Piggy French and Oliver Townend Tack Theft

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airedale

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56k worth of tack

Very sad for them and no-one heard a thing

BUT only ** 1*** saddle was postcoded !!!


Sorry - but the horse world seems to be remarkably silly

Spend out 1500 quid on a saddle and too mean to spend another 30 quid getting it marked

All my tack is marked and 96% is synthetic - but I still have it marked as p**s off value - if they bother to break in and nick it - then it's marked

Last year Surrey Police recovered a shed load of saddles - GOOD stuff - and nearly ALL of it was incinerated because it could not be identified and returned to the owners

Very sad for the eventers - but if a yard of that quality can be done over then it's a warning to everyone
 
thanks for this post, it reminds me to get marking newer stuff.
When I had the riding school I marked every bridle by putting the smallest size hole in the top of every headpiece. impossible to hide and easy to identify.
Saddles were all marked with two similar holes high up on the stirrup bar cover.
I doubt CCj will allow me to do this to her Sue Carson, but I do have stickers in hidden places aquired from the local police..
And a noisy dog who creates if the outiside lights go on or a car arrives..Last night I got up at 3'30 and 4'30am after he barked..
(and a gun if I catch the buggers....)
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If the Devoucoux saddles have not changed hands since manufacture they will be identifiable by the codes stamped on them. Devoucoux keep a register of the purchasers and the numbers on the saddles dispatched to the client.

Guess marking stuff doesnt stop thieves from stealing it, in the hurry to get off the premises they probably just grab and go, if items are found then I am sure it increases the liklihood of the rightful owner getting their tack back.
 
I know I'm ignorant but can someone point me towards where I can get my tack postcoded? I'm not too meant to spend £30, just don't know where to get it done.

Thanks.
 
the police are chocolate fireguards

I had my local lot asking me if they could send round their Crime prevention officer to learn from me how to secure stables and tack !!! (I did say they could but smiled as their CPO is paid to advise stables, amongst other things, and I'm not !!)

You CAN beat these bastards but it costs a lot of money to do it and the number of locks you have to have is extremely annoying

they did 4000 worth of damage to my buildings trying to get the tack and failed

dogs, alarms and geese are no deterrent whatsoever

as a group we MUST take on the fact that if we freezemark or microchip our horses - we should do the same for our tack - especially if you have a horse that is difficult to get a saddle to suit - nothing worse than taking ages to get the right kit and then having it nicked

in lounge someone was asking what to look for in a livery yard - and not one person really went down the answer lines of SECURITY - not just of the tackroom but the whole establishment

maybe I'm paranoid as I do security as a part-time day job but to coin an old saying

you aren't paranoid - they really ARE out to get you

when my OH first saw the security I have he thought I was barmy - off my trolley completely - and now he realises that it's necessary.

however it IS a sad state of affairs that we have to be like this - and people in ground floor flats in a lot of areas have to live behind bars at their doors and windows

yet - rant on - in the last 10 years since you-know-who has been in power - 78% of the HOme Office budget has been spent on cameras and 'technology'

I think we all wish a lot of that money had been spent on keeping/putting officers back on the beat
 
Their yard was feautred in Eventing Magazine recently - pics inside the house too .

I had a nasty feeling that the ' Through The Keyhole ' idea might backfire .
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OMG - it had to have been someone who had been into the yard from the way it described a hidden tackroom

that is so awful - I really feel for them - esp if they have a horse that is a problem to get the right saddle for and they've got one - only to get it nicked
 
That is really bad news for piggy and oli.
I can't believe no1 heard anything! Surely if the grooms live onsite they must of seen something? Or the thieves were as quite as mouse's!
They should get a guard dog! U can't beat them. The site of ant1 coming down are drive way and the dogs are there.

