Qs for those who keep horses at home

[AngieandBen]

No cctv, no locks on gates and no dogs, but the blimmin' ponies are still here.

I don't think anyone would nick my old scruff bags either, soon bring them back if they did!

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

You buy thw ugliest, most conformationaly defunct, broken down, grumpy old hag you can and leave a sign on the gate - if you can load it you can have it!

 

[PorkChop]

I have no security, and reading all the replies I am not sure if I should be a bit more aware.

Having said that we live up a long private drive, one way in and out, and I don't work so apart from being out with the animals or blasted food shopping I am at home.

 

[PorkChop]

Also we have housesitters when we are on holiday

 

[Bobbly]

My yard is attached to the garden so can see stables and paddocks. All vehicles are in stable yard and would have to go through a series of gates to get anything out. Main road at top of paddocks and my lot come in every night, always have had as I like to know where they all are. Tack room padlocked and security lights and alarms fitted though not been used in a while now. It's pretty safe here, often forget to lock the house etc though we do have dogs. Have only ever had one visit where some barsteward nicked my scabby headcollars and my good yard knife, whether I disturbed them going down to do evening hay maybe? Oh and someone climbed into top paddock and took an old metal gate out of the hedge, did me a favour really!
We had a lady come over from Wales to Norfolk to house sit for 6 weeks for us, she has arab horses and dogs etc of her own so I knew she would be able to cope with my angels (ahem....). I put a wanted ad on FB and she replied so all was good and she's coming again shortly. It's hard to find short term sitters or any for that matter that don't charge the earth for a few hours work and the freedom of the house and rest of the day. Some I tried were going to cost more than the holiday!

 

[cavalo branco]

Our house is at the front of the property with the back looking out over the yard, school and fields beyond. The fields have fences and a river one side and a 5 by 5ft blackthorn hedge on the other!! We know our neighbours well but we are not overlooked by anyone, however to get the horses out onto our lane would be very difficult with a series of locked gates.
I don't work nor do my neighbours so I feel secure. If we go away.... Just off to Caribbean tomorrow!!!!........we have a horsey house sitter, expensive but we have 2 dogs and 2 horses.

 

[Lottiedots]

This is a good thread as I keep mine at home and wouldn't do it any other way but in the winter I do feel rather trapped as they are so dependent on me being there for them. Def felt a bit down over Christmas when my non horsey friends were slipping off to the Caribbean etc. I have a horsey neighbour so we help each other out when we can. I have a wonderful friend who helps me when I go away with house sitting but she now has other commitments so it's getting harder to find help. I've thought about looking into professional house sitters so glad to see lots of you use them. Considering putting baby horse with my trainer for the week when we go away later in the year. I work from home so they don't get left for long periods. We got tack room broken into a couple of years back right under our bedroom window and the dogs didn't bark either! We now have an alarm system in place.

 

[Abby-Lou]

Good luck to them if they try and pinch my pony! she would give them a run for there money ! they would probably still there in the morning trying to koad her LOL

 

[happyclappy]

Two bungalows eging the field and they are always home and keep an eye on them, they are also freezemarked, round padlocks are safer than square so we have those. Go away? Ha. Chance would be a fine thing!

 

[Geek]

We are really lucky to have a brilliant guy who will do the horses whenever we need, even on short notice and he doesn't charge the earth. He's been a godsend when keeping them at home, it gives me the flexibility of being on livery and he has machinery to poo pick the fields and Harrow them etc.

I also have a couple of people nearby who have horses and we swap favours if someone goes away or something.

Re keeping horses stabled, I just do what suits me, the horses and the fields, when it's muddy they stay in a lot more, some 24/7, but they're all happy as long as they are warm and have food.

 

[Highlands]

Busy retired hamlet, me and a handful of people work, lots if curtain twitching! Two footpaths who we encourage locals to walk so constant eyes. CCTV, Car left in way plus mum at home and 2 seconds from me, she practically lives with me as up to horses plus let's my cats in and out!

