My dogs scare away most door knockers. And I live on a private road, so no one should be door knocking to begin with. So no, I don’t like them.
I’d be more concerned about YOUR safety - the door knocker person! Really, not safe to be knocking on strangers’ doors - even small private farms. I would never do this alone. I would just leave a note in the mailbox, or make note of the address and send a card or letter…something to the effect of “if you have any openings, here is my email address” and a little bit about you.
Can you get the owner’s mailing address(es) from the county assessor (or whomever collects taxes on the properties) and then send them snail mail???
Safer all the way around IMO.
Man people have gotten psycho recently. No wonder we have so many neighbors and police shooting people. 99.99% of strangers are no up to anything sinister. Some of you need to get back to reality and stop acting like you live in a post apocalypse zombie movie.
I personally wouldn’t mind if it happened on the weekend and I was there. Had a recent encounter that sorta weirded me out…had talked with this lady back in January about riding lessons for her granddaughter. Got a random Facebook message from her last week “hey went by your house but you weren’t home, your horses are lovely and so friendly”.
I was like yeah…I work so not at home during the day “yea I figured, but we happened to be in the area and figured we’d just swing by just in case”
I immediately texted my husband “hey honey, how’s that driveway gate coming?”
[QUOTE=tangledweb;8302385]
Man people have gotten psycho recently. No wonder we have so many neighbors and police shooting people. 99.99% of strangers are no up to anything sinister. Some of you need to get back to reality and stop acting like you live in a post apocalypse zombie movie.[/QUOTE]
You don’t know that. Just in the last week we’ve had six homes and vehicles burglarized in our idyllic little village. People roll through rural areas knocking on doors trying to scam people all the time. It’s not paranoid to know that, as a girl alone, if I open the door for a strange man it is easy for him to barge in and overpower me, it’s prudent. That’s how people get robbed, raped, and killed. It’s not like we’re all shoving the barrel of a shotgun out the door…
Agree w/Mosey. And same here. Weird stuff can happen anytime, anywhere. Once heard great advice from a friend - “If you don’t want to BE a victim, don’t act like one”…a.e., lock your doors, be aware of surroundings, etc. This really hit home for me.
[QUOTE=tangledweb;8302385]
Man people have gotten psycho recently. No wonder we have so many neighbors and police shooting people. 99.99% of strangers are no up to anything sinister. Some of you need to get back to reality and stop acting like you live in a post apocalypse zombie movie.[/QUOTE]
That’s cute. The last stranger that came to my house tried to rob me while I was in the shower. Chihuahua & co escorted him out. It was almost funny, except for I very surely could have been seriously hurt or killed that day if that chihuahua I just HAPPENED to be reluctantly fostering hadn’t been such a vicious little a$$hat.
People have been dangerous in our entire evolutionary line. We have been eliminating, eradicating, killing, sacrificing, devouring, pillaging, thieving and raping since before we had a formed language.
There is nothing in the world so dangerous as a person, just remember that.
People have every right to suspect a strange someone approaching them either wants something taken from them or something given to them. Especially in the privacy of their own home.
I don’t think that violence has risen in the past couple of decades, nor do I believe people have really gone psycho - but I do think now there is more awareness about the atrocities humans are capable of committing.
I completely understand the coldness I was given when I was knocking in upstate NY. Honestly, if someone approached my house now asking to board (we haven’t gotten anyone yet) I’d be very cold to them too. I might ask a few questions to gauge if they were fruitbats or not but honestly there are very real people out there who have very real sociopathic or psychopathic tendencies and someone who is trusting or warm will be very easily beguiled.
[QUOTE=tangledweb;8302385]
Man people have gotten psycho recently. No wonder we have so many neighbors and police shooting people. 99.99% of strangers are no up to anything sinister. Some of you need to get back to reality and stop acting like you live in a post apocalypse zombie movie.[/QUOTE]
I’m with you. By and large the vast majority of people have nothing but good intents.
According to a recent study a lot of people think/feel we live in more “dangerous” times then those who were brought up in the 60s and 70s.
When in fact according to national crime statistics that’s just not correct.
It’s a perception brought on by 24 hour “news” on umpteen different stations. All of which are competing or advertising dollars. There’s not a lot of interest, “attention getting” in reporting that “all is well”.
For every “rape, rob and pillaging” we hear about now there were at least twice as many 40 years ago. But the News didn’t “focus” on that. But because the various 24-7 “News” channels have a lot of air time to fill we hear about everything, big or small. There was basically only 1 hour of “News” a day. Thirty minutes of “local” and 30 minutes of “national”. The “News” was not a “profit center” for the networks. It was a public service. A public service mandated by the FCC as part of being “granted” free of charge the public domain referred to as the “air waves”.
We have people drive up and ask if we board horses from time to time. I don’t have a problem with it. They better have some time, I a bit of a gabber. Don’t get off the farm much.
