Who's had fly fringes / masks cut?

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Wozpril

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As the title really.
For the last few years now at our yard we have had someone cutting up our horses fly fringes, and fly masks. We have even had 'eye holes' cut into fly masks either while still on the horses or put back on after! This has resulted in one of the horses being cut on the head, presumably by scissors or a knife, and previously fine horses becoming head shy / difficult to put their fly protection on.
We know the closest yard to us has experienced similar problems and we have both contacted the police, who gave us posters to put up saying why the horses wore fly protection, that it is criminal damage etc.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this? If so, what did you do?
We've thought about camping out to catch whoever it is, but it's so random that it would be difficult.
Our liveries go up at all different times throughout the day and evening so I'm surprised we haven't caught anyone yet!
Also we are on a foot path and enough locals know we're having this problem and they haven't seen anything either!
I can understand (just) a do-gooder, thinking a mask is cruel, but fly fringes??
:)
 
Yes, there is a lady in the field next to us who has a laminitic pony, he has a grazing muzzle on from March - October whenever he is out. Someone has cut this off him a few times. The lady left notices explaining that it wasn't cruel and he needed it otherwise he will become very ill, but I think it did happen again once after that.

She was also using magnetic boots on her other horse and these were taken off the horse whilst it was in the stable and they were later found abandoned in another field. She says other things have also gone walk a bouts, or found in places they were not left.

Others in the area have also had head collars cut off horses that are hard to catch etc, so these people must be familiar with horses or they wouldn't be able to get near them to get the head collars off!

Having said that, touch wood, nothing weird has happened where we are. But, I have recently put a grazing muzzle on my new horse (who is black) and purposely bought a black muzzle so no one could see it.
 
I get what you mean about people thinking muzzles are mean, but when OH's boss, wife and some poeple in the office were I work asked...... If you horsey people love your horses so much then why do put them out in a field blind folded??

I really had to think what the hell they were on about, then clicked they meant fly masks!! I had to tell them that the horses can see through them and they are not blind folded so may be other people think the same??

But lucky never had a muzzle cut off or a fly mask/fringe all the houses around my boy have horses and know what they are doing :)
 
How strange, I hope you get to the bottom of it.

It isnt quite the same but might help, years ago we had horses on land we rented and rugs started going missing off the horses backs during the night. We found some pretend cctv cameras that are basically a fake camera with red led lights that flash brightly. We put these up and CCTV signs everywhere and it didnt happen again.

It wont explain who is doing it but definately works as a deterrent if you have a suitable place to put them :)
 
I've had grazing muzzles cut off my Cushings pony. She's also been let out into the hayfield and fed piles of bread and cakes. We are in a rural area and the field is up a private track several hundred metres long:(
 
Yes I understand why people thing it is cruel, but you wouldn't jump into someones back garden and take their dogs collar off, or remove a bandage or something, so I don't understand why some strange people think it is acceptable to do with horses!

If they think the horse is a welfare case then they should phone a charity or something!
 
Exactely! It's not just in the holidays, it's the whole fly season unfortunately :(
Never had any winter trouble with rugs or anything.
It seems to happen either late at night or very early in the morning when most kids wouldn't be around.
As I said, people are coming and going all day and loads of people walk through on the footpath. We're all keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, and I'm amazed no one has seen anything!
 
Had dog walkers ask why he is blindfolded but after explaining it to them they have always been happy about the reasons behind it and that he can see.
 
Someone at my work asked why you would turn a horse out blindfolded. It took me a good 5-10mins to explain that it was likely a fly mask and yes the do look solid from a far but when your close up you can see through them fine.

Ill informed do-gooders can do so much damage!
 
How strange! I get lots of people asking why the horses have masks on just because they look funny, I just tell them why and also mine had an eye infection and will rub dust into his eyes if they are itchy, I like to think most people would understand once you tell them!

I think it is fairly obvious they can see through it once you get up close enough to cut holes in it!

I guess a sign explaining why is the best way but it is so annoying people interfering! I try and drop these things into conversation with people who stop and talk to me over the fence if I can, mainly for the sake of the many small ponies who get fed all kinds of stuff on the footpaths :-\
 
Gosh how rude of people to go about doing these things! My mare would probably kill anyone who approached her head with a pair of scissors!!

