Tack room break-in - totally gutted!

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keeperscottage

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I wasn't intending to go down the yard this morning (Sunday) as was supposed to be visiting mother-in-law but was phoned by one of my liveries who just said "We've been broken into!". Shot down my yard hoping and praying that they hadn't cleared out the tack room, but they had. All the saddle and bridle racks were empty. Police took for ever to turn up but were sympathetic, as was SOCO. Not all liveries leave their saddles in the tack room, which is as secure as I thought it could be; metal grills on the roof and external wall (tack room is within internal barn stable block), tough padlocked metal grill inside door plus mortice locked wooden door - crowbar and bolt croppers went through it with ease. Strangely, they accessed the yard not via the most straightforward route but demolished new post and rail fencing (posts were concreted into the ground) and drove across the fields. My daughter has lost everything and is particularly devasted by the loss of Lizzie's Albion saddle (complete with Sprenger stirrups). Lizzie is 22 now, TB ex- successful pointer and adored by both my daughter and I. We don't care about the other tack, but getting Lizzie's saddle returned is paramount. In all, seven saddles were taken, five of which belonged to my daughter. Numerous bridles and rugs were taken, too. They were all good saddles and two of my daughter's saddles were Albions. We know that whoever broke into our yard is unlikely to have been local but we are so desperate that we will travel to any (even dodgy) sales to try and find her Albion saddle. Please let me know where any sales are being held, wherever in the country - PLEASE - we are desperate! Please please please contact me with any sales details! We are Furneux Pelham, East Herts. We will be contacting all the local tack shops etc although I fear we have seen the last of our tack.
 
:( How awful for you and your daughter; Happened to me only once 12 years ago. Is the tack marked? I got mine done a few months ago, its free :) Get in touch with local horsewatch groups if you have one .

People will go to any lengths to get hold of stuff, barstools that they are. Not a lot you could have done tbh except maybe an alarm or get your doors wired up to electric so they get a shock! Or like me get a Jack Russell !

Hope you find your saddles, I'd be lost without Ben's
 
Im so sorry to hear this. There are no wrods to describe the scum. Are you on Face book if so post on there and ask people to share. I shared one from midlands other day. If nothing else it will get people vigilant and alot of people scan the likes of e bay. you never know. But so sorry for you x
 
Can only say that am sorry to hear - but back to base monitoring/alarm system is reasonably cheap, and may be enough of a deterent to prevent a break in in the first place. We use it for both our offices, and while we get some false alarms - which means me getting up in middle of night - it does give some peace of mind.
 
So sorry :-( so much of it is going on at the moment. There have been loads of break ins in Kent, so wondering if you may find yours at Ashford sales as you're not in Kent? So sorry again, a lot of auction houses have online catalogues before hand. Wonder if auction houses would be any help if you e mailed them with the details in case one seller was putting in all of yours? What was their description so as everyone can keep an eye on preloved/gumtree/eBay? Really hope you get it back.
 
So sorry for you. This happened to me years ago, stole my prized vintage Passier saddle along with everyone else's good tack (this was pre synthetic days) Saddle was stamped with the Passier number but was still never recovered. Haven't had a decent saddle since. Scumbags. They think it's OK these days as everyone is insured. I thought I was back in the day, but loopholes were found. It doesn't replace stuff you are attached to, and it leaves a feeling that nothing is safe.
 
Devastating.

We've never been allowed to keep tack at the yard, so have never experienced this thankfully.
 
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There is always a sale at Duckhurst Riding Centre in Staplehurst, Kent every second Friday of the month (always LOADS of saddles). Starts ata 11am.
 
Like others, I have had this experience and I'll never forget the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I saw the empty saddle racks. In our case, they came over the fields as the drive was alarmed so must have known that, and went through a brick wall to get round a steel security door they couldn't open!

In all around 15 saddles were takena long with rugs, boots, hats, grooming kit ... Anything of value. I lost 3 saddles, 3 bridles and loads of other kit.

You have my deepest sympathy. I wish you luck getting it back as I never saw my stuff again. And the arguments I had with my insurance company is the stuff of a whole separate thread. Don't get me started .....!!

Big <<<< hugs>>>> from me.
 
Agree all selling sites. Would email all auction houses such as brightwells with descriptions of stuff, photos and crime numbers.

Leominster is next on 22nd, Friday coming. Fraid to say we ar easy enough to get too. Good luck
 
So sorry this has happened OP.

We had a spate of it here a while back........ it seemed that every yard in the area was having "visitors" where they were totally clearing out everything on the place, down to the last dandy-brush.

Just a word of warning: there was a situation where someone's place had been thoroughly cleaned out, and then (like one does) they'd replaced a lot of stuff - and in this situation you'd buy say a new grooming kit, new bridles, headcollors, rugs etc etc, wouldn't you?

Well what happened was that the thieves obviously know what people do.......... and about three weeks later paid a RETURN visit, and cleared them out yet again - but this time it was an even better haul coz all the stuff had been newly bought!!! The barstewards. Coincidentally, during the summer months we've had the usual plague of "dwellers of a nomadic existence" parked up on some local grass verges; and they never ever thieve from an area whilst they're in it (as suspicion would naturally fall on them), no they do a nose around while they're in an area, and then move away say 40 - 50 miles or so, and later on go back and help themselves.

