from the breeding forum.
Info mfrom NED.

 

[lhotse]

Apart from the article concerning the foals stolen in august, all the others are hearsay. I'm not desputing that there is some truth in it all, but I think it is now getting to be a little bit like chinese whispers. If horses were getting stolen at this rate then don't you think it would be a bit more publicised by the police themselves by now?

 

[lhotse]

I rest my case
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?v=wall&ref=search&gid=20356930863

 

[Tinseltoes]

Good point.You say they feed the horse beforehand,hmmm think if they were to do that someone would see them unless the field is isolated. I think these thieves aim for remote places for a quick gettaway,well thats my guess!!!

 

[Tiggy1]

Someone was seen in our field, horse was plaited and the police were informed.
It's not all an urban myth
Fortunately the horse was moved so no further action could be taken

 

[Tinseltoes]

Scary to think these rascals think they can do as they please

 

[ringmaster]

I work for West Mercia Police (staff) and the story bellow dropped into my inbox today, I think it’s a fuller version of one already mentioned. It had a reasonable outcome and the tip about chipping seems a must. Are there any other recognised signs other than the plaiting as a precursor to an attempted theft?

Dear all, I thought you should be aware of this as:

1. It is a successful result.
2. Proof that crime prevention does work sometimes.

Please read the below story sent to me by a caring horse colleague in Avon & Somerset:-

On Monday (2 Nov) night my friend's horse was stolen from a field in the Guildford area. The people who took her sawed through a wooden post and rail fence to get out and this happened between 3pm and 6pm in the afternoon.

The police were informed and so were the microchip company who circulated her details to all the ferry ports etc.

As you can imagine the owner was completely distraught.

Late Tuesday (3 Nov) afternoon she received a phone call from the police to say her horse had been found in Hollyhead, Wales. She was tied to a railing at the ferry port and the ferry to Ireland had gone without her. So today she is driving to Wales to pick her up.

Several things have come to light in this story:

1. A week ago her horse had a small plait in its mane when she went to get her in from the field. She describes it as very small, almost like a tangle. She disregarded it as kids messing about (her horses are out in a field with others). However, this is how people mark horses to be stolen later. Ie. One person marks them, another then comes later and knows which one to take.

2. The ferry port at Hollyhead do not check horses passports or microchips. This horse was travelling without a passport.

3. The police believe the reason this horse was left behind was because she was microchipped. Although the UK is lax about passport and microchip checking, it is apparently more common for horses to be scanned on entering Ireland. The people who take them will scan them and dump them if they find a microchip. This horse also had a large obvious scar so this may have been a contributing factor.

The police told her that horses being dumped at a ferry terminal is not uncommon and they usually turn out to be stolen. They have had horses left in a lorry on the actually ferry!

This story has a happy ending for H and E, but it makes you wonder how many other stolen horses were on that ferry to Ireland.

The owner has asked me not to give any more details because of the police investigation that is on going, but has given her permission for me to relay this story, mainly to highlight:

1. If you find your horse with a small plait in its mane or tail please do not ignore it. I thought it was common knowledge that people knew about this, but several people I've spoken to since were not aware of it
.
2. If your horse isn't microchipped please consider doing it. The owner of this horse describes her as 'nothing flashy, just a normal 14.2 bay mare' so please don't think it couldn't happen to you.

Please do not ask me to provide more details regarding the horse or owner as I can't, but please spare a happy thought today for H and E who should be having a (probably very emotional) reunion in Hollyhead later on today.

Please forward this email onto any other horsey people you know. The more people who know about plaits and microchips the better...
Thank you for reading and please be alert to this plaiting - keep an eye on your own horses and also neighbours.

 

[tangoharvey]

the thing is a thief cant tell if a horse has been microchipped, i know it means you might get your horse back, but i would like to prevent it in the first place, i wonder if microchip companies produce signs to go on gates etc?

 

[smithsmob]

poohbear59 I used to think like you but have learnt a lot since my girl was taken which by the way was between 18.00 and 20.00 on a sunny summer evening from a paddock next to a main road!
We later found plastic bread bags that had been stuffed into the hedgerow. I have spoken to many people who have had horses stolen since and signs of feeding have been evident in many of them.
God forbid it should happen to any of you but it is also worth looking for cigarette butts etc as well because they are very useful to the police.
Dont think like a normal, caring person when looking at your security, you have to think like scum bag thieving b*****ds who watch you and your animals.

