# New posters reporting plaits etc



## MHOL (26 November 2009)

Has anyone noticed that most of the reports are from new people? If these people would like to post the incident number for the report they post I will gladly check it out and alert horse watch nationally.


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## MHOL (26 November 2009)

None


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## MurphysMinder (26 November 2009)

Thank you for that voice of reason.  Yes everyone needs to be alert but I think there is a degree of panic now, we have to bear in mind that there is some very windy weather at the moment and horses manes may tangle when they have never done before.


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## Sprout (26 November 2009)

Interesting thread about this spate of plaiting and previous ones, on NFED  - it is suggested it is NOT to do with subsequent thefts .....


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## oofadoofa (26 November 2009)

That's reassuring!  I had a phone call from someone last night in my village telling me that all her ponies had been tagged by having a piece cut out of their tails yesterday.  So I checked mine and it appears that one of mine has had a section cut out of his tail too.  But why the hell would any horse thief do that?!!  Are they really going to go down in the dark and feel which horse has a piece of tail missing.  Sure enough, my horse was still there this morning and I'm not particularly worried about it.  It seems to me that most people that have reported these mane plaits seem to keep their horses on exposed hillsides, could it be any coincidence that it has been rather windy lately?


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## MHOL (26 November 2009)

My own horse has had a piece of his tail go missing, but the culprit we discovered was his companion, yes there are reported cases of tails being cut, and I don't know why this seems to be happening nationwide but it is definately not to do with stealing the horse or rocking horse material, I am sure it would be easier to buy a tail or mane attached to the skin from a slaughter house than creep about on a dark night cutting unknown horses bits of tails off then managing to keep it all in one clump!

Making people aware and alert is good but someone is creating nationwide hysteria, you only have to google plaits horse thieves and every forum in the country has a friend who had this happen to them! Especially the Guildford Horse!


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## MHOL (26 November 2009)

On doing some research they appear to be made by bigfoot! Now I would panic 
	
	
		
		
	


	





Mane Braiding
From Robin Bellamy:

An unusual phenomenon has been noted in relation to the sightings and footprints of Bigfoot type creatures. Please see photo below:

This particular one is in a horse's mane. These intricate braidings appear overnight, and there are often Bigfoot or Sasquatch type footprints nearby. They have been reported by people in the United States, and in Russia. However, we have not heard of anything similar occurring in Canada.

We must add that no creatures were actually seen braiding the horses mane, but we can say quite confidently that the horse did not do this on it's own!

I have found pictures some of which people are saying are man made for marking for theft and others are to promote detangler, make your own minds up.


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## T_K (26 November 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
On doing some research they appear to be made by bigfoot! Now I would panic 
	
	
		
		
	


	





Mane Braiding
From Robin Bellamy:

An unusual phenomenon has been noted in relation to the sightings and footprints of Bigfoot type creatures. Please see photo below:

This particular one is in a horse's mane. These intricate braidings appear overnight, and there are often Bigfoot or Sasquatch type footprints nearby. They have been reported by people in the United States, and in Russia. However, we have not heard of anything similar occurring in Canada.

We must add that no creatures were actually seen braiding the horses mane, but we can say quite confidently that the horse did not do this on it's own!

I have found pictures some of which people are saying are man made for marking for theft and others are to promote detangler, make your own minds up.







































[/ QUOTE ]

If I wasn't in work I'd be rolling around of the floor laughing right now!


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## MHOL (26 November 2009)

I don't mean to make light of it, I can imagine people who have had suspicious plaits being terrified but we need to be sensible about the unfounded reports being spread about. I would never of believed the plait my friends horse had would of been made by the wind but there are so many across the country and no reports of stolen horses for the amount of plaits. Sorry if it upsets the new posters but i cannot stress enough the need for incident numbers before posting and causing hysteria.

Edited to say my friends horse looked exactly like the first picture in two braids meeting in the middle and a plait to join.


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## Chico Mio (26 November 2009)

Both of my horses, plus my friend's five - who all live on a remote, windswept farm have these 'dreadlocks'.  Ari who has a long, fine Arab style mane, has spectacular hair braids that I unwrap every night.  Anyone who has snuck onto my friend's farm would have had to chase five difficult to catch horses over twenty-five hectares in the pitch black to 'plait' them. 

