Do you know who this child is? Was your neighbor able to identify her? If not, I would start canvasing the neighborhood until you find out where she lives. You may find that other neighbors are also having problems.
[QUOTE=Tommy’s Girl;3372987]
I have to say I’m really disheartened by the tone of the replies to this post. You have a curious, if misdirected, young girl obviously interested in horses, and you’re first reaction is to call the police on her and punish her for her curiousity. Why on earth not foster her interest - give her a constructive and meaningful way to spend her time, teach her that waving a stick at horses is not a good thing to do (something blatantly obvious to us adults, but not to a uneducated child), and you could have a great stable hand, paddock guard, tack cleaner, what have you… Assuming that a young girl would automatically know that she could injure your horses by making them run is a sad assumption to make on your part. Probably the only exposure she’s had to horses in the media or books is when they’re running about, not grazing - just a thought.
Of course, I’m sure your horses are valuable not only monetarily but sentimentally, so it makes sense to protect your investment. But who do you think is best suited to relay that to this little girl? A police officer who’s going to scare her, a mother who’s probably going to spank her or you, who could give her a genuine and lasting sense of care and respect for your horses (or all horses) and their value to you?
My two cents.[/QUOTE]
Wow! Thanks for illustrating all of the things that are problematic about attitudes toward children today! You see, we are so concerned about protecting little Suzy Q’s fragile little ego, that we forget what a little monster she could turn into when things don’t go her way.
This kid thinks she just so gosh darn entitled that who cares what the adult says. . .she is going to do whatever the heck she wants (and destroy property in the progress and potential injure the horses and herself) because no one ever bothered to put a limit on this kid’s world. Perhaps a trip to the proverbial woodshed would have done this girl a world of good!
Interestingly, my 11 y.o. nephew was listening to me rant about this earlier (before the OP indicated that the kid had damaged the fence) and said that the kid would probably do something mean in response. His mother asked him if he thought some of his friends would do that. He said yes. His mother then asked if he knew what she would do to him if she ever heard of him doing anything like that (a good, respectful kid who loves horses and would never even think of such a thing). He got a panicked look on his face and said that he didn’t want to think too hard on that but he was pretty sure he wouldn’t sit down for about a week – which would be bad since he would be grounded with nothing else to do for that week and beyond! (Note: My sister is in no way abusive, but she has gasp spanked both her boys and they are about the happiest and most well adjusted and nice to be around kids I have ever met!).
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IANAL, but this strikes me as a genuinely Bad Idea, both from a legal and a public relations standpoint.
I would not be surprised if such an action might lead to criminal charges, and I can only imagine what a field day the local news would have with “Irate Horseowner Shoots Pony Loving Child With Paint Gun”…:eek:
Still catching up on all the posts. Just wanted to say that I’m not gonna shoot her with a paint ball gun. Not gonna do anything to hurt her at all. 
I have an apointment with the police on Monday to show them pics etc. Wish me luck!
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Yeah, I would be a little more than pissed off if I was in the OP’s situation. I mean an 11-12 yr old is old enough to know better. It makes me mad to just think about finding someone chasing my horses.I would do everything I could do protect my horses and property such as calling police, contacting parents, getting a big mean guard god:)…etc…
If the girl has a change of attitude and genuinely expressed remorse for being a brat and REALLY wanted to learn about horses, I would accept her apology and help educate her. But I certainly wouldn’t right off her behavior just because she is young. It is unacceptable. Period.
I agree with those who say document everything. The wildlife camera sounds like a particularly good idea. Any qualms about being “mean” or “unkind” to the child would have disappeared for me at the sight of the downed fenceline.
Good luck with the police and the situation, which stinks. 
Ghazzu- what is IANAL?
Find out who she is and her parents and have a talk with all of them. Then if it keeps happening that’s when I’d call the authorities. Maybe you can teach her a few things…
[QUOTE=MHM;3373489]
Ghazzu- what is IANAL?[/QUOTE]
Just guessing here, but maybe ----I am not a lawyer…
Ah. Thanks!
