Self care board and theft

[clanter]

might make a big deal announcing that you wanted to install game cameras then pretend to do so then let the thief search for the none existent cameras

Horse world is no different than the real world where there are people who have no morals.

We had Lexie at a national show, she did well but when loading to come home her halter was gone. Stolen off the stall door. Not a mistake of some one grabbing the wrong halter as hers had her name plate on it. Some jerk took it. Halter has sentimental value as it had been Socrates.

Over the years we have saddles that had the farm name stamped into the leather stolen, a horse trailer stolen

[endlessclimb]

@clanter

We had Lexie at a national show, she did well but when loading to come home her halter was gone. Stolen off the stall door. Not a mistake of some one grabbing the wrong halter as hers had her name plate on it. Some jerk took it. Halter has sentimental value as it had been Socrates.

I’m so sorry this happened to you. I understand the sentimental value of that, and am gutted for you.

[luvmyhackney]

I’ve had so many things stolen or “borrowed” over the years when I boarded. It was wild.

My grooming brushes grew legs, my ponies bit was missing one day cause the lesson pony preferred it. I had two coolers stolen, 1 blanket, gobs of cowboy magic during burr season, lead ropes were always disappearing until I started buying neon orange ones. Thankfully pony stuff doesn’t fit the big horses so they couldn’t use most of his gear.

When I did board at a farm where I provided feed, the barn owner was excellent in keeping everything organized and never lost anything there. It was great.

[trubandloki]

@luvmyhackney

lead ropes were always disappearing until I started buying neon orange ones

Weird colors never worked for me.

I just started buying lead ropes with bull snaps. Everyone else hates bull snaps. I learned to really like them.

[Kinda_Kooky]

As a young Kook I had a big problem with a person boarding 2 horses at the same facility I rented a barn at.

This person rode a horse of mine without permission one night at least, and regularly was stealing feed.

I hid a game camera in a pile of sheep hay that was set aside and angled camera only on my hay stack.

I caught photos only of the thief this way. That very evening. I also caught the thief messing with my tractor. He was a real piece of work.

He did get kicked out eventually, there are more stories about him, unfortunately. A nice barn owner can sometimes be a bad thing.

I told my barn owner that something was messing with my hay and I wanted to put a game camera on it to find out what it was. He had no problem with that.

Good luck to you, I hope the thief is caught for the sake of everyone at the barn.

[Djones]

I am happy with my Tactacam Reveal game cameras. They send me photos within a minute of taking them. Of course you need the BO/BMs approval. There’s a monthly ‘cell phone’ subscription (25 for 2, I would guess 15 ish for one). I think I paid 125 for each camera.

A short cable threaded through handles and a combo lock (think bike lock) will stop feed theft out of a trash can.

Are they stealing whole bales, opening bales, or stealing flakes from already opened bales? Tying the opened bales shut may be enough of a visual “uh-uh, stop it” that it stops.

If you KNOW who is doing it, ask them. “hey, I saw you borrowed X amount of hay. What’s your plan to replace that?” If they deny doing it, fine, just reply with 'there’s maybe a misunderstanding somewhere then. Either way, I bought this hay to get me through the winter and that’s what it’s going to do. I will have to think further about how to handle this". so you aren’t backing off, rather you’ve sent a clear message that you know. And that may stop it.

[Nikki]

Spypoint cell cameras. I have them for hunting deer and they have free plan on limited photos.
They are on sale for $98.00 and it has video too.

Non cell cameras are a bit cheaper and have great quality photos and video. Since you’ll be out everyday, I would get one of those. Wildgame makes a good one

Traditional Trail Cameras | Cabela’s (cabelas.com)

[Texarkana]

I understand not wanting to disrupt the culture and ambiance by putting locks on things. But honestly, from my POV, a camera sends an equivalent, if not worse, message.

Even if you say it’s because of wildlife and everyone buys that excuse… then how are you going to handle it when you catch a thief on camera? “Hey Susie, I noticed on my game cam that it wasn’t actually rats stealing my stuff… it’s you!” Or is the hope that just the knowledge of the camera will deter the action?

[Djones]

It’s true. The camera creates a situation where you have to speak up. Just speaking up is free. It just takes a plan and courage. It doesn’t have to be some huge confrontation…just talking and holding yourself accountable to stay the course.

[trubandloki]

Speaking up is easier when you have facts to back up your claim.

I agree, it does not have to be a confrontation.