I can see my two all day, everyday and they are in at night.  They still come in 'plaited' after a couple of windy days.

All the above pictures look very familiar.


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## soph21 (26 November 2009)

PMSL, we used to say the fairies done it


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## DragonSlayer (26 November 2009)

I do not come here to post often, but will post today because of what was mentioned on another forum.

I, for one, am glad of information given so I am able to take what steps I can to prevent my horses being stolen.

If people wish to 'make light' of such 'incidences' then that is your choice, but do not ridicule those who care to take things a little more seriously.

I would suggest those 'newbies' coming here to spread the word, to not waste your time because unfortunately, some people really don't give a damn....

Be well all, I will go away and not return for another undisclosed period of time....

..and feel free to start the mud-slinging! Thats the great thing about the internet, I won't be reading it or seeing it! Isn't it marvellous?

~does a happy dance~


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## lexiedhb (26 November 2009)

These "plaits" are nowt..... you should see the "tagging" of the small ponies who insist on sticking their heads in the burrs at my yard!!


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## Scheherezade (26 November 2009)

I imagined a mane plait to be more like: http://img2.allposters.com/images/NPLPOD/1155267.jpg (image from google)


Surely the owners 'plait' took a long time of backcombing and braiding - why not just do a quick and clear plait like the above, which takes roughly 10 seconds, rather than standing in the battering wind and rain trying to dreadlock a mane?

Also, all (about 20-30 including the foals) the black and white gypsy horses behind our field have one or more of the wind plaits in their mane, some of them are more than 3inches across.


And things can happen which have never happened before - my horse has never had a foot absecess in his life, but he got two recently. He's never hurt himself in the field, but the wind broke free some fencing and he got a small cut. Which has never happened in all his years of life.

Sh*t happens, as they say.


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## lhotse (26 November 2009)

I would say that missinghorsesonloan give more than a damn about security, as a new member you will no doubt be oblivious to the amount of work that she does to re-unite owners with their horses. You carry on believing what you like, but I for one am not going to get worked up because some ponies have a tangled mane. People like you are the reason that these urban myths survive for so long.


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## dunthing (26 November 2009)

My daughter has an arab at grass and his mane tangles exactly like that, every time the wind blows. Nothing to worry about methinks.


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## DragonSlayer (26 November 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
I would say that missinghorsesonloan give more than a damn about security, as a new member you will no doubt be oblivious to the amount of work that she does to re-unite owners with their horses. You carry on believing what you like, but I for one am not going to get worked up because some ponies have a tangled mane. People like you are the reason that these urban myths survive for so long. 

[/ QUOTE ]

People like me? 

1 - you do not know me.
2 - How I get annoyed at those people who brush things off with a whistle and say 'It'll never happen......'...

I am not running around getting in a tizzy, I am merely saying that you should NOT ridicule those people who DO get worried about such things. Do you really have so little emotion about how they feel? Do you really have the right to sit there and tell them that they are 'over-reacting'....and are you an all-knowing-sage who can see and hear everything so can sit there and pontificate on things you clearly have a very biased view on?

You are human, like me. All I say is, show a little compassion for those who are a little more overly-sensitive than others. 

Your next reply will tell me what I think I already know...


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## lhotse (26 November 2009)

And please enlighten me as to what you already know???


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## oofadoofa (26 November 2009)

[ QUOTE ]


Be well all, I will go away and not return for another undisclosed period of time....

..and feel free to start the mud-slinging! Thats the great thing about the internet, I won't be reading it or seeing it! Isn't it marvellous?

~does a happy dance~ 

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you still here?


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## bailey14 (26 November 2009)

The whole thing is ridiculous and not proven by anyone least of all Horsewatch or FarmKey/Freezemark.

If people are panicking about getting their horses stolen just ring up Farm Key or Freezemark and arrange for them to come out to freezemark their animals.  Buy some paint from B&amp;Q and paint their rugs with their freezemark number and for goodness sake stop panicking everyone.

All this tail/mane plaiting to steal is an urban myth, like the baby in Asda, the perfume scam in Tesco's car park and the cassette recorder of the baby crying left on a womans porch.