There is something seriously wrong with the majority of you people.If this woman does not know who her neighbors are, in a rural area, I will bet that if you poll the neighbors you will hear plenty about her. There was a posting a few weeks ago about a mountain lion in a pasture. Lots of people defended the lion. This is a child, no one knows her name or anything about her yet the venom is spewing. This spitefull tone and attitude towards people works against horse owners every time. If my kid came home and told me that someone had yelled at her, I would find that person and make their life very, very miserable. If my child were at fault I would take responsibility, but nobody is going to get away with going after my child. There is an American Indian saying which goes something like “We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”
[QUOTE=facinated;3373576]
There is something seriously wrong with the majority of you people.If this woman does not know who her neighbors are, in a rural area, I will bet that if you poll the neighbors you will hear plenty about her. There was a posting a few weeks ago about a mountain lion in a pasture. Lots of people defended the lion. This is a child, no one knows her name or anything about her yet the venom is spewing. This spitefull tone and attitude towards people works against horse owners every time. If my kid came home and told me that someone had yelled at her, I would find that person and make their life very, very miserable. If my child were at fault I would take responsibility, but nobody is going to get away with going after my child. There is an American Indian saying which goes something like “We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”[/QUOTE]
Two wrongs will still not make one right.:no:
We don’t live under native indian laws, but English ones.
There is a reason horses are considered legally “attractive nuisances”, along with pools and assorted other out there and we have to protect the public from them.
Because people don’t have any sense, not only kids, but adults also.
Just wait until it comes home to roost and someone bothers your horses to the degree that poster is being harassed and then call her a meany and say if she is entitled to peace in her own land or not.
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facinated (sic)—are you saying that no one except yourself could discipline your child?
Are you the mother of the little monster in this thread?
Seriously, did you not read the OP? This is not a toddler, it is a preteen who is very much aware of what she is doing, of how much harm it is causing, AND escalated the damage.
What a bunch of hooey…
What a bunch of hooey. So some stranger kid who’s not being supervised is more important than the safety and well being of the OP’s horses?
Oh, please do poll my neighbours. :yes: I’m sure you would hear lots about me, mostly that I’m polite, quiet and help those who need it. Blowing my own trumpet, but I don’t like what you’re implying. My lovely next door farmer dosen’t know this kid either, and his family has lived on that farm for 50+ years. I have a feeling that she’s here on vacation or her family has just moved to the area.
There was a posting a few weeks ago about a mountain lion in a pasture. Lots of people defended the lion.
Really? Comparing a big cat and a kid? The girl knows that chasing horses is bad. I’m gonna take a wild guess here and say that she knows ripping down fencing is bad. You’re saying a lion knows right from wrong like that?
This is a child, no one knows her name or anything about her yet the venom is spewing. This spitefull tone and attitude towards people works against horse owners every time.
Oookay, so you’d be fine with someone coming onto your property, chasing your animals and damaging your fencing? Where do you live? I’ll send her over to you.
If she’d asked… hell, if she’d just been petting them, I would have happily introduced her to all the horses. I might’ve even given her a pony ride on Lilly. She didn’t do that.
If my kid came home and told me that someone had yelled at her, I would find that person and make their life very, very miserable. If my child were at fault I would take responsibility, but nobody is going to get away with going after my child. There is an American Indian saying which goes something like “We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”
If it was my child, I would be grateful that someone was disciplining them for me. If I’d done that as a kid, my mother would have killed me. I’d still be grounded now.
You have a really weird attitude. I can’t figure you out at all.
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I bet the Native Americans also taught their children consequences for their actions, social boundaries and how to respect their elders.
There was a time too when any adult could punish a disrespectful/destructive/trouble making child… helped keep kids in check… unfortunately those days are long gone. Now kids are mollycoddled so that their precious egos don’t get bruised, they grow up to be selfish adults with “give me” attitudes and complete lack of regard for others.
