Strangers taking photos of horses in field - Kent

alsxx

alsxx

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Yesterday morning a lady stopped on the lane that runs adjacent to our field and asked me if she could take some photos of my horses. I'm rather security conscious and told her no, I'm not comfortable with that. She seemed rather affronted and drove off.

About 15-20 mins later, whilst I was mucking out, I heard an engine idling and went to have a look. A different car had stopped and the driver (male) got something out of his back seat and then strode across the lane, down the drive to our gate and went to take a photo of my two ponies who were stood near by. I ran towards him and stopped him, I hope, before he actually took anything. I asked him what did he think he was doing and that it's not ok to take photos - how do I know he's not looking to steal one of my horses/rugs etc etc. He told me he had horses himself and that it was a nice morning to take photos.... Odd as surely you would want to take photos of your own horses then, rather than someone else's!?

I said you are the second person this morning to stop and try to take photos, and what in earth is going on. He didn't really answer my question. I do have a grey welsh B pony and since he was aiming in his direction, I asked whether he thought my pony was TicToc. He said he didn't know what they were called....!!?

The incidents have been reported to Kent police with descriptions of the people, cars etc. I have also made the local property owners aware, who are brilliant at looking out for things anyway. All of my rugs are postcoded etc too. The police thought it sounded highly suspicious and urged me to call 999 should it happen again.

So just a heads up Kent (Sevenoaks) people, I'm super paranoid now and very worried of course.

I seriously hope it is simply a case of someone thinking they might have found TicToc (and whilst I hope that little pony is found), if this is the case, please please go about things the right way and report your concerns to the police, not skulking around suspiciously worrying caring owners needlessly.
 
I'm not surprised you are worried and were concerned by that. Possibly a sign up saying that any photographing of the horses or otherwise suspicious behaviour will be reported, along with vehicle details to the police as advised by them.

I also never believe when people tell me "it's ok, I have collies or horses or whatever". It's usually crap and they haven't a clue but think they are experts because they went for a hack once or had a dog as a child.

Let's hope it was just someone looking for TicToc. x
 
To be fair though, if I thought I had found Tick Tock I would try & discretely take photos & if I was caught I would not let on why. That way if the suspect pony was whisked off it would be hard to deny a grey pony was ever there & it would be suspicious behaviour if they tried. Let's hope that's what it was or you just had a coincidental run of people who thought they made a nice piccie.
 
It's not unusual to see people taking pictures of my ponies as they graze, or whilst we're riding. Much more frequent over the holiday period when folks are out for the boxing day walks etc. They haven't got rugs, and aren't worth stealing.

Whilst it is possible they were up to no good, they probably just thought your horses looked pretty!
 
No reg nos - didn't have bloomin' glasses on!!!!!

I understand what you are saying hairycob, but if you were on the receiving end of such behaviour, how would that make you feel? Far better to report it to the police surely and have it followed up on properly, than to arouse any suspicion? If the police stopped by and said they had had a report of a possible stolen pony, I'd far rather let them go about their business, prove my pony is in fact mine, and know that's the end of it, than be left wondering who on earth is up to goodness knows what, concerning my beloved horses.
 
But I would worry that if I reported it to the Police without taking photos by the time they got there the pony (if it was dodgy) may have been hidden & the police could be met by blank faces & "what grey pony". If there were photos to prove there had been a grey pony it would be clear there was something iffy going on.
 
There are a couple of missing horses I regularly look out for. If I saw a horse in a field matching that description I would certainly stop and take a photo of it. If the owner came up to speak to me, I would come up with an excuse. Tbh I doubt a horse thief would bother taking photos first. I understand why you are worried though.
 
hairycob said:
But I would worry that if I reported it to the Police without taking photos by the time they got there the pony (if it was dodgy) may have been hidden & the police could be met by blank faces & "what grey pony". If there were photos to prove there had been a grey pony it would be clear there was something iffy going on.
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But taking photo's could be what alerts the person to hide or move the pony. Had the OP stolen TicToc and it was him in her field. After stopping and arousing her suspicions by trying to take photographs, she'd have moved the pony long before the police got there. If they just drove past and thought it was TicToc, then called the numbers given on the appeals or the police, chances are the pony would still be there when either the police or someone associated with the search turned up to check.