Well i hope some1 traces down the tack but i reckon there long gone.
 
when they tried to get mine and failed I had 17 geese and 3 large dogs - they beat the dogs and my oldest one took 2 months to recover - and yes - they would bark their heads off to deafening point - but if you aren't there then there isn't anyone to hear
the alarm didn't even bother them - they put a pickaxe thru that - but what defeated them was plain and simple steel 3/8th inch steel plate - and lots of it - stuff you need oxy-acetylene to get thru and category 15 locks and hasps in multiples

but the locks are about 80 quid each plus vat - the hasps about 120 quid each plus vat and the steel doors cost me 500 quid excluding the hinges, fitting, welding, etc

that's why I said - you CAN defeat these bastards but it costs money and lots of it

and if you're tackroom is wooden - forget it - they'll get in no-matter what you put on the doors and windows - they'll take the roof off

plus, these days if your defences cause the poor ickle burglar to get injured then he'll sue you for compensation and win - and you'll probably end up in jail for hurting him

so guard dogs - you can goto jail if they bite someone

you've got to look at your tack and say - if this was a suitcase of money and there was 25000 quid in it - would I be happy to leave it in this room ? if the answer is no then your tack isn't safe there either - take it home or buy cheap synthetic stuff for everyday use and keep the good stuff at home for shows

when these people can do over 4 yards in one night and do that 4 and 5 days a week - even if they are only getting 5k worth of tack per breakin - then that's over 100k worth of stuff a week - and if as stolen goods they get 10p in the £ value - that's still a nice little earner of 10k per week for them

now how many of us earn 500k per year ?!?!?!?!
 
People only steal tack because other people are prepared to buy "bargain" tack at markets and off eBay. The thieves do not have a secret stock of horses that they need saddles for...
 
omg that is awful! at the yard i'm at the tack rooms don't have proper locks but are very hidden away. i still leave my tack in my trailor which has a wheel clamp on so can't be towed away and also i have pad locks on each door but after hearing this it is going to stay in my garage at home from now on! its scared me actually! most people at my yard though are very naive about this and just leave tack on show. a girl left her saddle on the stable door next to mine! i hid it for her but it still is worrying! one day there will be a brake in and everyone will be shocked! that is the biggest problem at my yard bad security for tack although its very hard for people to get onto the yard without being heard as the front gate is very loud to open and is next to the house!
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i'm worrying a bit now! and i never worry!
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Postcoding is only any good if the police bother to contact you when the tack is found. Our saddles were postcoded - but when they were stolen and found locally in a wood within 24 hours (thieves must have panicked and dumped them) they then sat at a local policestation for 2 weeks and we were never informed (only found out by chance when another horseowner collected one in error and brought it round to us.) In the meantime, we had had to replace the saddles - and of course as the tack was then found, we could not claim on the insurance. The police acknowledged their fault - but we got no compensation and I would never bother mark postcode tack again - just make sure it is always insured and stored secruly - prefereably in more than one palce, so they can't get it all easily.
 
well said - I always think that people who post about the 'bargain' they got on ebay are really benefitting from others misery
 
don't be too sure - a couple of years ago a trailer with a wheel clamp was stolen from outside the lounge window of a friends house whilst they were home

they just drove up - hitched up and drove away - the noise was awful but the clamp broke and they go clean away with the trailer - leaving grooves in the tarmac road

garage - not safe - put your tack INSIDE the house
 
Mine is now all stored within my bedroom - which requires you to go via the front of the house (negotiate locks, alrams, dogs) or via my exterior door (negotiate fencing w/ hidden hot wire & locks) ... and if you manage all that...Me and the largest dog are in the room.
 
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Mine is now all stored within my bedroom - which requires you to go via the front of the house (negotiate locks, alrams, dogs) or via my exterior door (negotiate fencing w/ hidden hot wire & locks) ... and if you manage all that...Me and the largest dog are in the room.

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Same here although I don't think anyone would get in our front door past our collie!!!
poor oli and piggy not good news
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garage - not safe - put your tack INSIDE the house

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I agree. I know someone whos saddles were stolen from his garage. He was freaked out as he hardly ever took them home, and realized someone must have been watching him put them in there...
 
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