After the spate of local break-ins we got some security fixed up here; cost us a fortune as we employed a professional firm to do it, but it does give a certain peace of mind. You might need to think about this OP...........at the very least you could ask your local Crime Prevention Officer to come out and take a look at your set-up, it will cost nothing and when we had them here he did give us a few things we hadn't even thought about, i.e. sat-navs left in lorries overnight, etc etc.
 
Sorry to hear this, I hope you have good insurance. First time we got broken into 8 saddles went and the marvellous E and L refused o pay out. Tack always kept at home now.

Good luck finding it too, ditto keeping an eye on eBay etc. :(
 
We keep our tack in the house since our neighbour had her tackroom broken into and her retired horse's tack stolen.
It is probably too far away from you but Holmfirth has a tack sale every Saturday and is one of the dodgiest sales ever - no catalogue published, entries on the day.
 
I feel for you OP. We had our tackroom cleaned out about six years ago. All tack and rugs gone and never seen again.

In our area there have been two instances of horse's rugs being stolen off their backs in their stables. (Heads up to you Pearlsasinger, you're quite near..) I am off to paint my postcode on all my rugs today. Sad times that you have to do things like that.
 
Same thing happened to me last year, the police said I could check the sales. I went to Duckhurst and nothing. But low and behold 2 months later I found all my stuff in one lot at Ashford Market, Kent! Police had the lot taken off sale and said the seller was 'known to them'. It may be worth a try checking the sales as they've got to sell it somewhere and these sorts of thieves are not usually criminal master minds. Good Luck and remember the positive that all the horses are ok.
 
Honey08 said:
I feel for you OP. We had our tackroom cleaned out about six years ago. All tack and rugs gone and never seen again.

In our area there have been two instances of horse's rugs being stolen off their backs in their stables. (Heads up to you Pearlsasinger, you're quite near..) I am off to paint my postcode on all my rugs today. Sad times that you have to do things like that.
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Thanks, Honey, ours rarely wear rugs but I agree that very obvious post-code painting is the way to go. Our tack is security marked.

ETA, there was a poster based near Bradford (name escapes me), who found some of her stolen tack at Holmfirth. She bought it all back!
 
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I feel your pain, had my expensive Western saddle thieved out of the tack room 2 months ago. I've been watching on line sites, etc but I don't think I will ever see it again. Good luck.
 
Sorry to hear this. We had our yard in Kent broken into in April this year. Completely cleared us out of everything. We immediately phoned several local tack auctions including Ashford and they were about as helpful as a chocolate teapot I'm afraid didn't want to know or help at all. The Police were as you say, sympathetic but useless. We've been scouring EBay etc ever since but nothing has ever appeared. The Police said that much of the tack stolen in organised thefts (in our case the theives knew exactly what the movements of the house owners were and broke in at 9.30pm so had clearly been watching the site in advance) ends up on a boat to Ireland before you even realise it's missing.
 
When my last yard was broken into the police said they expected most of it to have already been a boat to Ireland. There had been cases of the stolen tack being put under a false floor and then horses loaded in on top so no one at the docks could search it. I never leave tack at the yard. :mad:
 
Hi OP, just to let you and others know that the livery yard I am on is only 18 miles from you (near Great Sampford, Essex) and we also had numerous saddles/bridles stolen a few weeks back.

Please everyone be on the lookout, being so close together these incidents are highly likely to be linked.

Thankfully I dont keep my horse at the actual livery yard, but at a relative of the YO just across the road. If you want any more info OP, send me a mesage and I can put you in touch with the YO in case she has heard anything.
 
I'm sorry to hear this.Melton Mowbray market has a tack sale on the first Wednesday of the month starting at 6pm. I know it is a long way from you,but sometimes these items travel. I'll be going to the Dec sale if you want me to look out for it,although what I could do apart from alert the staff,I don't know.
 
Really to sorry to hear this. They really are scum aren't they.

I'm on a large livery yard in Herts and a year or so ago we also had one of our tack rooms cleared. They didn't come in through the yard gate but across country from a little used country lane which made me think they had good local knowledge. The police advised that on-line satellite maps give them so much info these days it's alot easier to plan this type of burglary. We have improved security at our yard since then but sometimes I don't think anything will keep them out. Someone also told me that all the saddles go out of the country but not sure how true that is.

I was upset as my old mare's saddle was stolen in the burglary. She had been put down a few years previously and I had sold it to someone else on the yard but took some comfort in the fact that someone else was using it. Funny how I was emotionally attached to that saddle. God only knows where it is now. :(
 
So sorry to read of your loss. Will pass on to the yard near to my mothers house in Hertfordshire. Seems the scum are out and about again
 
So sorry to hear about the break in. There are aome horrible people out there. Definitely join the Facebook groups (Kent Equestrian Grapevine is very active and has a lot of tack for sale on there, as well as Hertfordshire Horse Riders and Essex Riders). Hope you manage to get your tack back x
 
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