Warning: Horses having tails removed in Mid Devon

[SilverLinings]

A friend rang me for a catch up this morning and he told me the rather alarming news that there has been two cases in the Tiverton area (Devon) in the last few weeks of ponies having all or part of their tail hair removed at night by unknown persons. In both cases the ponies all live out, on private property where the owner lives on site. The police have been contacted but can't do anything as there is no evidence of who the culprit is. Apparently the properties are marked in advance with a spray paint marker on the road outside, or another type of mark such as rope tied in the hedge.

My friend personally knows the owner of one of the groups of ponies and he said they were otherwise unharmed, but very unsettled the following morning. The larger horse's tail was untouched, but she is difficult to handle so probably didn't allow herself to be caught. The owners aren't linked, and there is no suggestion that it was a personal attack against them in particular.

No one seems to know why this is being done; when I lived in Devon as a teenager many years ago (not the Tiverton area though) there was a spate of this and some speculation that it might be someone using the hair to make fishing flies, but it seems like a lot of effort to go to.

I don't know if this has happened elsewhere in the country, but if this happens to your horses, or you see any suspicious activity around horse properties, then please let the police know.

 

[MagicMelon]

Out of interest, are they show horses? Wondered if they were and a disgruntled fellow competitor might have been nasty enough to do it?

Seems like a really weird thing to do... never heard of it!

 

[SilverLinings]

Out of interest, are they show horses? Wondered if they were and a disgruntled fellow competitor might have been nasty enough to do it?

Seems like a really weird thing to do... never heard of it!

One lot never leave the property (they are pets), the others do various low level things but not showing, mainly hacking. There have been spates of it in different parts of the country before (I first heard of it when I was a child), but I hadn't heard of it happening for quite a few years. There is no apparent reason for these ones being chosen, no arguments with neighbours or village disputes etc. The horses don't live in the same village either.

 

[ycbm]

Is there a rocking horse maker in the area?

 

[cauda equina]

Is there a rocking horse maker in the area?

If that's the explanation you would think they'd go scrumping for tails further afield; it's usually unwise to sh*t on your own doorstep

 

[Birker2020]

It happened with a horse in one of our fields years ago, I think I read that it had spiritual meaning and it was around the time of a pagan ritual.
The tail had been cut and dumped in the field but we never found the horse with the missing tail. There was a good five or six inches that had been cut off.

Horse Tail Spiritual Meaning: Strength!

Discover the profound spiritual significance associated with horse tails and their symbolism.

spiritualdesk.com

 

[SilverLinings]

Is there a rocking horse maker in the area?

Not that I know of. Surely if anyone wants a tail they could just buy the hair from an abbatoir/incinerator/etc?

I've just googled it and hanks of tail hair appear to be easy to buy, and cheap. A rocking horse is the only reason I can think of that you'd need a whole tail, but I can't imagine an abbatoir would charge much.

 

[Jambarissa]

It happened with a horse in one of our fields years ago, I think I read that it had spiritual meaning and it was around the time of a pagan ritual.
The tail had been cut and dumped in the field but we never found the horse with the missing tail. There was a good five or six inches that had been cut off.

Horse Tail Spiritual Meaning: Strength!

Discover the profound spiritual significance associated with horse tails and their symbolism.

spiritualdesk.com

That is strange, this happened to us earlier this year. A huge chunk (about 1/3 of a TB tail) in one of our fields, it was grey and none of the horses were. Quick check of all the other grey horses and none had tail missing. Wierd.

Odd that the fields have been marked, although paint at one and a rope at another could be anything.

I could definitely believe a pagan ritual. Or maybe some celeb has a horsehair accessory and someone's gone to the closest field and helped themselves.

 

[paddy555]

No one seems to know why this is being done; when I lived in Devon as a teenager many years ago (not the Tiverton area though) there was a spate of this and some speculation that it might be someone using the hair to make fishing flies, but it seems like a lot of effort to go to.

I remember that a long time ago. I cannot remember what the conclusion was if there even was one.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

I am East Devon...... this is a little too close for comfort.

