problems with horsey neighbours lack of fencing. need advice

debsflo

debsflo

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I have my horses at home and in neighbouring field which is seperated by a beck have neighbours who have aquired a variety of young stock. The problem is that they are not adequatley fenced,ie horses are not respectful and walk through on a daily basis ,fence is left on the floor,battery uncharged etc which in turn means they can escape. On one occasion they have got into my field breaking tape and posts of mine in the proces. I have since tried to secure my boundary with battery,posts etc but am worried esp as i have a lot of grass and they dont that it wont stop them. I have politley asked on several occasions if they can repair fencing and even offered to help ie puttting posts in,lending charger but still 10 months on and a few more ponies added in nothing has changed. After one ended up in the beck adjoining our field i have decided ive had enough and reminded them of their responsibilty to contain them and also that they will be liable for damage or injury sustained if they get out again. This has resulted in some v stroppy responses which i have been trying to avoid. Other than trying to secure mine as best i can is there anything else i can do.?
 
have contacted bhs legal helpline and waiting for call but assume im right that as responsible owners you are legally responsible for securing your livestock. They are implying im being unreasonable but i thought this was a basic rule.
 
Having suffered from this in the past I found the easiest thing to do was to make sure my boundary was securely fenced. I then had to run electric rope along the tops of my post and rail to stop their horses eating it and leaning on it. :(
 
When I moved back onto our land after it and our neighbour's fields had been let out to a sheep farmer for five years, the fences had all been taken down/let fall down, so there was no boundary between my land and our neighbours. I asked him if he would go half on fencing the boundary lines, and luckily for me he did. If not I would have had to do it myself. Personally I would not want my boundary separated by a few plastic picket fences and an electric box, I want a good, strong, sheep-proof fence that I am sure will keep my horses in and other people's animals out - then there is no stress.

It would be common decency to repair someone else's fence if your animals damaged it, and they would be liable if their horses did any damage when escaped, but I don't think its a rule that your field has to be fenced.
 
I'd probaby bite the bullet and invest in some good post and rail to keep mine safe and sadly leave them to it on the other boundaries. If they can get on the road maybe your local community policeman would remind them they are liable for damage if they get out?
 
debsflo said:
i thought you had to ensure your animals were secure...
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You do and the easiest way of ensuring YOUR animals are secure is to prevent the neighbours' animals getting in. Of course you could go down the legal dispute road but that just makes for worse neighbours and has to be declared should you wish to sell the property in the future.
 
The land is rented and the lanowner is not interested in getting involved nor will he allow post and rail as it is classed as permanent fencing and effects his defra payments otherwise this is what i would do ,expensive or not. They have been on the road before but my field is not near the road. They say all the right things but never follow it up. I think all i can do is secure it as well as i can. Horses are youngsters and havent been taught to be wary of fencing as rarely charged. i agree re disputes and have tried really hard to be pleasant and helpful but its got me nowhere at all and feel a bit of a mug. Ideally want a good relationship so we can look out for each other.
 
Could you rent somewhere else for horses? Or put up posts and horse netting - then if you move you can take it with you or sell it. If your neighbours horses can get in with yours then your fencing doesn't sound 100% ideal either.
 
i dont want to move s it adjoins my garden and i love it. Have been here 20 years with no problem. When they got in they knocked posts down but my horses are v respectful of fencing so wasnt a problem. i have completly redone it so much more secure but it seems completly wrong to be doing it to keep others out when i think its their responsibility. What does the horse netting look like. That might be an option as the posts are in...
 
I feel your pain but if they took your fencing down and yours got out it would be a real shame.

Horse netting looks like sheep netting, it's heavier duty wire and smaller holes so feet don't get stuck in it, very high tensile strength so they can crash into it without damaging it or them. not cheap tho!
 
This is going to sound rotten, but I would bring the electric in by a couple of foot to keep my horses safe and then put posts and 2 strands of barb wire up behind it against the neighbours horses.

Obviously still a cost involved but no where near the cost of post and rails.
 
To be honest neither boundary sounds secure. And if neither party is prepared to secure their animals - well I guess you live with the consequences.
 
Hi, sounds like a blooming nuissance but we had a similar problem on a field we were using. We had one side and other people the other half. We ended up putting in wooden posts with insulators on so the electric could be kept taught. We then put another line inside ours with well charged battery. We could move it over to charge the dividing fence if nec. It only costs a £1 or so a post and has helped keep ours secure. good luck
 
I just wanted to point out that there is no DEFRA requirement to not permanently fence pasture. It will NOT affect his payment, it's just a rubbish excuse. Not to mention that if you rent the land, the single payment should go to you ;)
 
Polos Mum said:
I feel your pain but if they took your fencing down and yours got out it would be a real shame.

Horse netting looks like sheep netting, it's heavier duty wire and smaller holes so feet don't get stuck in it, very high tensile strength so they can crash into it without damaging it or them. not cheap tho!
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If they have a habit of walking through it I would do wire but not horse fencing ( ok it looks brill but its 3 times the expense of sheep netting) would do sheep netting with wire on top and sme arms so yours and theirs can't get at each other. Mains electric. Their job to fence heirs off it.
 
martlin said:
I just wanted to point out that there is no DEFRA requirement to not permanently fence pasture. It will NOT affect his payment, it's just a rubbish excuse. Not to mention that if you rent the land, the single payment should go to you ;)
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interesting i will go and discuss all options.
 
martlin said:
I just wanted to point out that there is no DEFRA requirement to not permanently fence pasture. It will NOT affect his payment, it's just a rubbish excuse. Not to mention that if you rent the land, the single payment should go to you ;)
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Only if the land is rented with maps does the tenant get the payment. And certainly over here the tenant would have to be entitled to a payment in their own right in order to claim from land rented with maps. Re the fence....fencing up the middle of land which is presumabley what is wanted here due to two seperate tenants could affect the payment!
 
amage said:
Only if the land is rented with maps does the tenant get the payment. And certainly over here the tenant would have to be entitled to a payment in their own right in order to claim from land rented with maps. Re the fence....fencing up the middle of land which is presumabley what is wanted here due to two seperate tenants could affect the payment!
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yes thats what he has said.... although it looks like 2 fields because of the beck it can be classed as one. i am really keen on some options sugeeseted and just to throw another in,whats the thick fieldguard fencing like ?
 
ester said:
http://www.rubberbeltmats.com.au/rubber-rails-and-fences.html this sort of thing is used a fair bit round here, i hadn't seen it before but less permanent than rails but visually effective
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This looks like a great alternative to stud rail which is £££'s as long as it doesn't have wire in (like car tyre rubber) - in south africa we used huge strips of old belts to make paths to the yard etc.
Off to check ebay !!
 
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