Horse thefts...how to protect your horses?

[valkyrie36]

Is it just that I’m paying more attention, or are horse thefts on the rise?

Frankly, this scares the crap out of me. I have horses that catch easily, load easily, etc… I fear they would be easy targets if someone wanted to steal them in the night. We live in a very rural area.

Does locking the main gate really help when the fence itself could be easily taken down? My horses are microchipped but that doesn’t give me much peace of mind about getting them back if they ever were stolen.

What things can be done to make it more difficult for would be horse theives?

[MistyBlue]

I have security cameras…both obvious and camouflaged to invisibility. That’s a help for my peace of mind.

One of the huge benefits of my property is that someone has to e a mountain goat to get from the road to my horses, the street is up a steep incline that’s heavily treed with tons of underbrush and huge outcrops of sheer ledge. For me to get from the paddock to the road requires holding onto branches to get up there. Horses won’t really fit through the fauna. So any would-be thieves have to drive all the way up my driveway past the barn (and 15-20’ above it), around a circle and past my house and then make a hair-pin turn back and down a steep grade driveway to the barn. And that’s IF they’re pretty damned talented with a truck and trailer because most can’t navigate the turn off from the street onto my driveway. I suppose they could walk that distance, open the gate and walk the horses back that distance to a trailer waiting in the street, but our streets are so narrow and heavily wooded and twisty that a parked compact car on it blocks traffic.

So thankfully I don’t worry overly about theft. It can be scary to worry about.

[Calvincrowe]

A determined thief is hard to stop, but secured gates, plural, is a good idea. Not having horses near the road. Fences that are not easily cut/removed.

I do think most thefts are really personal matters/domestic disputes/leases gone bad, etc.

Not really what you are asking about, but if your state has a “brand inspection” or state registry of livestock, then make sure your horse has a card. At least here in WA, a brand inspection card insures that if your horse is stolen, the state can pursue the thieves legally, with their own investigators. My horse was stolen and transported to Canada by the woman who was leasing him. Without the state’s help, I’d never have recovered him. Law enforcement considered it a civil matter and would do nothing. Many COTHrs helped me get him home, too.

[ReSomething]

Board fence with mesh backing. Anything that slows down a thief, gates or access issues, no halters.

If some one targets a specific horse, like that crazy woman that stole the college rodeo horse named Credit Card as a spite gesture, there’s not a whole lot to be done unless it’s a totally private facility with locked gates, locked barn and stalls. But still horses need turn out, bolt cutters cut padlocks, it’s just hard.

[furlong47]

I don’t think they’re necessarily on the rise, just that we hear more about it these days with the internet/forums/Facebook/etc spreading information so quickly.

I also think the majority of these cases aren’t outright random theft, but rather civil matters or contract disputes.

[OkLurchers]

I think an electric tape at the top of the fence or a couple of tapes helps to deter humans and animals from disturbing horses (or more). I’ve actually seen this work in action…used to have electric fence where our riding area bordered the main drive for 4 families’ acreages. Any number of times over the years I’d be riding and someone would walk down the drive and ask if the fence was on. I always said ‘yes’ b/c that kept people from going through the fence to get to the horses. One time, an adult male walking with a group of kids made like he was going through the fence (don’t know why–to impress the kids maybe?) I yelled to him the fence was on. Stopped him in his tracks.
Electric fences are a good thing IMHO.