Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Horse Problems

Some of you may have seen other posts I've made about the blind horse that regularly visits us. Well, for about the last six months, six of his buddies have been coming with him. They visit several times a week. When my wife got home tonight, her car was surrounded by six of the horses. The seventh was licking our air conditioner.

They all seem to be nice critters. But, they have destroyed my asparagus patch, my rhubarb, my blueberries, and my raspberries.
They've trampled and eaten our flower garden. The have started to really mess up one edge of my pond. They leave us lots of big lumpy presents. Especially during non-daylight savings time, I've come close to running into several of them when they stand in the middle of the road or in my driveway on my long race to work, or on my long race home to my pond.

On the Saturday night before Mothers Day, the blind horse really scared my wife's very elderly aunt who is legally blind and quite deaf. She was standing in my driveway when the blind horse wanted to make friends with her -- the aunt is a long-time city girl who was certain it was a wild critter who wanted her for dinner. Quite a scene!

My wife or I call the sheriff every time the horses are on the county road. I'm on a first name basis with the animal control warden, who I call frequently when they are in my yard eating and leaving presents. When I call either, the owner hears about it on her scanner and comes and gets the horses before the animal warden or deputies arrive. She refuses to speak to me.

The sheriff and animal control warden have both told me to file a civil suit. That will cost me money and time. I hold no grudges or vindictiveness. The animal control warden told me tonight to detain one of the horses, and he'll come pick it up. She will be charged, but the fine is only $10, plus $180 court costs. I'd have to take a day off from work for both incidents.

Her fences are 60 years old. We share about 1200 feet of common property line. The neighbors tell me it was much worse 40 years ago when the family raised hogs.

As I mentioned above, she refuses to speak to me. Tonight when she came and got her seven horses, she kept her back to me and would not acknowledge me.

I don't want to hurt the horses. I don't feel this should cost me lots of unpaid time from work plus a lawyer. I just want her to fix her fences or get rid of the horses. She also has countless dogs and cats, but that too is another story.

I'm getting a fence around many of my berry plants and garden, but I'm afraid one of the horses will fall into one of the post holes which don't yet have fence posts.

Dear Abby and PBers -- do you have any legal and practical suggestions?


Ken

Hey Cat, I feel your pain. I'm afraid your choices won't be pleasant. Filing a civil suit may be what it takes to make these people more responsible. I guess another choice is offer to help repair the fence. I don't know of any good horse deterrents.( I don't think they are scared of owls.) I know they don't like electric fences, maybe that could be an option. Wish I had better option for you.

Could try a paintball gun. It won't hurt the horse too bad and the owner might get tired of washing the paint off. Works good for roaming dogs too. Especially for roaming house dogs. Paint gets on the furniture!!

Wow Ken I feel for ya too. And I thought herons were bad. At least I can shoot them with a federal permit.

It simply amazes me how stupid and selfish some people are in this world.

Cat, here one would make a stink with the township trustees about the bad fence and livestock incursions. After you made their lives misrable, they would have fence erected and charge the party with the livestock via property tax add-on for their 1/2 (or maybe all - it's a grayer area I am not completely up on) of the fence.

NOTE: Ohio fence law states that you are responsible for 1/2 of the line fence with each neighbor - the 1/2 on the right side as you look towards the neighbor. In general, non-livestock owners can't be charged to/for maintianing their half of the fence. YMMV.

Catamado, talk to the neighbor first, let her know that you basically have two options to keep her horses from continuing to damage your property. 1. Help her fix the fence, or 2. File a civil suit. I would also take pictures of her horses on your property and the damage the have done just in case you have to go with option #2. To me it seems like spending a day or two on the weekend helping fix fence would be the most cost effective and preferable way to settle this.

I like Shorty's advice. Give her one last chance. If she won't answer the phone then the next time the horses are on your property detain them (horse prison?) until she will speak to you face to face.

I'll leave any legal advice to our resident attorney. Speaking of which where is Ewest lately?

If you have to then I would put up a T bar & barbed wire fence combo. Realtively cheap and that should keep horses out. Perhaps the neighbor doesn't have the financial resources to build or repair the fence. It's not fair that the expense falls completely on you but life ain't always fair.