 

[Nevin's Run]

We had some mane and tail cutting in Lancashire a few years back, I don't think the reason/culprit was ever discovered but it's a worrying thing. In our situation it was probably just troublemakers (ne'er-do-wells!) but marking the gates does add to the mystery.

People always speculate it's for rocking horses etc, but it's inexpensive and easy to buy clean, conditioned horse hair from slaughter (the international market being so much bigger), so it wouldn't make sense for someone to go creeping round fields risking injury and discovery for a handful of dirty hacked-off hair.

 

[Birker2020]

Or it could be people doing this to see if it works

How to make the horse hair stopper

The "horse hair stopper" was made famous in Danny Champion of the World by Roald Dahl. We show you how to make it.

themightyeagle.co.uk

 

[Time for Tea]

We’ve had that around our area, people used to say it was to mark horses to steal, in the night. Nobody seemed to lose any horses though.

 

[toppedoff]

I saw a post on Facebook showing one but I believe it was American so not very local to here

 

[Time for Tea]

Odd behaviour worldwide then!
Someone tied a ribbon to my field gate once, I didn’t like that. I cut it off. I suppose it could have been a kid who had lost a ribbon and someone put it there for safety. Nevertheless, I was suspicious.

 

[SadKen]

You occasionally hear about animal attacks linked to ‘paganism’ (although it is not paganism at all in reality).

Goes back a while too. We are past Lughnasa and a way to go to the Equinox. There are two super moons this month but I can’t see that being a trigger. Hopefully it won’t continue, it’s possible that the culprit doesn’t realise how important a tail is to a horse. Not that it’s any excuse of course, but it’s preferable to think that they weren’t planning to do harm.

Is witchcraft behind these cruel attacks on horses?

Is witchcraft behind these cruel attacks on horses? ; Welfare groups probe occult links as sinister assaults on animals continue to rise Mail on Sunday

www.religionnewsblog.com

 

[Tardebigge]

I am always dubious about these stories that say a location has been marked with paint, a cable tie or whatever. It just doesn't stand up to logical scrutiny. If you were intent on stealing something you had seen, you'd just return at a quiet time and steal it. If you wanted to let your mates know there was something worth stealing, you'd message them and give them the exact location, perhaps with a photo, surely? Why would you want to go all (not so) secret squirrel by marking the location?

 

[Highmileagecob]

An acquaintance related a similar story a few years ago, about friend's horses losing tails. Very similar circumstances to the above post. They eventually discovered the lambs were chewing the tails.

 

[J&S]

There was never any "warning" signs when horses were mutilated in the New Forest area some 40 years ago, it was a very serious spate of incidents.

 

[SilverLinings]

I remember that a long time ago. I cannot remember what the conclusion was if there even was one.

As far as I remember it just petered out. I can remember a of of speculation about the possible reason, but don't think the answer was ever discovered, or that anyone was caught.

I am always dubious about these stories that say a location has been marked with paint, a cable tie or whatever. It just doesn't stand up to logical scrutiny. If you were intent on stealing something you had seen, you'd just return at a quiet time and steal it. If you wanted to let your mates know there was something worth stealing, you'd message them and give them the exact location, perhaps with a photo, surely? Why would you want to go all (not so) secret squirrel by marking the location?

It was the police who mentioned the marking, and the person my friend knows then went and looked and found an 'X' spray painted on the short grass verge at the point where the hedge was thinnest (and out of view of the house), which was the only place someone could push through (and then climbe over the fence) if they didn't want to enter via the main drive. I don't know if there was a mark at the second property. They are both very rural so I suppose if you did a recce in advance/in daylight then it might be hard to find the right access point in the dark as there aren't any obvious landmarks etc.

An acquaintance related a similar story a few years ago, about friend's horses losing tails. Very similar circumstances to the above post. They eventually discovered the lambs were chewing the tails.

Unfortunately neither properties cross-graze, or have neighbouring stock. The tails were also cut straight across at the bottom of the dock so scissors look to be the most likely tool.

Hopefully there won't be any more cases, especially with the flies being so bad at the moment.