Our postman asked me if one of our horses was blind - "is that why he has to wear a blind fold?" (fly mask). Surely if he was blind, he wouldn't need a blindfold??!! :confused:
 
Could you try putting up one of the wildlife cameras to catch whoever is doing it? We got one for our remote field as it works on batteries rather than electricity supply. You could train it on the entrance to the field to see exactly who is going into the field or using the path - it might narrow down the possible offenders??
 
mine has had their flymasks come off....

i just assumed she had rubbed it off (its velcro and very secure)?

my other brat has pulled her flyfringe off and found bits of it accross the field?

were in a very rural area - and the field is within another massive field - so tbh i think its them rubbing it off on a fence! :D
 
We had this happen a few times over the summer at our yard, but only in the geldings' field, not the mares' which is closer to the road.
The culprit...
The geldings play, so were removing eachother's masks and muzzles, then Mr Fox would come along and have a good chew on the result!! Foxes can cut through nylon like a knife, indeed it loks like it's been cut with one. I'm not saying that is the case in the OP's yard if the horses are still wearing them, but I bet 9 times out of 10, when someone finds something looking like it's been cut off, it's the fox that did it!!
 
lhotse said:
We had this happen a few times over the summer at our yard, but only in the geldings' field, not the mares' which is closer to the road.
The culprit...
The geldings play, so were removing eachother's masks and muzzles, then Mr Fox would come along and have a good chew on the result!! Foxes can cut through nylon like a knife, indeed it loks like it's been cut with one. I'm not saying that is the case in the OP's yard if the horses are still wearing them, but I bet 9 times out of 10, when someone finds something looking like it's been cut off, it's the fox that did it!!
Click to expand...

Interesting! I would have thought foxes would leave more of a chewed look!!

Not convinced that foxes can remove magnetic boots though....:D
 
Mine has a fab forelock, only fine but nostril length, & noticeable because the rest of her is tidied. One summer I kept finding it plaited (neatly, not wind plaits) or pinned up with hair pins. Eventually the culprits turned out to be two old lady dog walkers who felt sorry for the poor horse with the hair in its eyes. Apparently they'd kept her occupied with food while they did it daily. They apologised, but still nearly strangled them with their dog leads when they admitted they had tried to keep her still to cut it off. Luckily pony had objected to random old codger holding her still at the base of her forelock & waving scissors in her face. What really annoyed me was the fact I had regularly seen them at other times & they had never bothered asking about it.
Known muzzles removed too in the past. And as a kid, one horses nz disappeared. We found it weeks later in some woods, a tramp had set up camp using it as a roof for his makeshift shelter.
 
CobsGalore said:
Interesting! I would have thought foxes would leave more of a chewed look!!

Not convinced that foxes can remove magnetic boots though....:D
Click to expand...

No, they can leave it looking very much like it's been cut, although if they take it back for their cubs, then it gets chewed. We often have the ropes on the x-country fences taken off by foxes and it looks like a knife has done it, but it's the foxes!!
I'm sure the horse could remove the boots though, if it put it's mind to it!!
 
Littlelegs, that is just outrageous! People just can't seem to resist interfering. Why don't they just ask?!
Our horses are kept mainly in separate areas so wouldn't be another horse. If fixed, can see if they chewed the fringe bits, but the straps on ours were cut too. Next to the Velcro, which is especially annoying as they could just undo it instead!
 
lhotse said:
The geldings play, so were removing eachother's masks and muzzles, then Mr Fox would come along and have a good chew on the result!! Foxes can cut through nylon like a knife, indeed it loks like it's been cut with one. I'm not saying that is the case in the OP's yard if the horses are still wearing them, but I bet 9 times out of 10, when someone finds something looking like it's been cut off, it's the fox that did it!!
Click to expand...

My friend's horse got her fly fringe off one day as I think she just rubbed the velcro undone, I was baffled where it was but found it right over in another paddock all in tiny pieces, darned foxes have razors for teeth!

My Gelding does have an over the fence friend who kindly takes his fly mask off for him sometimes :-) although I don't think his hooves could manage a plaited forelock! How peculiar of those women to do that!
 
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