I found some suspicious plait type tangles in horses mane today.

jemima_too said:
So WHY would thieves choose an old plain freezemarked wary Welsh pony over the big smart friendly warmbloods and HOW did they get near him when people he knows can't get up to him and touch his mane?
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Never mind that; how did the thieves get to ARGENTINA and plait my YO's yearlings?? All of which are still there, probably still 'plaited' since February.
 
Why don't modern thieves just use camera phones and send the pics to their cohorts in crime?? Surely they would realise by now that people were on to them and would use a method of identification that wouldn't alert horse owners to their nefarious schemes?
 
No one is bullying you but if you look on the forum you will see this matter has been raised many many many many times over the last year since everyone forgot the men taking pictures which was the year before's frightening story.

These threads are usually started by people very new to the forum seemingly in some cases to frighten people unnecessarily. Can you imagine the worry caused to anyone finding these these abundant and largely naturally occurring plaits in their beloved horses mane and worrying themselves sick that it will be stolen. All people are trying to do is point out to you that your horses are not at the considerable risk that you seem to be portraying, so they are trying to allay your fears!!!

The cold hard facts are that there has been no increase in horse theft and there is no evidence that they are or ever have been used to mark horses for theft.

These are more helpful facts to help people reduce the minuscule threat of their horse being stolen. All these have actual crime report numbers that have been reported to the police and are not gossip or hearsay.

58 and 59 horses were stolen in the UK in 2008 and 2009 respectively so you have a more than 1 in 20,000 chance of your own horse being taken.

The most popular horses stolen are coloured horses. The most popular type stolen are Cobs followed by Shetland/Miniatures. In most cases where the details are available they are taken from their field. Central counties of England have the most cases of horse theft. A larger proportion of those marked in some way are recovered than those that are not. More horses are stolen that are unmarked than those that are. More horses are stolen through the summer months. A lot of horses stolen are actually recovered. There are several instances of the theft of multiple animals from the same premises.

These are facts and are useful pointers to help owners better protect their horses particularly if they fall within these categories. They do not scare people but inform them how best to protect their precious horses without giving them sleepless nights. Horse theft is extremely rare and with a bit more vigilance will become even rarer, but this can be achieved better by information rather than fright and panic.
 
Debz87 said:
Well that is up to you, there have been noted cases of horses stolen that have been found with twist type plaits.
I groom these horse regularly and their manes are kept in good order, I take out any tangles as if they are allowed to develop they can cause discomfort to the horse from the hair pulling.
I know what a tangle looks like and how it can develop, as mentioned before these are not the same as i have found before.
It is really important people do not become complacent, this is a serious issue and people need to be warned.
The plaits are not neat little obvious plaits, they are made to look like a tangle a horse would get in the field but that are obvious enough to someone who knows what they are looking for.
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This is not true. Earlier this year horse owners in my area were thrown into turmoil by a tale of a lady whose horse was nearly stolen after having his mane plaited. Rumours abounded about "gypsy signs" left in lanes (these appeared to me to be the branches that came down in the snow and that we slung up in the hedge as we trudged to our yard...). The "plaited" horse was moved twice for safety and warnings left at local yards. Now, the lady concerned was very nice, and we could understand her worry given so much attention on discussion groups like this, however we couldn't help but wonder why anyone would want to steal her aged horse. So my friend rang the police, who confirmed that there were no reported cases of horses being "marked" with plaits and subsequently stolen. That is - NO cases at all.

The case of the horse found left at th e port is totally unsubstantiated as said above. Which is strange isn't it, if a horse had really been stolen and found it would have been happy photos all over the place. That tale is thought to be a myth started deliberately by an internet troll.

So, people aren't being complacent, they are being realistic, and trying to prevent horse owners being worried for no reason. Freezemark your horses, it's the best deterent you can use, and just be sensible about security.
 
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gekko said:
There are often also items on TV about alien abduction.... I suggest you immediately wrap your head, and that of your horse in tinfoil to prevent the aliens from using their mind control chips to abduct and anally probe you!
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Pmsl, just missed the laptop with a mouthful of tea :D:D:D

There are a lot of sensible comments on this thread, whilst I can understand the worry caused by this sort of thing, all credit goes to those who have taken the time to find out the FACTS and post their findings so as to try to dispel the sensationalism and hysteria that often crops up.

If people are worried, posting to help warn others is commendable, but should be done with caution and FACT included. :)
 
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I've actually had this happen to me in Kent, my mums skewbald cob mare had a plate in her mane, we ignored it 2 days later she was gone! they cut the fence and took her in the middle of the night, we lost her for 2 weeks we put posters up, my dad went down the local gypsy sites and put the word about. The next thing we know we get a phone call from the police they had picked her up tied to a motorway bridge, but she was safe, we had to pay £250 to get her back, (same as a car apparently holding fee) but thats not the last of it we had to pick her up outside a busy police station and because we didn't have a box at the time and couldn't borrow one I had to ride her back to the field 2 miles away, through a busy town centre. I moved to a private yard. And still to this day after the mare died of old age, i've never used that field again. and my new ponys are at the same private yard. Just be careful what you do ignore i wont ever again, this was in 2000 this incident happened. x
 
Thankyou Beckie65, just goes to show it HAS happened. May have been a while ago but it happened.
Im so glad you got your horse back safely.
Trouble is the Gypsy type people we are talking about will nick anything if there is a chance to sell on and make a bit of money, including old horses.
A fews ago at the yard i now work at they came across the field in broad daylight on a day when everybody had gone out (my boss lives onsite and hired in help on the yard) they got away with 2 tractors.
CCTV caught them, although masked and watched as they found where the keys were hidden straightaway, obvious they had been watching the yard for a while.
 
Just to add my horse is a traditional coloured gypsy cob and when i found her with the weird plait in her mane its hardly a wonder i was worried as her type are top of list to be stolen !
 
My coloured traditional gypsy cob was found with this in his mane. It appeared overnight:

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It was very tight and intricate, took ages to get out and I wasn't worried in the slightest. There is absolutely no way anyone could have got into the field. Even if someone managed to parachute in they wouldn't have been able to get near him.

Sorry, but I don't think they are markings for theives and believe that if a horse was stolen after the owners finding a tangle it was pure co-incidence.
 
Beckie65 said:
I've actually had this happen to me in Kent, my mums skewbald cob mare had a plate in her mane, we ignored it 2 days later she was gone! they cut the fence and took her in the middle of the night, we lost her for 2 weeks we put posters up, my dad went down the local gypsy sites and put the word about. The next thing we know we get a phone call from the police they had picked her up tied to a motorway bridge, but she was safe, we had to pay £250 to get her back, (same as a car apparently holding fee) but thats not the last of it we had to pick her up outside a busy police station and because we didn't have a box at the time and couldn't borrow one I had to ride her back to the field 2 miles away, through a busy town centre. I moved to a private yard. And still to this day after the mare died of old age, i've never used that field again. and my new ponys are at the same private yard. Just be careful what you do ignore i wont ever again, this was in 2000 this incident happened. x
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Iam vey glad you got your horse back !!!
 
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