Single plait in horse's mane....

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honeybee123

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Right then, at the risk of starting another debate on the subject....

My coloured horse (event horse, not a cob) came in on Thursday night with one single plait half way down his mane. It was a 'proper' plait, complete with plaiting band - it was good enough you could have rolled it up to compete with (so not the 'wind tangles' or debatible plaits which some others have posted about). It was easily visible - no attempt to hide it and it was a large plait.

He was in a field with 3 others, out of sight of a road and completely surrounded by other fields and it was done in broad daylight.

I phoned and reported it to the police, who told me that they recognise it as a sign of being marked for later theft, but that it's usually later that day when they are taken.

I've searched various forums and websites, and cannot find any confirmed cases of horses' being found with a plait and then stolen, but obviously I'm absolutely terrified!

Has anyone else experienced a 'proper' plait or can shed any light?

Now I know that this is probably going to prompt a flurry of people telling me I'm being ridiculous, but the fact remains that this was definitely deliberate and there seems to be no logical reason for it.

Any (useful!) thoughts??
 
Id be sticking up CCTV signs and a few dummy cameras personally!

Police have noted it and taken it seriously, make sure your as secure as possible and fingers x you will be fine
 
May be kids? I used to find my old Welsh D plaited some days and even found a couple of kids washing his tail in an ice cream container once! I'm already noticing kiddy activity around my field at this time of year!

I'm of the belief that people wouldn't want to warn you that your horse may be stolen, why plait? how many coloured event type horses can there be in one field? in this day and age of camera phones they would be taking a photo from a safe distance so I may step up security but wouldn't go over the top personally
 
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The police tell you that so that they are not sued if the horse is later stolen and they did not advise you to take precautions. As far as I am aware there is not one single verified case of horses being stolen after being plaited.

Did you turn the horse out? Is that any chance that a child or someone could have been playing 'my little pony' with him, either in the field or before he was turned out?
 
Thanks all

Yes, he was out in the field at the time, but we're quite a way from any real civilisation (other than a B road, but he's not visible from it!). He's also 17.1hh, so I think probably too high to be kids... we've a tiny shetland in an adjacent field, and he was left alone...
 
WelshD said:
I'm of the belief that people wouldn't want to warn you that your horse may be stolen, why plait? how many coloured event type horses can there be in one field? in this day and age of camera phones they would be taking a photo from a safe distance so I may step up security but wouldn't go over the top personally
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This is my thinking as well. There doesn't seem point in plaiting. I know for a fact my gelding wouldn't stand still long enough whilst loose in a field for you to do one either.
You can buy a camera phone for £20, or just simply tell someone 'Oh, it's the bay 17hh in a field on the right hand side down XXX Lane'.
 
Of course they wouldnt want to warn you but they may not have observed the fact the horse is brought in. There may have been no cases of a horse being stolen after being plated but how many horses have been stolen that were plaited at some point in a day and gone before they were checked again? No one knows but do you blow it off as just some 'random' thing? I wouldn't have thought so.
 
Dobermonkey said:
Of course they wouldnt want to warn you but they may not have observed the fact the horse is brought in. There may have been no cases of a horse being stolen after being plated but how many horses have been stolen that were plaited at some point in a day and gone before they were checked again? No one knows but do you blow it off as just some 'random' thing? I wouldn't have thought so.
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but why plait? even if you wanted to physically mark a horse why stand there and do a neat plait and neatly band the end of it? why not squirt it with purple spray, smear mud up the side of the horse etc etc there are many ways you could physically mark a horse very quickly with something commonly seen around yards that may be seen as less worrying rather than risk being seen standing still plaiting it

If my ponies were plaited I would 100% pass it off as a random thing with kids being the top of my suspect list
 
As I understand it it gives an indication of when owner visits field. I.e if plait is still there next day horse probably hasn't been checked. On proviso owner would have removed plait.
 
As much as I don't want to believe this 'old wives tale', if my horse was obviously plaited I would be taking extra precautions. If I didn't and he vanished I would never forgive myself.

Personally, I think that the fact that your horse is 17.1 makes it pretty unlikely that it is children.

Are you able to put him in another field for a few nights?
 
WelshD said:
but why plait? even if you wanted to physically mark a horse why stand there and do a neat plait and neatly band the end of it? why not squirt it with purple spray, smear mud up the side of the horse etc etc there are many ways you could physically mark a horse very quickly with something commonly seen around yards that may be seen as less worrying rather than risk being seen standing still plaiting it

If my ponies were plaited I would 100% pass it off as a random thing with kids being the top of my suspect list
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not a scooby but any case I have heard of the horse hasnt been on yard but at grass somewheres. Also the likelihood of other horses having mud on them is pretty high or maybe purple spray? Who knows but I guess a single plait would be a more definitive sign?

I would personally not pass it off as 'just kids' given the location of the OP's horse. Better safe than sorry eh?
 
While I would take any precautions I could, I wouldn't be too worried

I would suspect someone trying to cause trouble. Not necessarily aimed personally just someone being 'clever'
 
Even if it wasn't done by someone with a view to stealing him, I would still be extremely fed up / worried that someone had been `messing about' with my horse.
 
I’ve had this come up a couple of times; because my boy often has random plaits to keep his lower mane from being chewed, etc! He’s freeze marked and that gives me a worthwhile amount of peace of mind. If CCTV, etc isn’t possible, I’d always freeze mark or microchip and sew the matching badges on rugs or put signs on fences.
There’s ways around anything for the most determined criminal with great amounts of resource - but how many of those are there and are they interested in anything but the most valuable (3 figure) targets? Security marking your horse will put off the majority as it significantly ups the risks – and I’d imagine gives the impression that the horse is watched over…
 
As lamlyn 2012, have also heard that, rather than signposting for a later lorry pick- up, this can be an underhand way of checking field visits, for whatever reason.
 