Hey Susie, I noticed you have been using my hay and grain. That is not how we do things here at Happy Acres. I assume you will be replacing what you used and stop taking my stuff moving forward. If you need help setting up your hay and grain area, I am sure there are lots of us here at Happy Acres that would help you and share the things we have learned.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

I don’t see any downside padlocking the trash cans with a chain. It protects the grain from raccoons as well as thieves.

I forget if the OP said how the hay was stored, but maybe putting a bright tarp over it, arranging some weights on the corners, and, as someone else said, making it at least more difficult to take hay, and more difficult to conceal that some has been removed (not putting the weights back in the same place is easy). At least it calls attention to the person taking it, when they do.

[Scribbler]

I wonder if there’s such a thing as a little device that gives a huge alarm sound when it’s moved? Tarp the hay, attach the device to a hidden corner of the tarp. You will need to remember to disarm it of course! Once of that, thief will avoid. Especially if they panic and can’t find the device to turn it off.

[FjordBCRF]

@FormalAlter1 Are there others that have their things going missing or just yours? Is there any type of group chat set up with all the boarders that’s an easy way to communicate? If so, I’d start there and say to the collective group (including BO) that you noticed XY&Z of yours have gone missing over XX weeks/months. Clarify what is yours and ask for the group to ask you first if they run out of supplies or whatever. If that doesn’t go well and the BO is ok with the game camera, I would go that route if things keep going missing.

@Texarkana

But honestly, from my POV, a camera sends an equivalent, if not worse, message.

I think a game camera is an interesting solution though. It isn’t running constantly, it’s not picking up audio so there isn’t really a privacy concern. It might be just the right message needed.

[Tarlo_Farm]

No better suggestions than have been given, except:

Rather than expensive Cowboy Magic to loosen burrs, try the dollar store variety of cheap, squeeze on kids hair detangler.

[Annie10]

That’s exactly how i would do it

[Chall]

I’m feeling disruptive today, so vote for @Clanter blue food dye in grain and hay. The fact that there will be blue manure thus fingerprinting the culprit would seem to be a good deterrent.

[hillary_again]

Many boarders at my barn have our own bales of hay (lots of reasons). We use totes to store our loose hay. The bales that are still bound don’t seem to get messed with, but the loose ones are tempting. You can solve this with a couple of lockable totes from Home Depot. Just put the flakes in there. It’s cheap enough and takes care of the issue. Cable locks on a super cheap tote would probably work too. The cameras don’t prevent theft - you would have to confront someone with your evidence, and me, I don’t want that hassle. It’s a drag, for sure, to have to deal with this issue.

[FormalAlter1]

Haha, I saw that and thought perfect! Especially since we are in the bluegrass region. If anyone asked, I could just say “that’s my new shipment of bluegrass hay!”
I really appreciate the suggestions everyone has come up with. Although some aren’t practical for my specific situation, it has given me a few ideas moving forward. I noticed my feed was messed with sometime during the day. I left a couple big “chunks” on top and smoothed out the top and someone took a scoop from the side that didn’t have the chunks. I’m going to do the individual baggies this weekend. Maybe I can just put the camera in the grain container…

[Chall]

What I actually did, in a barn that underfed horses, was bring my feed in my car and supplement his barn food.
There was a girl who went into a stall and took hay away from another horse. She said they weren’t feeding enough and her horse was actually pretty thin. Now, she was a teenager and I although it was wrong, she was actually caring and trying to do the best she could for her horse.
It was a county (poorly run) barn and pretty much no one had extra money. So bringing in extra food and watching your horse eat it was the only recourse.

[Bogie]

I’ve been in a co-op situation for maybe 25 years and it really sucks when you have someone who isn’t cooperative! We did have to vote one person off the island because of repeated bad behavior. The barn owner (not a horse person) did support us but the process was very uncomfortable.

Do you ever have barn meetings? I think that an issue that serious needs to be brought up to the group where you can explain that you’ve noticed someone is taking your grain and hay. If everyone is aware that you have noticed the theft, it may stop them and it will cause other boarders to keep a look out for you.

It’s easier to lock up your grain. I’d probably use a utility trunk with a key:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-23-in-50-Gal-Black-Rolling-Toolbox-with-Keyed-Lock-and-Portable-Hand-Tool-Tray-206319/321052317

Hay is more difficult but tying up loose bales and covering them with a tarp would make it more difficult and make any theft more intentional.

We’ve always just bought in bulk and paid our share. That works great for hay (and shavings) if you have honest people. Whenever possible, we feed the same grain, too.