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> snuck to the barn, and tried to steal their 2 horses,
Hey Helga,
That sort of horse theft happens pretty often here in Southern
California---not necessarily because it's So Cal, but because there are
alot of horses here. Probably two or three times a year I see signs
posted at the feed store about a horse that has been stolen just in the
manner you described. Unfortunately, close to a quarter of a million
horses will go to slaughter this year, and the slaughter houses aren't
always real picky about making sure every horse coming through the door
isn't stolen. It's really easy to sell a horse to a killer buyer and
within a few days that horse is on his way to France. Don't mean to
upset you, but it happens. Alot.
There's been a fair amount of publicity about the problem out here and
LOTS of articles and info telling you what you can do to make your
horses less attractive to thieves. Make your horse identifiable with a
freeze brand. Make it difficult for someone to get onto your
property---have a closed and locked gate and if at all possible, SOLID
fencing surrounding where the horses are at night (PVC is really easy to
cut without making noise). Put motion-sensitive lights up that will
come on if someone drives into the barn area at night. Geese make
wonderful, incredibly noisy watch dogs. Teach your dogs to bark at
strangers. I know of one person that caught a potential thief because
she had cowbells hung on the barn doors that alerted her to something
going on that shouldn't have been going on at 2 a.m. If you're planning
on building a new barn, don't put it a half mile away from the house and
DON'T have the gate leading to the main road going right from the barn
to the road---try to make anyone trailering have to drive past your
house. I've also heard the suggestion to bring horses in from pasture
(which sometimes front the road) and put them into corrals or stalls
next to the house every night.
I know this is going to sound silly, but try to make your horse look as
though he didn't just come in from a hard winter on the range. I talked
to a killer buyer once that told me he always looks twice at horses that
are clipped and groomed and have their tails braided up, because it's
less likely those horses are just "surplus" horses. Also because it's
more likely those horses have some training on them and the slaughter
yards very often pick out good horses and keep them aside to re-sell as
riding horses. Won't help everytime, but it might make the difference
if your horse looks like a "keeper".
If you board your horse at a boarding stable, don't board anywhere where
they don't lock the gates at night and where there isn't someone on the
property every night. Ten years ago, someone tried to walk off with my
gelding in broad daylight and the only thing that stopped her from doing
so was a suspicious barn manager that gave everyone that came onto the
property the once-over.
I know all this stuff is not going to be practical in all cases (I can
just see Bob Morris rolling around on the floor at the idea of bringing
his horses in from the top of the mountain every night), but the point
is to make it as difficult as possible for a thief to sneak in and get
to your horses without attracting attention. And do everything you can
to make your horse stick out of a crowd and be easy to identify later.
If your horse DOES get stolen, you should have several good, clear,
reasonably current photos of your horse---both sides, back and front,
maybe a closeup of identifying marks. NOT ride photos! They don't have
to be artistic, they have to be crystal clear and informative. Have the
phone numbers handy of the livestock auction yards and killer buyers in
the area---anyone who would buy horses quickly. If your horse
disappears, call them up IMMEDIATELY, describe your missing horse and
hand-deliver a color xerox of the horse photos with a full and accurate
description. Offer a reward for his return or information leading to
his return---people will always look harder if it could mean a few bucks
in their own pocket and wouldn't you rather have to shell out a few
hundred bucks to get your horse back, than to not get him back at all?
Finally, find out where the closest USDA slaughterhouse is to you that
slaughters horses. Very few of them do, so it's not like it will be a
long list. Out here on the west coast, almost all of the horses bound
for slaughter are shipped to Palestine, Texas. You can find out where
the slaughter houses are for your area by calling or writing to the
USDA, 14th St SW and Independence Avenue, Washington, DC 20250 (202)
720-2791. If a horse disappears, fax the photo of your horse to the
slaughterhouse immediately and follow it up with Fed Exed color photos
AND DAILY PHONE CALLS to the foreman. No kidding, I heard of one woman
that wouldn't of gotten her horse back if she hadn't made such a pest of
herself (a polite one, of course) that the foreman made a special effort
to go check out the horses coming through the door. If your horse is
just another grey Arab gelding, try to imagine what it's going to take
to make someone go pick him out from a huge corral full of lots of other
grey Arabs.
Good luck!
Susan Evans Garlinghouse
California Polytechnic University, Pomona
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