This is long but I’m super creeped out!! I was able to move my horses home last fall after a nightmare of a barn I spent a few months at. No issues, its been wonderful to have them home but yesterday something odd happened. I spent the afternoon yesterday laying paver base and sand in my outdoor grooming/wash area to level the ground and lay rubber mats, horses were left happily munching hay as I went to pick up my daughter from school.
Came home an hour later to my two mares galloping their paddock. My younger mare was terrified like I’ve never seen her before. She was dripping head to toe covered in sweat and galloped for an hour straight staring towards the wood line and front of her paddock towards the road, she wouldn’t let me or my daughter anywhere near her, just kept running, stopping, blowing, repeat. Every muscle was shaking from running, it was really disturbing to watch. She finally started to settle, still watching the same area, occasionally trotting, etc. I kept an eye on her for an additional hour and then headed out to my daughters barn for her lesson. I really didn’t know what to think at this point. She is not bombproof but she is used to dirt bikes, four wheelers, gun shots, deer, other horses trail riding in the distance, semi trucks driving by, etc. So this was definitely out of her norm.
I came back home about two hours later and by this time dark, made up their dinner and walked down to feed them and noticed immediately the chain on my main gate was not left how I leave it, I always pull it tight otherwise the gate sways back and forth with the wind. Next, I walk to the main paddock gate, and the lock I had latched but didn’t turn the combination on, was wide open and the chain undone. At this point I knew someone had been there. I put down their grain, walk around with a flashlight and find cowboy boot prints that walked right on the freshly laid sand and paver base I had earlier been working on. My mare was was still a mess, trotting on and off, wouldn’t let me get anywhere near her, just still entirely out of character. She wouldn’t come for grain, eat hay, nothing.
I started to lose it! I have a camera in my horses shelter to keep an eye on them if I’m gone for a long day but it doesn’t show the entrance where this occurred. I called the sheriffs office this morning and filed a report. I dealt with a lunatic at my last barn who has serious problems, drugs etc, and she out of the blue called me and texted me two months ago about her new horse (she got the last one taken by animal control) and I told her again to lose my number I don’t know why you’re calling me. This is the only person that I can think of who might mess with my animals, I have no issues with anyone else at all, this girl had it out from me day one I moved to the last barn and I’m only a few miles from there. Anyways, I don’t know for sure but I don’t know or have issues with anyone else what so ever. I’m super freaked out. My mare finally ate this morning, her muscles all still twitching and she keeps staring off to the area of whatever mortified her. I checked her over for bb’s or pellet gun marks or anything else and was sort of shocked that I didn’t find anything.
I plan to get additional cameras up and trail cams on the wood line, but this is disturbing and a very intrusive feeling. Whatever mortified my horse, happened in the hour I went to pick up my daughter. Whoever came down to my property came in the few hours I left to take my daughter to her lesson. It’s important to note my horses sit on the far side of my property, then there is a thin wood line and a new house that was recently built that’s still empty on the other side where it super easy to access my horses field, their shelter and tack room. Their shelter is large and my hay barn is on the corner of my property so it acts as a huge blind spot from my house if someone were to come up from the property next door. I’m creeped out and worried they will continue to be messed with!!! I needed to vent and look for advice. Other than cameras, gate locks, filing a report, I have solar lighting at the gates although not terribly bright, but I don’t know what else to do and can’t figure out what may have happened to my horses, especially my younger mare. I’m super upset. 
But no dog tracks or track of any kind other than the boots were there. A friend of mine told me that just a few miles up the road there was a recent break in to someone’s horse trailer, took all their tack. Maybe they were checking out my tack room? Not sure what would explain my horses behavior though.