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## MHOL (26 November 2009)

I do give a damn about stolen horses and tack and anything equestrian because I have been there and had my tack stolen, that was bad enough but to lose a horse to a thief would be unbearable, that is why myself and others like me battle constantly and use our own money and put ourselves at risk to try and protect other horse owners.

How many of the posters on here are horse watch members? Most people only join when they become a victim, its like banging your head against a brick wall, nobody really worries until they have had something stolen. This would be a perfect opportunity to encourage more people to join but I know it is an urban myth. Yes plaits have been put in manes of horses  to steal but they are proper thick plaits that are unmistakable not something the wind did.

Freezemark your horses, its a visual deterent, plus anyone can read a few letters and numbers AND if your horse is stolen, any police officer or member of the public can identify it. its very hard to identify a bay horse with white stripe etc., Yet if it has ???? printed on it you have more chance of getting it back.

Also paint your freezemark and postcode on your rugs, that way your rugs are useless and thieves will realise the horse is marked and go on to something easier to pass on. You can even get Glow in the dark paint from Halfords.

With the horse thieves I have dealt with they dont give a damn, even if caught with a horse, they just brought it down the road for cash! The police never have enough evidence to prosecute, they just see what they want, go back in the dead of night, park the trailer up and load the horse away. 

Please dont think I am making light of it, I never would, horse watch is my passion and if you knew me you would know how much I do care.


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## MHOL (26 November 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
excellent reply......

can you post details of how to join Horsewatch? 

[/ QUOTE ]

Please find your local group by clicking on this LINK


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## natalia (26 November 2009)

Well as my friend did DEF find plaits in 2 of her best young stocks mane after a  couple of horse thefts in her area I am taking no chances. They deff were not wind plaits or dreadlocks, but one on each horse, very neat and slightly hidden by a layer of mane on top. She is very through about checking her horses twice daily and these were 2 yr old coloured sports horses in a field down her lane but not in view of the cottage so would have been easy targets.


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## sallyellis (26 November 2009)

Well somebody keeps doing it to my arabs mane but they dont nick him LOL seriously his mane gets knots like that all of the time its just wind etc,  nobody put ash, stones or anything else near my gateway but somebody did try to steal the horsebox...!


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## WelshD (26 November 2009)

I have no doubt that originally there was probably some truth in the legend somewhere but I have two thoughts

1) some of those tangles would be hard to feel in the dark - a subtle tag yes but they still need to be able to be felt! in a small group of ponies you would be hard pressed to find one without a tangle!

2) pony mad kids used to sit on my gate and plait my ponies manes all the time when I was younger, if you told them to sod off they would be back fiddling with manes and tails the next day!


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## Lexie81 (26 November 2009)

I don't want to seem like i am being sarcastic or rude, i'm sure that this must have all come from somewhere and that there are cases where horses are tagged ready for theft, however, those pictures look very similar to how my horses manes look when they have been having a goof old rummage in the bushes and have had a whole load of Burrs in them.....infact my friends haflinger mare came in the other day and i was convinced someone had come in and chopped her forelock off! but when i looke dcloser, it was just totally matted up and once groomed she was back to normal......it's something to bear in mind seeing that it is pretty wild out there weather wise, horses are standing in all sorts of places to shelter, and there could be a perfectly innocent explanation.


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## Tinseltoes (26 November 2009)

Well my section A gets the tangles in pic 1.Hard to get out. Wind is what does it,shes always getting them.My cob doesdnt tho.


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## DragonSlayer (26 November 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
And please enlighten me as to what you already know??? 

[/ QUOTE ]

Insensitive to those people who natually worry. Easy to say 'it's paranoia, over-reaction' etc. etc. etc....

But you just carry on, who knows, you might be one of those lucky people who never gets anything happen to them....here's to hoping!


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## DragonSlayer (26 November 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


Be well all, I will go away and not return for another undisclosed period of time....

..and feel free to start the mud-slinging! Thats the great thing about the internet, I won't be reading it or seeing it! Isn't it marvellous?

~does a happy dance~ 

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you still here? 

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, unfortunately, so are you....


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## wizzi901 (26 November 2009)

I think what is getting some peoples backs up is that "scaremongering" going on without back up of horses being stolen.  I am involved in Horsewatch and this really does stir up so much worry, a bit like last year...unless you have directly had your horse stolen, dont keep passing on the emails and messages from a friend of a friend.......then at least we get a true picture of whether to be concerned or not.


