Someone has took some of my rugs!

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howengold

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The past few days I have been sorting out my ponies rugs, some are in my tackroom at home, some in my tackroom at our yard and a few were hanging in the barn all summer as I had run out of room. As my daughters NF is puney I decided all this rain meant I needed to find her rainsheet (not very good shelter in the paddock she and my shettie are in at the mo) so I was going through the rugs.

About a week ago I was using her rain sheet on Sovereign (37 years old, needs rugging early as she can't cope with rain etc and drops weight easily). Sov's had got ripped so sent that for repairs. I also put Stars heavy weight in the barn to air with, Mony's hug rug, her stable rug, Willows heavy weight and the shetties rain sheet (used for the really wet/snowy weather). I didn't take Stars rug off Sov but didn't realise that until today...I haven't seen it for about five days, it has been taken off her back! I just thought I had taken it off in the dry weather and not put it back on.

I went in the barn to double check I hadn't put it in there and the hug rug and Stars heavy weight have gone! They were 5'6" except for Stars rug which was 5'3" but as it was on a 14.3hh they may have thought it was bigger (I would have thought they would be able to see it was smaller). All my little rugs are still there as is the stable rug.

I have told the land owner and the police but as I couldn't really say when they went all I got was a crime number for my insurance, which won't cover them as my barn isn't locked.

I knew I was taking a risk but they needed airing and I am not overly bothered by the rugs in the barn because to be honest the stable rug and the hug rug aren't used anymore and Stars rug needed repairs so it just means a new rug earlier than I planned. What bothers me is the fact that my poor old lady had a rug marked with large white paint postcodes on it taken off her back. Whats to say they won't come back and take the rug she has on now and she is now in a 200gm one as she was still feeling the cold.

I am just glad the section A's heavy weight is still there as he suffers in the really bad weather (another very OAP). I have brought all the remaining rugs home now and re-marked the ones the ponies have on. Now I need to get another rain sheet and a heavy weight for Star.
 
How awful, what makes it worse in my eyes is that it will be horse people, who just don't give a damn that they were leaving another horse to suffer, that have taken them. Thieving barstewards!
 
Postcode or freezemark number on all your rugs in big letters, it is the only thing that works. To stop people stealing stuff we need to protect ourselves, the sooner more and more people take steps to make sure there stuff is safe the sooner these things will stop happening.

We leave ourselves open to theft, people with low morals take advantage.

Its a horrid feeling, dont let them do it twice to you. There would be fewer tack thieves if people properly secured there tack and less people looking, as a community for years we whinge and moan but how many people postcode or put there freezemark on every item they own, or keep there saddles in lockable saddle racks?

Have you checked your house insurance to see if you can claim from there. Also keep an eye on ebay it may be someone who just wanted to make a few extra quid (and if some sort of mark on them) you may just get them back. I have a couple of pony rugs if they are your size in 5'9" if any good happy to send to you.
 
Sorry, I meant to kinda read that horse people still be suspicious items, that arent locked down, and never question.

I bought a rug off of ebay, the sellers adress on the postcode inside the rug did not add up to their postcode, so I double checked (and it took some effort) eventually my "bargin" off of ebay was stolen in a tack raid 6 months earlier. I ended up losing out no rug, no refund from paypal, but the owner got their rug back (and in total fairness to them they did offer to pay me for it).

Whilst we all want a bargin, we have got to start looking out for our own and double check things.
 
Thanks everyone. I have had this happen twice now. in 2003 when Star was on box rest with lami in the middle of winter someone raided my whole yard took rugs off all the stabled ponies including poor little Satr and then proceeded to try and load my shettie in my trailer...thankfully I think they got disturbed and left with just the rugs. Again all the rugs were marked but as it was done in black and they were taken in the night the marking wouldn't have been seen. After that I always made sure we used white paint. That one made the local papers and they used my son (very disabled) in his wheelchair to drum home the fact that these people don't care who they hit.
 
I had the same done to me years ago. Gypsies/ Travellers/ whatever they call themselves stole a week-old Rambo rug straight off the back of my mare on a very cold and wet January evening - they also went ona thieving spree at neighbouring houses. Thankfully she had the sense to go in to her field shelter for the night..! Obviously, I never got my rug back and had to go and by another one the next day - not cheap! There are some evil people about...
 
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