More neighbour problems :(

That is pretty insignifcant and not really worth getting worked up about imo OP.

fwiw our land is surrounded by back gardens, some of which are very small as they are for OAPs' porta home type site. Our horses are fenced off their gardens by post and rail which runs inside their fence, my dad tries to keep the grass in between clear for them and some do their section themselves - with instructions not leave any cut grass that the horses can reach. They are still relieved when we get the hay cut though so it looks tidier;) :p. Works both ways though, help them keep that bit a bit tidier and one is permitted a little extra space into the field so they can fit their shed in and they keep an eye on the horses/do temporary fence repairs when old women drive into it/come and paint our stables and new metal container for free...
 
OP you have sheep netting and barbed wire along the boundary. I would be inclined to run some electric fencing a metre or so in from that in any case.

I agree with the other posters who say go and have a chat with your neighbour. It must feel really uncomfortable not being able to talk to your neighbour and being blanked when you say hello must be horrible for you. Hopefully, the air could be cleared and you could see this current problem as an opportunity to mend bridges? I must admit, if a neighbour kept snubbing me when I said hello, I would have actually pulled them up on it and asked if I had offended them in any way.
 
I can't imagine living next door to someone for 2 years and not having spoken to them. My nearest neighbours are fields away but we still speak to each other regularly. Anyhow, that's besides the point I guess. On looking at your photo, your garden is messy but that's your prerogative as it belongs to you, however it does look like they try to keep theirs neat as they have strimmed up to the stock fencing and their grass is mowed. On closer viewing, it looks like there is some weed growing on your side where he's sprayed; I wonder if the weed has filtered through to his side and he's sprayed it on your side to try to eradicate it perhaps?
 
Hi Jill, the whole situation looks quite uncomfortable all round :-(

I would agree with a previous poster that the sheep fencing could be a danger to your horse. I have seen a horrific accident with this, the holes in the fencing are big enough to get a hoof shoved through, but too small to get the hoof out again. The horse I know took yards of fencing with him, and ended up with a nasty cut requiring box rest. I too would have an electric fence 1m in from the field edge for this.

As far as the neighbour is concerned, it would appear that the decorative wooden fence on the upper part of the fence and also the shed belong to your neighbour? IMO you could be seen to be negligent if your horse were to damage the property of your neighbour as I don't see that you have taken reasonable steps to protect it from your horse entering the property with his head and more importantly teeth? It is not your neighbour's responsibility to keep you horse from their property. For this reason I would also have a strand of electric fence.

I agree that the neighbour should not have allowed spray into your field. I can also see that there were weeds growing up to his fence. Again, an electric fence 1m in could allow a stretch where you could strim and keep it tidy, and some spray would not cause you stress.

With a field against gardens it is always recommended to have a fence 1m or so in, in case the occupants grow non horse friendly plants. Even a nice privet hedge could poison your horse.

I can see that you are uncomfortable to introduce relations with the neighbour, so maybe the 1m fence is a good idea all round? There already seems to be some form of electric fence on site?

As others have said, I doubt this has been done to harm your horses, so I would either go and explain in a friendly manner that spray could harm your horse, and at the same time explain that you are taking steps to keep the weeds down and protect the property of your neighbour from your horse, or, put up a fence 1m in anyway so you can be less stressed.
 
Last edited:
Just wow at the reaction to a little bit of damage to the grass... I wouldn't even have a horse in that field with that fencing....
 
Roundup is not harmful to livestock. I occasionally spot spray in the same field as the ponies. The sprayed grass will recover in a couple of weeks. Having seen the photo, I now realise how tolerant I have been to put up with my neighbour's 13 pallets of surplus building materials and various rubbish next to my access road for over a year!
 
Top