 

[flirtygerty]

I am lucky, I am overlooked on 3 sides. I did have a padlock hasp cut through several years ago but they left without taking anything - immediate neighbours have a dog who must have barked. Doesn't help I know but I also have a question for those with their own yards (sorry for hijacking).
I have always felt I couldn't stable horses at night for a few nights and then turn out again when the weather improves but now I am feeling they need to be in while this weather lasts but the prospect of having horses stabled until April is really daunting. Does anyone else mix and match?

I mix and match, my old TB is so miserable in the knee deep mud we have here, I keep him in the barn and change his companions every couple of days, while he is taken out and hand grazed, all four get a break from the mud and I have a content TB, I must sort the field for next year though, it's making a lot of extra work

 

[case895]

Locked field gates, electric fences (horses in, people out), real CCTV cameras backed up with a few fake ones, electronic gates at the front and I live next to the Police county HQ. Neighbours cover holidays - we turn out and they feed them and check a leg still on each corner. They have contact details for farrier, vet, etc. and the number of an expert friend if they are not sure what to do.

 

[Rapidash]

To be fair, if someone really wants to steal your horse, they can get round pretty much everything. CCTV can be trashed or deceived, padlocks cut, dogs silenced etc. After all, they got Shergar didn't they?

I suspect, like them breaking their leg in the field, having them stolen is just a nightmare that will probably never happen.

Just imagining someone stealing my pony. Reckon she'd be back within days, no questions asked ...

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Aside from padlocking gates & tackrooms etc, how do you ensure your horses are safe & secure when you are away from home (ie. at work) Also, who oversees your horses when/if you are on holiday?

Thanks

A dog
Private drive
CCTV
Freezemark
Hoofbranding
irregular hours going to an fro
In touch with police
Holiday cover living here

 

[irishdraft]

I have a secure tack room but no other padlocks but I have 2 border collies who bark at everything plus either I or my husband are always here & holiday separately , the downside of having your own place !

 

[landowner]

I'd actually suggest buying a cheap wildlife camera and security box. Motion-activated, extra security, and you'll get some nice photos and videos of the horse, too.

 

[pip6]

Dogs, padlocks. Remember not to just padlock the gate latch, but chain and padlock the gate to the pillar on the hinge side so it can't be lifted off the hinges. Also have horses no one would want!

Brilliant hunting family down the road, where they are happy to come check / do jobs in return for cash. Can be trusted to do the job, and having horses know how to cope with any situation that could arise. Worth every penny.

 

[el_Snowflakes]

Thankyou to everyone who took the time to reply. Really helpful advice

 

[Goldenstar]

Just come in from filling the trough with hot water for our outside horse that's the good part you can easily top up a trough before the coldest part of the night and the bad part you can do it so you are teetering round the field with a bucket of boiling water at 11pm.

 

[Honey08]

Lol, just been doing the same with the buckets at the stable!

Re original question, we have padlocks on all gates, reversed hinges, everything put away not on view in feed/tack rooms (after having all my neatly stacked rugs and all our tack stolen). I leave a few old rugs and a broken saddle and crap bridle out so that if thieves ever came back they'd not get much for their haul and not see us as worth coming back to! I work irregular shifts and am around mid week a lot. My dad lives next door and pops down to feed the hens in the afternoon.

Sometimes the more visible security there is the more it seems as though there is something worth stealing. When we got broken into in broad daylight we had two padlocks on the tack room. The tack room had had no lock on it prior to that for two years without ever getting broken into. It was my day off, I'd only popped out to my mum's for an hour at two pm.

I'd never leave my dogs on the yard. I wouldn't risk them getting stolen, which is more likely than the horses being stolen it seems in these times.

 

[Adopter]

I am lucky my horsey family help each other out, and rare occasions we have all gone away together a friend from my Pony Club days has done ponies for me. When I worked neighbouring farmer was brilliant at knowing who was around and keeping an eye on things, we do the same for him as we can see his sheep and anything going on on his land from our windows.

I have always kept geese in the yard and field with the ponies and they do deter people. We have been broken into but it was power tools that were taken, nothing from stables.

OH now has all power tools, generater etc locked down with very hefty chains attached to rings concreted into floor!!