# WARNING to all horse owners in south west



## showing bee:) (21 December 2011)

WARNING to all horse owners, keep your eyes open 4 horses around cornwall have been found with a pliat in there main, there back again x


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## fatpiggy (21 December 2011)

It HAS been rather windy in Cornwall just lately.  Its very unlikely anyone will steal a horse in winter anyway.


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## Hedgewitch13 (26 December 2011)

Who are back? The plaiting fairies?


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## Twiggy14 (26 December 2011)

My Ponies keep getting plaits, they are wind plaits we think. But I get them out anyway just in case :L


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## Zebedee (26 December 2011)

Oh good grief, not this again.
The plaiting thing is a complete & utter load of rubbish & has been done to death on here many times before.
All horse owners need to be vigilent at all times regardless of this kind of scarmongering (although why anyone would want to rish steeling a horse when they're so cheap at markets up & down the country is beyond me).
Those who seriously want to minimise the risk of their horses being stolen should have them freeze marked & micro chipped.

Here is a link to a previous thread showing examples of wind plaits etc. 
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=325283
As far as I am aware there is not one incidence of a horse actually being stolen after being found with a plait in its mane.


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## Mrs B (26 December 2011)

showing bee:) said:



			WARNING to all horse owners, keep your eyes open; 4 horses around Cornwall have been found with a plait in their mane(s): they're back again. x
		
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(I get pedantic when cross )

Please, please stop spreading this story. There are NO records of horses being stolen with plaits in their manes: they are wind-tangles if they DO appear, so are a natural occurrence. If someone wants to nick your horse, they will nick it with no warning to you.

As Zebedee says, if you want to protect your horses, freeze-mark and micro-chip them.


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## Serenity087 (26 December 2011)

Who, the mane plaiting gypsy pagan fairies who can catch uncatchable ponies?

The solution? Hog your horses.  Simples.


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## loverly (26 December 2011)

Also in North Devon ponies/horses were found with their tails cut and on the 22nd two were found collapsed on the ground with their legs tied together.


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (26 December 2011)

Whether or not plaits/tail cutting is indicative of whether horses will be stolen or not; sorry to state the obvious but there are things everyone can do to help prevent theft:-

Like, for instance:

Firstly join your local Horsewatch (and/or Farmwatch)

Second get your tack security marked (horsewatch will do it for you)

Then get your horses either microchipped or freezemarked

Also look at your yard security and get padlocks for gates, CCTV etc if necessary

Look around your area and get to know who's who and who's got what; then if something is different you'll know.

Finally, have a network, formal or otherwise, and/or contingency plan in case someone's horse DOES get out in the middle of the night and/or is missing from the field. Here when someone's youngsters escaped a while back we texted/rang/e-mailed around - simply because in most areas there's a good horsey network going and we just utilised it.

Again, sorry to be stating the obvious, but IMO if someone's gonna steal a horse and/or go around a yard looking for what's there, they're unlikely to leave a calling card announcing their intentions.


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## Mariposa (26 December 2011)

Serenity087 said:



			The solution? Hog your horses.  Simples.
		
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See, this is the one good thing about having polo ponies....I will never find a plait in their manes!!


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## Shantara (27 December 2011)

I always feel awful when I see threads like this. I loved to make little plaits in horses hair when I was a kid and I still do with the ponies at the yard! 

Woops.


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## Faithkat (27 December 2011)

. . . . . and "tail cutting" is also usually attributable to another horse/pony chewing it.  I had one that used to do it and the victims looked for all the world as though someone had cut their tails, he managed to do it really neatly and in straight lines!!!    . . ..  and I know who the perpetrator was because I caught him at it.


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## china (27 December 2011)

i am a horsewatch coordinator and can confirm that mane plaits are NOT linked to thefts! Their have been a few horses with their tails cut off with a blunt instrument in the North somerset area but nothing more came of this. make sure you are a member of horsewatch and ring the non emergency 101 number if you are concerned.


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## rowan (27 December 2011)

China, do you no who the  horsewatch coordinator is for Cornwall??  cant seem to find any infomation for horsewatch in Cornwall. Just thought you might have a list of fellow coordinators.


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## SavingGrace (27 December 2011)

We have them in central scotland too....










This one even stuck a band on it...


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## china (27 December 2011)

i have fellow coordinators for avon and somerset. which force cover cornwalll?
I know its very early days with co ordinators as forces cannot afford to have pcso's doing horsewatch so they have tried it with us volunteers. Its working well so will slowly be spreadin accorss constabularys!


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## Zebedee (27 December 2011)

There are contacts details for a Gina Dale on the Devon & Cornwall police website. She lives in Okehampton, but I guess is acting as the coordinator for the area covered by Devon & Cornwall Police.