 

[The_snoopster]

The way i see it horse owners are supposed to be on the same side, yes sometimes people can add a little on to the stories. But this particular subject of plaited manes is by no means new its a old trick by horse thieves.
What a lot of us are trying to do is make aware of the different methods that thieves are doing to take horses and property. Where,s the harm in that is,nt it what this forum is for ??? . Obviously this time it is not a chinese whisper unless the police have also been taken in perhaps.

 

[ringmaster]

I'm sure, if they don't already, if there was demand the chipping company would come up with a sign for a small cost.

The other thing you could consider is getting together with other owners in the area, or via your county's horse watch group, and designing and buying your own signs – all horses are chipped and freeze marked, all tack and transport is security marked etc . . . If you wanted to get them at a reasonable price you may need 100-200 signed up.

 

[hairycob]

I've had this email from 2 sources - identical except for the place the horse was stolen from!
My mare regularly has knotted "plaits" in her mane, as does my younger gelding - they both have long manes. I've had the mare 6 years & she has been getting them all this time without being stolen. The other gelding who has a short mane never get's them. They are just knots! I believe the old name for them is witches plaits.

 

[The_snoopster]

I think the plaits in question are more plait like to look at not the tangles which our horses get when we keep them with long manes. My mare gets horrendous ones with brambles stuck in them just to get stuck in my fingers and itch all night. As for the posters i know farmkey do one but cost me £8 so i photo copied them and then laminated them. I suppose you could design a poster and do the same for microchipped horses.

 

[Tinseltoes]

I always thought thieves take horses in a remote area or ones visible ie field on road /lanes and easy access for a quick gettaway???
Im pretty lucky as my field has plenty of vidibility to the surrounding houses and my horse hates men!!

 

[The_snoopster]

The one that was stolen in the next field to me was led down a bridlepath for half a mile and loaded in a lane at the side of a main road. A cctv caught a trailer on that stretch of road at around 10pm it was just dropping dark as it was july.

 

[ringmaster]

There was a post here: http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showflat.php?Number=4987558 do you have another provenance (or two) for the story, hairycob?

 

[Bert&Maud]

The incident in Teffont was definitely not scaremongering as it involved a member of our riding club. The police are apparently treating it seriously.

 

[hairycob]

Ringmaster - my point was I have been forwarded an identical email by 2 people with 2 diferent locations for the theft (not even in the same part of the country) so I am very doubtful of it's truth.
To me the plaits suddenly appearing on horses all over the country sound so much like last summers Eastern Europeans taking photos of horses to steal hysteria. But I suppose if it gets people to freezemark their horses some good will come of it.
That was the other thing the email made me smile about. It made so much about horses entering Ireland being scanned (don't know if that is even true - anybody know?) & so you should microchip your horse to protect it - but:
1) how many stolen horses end up in Ireland - my understanding was that Irish dealers are having trouble getting rid of the stock they have, so importing stolen horses wouldn't make much financial sense.
2) Freezemarking only requires low tech eyeballs to detect it, not several scanners to detect different types of chip!

 

[Tinseltoes]

Someone told me that half the horses stolen end up as meat.

 

[CharCharSlide]

as Tass said unfortunately this is not scaremongering, i wish it was coz its in my village which is a TINY village and have spoken to a lady with a very secure yard with eventers who had one plaited on saturday night whilst they were out for dinner, in a stable and doesnt have a long mane in the field so was definately not a witches plait.
the attempted theft was another incident but i have since received an official police repoet from the police about an attempted theft in a secure stable which I believe is neither if th e 2 incidences above.
ontop of this, another SJ who lives 10mins from me has had someone photgraphing her breeding mares on the main road which has also been recorded by the police and my father just received a phone call from one of the people who circulates the police emails and MOD reports to say some men had just smashed down her fencing to get a boat from their land but were scared off when her OH went out to investigate.

I WISH THIS WAS MADE UP BUT ITS NOT AND IT IS VERY SCARY WHEN IT IS HAPPNEING ALL AROUND YOU!!

Please be careful because I NEVER thought it would happen in our tiny, peaceful village..

 

[Deadtree]

We got this info from the police too, so scary

 

[ladyt25]

Well, I was a bit sceptical about this but my marketing lady here as just told me (via her husband who's an insurance broker) that one of the people we insure has just this morning scared off some horse thieves in her field in Bishop Thorton - Harrogate area.

Apparently the horses had plaits in their tails (not manes this time) - the owner thought it was the fault of her daughter not having taken them out but then when they went to the field this morning they found two men in the field who subsequently ran off!!

Quite scary stuff if this is happening all over. My question would be - where are they taking them??

Keep eyes open is the key I think.