I can completely relate Catmandoo. I have two adjacent neighbors that own horses. They use to ride on my property all of the time. One even CUT one of my fences in order to ride around my pond. The horse poo was all over the place and the horses walking on the soft pond-side dirt caused ankle breaking holes all over. Pain in the hiney.

Good point. Take pictures of the horses when they are on your property too. Make notes. Documentation always helps.

We've had all that happen here on separate instances, although I must admit that "horse poo was all over the place" is not something I'd often complain about or even notice.

Slobs come in all factions - slob hunters, slob fishermen, slob horse people.

You would if you were barefoot at the time.

If you can get this horse doo to squezze up between your toes it will kill germs and bacteria. I do not believe it will help with my spelling.

My brother had a similar problem with a neighbors horse always getting out and coming through the woods to visit his horses. He would call the guy up and it would take him 2-3 days to come get the horse. Of course, he never bothered to offer to pay my brother for the feed the horse ate. It finally got to the point that he put the horse in his barn and started tallying up boarding fees after notifying the horse owner. Then he refused to turn the horse over until the guy paid for boarding fees. After about 2 weeks the guy offered to sell the horse to my brother. If you saw the condition the horse was in and the medical attention it needed you would understand the stance my brother took. Eventually my brother offered to help find a new buyer for the horse, and called the debt even. Sure it cost him a few bucks but it helped the horse and put an end to the problem.

How about a horse BBQ, can you imagine the size of those ribs. MMMMMMMMM!

Are the horses otherwise well cared for? If they show signs of neglect the local animal protection may step in. Sounds like they may be well fed after visiting though.

deaner...you nut!
Call me crazy, but I think you just wandered onto the dark side! Whoa!
(either that, or you've been reading JHAP's book on homeopathic medicine and cures. Don't try the cowboy chip dip; he's just trying to sell toothbrushes)
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19th century German steel and arms magnate Alfred Krupp believed that horse manure had healing properties and constructed a $4 million mansion where the stables were located underneath the master bedroom complex, with ventilating shafts allowing the "healthful vapors" to waft upward into his bedroom. The windows in the master bedroom did not open.

OK, I give up. How did you know this?

The Arms of Krupp

I read it once, about 15-20 years ago.

Wow. Thanks for all the answers.

It has been a very long day so far, but the problem is now mostly solved. Using Theo's technique of really being a PITA (Pain In The A..) to the sheriff and animal warden for the past several weeks, finally paid off.

It turns out that of the seven horses, four belong to somebody I know who lives down the road about a mile. The neighbor who owns four of the horses had no idea the problem was so bad.

There was absolutely no fence for about 1000 feet of common property line between the property owner and us. The horses knew this, but none of the horse owners did!

The land owner called the 4-horse owner last night after calls from the animal warden and the sheriff, after several calls from me and my wife. They were told that the horses would be taken if they could not be controlled. The 4-horse owner and her husband quickly got involved. This morning about 10:00 AM I heard hammering up in the woods. The lady was up there by herself stretching barbed wire. Her husband was out of town on business, but was on his way back. To make a long story short, we used my tractor to bring up more fence posts, wire, tools, etc. Her husband came home, and with more supplies, the three of us fenced two sides of 60 acres today.

Unfortunately, about 500 feet of the fence is about 30 feet onto my property. She started that before I saw her up there. She hesitantly offered to take it down. It is about 90 degrees with 100% humidity today. I didn't have the heart to tell her she had to move it. But, this I can deal with this through my lawyer and by being vigilant about keeping my properly lines well marked. I've been through this before.

For anyone who may face this in the future, I too subscribe to the pestering factor.

Thanks for all the good answers -- well, thanks for some of the others too. It is good that it is so hot and humid right now, otherwise I'd be like Alfred Krupp. There are lots of piles outside our bedroom window.

Ken

Tomorrow morning, Cat, reward yourself with the breakfast of grumpy champions:

Great story Ken. I'm glad that you managed not only to work out the horse control situation but it seems as though you preserved a friendly neighbor relationship. Great job.

Theo, what the heck are those?

Bski, what do you have against my patented Cowboy Chip Dip???

Sunil loves it.

PITA bread!

Brettski can not help himself as he is from Illinoisand is still there in that climate. I broke away from Illinois and I am so thankful in looking back at the way I could of turned out, the Lord helps them that help themselves. Brettski you will have my prayers. just kiddin

(I WILL take the prayers, thank you very much)