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## KarynK (27 December 2011)

There are no records of a Horse stolen after having it's mane plaited.  Also you cannot GIVE some horses away ATM, we are in a recession and horse theft by strangers is at a very low level, why on earth would you steal one when you can buy them for peanuts.  Those reported stolen are usually those on loan,  some of who have moved with their loanee who has failed to inform the owner, or a loanee may have sold the horse because they are short of money.  
You cannot steal a horse for meat easily as any replacement passport for older horses will have the horse taken out of the food chain.
The moral is if you are loaning a horse you are the most at risk group for theft so make sure you do it properly.  Check out the loanee thoroughly, keep in touch regularly and SIGN AN AGREEMENT that clearly sets out everything, use the free BHS one!


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## Cedars (29 December 2011)

Now look here, I'm getting right p!ssed off. I keep finding plaits in Puzzles mane-some of them are even double plaits that join as one at the bottom-but no bugger steals her! All this promising and no results.... But if she breaks another stable door il load her up for them...!


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## beehorses (2 January 2012)

I know of a horse near st austell that had a plait in his mane and all of his rugs were stolen.


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## Cuffey (2 January 2012)

The Archangel Zebedee said:



			There are contacts details for a Gina Dale on the Devon & Cornwall police website. She lives in Okehampton, but I guess is acting as the coordinator for the area covered by Devon & Cornwall Police.
		
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From Tracing Equines

Devon & Cornwall Constabulary

Email - georginadale@hotmail.com
Email - Sarah.EVANS@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk


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## Cobbler's Dream (26 June 2012)

What about the tails?


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## Tinseltoes (26 June 2012)

KarynK said:



			There are no records of a Horse stolen after having it's mane plaited.  Also you cannot GIVE some horses away ATM, we are in a recession and horse theft by strangers is at a very low level, why on earth would you steal one when you can buy them for peanuts.  Those reported stolen are usually those on loan,  some of who have moved with their loanee who has failed to inform the owner, or a loanee may have sold the horse because they are short of money.  
You cannot steal a horse for meat easily as any replacement passport for older horses will have the horse taken out of the food chain.
The moral is if you are loaning a horse you are the most at risk group for theft so make sure you do it properly.  Check out the loanee thoroughly, keep in touch regularly and SIGN AN AGREEMENT that clearly sets out everything, use the free BHS one!
		
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There are some type of horses that unfortunatly DO get stolen and mine is one of them. (coloured gypsy cob). He was taken on 4th may 2012.!! 
NO PLAITS INVOLVED.


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## china (26 June 2012)

Plaits if manes have not been linked to thefts. This story just somehow became enough to frighten people into sheer panic if they saw anything remotely knott or plait like in their mane!


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## madiz123 (26 June 2012)

Mariposa said:



			See, this is the one good thing about having polo ponies....I will never find a plait in their manes!!
		
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Ditto!


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## ILuvCowparsely (27 June 2012)

KarynK said:



			There are no records of a Horse stolen after having it's mane plaited.
		
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 That you know of.

 FWIW      4 ponies  had plaits in over the road her 2 years ago.  ACTUAL plaits no wind plaits.   Following evening after the owners got up there  two of the 4 ponies who are bad to catch could not have their plaits  removed. 1/2 past midnight Thieves drove through the hedgerow  tried to steal them.  This was brought to light by the houses who over looked the break in area. 

 fast forward  the ponies managed to find the gap the thieves made  and ran down to Bottom Lane  galloping along the rd   thankfully   a driver whose daughter  had horses managed to corral them in a garden along with the owners of two of the houses.   Ponies shaken but not hurt.


Loads tyre marks in field and entrance area  The Police narrowed it down to a Toyota or shogun type  4x4 . 

 So to say no records is incorrect unless you say  non that I know of  Well I know of one.  The guy who was the driver takes the train with my hubby  and got the full SP.  On the following wed it was in our local news  email sent round.


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## *hic* (27 June 2012)

Leviathan said:



			FWIW      4 ponies  had plaits in over the road her 2 years ago.  ACTUAL plaits no wind plaits.   Following evening after the owners got up there  two of the 4 ponies who are bad to catch could not have their plaits  removed.
		
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So two of the ponies are so difficult to catch that their owners couldn't get hold of them to get the plaits out. How the heck did the "thieves" manage to get the plaits in in the first place?


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## Hedgewitch13 (28 June 2012)

Another wind up merchant... Why do they keep posting the same old crap? I bet it's a mumsnet poster lol


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## Tinseltoes (28 June 2012)

Hedgewitch13 said:



			Another wind up merchant... Why do they keep posting the same old crap? I bet it's a mumsnet poster lol 

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Agreed. Why would thieves plait to steal????? They got my cob.


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