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Preventing Horse Theft
No matter if you own a $50,000 show champion, a weekend trail horse or a pony for your kids to ride; opening the barn doors to find your horse stolen is a nightmare for any horse owner. Both the emotional and financial stress can be overwhelming. But there are steps you can take to lessen your odds of becoming victim to a thief. Identify Your Horse Permanent identification, which is encouraged by many law enforcement agencies, makes stolen horses easier to track and recover. Thieves are less likely to steal a horse with a noticeable form of permanent ID. A freeze brand, which is popular with many horse owners, is a relatively painless and attractive way to identify your horse. Other options include a hot-iron brand, a microchip implant or a lip tattoo. If you brand your horse, register the brand with your local county clerk. This will prevent other horse owners from legally using your brand on their horses, preserving the uniqueness of your brand. Registered brands are also easier to track in the event of a theft.
Keep these pictures, along with a copy of the horse's registration papers or proof of ownership, in an easy-to-find file. This will speed up the investigation process if your horse is stolen. Barn Location and Management When building a barn, paddocks or pastures; place them away from the road. Barns located beyond a house are more difficult for thieves to access. Many thieves will not risk passing by a residence to get to a horse. Installing motion sensor lights located near barns or gates can also scare a thief away. Secure your barns and pastures with strong perimeter fences that would be difficult to cut or dismantle. Slowing a potential thief with locked gates make theft less likely. However, never padlock a horse inside a barn or other closed location. In the event of a fire, a locked stall door would slow down any rescue attempt. Keep halters in a locked or out-of-site location. Halters hanging on stall doors makes it easier for a thief to quickly catch a horse and vanish. If your horses are out on pasture, bring halters with you each time instead of leaving them on the gate or fence. For safety and theft prevention, do not leave a halter on a pastured horse. Horses on pasture can make easy targets. Some pastured horses are always fed by the gate for easy access by the owner. However, this also makes easy access for a would-be thief. Hungry horses will wait at the gate, making them easy to catch. To prevent this, walk out into the pasture to feed the animals and keep all pasture gates locked. Check on the horses daily and look for any strange foot prints or tire tracks. Protect Tack and Trailers Many thefts are opportunistic crimes. Prevent these at your barn by keeping all expensive tack locked up. Consider permanently identifying tack by engraving your driver's license number (along with the state it is issued in) on the underside of saddles and headstalls. If possible, park trailers out of sight or behind a locked gate. This will not only prevent the theft of the trailer, but possibly the theft of a horse as well. Trailer hitch locks are available for both gooseneck and bumper pull trailers. Write down the trailer's license plate number and the VIN or serial number, which is typically located on the tongue of the trailer. And as with tack and horses, current photographs of the trailer make investigations easier. Nothing can guarantee total theft protection, but taking a few proactive measures can greatly reduce your risk.
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Good-quality pictures of your horse -- unsaddled and in full sunlight -- will help investigators know what they're looking for in the event your horse is stolen. Avoid leg wraps and people standing in front of the horse to create clear, unobstructed images of your animal. Make sure to take a close-up photo of your horse's head and of any unique markings or brands.