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## lhotse (26 November 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
And please enlighten me as to what you already know??? 

[/ QUOTE ]

Insensitive to those people who natually worry. Easy to say 'it's paranoia, over-reaction' etc. etc. etc....

But you just carry on, who knows, you might be one of those lucky people who never gets anything happen to them....here's to hoping! 

[/ QUOTE ]

No, believe me, I know what it feels like to have a tackroom full of saddles stolen. I am also VERY aware of suspicious goings on, in fact in work I often spot the shoplifter as they come through the door. My horses are freezemarked, my tack is now kept at home, rugs are marked with postcode (in fact I even had one stolen, washed and put back on the horse, not all travellers are bad!!) and all gates are well locked. 
So I would be hardly burying my head in the sand, however, without any proof that ANY 'tagged' horse has been stolen, (the Guildford one is a myth) then I'm not going to enter into any frenzied txt and email sending. 
All the photos that I've seen have been of perfectly normal tangled manes. If people want to get themselves in a state over that, then that's up to them but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.


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## The_snoopster (27 November 2009)

The photo, i have seen of these plaits dont look like they have been done by human hands to me. A while back i did read about proper plaits been used by thieves to let them no easily which horse was to be taken but have heard nothing for
 a long time.
The pony that was stolen in the next field to me was just taken no signs at all that anyone had been near, just a smash and grab so to speak, it was not untill the next day bread bags were found all the way down the bridleway tied to fences and bushes. On closer inspection we found the ponies hoof prints and the trailer marks, only reason they tied bags was to show which way to take the pony as there were roads closer than this lane but the roads are exposed and this lane is very quiet. Every thief that intends to steal a pony will adapt to the area it,s stealing from, being visual freezemarking and chipping and checking horses regually at different times of the day and night is the only real deterrent.


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## pixi (27 November 2009)

2 horses in our area hade a big chunk of mane cut the one hade a fly fringe on that was also cut off clearly with sissors but we put it down to a local man who likes to assult our horses but the horses cant make a statment so police wont help rspca not intrested


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## Tiggy1 (27 November 2009)

One of ours was plaited, someone was seen in the field the night it happened and stow fair was on the following week.

Member of horsewatch - yes. reported to the police - yes. Worried yes we were so the horse in question was moved. Urban myth or not we weren't taking any chances.


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## lhotse (27 November 2009)

Nobody is disputing that there may have been some truth in the initial instance, however now every tangle is being labelled a 'tag' and it is getting a bit OTT.


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## lhotse (27 November 2009)

Foxes will often chew anything that they find. It can look like it was cut with a knife. Someone on our yard left a bridle out one evening, it was found a week later at the top of the field in pieces, apparently cut, but quite obviously chewed as well. It also stank. As for chunks out of manes, that can often be the horse's fieldmates.


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## Tinseltoes (27 November 2009)

This is all being blown out of propotion now,if a thief wants your horse,he wont bother mplaiting it,hed just take it.


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## lhotse (27 November 2009)

Exactly!!


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## miss_bird (28 November 2009)

If everyone just stuck to FACTS and shoved the FICTION in a novel where it belongs, there would be a lot less stress on horse owners.
Yes we all take care of our animals and do our best to ensure their safety but all these STORIES do nothing to help.
So people only post if you have FACTS not FICTION or STORIES


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## Tinseltoes (28 November 2009)

Here here,well said.


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## MHOL (1 December 2009)

Official Horse Watch response

As many of you will know they is an unprecedented number of reports being received from different parts of the country about horses manes being plaited.
The overriding question is why?  In short there is no given answer.  Depending who is spoken to the answer may be that the plaits indicate the horse has been identified for stealing. Others will say that the plaiting coincides with the time of the year, position of the sun, moon and that the plaits are symbols of others beliefs, rites and rituals. On the other hand the plait may be the result of natural movement of the 

horse combined with its close contact with hedges, gorse. These plaits can have colloquial names such as tigs, twassels, teesels, torgs
All plaiting incidents need to be examined individually and a decision on what to do made on facts as identified. It would help if all plaiting incidents were photographed so that within each county a log is maintained. This would help to  appreciate exactly what plaits look like and determine their relevance 
It is probably best to keep an open mind about the plait debate as it does not help the equine community to create a fear of crime if none is justified. This was demonstrated recently when a horse was allegedly reported stolen from Guildford, found abandoned outside the port of  Holyhead, with a plait in its mane! Subsequent investigation revealed there was no theft, therefore no abandonment or plait.