Putting a note in the mail box with contract information is a good way of going about it.
I would rather take my “chances” than live being paranoid. I am not naïve I lived in parts of NYC that I guarantee the majority of people would consider pretty scary. Hitched hiked around the country years back.
[QUOTE=Where’sMyWhite;8300028]
“What knockers” from Mel Brooke’s Young Frankenstein is what came to my mind.[/QUOTE]
First thing I thought of. Looks like I’m not the only one. Love the movie need to revisit it’s been a while.
If you’re concerned about the legality of leaving notes in mailboxes, how about posting a flyer at your local vet or feedstore?
The BBs at my local TSC & feedstore always have ads either offering or asking about boarding.
I live alone in a semi-rural area. Five different housing developments just down the road, but lots of small acreages right around me.
Maybe stupid, but in warm weather my front & back doors are always open w/screen door locked.
Even when I’m at the barn - 250’ from house - or running errands off-property.
I moved from a major BigCity & would never have done this there.
I don’t think anything much about them as I get them ALL the time. Mostly farm business looking for hay, straw, eggs, chickens, rabbits, coops, etc. You get the idea. I seem to be a local community farmer person, so it just kind of goes with the turf. I get asked to rent or sell something (buildings, land, parcels etc) on a very regular basis, so I wonder if others farmers are like me and just used to it.
Anyways that’s my pondering on the matter.
[QUOTE=gumtree;8302818]
I would rather take my “chances” than live being paranoid. I am not naïve I lived in parts of NYC that I guarantee the majority of people would consider pretty scary. Hitched hiked around the country years back.[/QUOTE]
I just don’t consider not opening the door for strangers paranoid. I consider it smart. I’m not hiding in the house, scared that someone’s coming to get me, but I’m not going to be an easy target, either.
I don’t really like it when people stop by. Maybe because when they do, I always seem to be sleeping, sitting down to a meal, in the shower, or having sex?? It never fails. 
Maybe try calling/visiting a larger lesson barn, and speak with someone there? If they give you a name of a smaller private farm, you could look up the person’s phone number or facebook them a message, instead of just showing up.
Since I work night shift, I might be a bit annoyed if you knocked on my door and woke my butt up. If it weren’t for that I wouldn’t care. But if you see me or DH out, feel free. I’m not paranoid, or scared. I’d probably turn down your request but might offer you a free horse.
I honestly thought this was about a door knocker. I was like well mine is brass and I don’t really have many feelings about it. I think it is pretty functional.
But then I read the first post. I don’t like when people stop by the farm. It makes me nervous. I dislike stopping what I’m doing to answer questions. I have signs out and I prefer that you find me by the internet or Facebook off my signs.
I have a little 2 acre micro ranch in a semi rural area. I get knockers all the time. Far to many even with private property sign. The horses and arena are visible from the road and they come in with all kinds of things… Is the big horse trailer for sale…? Is the little horse trailer for sale…? Do you do lessons…? Do you have horses for sale…? Are your jumps for sale…? To my favorite… My daughter wants to volunteer to ride your ponies…and she is an wonderful rider since she went to horse camp last year. All seem very nice, but it does become over whelming at some point. I guess if I wanted to run a sales barn it might have been a good location. I would work the local vets and farriers for where you are interested and make connections this way. Also feed stores. Hang a card on the bulletin board. Good luck in your quest!
The way I feel is if I wanted boarders, I’d have a sign out front or advertise. This is my personal home, where I also happen to work. No one should be wandering around uninvited.
The number of people who think its perfectly acceptable to pass multiple no trespassing signs to knock on a door or wander around private property because it has horses on it, just amazes me.
There’s one woman who has stopped by my property multiple times…how many times do I have to say “no” before it sinks in that I’m not interested in boarding?
And don’t get me started on the nitwits that think it’s OK to come on the property to “pet the horse”. My horses are not along the road; they’re way back behind my house.
Sorry, but this one hit a nerve. I’m not paranoid, although I am careful because I live alone. We have enough crime in this general area. In fact, after I moved in, I found out that the previous owners were burglarized twice.
Sorry, but I’d be more than a little pissed. We installed a gate with a security code for just this reason. If you’re not invited, you are not welcome. A couple of crazies ruined it for everyone else.
Interesting reading about different people’s experiences and how they feel about this in different parts of the country.
I don’t get “walk up” inquiries very often. If I were getting lots of them I would find it annoying also. I would hang up a sign saying no boarding available. Hoping that would eliminate and or cut down on the traffic.
Our farm name is on a sign at the entrance. We come up pretty much first on the list when Googled so people drop me an email more times than not.
We are also located in an area with lots of horse farms.
As to putting a note in the mail box. Technically it is against postal rules and regs. But that’s more pointed towards unwanted commercial “mail box stuffing”. No one going to report the person to the Postmaster General.