Honestly, If I thought I had seen TicToc in a field somewhere, the last thing I would do is make my presence known. I would be gone before anyone saw me, come home and contact those searching for him to let them know. I would take pictures if I could do so without being caught, but if I couldn't, I wouldn't go anywhere near for fear of the pony being moved.
 
If I had a high profile stolen pony I would be moving it around every few days regardless so the chances were that if someone reported it by the time a PC who probably couldn't tell a grey from a bay turned up I could point to a 14.2piebald & say innocently "I suppose it could look like a small grey pony from a distance". Maybe I just have a devious criminal mind.
The OP is in Kent & I wouldn't expect anyone to travel down there from the Fens unless they had seen a photo.
 
As my OH said, hopefully someone that planned on stealing a horse would not want their presence known, so hoping its just some kind of coincidence! I'd hoped by reporting it that would put my mind at ease and the police would say I was overreacting but they didn't so must just stay vigilant I guess.

It was quite early though still, barely any cars going past at all. My big boy was having some grass in the parking area as having to stay in due to o-reach injury, and the ponies were waiting in the corner of the field for breakfast - stood behind electric fence so it wouldn't have made a pretty picture!

Oh well hopefully it's nothing :-(
 
People take photos of our horses all the time, they are in a paddock next to a popular boundary walk. In all the years, and the million photos that have been taken, none of them have been stolen. I personally don't see the issue at all, perhaps it's just me.
 
RunToEarth said:
People take photos of our horses all the time, they are in a paddock next to a popular boundary walk. In all the years, and the million photos that have been taken, none of them have been stolen. I personally don't see the issue at all, perhaps it's just me.
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Each to their own, but in the 5 years we've been here I've never seen anyone try and photograph our horses. There is also a very thick, tall hedge screening them from the road so possibly I'm alerted by the fact that two different people both went out of their way to come down the drive and seek them out with their cameras.
 
Now people coming down the drive would have me worried but I would be thinking tack/equipment was the most likely target & would spend the day making sure everything down to the last bucket was postcode marked with a permanent marker.
Are you sure it was the horses they were taking pics of & not the yard layout
 
Definitely the horses, hairycob. The woman just pulled in with her car, but the guy parked up and came down the drive right to the gate and lifted the camera aimed right at the ponies, past my big boy who would have been almost directly in front of him, just as I shouted.

The stables are in the opposite direction almost to the direction he was pointing the camera so he wouldn't have seen me or the car until I made my presence known.

All rugs postcoded, no tack left there, and trailer is as distinct and secure as you can probably make it.

I may just be being highly paranoid, I am super security conscious anyway, hence not leaving valuables and ensuring all rugs postcoded!!
 
I dont blame OP for being worried. It is very concerning when people go out of thier way to photograph your horses/yard. I cant help feeling this whole tic tok thing has gotten out of hand with reports people are litterally having thier ponies snatched from them etc. I definatly think OP was right to contact police but its a shame the reg num wasnt recorded. I do think its more likely to be tack/rugs/equipment that a potential thief would be intrested in rather than the horses
 
OP I'm in your area - I'd be seriously worried if I caught someone doing that at my yard, especially knowing the reasonably high rural crime rate around here.
I think you did the right thing calling the police, shame you didn't get the reg and please don't be put off calling them if you see anyone behaving in such a manner again. Taking pictures of horses while out for a walk is one thing but stopping a car and actively moving towards taking pictures of horses/property is a whole different kettle of fish.
 
Can I just say, as someone who goes out with camera, if I spot horses in a field then I'll go over and take photos. Love taking pictures of anything, mostly horses, even though I have my own. Purely for the love of them and photography, nothing else. Mind you, if I see owners/people in the field or very close to them (in a yard maybe) then I don't intrude. Or I might ask them if it's ok, as a horse lover etc. But then I would offer to email pics over to them or something.
Never mean to cause offence or worry! (and no, it wasn't me )
 
I am also guilty of stopping the car and taking photo's of random horses that have caught my eye. I once took some stunning photo's of a TB so got extra copies printed (pre-digital), put them in an envelope and stuck them on the gate for the owners, explaining that I couldn't resist taking photo's of their stunning boy!
 
I think this was more worrying because it was so unusual and because it happened twice in such a short period of time. I think that would ring alarm bells for most people.
 
I was in the car the other day as the sun was going down, and there were three ponies walking across a field in height order, and the setting sun was making great shadows and it would have been an awesome photo. Didn't have camera on me, and ponies would have been silhouetted so bit of a moot point really, but I think I probably would have felt weird taking photos of someone else's horses. I would probably have left a note on the gate with my email address asking if they wanted a copy or something.
 