As with all matters affecting horses and property the over riding message is remain vigilant, be suspicious and report all matters causing concern to your local police and Horsewatch.


And please only post if YOU have the incident number


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## equineeyes (2 December 2009)

Well said dragonslayer. I guess that most of the folk on this post have never had a horse stolen I HAVE and can speak from agonising personal experience. My pony had a plait in her mane 2 days before, it did not look like any of the pics above and was not a 'wind' plait. I have owned her for 6 years and she has a very long mane, however although she does get tangles like all horses I had never seen a plait like it before she was stolen or since I recovered her.
I am sure that some of the plait info that is going around is speculation but please do not ignore them. I would hate any one to go through the terror that both myself and my pony went through, its nearly a year since I got her back and neither of us has recovered fully.


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## *hic* (2 December 2009)

Whilst not doubting your loss and evident trauma resultant from it I am intrigued. The plait, you say, was put in as a marker two days before she was stolen. Did you not take it out? In which case had she had another put in to identify her for theft?


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## Hedgewitch13 (2 December 2009)

You'd better let Missingonloan know all the details then and she\he (sorry!) can circulate the information as so far nobody has any evidence of any genuine thefts regarding this plait nonsense.


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## DSPB (2 December 2009)

Plait found in horse mane - Hertordshire

East Herts Police Log No. 705 (01/12/09)

A small plait was found in the mane of a horse in East Herts yesterday, Tuesday 1st December.  The police have advised the owner to take seriously the threat that the horse may have been "tagged" in order to be stolen.  They further advised moving all the horses from the paddock for a short while to deter the thieves from returning.

Having followed the advice of East Herts Police, I do not consider my post "scaremongering".

nuff said...


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## MHOL (2 December 2009)

This is getting so childish, "nuff said" Sorry you feel like this, it wouldnt surprise me if there are people out there now plaiting manes of other peoples horses to wind them up. The police won't even attend if you ring and say my horse has been plaited, they will give you a call log number which is the incident number above and advise to move your horse, the police have done there job, no one is forwarding photographs of the plaits, and if a thief wants to steal your horse he will just go in the night, drop the ramp and get your horse in, not search for a "small plait"

I am not being drawn into petty arguing, i am a horse watch co-ordinator and will advise people to join horse watch and have other like minded people looking out for you with the support of the police. I do take calls seriously and will do all I can to help members. I will get a full version of events of this incident and draw my own conclusions.


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## *hic* (2 December 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
This is getting so childish, "nuff said" Sorry you feel like this, it wouldnt surprise me if there are people out there now plaiting manes of other peoples horses to wind them up. The police won't even attend if you ring and say my horse has been plaited, they will give you a call log number which is the incident number above and advise to move your horse, the police have done there job, no one is forwarding photographs of the plaits, and if a thief wants to steal your horse he will just go in the night, drop the ramp and get your horse in, not search for a "small plait"



[/ QUOTE ]

Well done for saying what I have been trying and failing to politely and calmly into words.


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## LynnWalker (2 December 2009)

MHOL - you do a brilliant job, and I for one am grateful that people such as yourself run, join and coordinate HW. I am a member myself, but to my shame I only joined after my Toby was taken - I along with most people never seriously thought it could happen to us!

I have seen photos of these 'plaits' and think that most of them are tangles, I am pretty sure that the wind or other horses are mostly to blame, but its one of those 'what if' scenarios  - what if it is a real tag, and so i can understand why people are concermed. But lets try and keep it in context, some maybe genuine plaits, some may be just tangles. I think a less emotional judgement has to be made if one is found? Try not to panic is what I mean.

 Toby wasnt tagged - he had no plaits - but there were bags 'snagged' on the fencing for at least a week before he went - I was taking them down never thinking they could be markers.