Who in their right minds would steal something as distinctive and easy to trace as a 17 hand coloured sports horse. ?!?!?!?!?

The horses that get stolen are the ones with a common appearance, not one like this that would stand out a mile, almost literally.
 
Hi CobsGalore

Def not a livery as we only have one, and she's working away!! I'd feel so much happier if I could come up with some sensible and rational explanation....
 
I do hope you're right!! He most certainly wouldn't be as valuable if you couldn't move him on as a competition horse - and of course you'd find it very hard without his passport...
 
honeybee123 said:
I do hope you're right!! He most certainly wouldn't be as valuable if you couldn't move him on as a competition horse - and of course you'd find it very hard without his passport...
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I'd put up some CCTV - then at least it will give you some peace of mind, and it might help you get to the bottom of how it happened.
 
Ok I know people don't believe this 'old wives tale' and i highly doubt it...but would you take the risk?
I certainly wouldn't and I don't think kids just having fun/playing ponies is a logical explanation eg.

My instructor breeds coloured show horses/eventersand she had a collection of yearlings up to broodmares (if i recall correctly 5coloureds plus one chesnut mare and a bay mare)turned out, with the run of about 20 acres its in the middle o nowhere except from the main road that nobody stops on....fisrt she noticed that they started nipping her for treats, but she never gave them titbits
. just over a week later when she was taking out the hay she noticed that every single one of the coloured horses had a very well done plait in their main with an elastic band.......honestly how many non-horsey kids would have plaiting bands? anyhoot she brought them back to the stables by her house that instant and all was fine.
 
LittleRocketRider said:
Ok I know people don't believe this 'old wives tale' and i highly doubt it...but would you take the risk?
I certainly wouldn't and I don't think kids just having fun/playing ponies is a logical explanation eg.

My instructor breeds coloured show horses/eventersand she had a collection of yearlings up to broodmares (if i recall correctly 5coloureds plus one chesnut mare and a bay mare)turned out, with the run of about 20 acres its in the middle o nowhere except from the main road that nobody stops on....fisrt she noticed that they started nipping her for treats, but she never gave them titbits
. just over a week later when she was taking out the hay she noticed that every single one of the coloured horses had a very well done plait in their main with an elastic band.......honestly how many non-horsey kids would have plaiting bands? anyhoot she brought them back to the stables by her house that instant and all was fine.
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This is very reassuring! and also the first instance i've heard of which sounds similar to mine. Obviously not great that someone clearly is targeting them, but at least it sounds as though they have been fine since.
 
LittleRocketRider said:
. just over a week later when she was taking out the hay she noticed that every single one of the coloured horses had a very well done plait in their main with an elastic band.......honestly how many non-horsey kids would have plaiting bands? anyhoot she brought them back to the stables by her house that instant and all was fine.
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Now if you had said all but one of the coloured, or all the coloured plus one stocky bay, I'd think there might be a problem. But what on earth would the point be of marking every coloured horse in a field for theft? Wouldn't you just say 'go to xyz and nick all the coloured ones'???
 
cptrayes said:
Now if you had said all but one of the coloured, or all the coloured plus one stocky bay, I'd think there might be a problem. But what on earth would the point be of marking every coloured horse in a field for theft? Wouldn't you just say 'go to xyz and nick all the coloured ones'???
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I completely see where you're coming from, but then why would a child only plait the coloured horses?
 
turned them out again yesterday for the first time since last week and a different two came in plaited... both more like the 'knot magick' plaits I've found in the research I've been doing. Totally different plaits, but seems too much of a co-incidence (we've been here 6 years and never had a problem before). One grey and one roan horse - both with long manes (whereas my chap had a pulled mane). Really freaking us out as it was yet again in broad daylight...
 
Try to spend a day in the fields with them. Follow the herd wherever they go. Maybe there's a place in the fields where they like to explore and get their manes tangled up somehow? Or, if it is a person who's doing it, you might succeed to catch them red handed.

In my previous yard a horse of another livery started turning up with neat plaits - the owner was freaking out. Turned out, the YO's daughter enjoyed petting him and sometimes plaited his manes for fun.
 
not quite the same but something i found equally as weird was last summer went out to get my friends 2 boys in and one tail was gone above his hocks a good few inches from being mid cannon! (flat clean cut) and the other looked like someone had snipped various lengths out of his beautiful swathe of tail with scissors

explanations?

sheep had eaten them - How was it so neat?
they had been stood against the fence swishing and it had got caught on wire and worn through - again how was it so neat??!

i wondered whether it was someone who had been in and cut it for some sort of white magic?

Both tails fully resplendent now thanks goodness :)
 
Dobermonkey said:
not quite the same but something i found equally as weird was last summer went out to get my friends 2 boys in and one tail was gone above his hocks a good few inches from being mid cannon! (flat clean cut) and the other looked like someone had snipped various lengths out of his beautiful swathe of tail with scissors

explanations?

sheep had eaten them - How was it so neat?
they had been stood against the fence swishing and it had got caught on wire and worn through - again how was it so neat??!

i wondered whether it was someone who had been in and cut it for some sort of white magic?

Both tails fully resplendent now thanks goodness :)
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a fly fisherman used to ask me for my mane pullings. He said it was a perfect range of colours in just the right texture for tying flies to fish with.
 
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