I'm another horse owner and keen photographer. As has been pointed out, if a
person with a camera is in a public place, ie on a road etc, then it's perfectly legal to snap anything or anyone. The person / owner of the property may not like it, but that's a different matter. For it to be illegal, the subject would have to prove an invasion of privacy had taken place which is highly unlikely in the case of animals in a field. However, if these people actually came down a private driveway to take these pics, then you are right to be very suspicious. ( if they knew it was a private driveway and not a public right of way).
 
I am may be more trusting than OP but if people want to take photos of my horses I am flattered that they also think they are beautiful as I do.
I am also a person that will take pictures of other peoples horses when I am on holiday, ok I am in the USA when I do that and would not be able to fit any in my suitcase.
I would say do not worry too much about it as people struggle to sell horses at the moment never mind steal them.
 
I once found a group of 20 strong Muslims in full burkas in our horses fields taking photos and letting their kids run at them. When I approached and asked them to leave they were trespassing and that they had no right to be taking photos of the horses one of the men responded aggressively telling me women in this country had no right to tell men what to do and then followed me with his iPad taking photos of me bringing my horse in. Nonetheless he received a mouthful with words that made their children cry and I told them if they weren't gone in 5mins I would call the police. Some people are just strange and slightly camera happy. However would always report to police.
This was also in the Sevenoaks area.
 
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RunToEarth said:
People take photos of our horses all the time, they are in a paddock next to a popular boundary walk. In all the years, and the million photos that have been taken, none of them have been stolen. I personally don't see the issue at all, perhaps it's just me.
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No, I don't have an issue either, especially if someone is polite enough to ask me first. I assume it's the case that they aren't breaking the law (unless they are trespassing, of course).

I am an amateur photographer and have taken thousands of photographs of horses over the years, most of which were of other people's horses - mainly at shows, but also "at home". I was always completely open about what I was doing, and if someone had objected (though I can't recall a single case where they did) I would have stopped immediately. I never stole a horse in my life.

ETA: If any photos I had taken turned out well, I would often give them to the owner next time I saw them, free gratis (but at some cost to myself back in the days of film and printing), which would invariably be received warmly and sometimes led to amiable acquaintance or even friendship.

(ETA2: I have unwittingly assisted in stealing a horse - but that's another story!)
 
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I take pictures of other peoples horses all the time. If they ask me not to, I won't and I'll show them proof I have deleted the image.

Whenever I go walking with the family, I always snap a quick pic if I see one!
 
Had these people been out for a walk with the family and had taken a snap, it really wouldn't have been an issue.

My suspicions were aroused because after just 15-20 minutes of the first person stopping in the drive in their car, a second person parked up along the lane, scuttled out and down the drive and IMO was acting pretty sneaky. It was also early on a Sunday morning which isn't the typical time for your average person going for a stroll....

I'm an artist, I get the need for people wishing to take photos, personally if I want to I'd leave my business card and a note asking for permission and a suitable time/date to do so, but that's just me.

I really hope it's nothing; I have the locals on look out and the farmers too. I worry about my stuff as much as my horses.

But I didn't see any burka's though!!!!!!! ;-)
 
Mountain out of molehill to me personally. I take pictures of horses in fields when I'm out and about or hacking all the time, no intention of stealing them and I have to say if you had run up to me shouting and screaming I'd have told you to take a hike it's a free country. What about when your not there? I mean how many thousands if pictures may have been taken of your horses when your at work.

Honestly sometimes I really think folk look for things to stress out about.
 
Oh golly, this reminds me of about 5/6 or maybe 7 years ago, when there was a big thing about a van being sighted all over different parts of the country (often on the same day) randomly taking pictures of horses. Loads of horse owners were getting paranoid that it was all part of a huge horse theft ring. I'm pretty sure it all turned out to be a load of rubbish. Even at the height of all this with my fellow liveries getting quite silly about it all i.e. not letting their horses go out on summer turnout and be out in the fields at night in case they got stolen, I refused to get caught up in the drama.

I certainly wouldn't worry if people took photos of my horse (there is a footpath running along the side of her field, although it's not used that much). Although having said that, they'd have a bit of an epic journey on their hands to steal my horse, she is in a very difficult to find place.
 
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