I think it is great that everyone is passing on information, but lets try to keep it sensible - we need hard facts, not surmising to help keep our horses safe.
x


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## philamena (2 December 2009)

This is being covered - responsibly, I hope! - on BBC Somerset tomorrow morning from 0730. If you're in Somerset it's on 95.5FM. If you're not and want to hear you can click listen live or listen later at at bbc.co.uk/somerset

I hope we've got it right, but from the digging our reporter did he reached the conclusion that this has (understandably because we're a protective lot!) got a bit out of hand: there may well have been genuine reported cases that kicked it off, but the good news is there's no evidence it's happening on the scale some people fear, nor is there any concrete evidence that the plaits in any genuine recovery cases weren't a coincidence rather than a definite marking. World Horse Welfare have also told us they're not convinced the resale market is viable for thefts of this type on this feared scale. But maybe police are right to be cautious and to advise people to move their horses if they're worried - they wouldn't want the liability of getting it wrong. 

It's a tricky one because no one can really prove if it's a definite yes or a definite no, and the truth might be somewhere in between. But hopefully people will feel reassured rather than scaremongered when they hear it.


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## MHOL (2 December 2009)

I have it on authority from the police that this incident has been reported but NOT circulated until further evidence received as they don't want to alarm everyone, I think the wording in the post above if it had been an official ringmaster message from East Herts police would of been more official.


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## lhotse (2 December 2009)

[ QUOTE ]

nuff said... 

[/ QUOTE ]

Do you wear burberry and wear gold chains????


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## Equestrian92 (3 December 2009)

Ok so why dont we put an end to all this...Some people are dam right rude on here ...some people dont come on the forum everyday so therefore are just simply trying to help, if you dont want to read about it because you do not believe in it then dont read it! I think people should grow up a tad and stop throwing bitchy comments if you dont like it dont say anything, Im not saying I belive in the plaiting and Im not saying I dont, at the end of the day I protect my horses to the best I can, weather there's theives plaiting or not theres nothing more I can do so I would suggest people calm down about it, there has not been a great deal of stolen horses but there may be some,but there is 100 percent no need for people slating and slagging each other down, people find it very rude and childish and quite frankly pathetic.


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## DSPB (3 December 2009)

Hello Everyone,

The "nuff said" ending to my original post was for me, not you lot.  I was saying "enough/end of my message".  Golly, I didn't mean to upset anyone.  That's the awkward thing about forums, emotion and tone is difficult to convey...


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## lhotse (3 December 2009)

People should calm down a bit???
Maybe people like you should stop the scaremongering then.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/sh...rue#Post5032302


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## PeterNatt (3 December 2009)

There has definately been an increase in the number of horse thefts this year.  

If you wish to increase the chances of having your horse recovered after it has been stolen then:

Get your horse freezemarked on it's houlder (so that it can be seen when being ridden).  Also get your horse microchipped using one of the new European Standard Microchips.

Also take photos of the front, rear and both sides of your horse both in Summer and Winter.

Ensure that your horse is registered on the NED (National Equestrian Database) web site with it's Freezmark and micro-chipp number.

If your horse is stolen report it to the police and ask for an incident number.

Report the stolen horse to Horsewatch (you will need the police incident number to do this).


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## Natch (1 January 2010)

Bumped


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## JS65 (3 January 2010)

Its like what happened to me last year,  a lady knocked on to say one of my mares looked like she had been painted (tagged) and i should be aware as there were horse thieves about.
 I went across the fields with her so she could show me which mare it was.
 Nothing untoward at all, particular mare has a blackberry fetish and had juice all over her nose!!


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## timthearab (10 January 2010)

Hey now!!!, come on and be nice...Plaits are plaits,  they are like crop circles, aliens and even marmite, you either love them of hate them.  I had my horse stolen from me whilst on loan and he has just been returned to me after 12 months of pure hell, and i have missing horses on loan to thank for his return.  he came back from Kilmarnock with a plait in his mane, all i done was take it out!!!  I think that the plait situation has been blown totally out or proportion and every body needs to chill about it.  As fas as im concerned there is no cause for concern, dont go giving your self sleepless nights, take a chill pill and relax.


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## maxapple (15 October 2011)

Since so many people seem to think knots are a 'sign' - then would one think that potential thieves would find an alternative method of marking horses?? A big red paint cross perhaps??


