How bizarre

[fairlady]

I did not see our local news last night. But, this morning in work several
people approached me asking me if I had seen it because there was a
Horsey item/warning on there.

Apparently somebody has been going around in the Area tying KNOTS in Horses tails:confused:

Now, they have sort of reached the conclusion it is some kind of 'sign' for
somebody to come along later and steal the Horse, quite how they have
reached that conclusion is beyond me cos quite honestly if I arrived at the
Yard to find my Horses tails tied in knots first thing I would do is UN KNOT
them:rolleyes:

Anybody else heard anything about this

[x.Moomoo.x]

How strange?

I'd be really worried! I hate some people!

[Kimmy C]

I'm sure if I tied a knot in Adella's tail it would come undone coz she would swish it until it did. Scarey tho???:eek:

[Daisy_Roots]

I've heard someone goes around tying a plait in the mane then the lorry comes round and can pick the correct ones to steal. a"£(^$%($s :mad:

But I've never heard of plaiting tales before :confused:

[bigmare]

Yes, I got told about it at my yard yesterday, and I'm only just up from you in Swindon.... we were told to look for a small plait....(not sure if in mane or tail, but need to check anyway!) So really, if you've heard of it too (It was on the news apprently but I missed that!) we need to post a warning ....

[lynnemh]

yes there has been quite a bit of this happening. and also there might be an item left at the roadside to signify the field, such as a slice of hay or a bag or a rag on a branch, anything that shouldnt be there needs to be moved straight away. and horsewatch sent a message out about 2 men in a white van going into fields and photographing animals; it is a steal to order gang.

[Sofi P]

would anyone else be a little bit offended if they went to the field and found other people's horse's tail knotted (or other sign) and NOT theres?! I'd be like, what's wrong with my horse! Of course I would reassure myself that it was because she kicked out or something...

I am of course joking because steal to order or any other sort of horse-napping is very serious and not a laughing matter.

[lynnemh]

i know you are joking, but yes, if sharing with others, i think you would have to check the others horses over each time too, and take any knots out. how vulnerable it would make you feel to know that someone had been lurking around when no one should be there.

[allym]

I have also heard about a plat in their mane. One of the horses at my yard had a plat in their mane the other week and nobody at the yard had done it. Luckly we realised what might be going on and have now moved the horses.

[Chiicken]

How scary!
Things like this make me glad my share horse is a fidgety boy, there's no way he'd stand while someone attempted to plait/knot him....

[bigmare]

I've just sat and read an article in the Western Daily Press this morning and yes it is true, it has been happening in Wiltshire, Somerset, Gloucestershire & Dorset. The ponies have all been found agitated and with a plait in their manes (the police think as a 'sign' and also as a 'handle' to grab the pony) So I'll post the warning on here as advised it the article....

[fairlady]

As I said on the other thread it was 'non-horsey' people who warned me so
obviously got mixed up with plait in mane and 'knots in tail':rolleyes:

Time to be extra vigilent, keep our Horses safe:eek:

[Lemme]

Small but obvious single plait in mane, only tag the ones they want. also they have been know to mark the field as previously said, look out for anything different near gates, in hedges, can be something as simple as a carrier bag tied in the hedge, wheel hub caps have been used leant up against verges , tin cans, I check our hedgeline and gateways every morning and night and remove any foreign body found, the tip wagons go by us so it can be a bit of nightmare on a windy day! this has been going on for sometime, one person has reported moving hers 3 times and they have followed her around tagging them!

[Trewsers]

Blimey, its awful isn't it? Just all keep our eyes open and really take notice of anything different that you might spot. It pays to be super observant and take note of anything that is not quite right.

[Zingy]

I'd be there all day every day if I moved all foreign objects from the grass verges outside my fields!

Thanks for the warnings, it is something that's always a worry to some extent,but I'd be worried sick if I now found plaits in any of my ponies manes:eek: I'm glad all mine are freezemarked. It's certainly not foolproof, but it's one of the biggest deterrants there is (apart from being uncatchable).