nightmare neighbour any advice

debsflo

debsflo

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i am unfortunate in having a nightmare neighbour who rents a field next to mine.she is well known as being tricky and has apparantly rescued an assortment of ponies that she keeps in this field.apart from a catalogue of issues including intermittent checking,feeding etc she does not maintain the fencing,2 sides are electric fencing and in the summer her colt foal escaped into my field destroying some of my fencing in the process.i had strong words with her at the time ,she apologised and i hoped she would be more responsible.i regularly remind her that fencing is down but today discovered 3 of the 5 ponies have escaped on to the main road and been missing all day.mine have been oblivios to all this but selfishly as well as worrying about my horses being affected i am worried about hers.their is a possibility that as well as them escaping someone has lifted the gate.she is very unpopular i think.i have spoken to the landowners of the field she rents but theyre not interested at all .she doesnt appear to be someone you can reason with or discuss things with.any advice .the ponies have been found and contained as far as i know she hasnt been found to inform.my horses are kept at home,paddock adjoins our garden and i dont want to move mine because i have an idiot next door.my fencing is electric at present so considering post and rail but would be expensive.soory its long .this b****y woman does my head in.
 
difficult, you cant change her but if you can improve your fencing, even a section at a time if money a problem, that way at least you will have the peace of mind that yours are safe - and build the fencing high enough to stop wayward colts!!
 
Just remind the actual owners of this field, that if her horses escape from this field and cause a massive road accident etc, they might also end up getting suide(sp) as well. People will claim compensation off whoever is the easiest target. Say this to them it might give them the kick up the ass they need, therefore they will have a go at her.
 
Post and rail yours, they are your horses and the fencing out of your property is your responsibility, not any adjoining landowner.
 
I would be concerned having an external fence which is potentially inadequate for my own animals tbh, I would only use electric to divide fields. You may mean electric with solid wooden posts, in which case you could hopefully put wooden rails along the top to make the fence more substantial. I have 'normal' fencing with electric wire all around on the top, but the electric is a high charge for cattle so keeps the horses well away from the fencing.
 
yes it is wooden posts with electric fencing.i agree i cant change them and will secure my own boundary even if i do a bit at a time to give myself peace of mind.i have had a discussion with land owner re responsibility etc but he completely disagreed with me and wouldnt accept it so feel theres no option with either of them.
 
Found this, might be useful.

1.The onus is always on the owner of livestock to control it by fencing or other means so that it does not stray onto other people's land, or onto public highways. Livestock includes cattle, horses, mules, sheep, pigs, poultry and captive deer, pheasants, partridge and grouse. Dogs and cats are not included, nor are 'exotic' animals. Control of the latter may be included under Acts governing the ownership of dangerous animals.
2.If livestock stray onto a public highway, the owner is liable for any damage or injury caused, if he was negligent in allowing the livestock to escape there. For example, if the fence were found to be defective, the owner would be liable. But if it was found that a gate had been left open by someone else, that person may be liable.
3.An owner can be fined for livestock found straying or lying at the side of the highway, and not necessarily causing damage or injury. However, an owner is not liable if animals are on a highway adjoining common land or a village green, or where fencing is not customary. Here the onus is on the road user to take special care.
4.If livestock stray onto someone else's land, the owner of the livestock is liable for damage to property, even though he may not have been to blame for the animals escaping. The owner of the livestock has the following defences:
>a.The victim was either wholly or partly to blame (but the lack of a fence enclosing the victim's land is not sufficient to apportion blame on the victim).
>b. The livestock were lawfully on a public highway, and strayed from there. The victim's land does not have to adjoin the highway directly. However, the victim may be able to prove that the owner was negligent by not keeping control of the animals on the highway.
>c. The victim was responsible under a covenant or condition in the deeds of his property to maintain a fence around his land.
5.If a boundary fence belonging to a neighbour is dilapidated, you must erect additional fencing as necessary to control your own stock. This fence must be on your own land.
 
Do you run the fence off the mains? Ours has an adapter and high tensile cable, it really does the trick & would be a cheaper interim solution than wooden fencing.
 
Why don't you print that off, in large type and give it to the person concerned and the owners of the land. The landowners may also want to find out if this person has 3rd party liability insurance.

It is always your responsibility to fence against your own animals.
There have been some sad cases about people having to pay £1000s in compensations when their animals caused an accident, even though they were to blame for the animals getting out.
 
That should say "were NOT to blame" for animals getting out.

One case the horses were correctly fenced but for some reason they escaped from the field and caused an accident where a motorist was badly injured and horse owners had to pay out.

Another case a cow got out of a field which was crossed by a public footpath after (presumably) a walker left a gate open, and caused a serious accident. Even though the farmer wasn't negligent in any way, he was still judged liable for the injuries caused by his cow.
 
my contract for the field I lease states I am responsible for fencing and that my horses have to have 3rd party insurance.
Must be so sfrustarting especially when it is your own land you are on and been there so long
 
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