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## Hedgewitch13 (15 October 2011)

You should see the 'plaits' on the brood mares at the stud my mare has gone to. They live out all year round until they foal and some of them had incredibly long manes and plaits... Nothing but wind tangles. 

Seriously why would someone mark a horse, that the owner would spot, to be stolen when they could just nick it then and there? Load of crap if you ask me I'm afraid.


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## Tinseltoes (15 October 2011)

MHOL said:



			On doing some research they appear to be made by bigfoot! Now I would panic 
	
	
		
		
	


	





Mane Braiding
From Robin Bellamy:

An unusual phenomenon has been noted in relation to the sightings and footprints of Bigfoot type creatures. Please see photo below:

This particular one is in a horse's mane. These intricate braidings appear overnight, and there are often Bigfoot or Sasquatch type footprints nearby. They have been reported by people in the United States, and in Russia. However, we have not heard of anything similar occurring in Canada.

We must add that no creatures were actually seen braiding the horses mane, but we can say quite confidently that the horse did not do this on it's own!

I have found pictures some of which people are saying are man made for marking for theft and others are to promote detangler, make your own minds up.






































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With this windy weather ponies/horses will get these tangles.My section A has them and if I leave them,they seem to sometimes loosen. I call them RASTERS.
Pics 1,2 and 4 are like she gets. She has one right now,pic 2


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## Battyoldbint (15 October 2011)

yeah well just watch out for the fairys and little people cos my horse gets these in his feathers


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## LittleBlackMule (16 October 2011)

My native filly regularly has plaits exactly like those photos, OMG that must mean Bigfoot is alive and well in Sussex!! 

After all, she couldn't possibly be doing it herself rubbing against fenceposts...


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## henryhorn (16 October 2011)

Mystery solved, that pic looks like the ones you get when they get a bramble tangled and it comes out leaving a knot...


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## mrsdoubtfire (16 October 2011)

Hate to say it but if someone is going to steal your horse they will - plaits or no plaits, aside from sleeping (or not)in the field there is not a great deal we can do - sad fact! 

What I do want to know though is that why in these financial hard times when ligitimate sellers are struggling to sell horses is horse theft on the increase??? doesn't make sense to me?


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## Lorraine1962 (17 October 2011)

Can't believe that one our mares has had her mane plaited...we now have to bring all horses in....grrrr!!!


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## Capriole (17 October 2011)

my friends pony in my field had a plait in her forelock and tail last night, I just assumed that her daughter had been faffing around and was too lazy to take them out again! Going to be sick tonight if it wasnt her and the pony is gone arent I...

(actual plait, rolled and banded, and tail braided and banded, not a fairy tangle though)


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## *hic* (18 October 2011)

Lorraine1962 said:



			Can't believe that one our mares has had her mane plaited...we now have to bring all horses in....grrrr!!!
		
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That should make it nice and easy for the thieves, instead of having to find a plait in the dark they can now just go to the third box on the left.


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## *hic* (18 October 2011)

Jiggle said:



			my friends pony in my field had a plait in her forelock and tail last night, I just assumed that her daughter had been faffing around and was too lazy to take them out again! Going to be sick tonight if it wasnt her and the pony is gone arent I...

(actual plait, rolled and banded, and tail braided and banded, not a fairy tangle though)
		
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Presumably you took the plaits out . . .

I had to ask my loaners to please NOT leave my pony fully plaited in the field, not because I thought thieves had done it, but because I thought it was jolly unfair to leave the poor thing with no fly protection during the hot weather and I can remember only too well what plaits left in several days in my own hair felt like. APparently they thought she looked so much nicer like that that they were going to keep her like it always


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## OWLIE185 (18 October 2011)

The fact of the matter is that amongst all the horse thefts reported to horsewatch over many years not one has been reported stolen because their tail has been plaited.

If you are worried about your horse being stolen then get it freezemarked on it's shoulder.  Anyone can easily see and read a freezemark rather than a microchip which is invisible and the scanner from one system will not recognise other systems.

If your horse is stolen report it immediately to the police and ask for an incident/crime number.  Then report it to Horsewatch and then update your horses record on www.ned-online.org.uk and mark it's record as stolen.


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