Tails being cut at boarding barn

[Angela_Freda]

@grayarabians, any updates?

[candyappy]

@StormyDay

I doubt it’s a fellow boarder or student because I’m sure that by this point news ‘traveled around’ so the student would have known it was wrong and didn’t do it again. And while people are crazy I can’t imagine a boarder having such a bone to pick with 4 boarders stretched out over this amount of time.

• One of my horses was given over 4x his normal grain ration one night, about 20-25 pounds of grain, because they didn’t like that I was pre-bagging his grain for him. The same night they left his stall door wide open so he could leave and wander onto a busy road that was nearby. Luckily he was a scaredy-cat and didn’t leave and I showed up about an hour after feeding to find what they had done.

I would be in a constant state of worry over anyone being able to do as they pleased and wander at will during the day or night where my horses were boarded.

[Paint_Party]

@candyappy

I would be in a constant state of worry over anyone being able to do as they pleased and wander at will during the day or night where my horses were boarded.

Me too! I’m so glad that my trainer is the owner of the property where my horses are, and her house is right across from the barn, with a full view of the paddocks, too.

Years ago, when I was a teenager, one of our horses— along with several others from the same place— were stolen. It was a public facility, with people able to come and go at all hours. Well, someone came and then they went… with a stock trailer full of horses.

[shiloh]

@StormyDay

When I told the owner what happened he made a remark about that ‘that’s what happens when you don’t trust us’.

[moonlitoaksranch]

That’s awful! I’m very sorry. We’re any of the horses found?

[Paint_Party]

Nope. Consensus was that the horses were probably hauled to an auction and run through for some quick cash. They were all decent-sized, good looking Quarter horses that were very kid/family safe. One thought was that the thieves had scoped out the stables, observed the various horses being ridden, and figured out which horses would be the easiest to sell.

I’m still amazed, even in this day, how many horses are stolen every year. There’s a herd of pretty stock horses grazing on state land near me. right alongside the little highway that’s the back way to Flagstaff. Just a 3-wire fence holding them in. I’d be worried to death my livestock would be stolen out of there!

[moonlitoaksranch]

In south Florida, they’ve had trouble of a more heinous type where horses were slaughtered in their own pastures for meat. I haven’t heard anything lately, though, so I hope it’s quieted down.

This guy might be the reason…

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2021-florida-horsemeat-vigilante/

[StormyDay]

This was a real concern when I was living down there. A horse was taken from a boarding barn, IIRC it was a nice hunter who did well on the local circuit. The family was devastated but also pretty grossed out because the horse was on some not safe for humans drugs.

It seemed to quiet down after that one, so I always wondered if the people who did it heard through the grapevine that maybe it wasn’t the safest thing to do.