Kooki, good luck for Monday.
Could you run the fence 4 strand and off the mains for a while?
We have a desginated rural PC in my bit of England and said child would be dealt with PDQ. Is it a CHAV interloper?
If your horses are crow scarer proof, borrow a gas one and set it off next time, should scare the bejesus out of her or borrow a large, bad tempered horse with big teeth.
Guys, here in the UK there is an increasing number of vexatious litigants who sue at the drop of a hat.
With PI now on a No Win No Fee basis, even with notices and disclaimers, believe me, it one of Kookies horses injured said child or it even so much as scratched itself on her hedge or fence, there would be a “wheres theres blame, theres a claim” firm of Solicitor working double time to try and fix the blame on Kooki.
Conditional and contingency fee agreements have made spurious claims rife in the County (civil) Courts.
We seem to have entered an era here in the UK, where if someone’s horse so much as farts on a member of the general public, the owner will be threatened with a claim.
It is one of the reasons that over here having horse insurance including Public Liability and Legal Cover is the norm.:yes:
Again, good luck Kooki.
Paddy
Didn’t read all of the post but did you find out who she is and try speaking with her parents?
Two similar situations:
The first was when I was a child…the neighbors younger child was kicked in the chin a glancing blow…peeled off all the meat to his ear. Had it been on he would have died. The mother said…oh he’s been going in there playing with the colts for a long while!! duh…
the second :
I came home to find two young girls 10-11 in my barn with the saddle on one of my horses and attempting to put the bridle on…upside down. I lost it!!! But it was out of horror at what could have happened had they gotten in between my kicking two.
The one girl who was visiting informed they did this all the time…OMG…I flew to her house and immediately had a “Come to Jesus” meeting with her mother.
Do what ever you have to to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
I think making her family aware and then just documenting it with the authorities is a good idea.
difference in kids
kids are different and you can figure that out pretty quickly by watching them. A kid standing in a field with a handful of grass is not the same as a kid wielding a stick and chasing your horses.
I’ve loved horses since I was a baby and begged for one for years. I got my first horse at 10 yrs old and would stop when riding to let kids pet my horse. And I let kids I knew ride my horses. At boarding barns I’ve had to stop kids and their parents who wandered in “to feed the horses carrots” on weekends when I was there riding and the BO was absent. Some horses cannot eat sugars/starches and some bite. I would politely explain this, and tell them not to feed my 2, who at that time had no dietary restrictions, but my wb will nip adults if they hand feed. But there is a big big difference from the well intended people who show up at a field or barn with carrots or apples, and a kid who shows up with a stick. We aren’t being mean, we’re being realistic in this world me live in. Kids kill kids, and some are born with that gene predisposing them to violence. I once boarded very briefly at a barn where a child who had been born crack addicted and adopted, and don’t flame I know kids who were born crack addicted who are wonderful, but this kid had at age 6 or 7 been diagnosed as a potential serial killer:eek: and the adults and their children all talked about this in front of us boarders at the barn. As the BO said, I “wouldn’t believe all the psychotropic drugs” he was on.
and animals know that. My WB would run and hide behind my tb mare when that kid came into their paddock to take Cloudy’s jolly ball, and Cloudy has always loved kids. Not that one. He knew something was wrong and dangerous to him. On the other hand, Cloudy was not afraid of my friend’s lovely autistic daughter at another barn. No dumbblood he!
so please quit flaming those of us who say there are bad kids out there. we don’t hate all kids, I let kids ride Cloudy in lead line classes, free, and let them pet him and Callie for years.
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and this translates into “it’s ok to harass the neighbor’s livestock and mouth off when caught?”
Back when dirt was still under patent and I was a kid, any child was fair game for a tongue-lashing from any adult if we were doing something we shouldn’t be.
Amazingly, I think we all survived to adulthood without having our spirits crushed beyond redemption.
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Too bad this isn’t still the norm. It would save us all a lot of headaches.
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