Pasture security?

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clipclop101

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Not sure exactly where this belongs, but it is not exclusively about my minis so I thought i would put it here.

We got up this morning and discovered that our electric fence had been messed with overnight and was partially down. So a little pertinent information: The entire back acreage is fenced in with chain link, with the back half being the pony pasture and the front half being yard for the dogs. The pony pasture also has electric fence running about 6 inches in on the inside of the chain link to keep my guys from pushing on the chain link. There is a shed/barn with the hay storage, stall/run in space, and mower space with an overhead door. The power supply to the electric fence is inside of this mower space behind an overhead door. There are two gates to the back yard that are both at the front of the property closest to the house and both have locks on them. The smaller gate's lock had rusted and was not actually closed, just hanging on the latch to look like it. That lock has been replaced this morning with a new one. Other lock is fine. Overhead door has a latch, but no lock - which will be remedied as soon as I can get to the store to pick up another padlock.

The part of the electric fence closest to the shed, where it comes out from the power source, had been pulled up. I would have thought that one of my guys just got caught in it and pulled it away except for two things. A couple of the step-in posts from the electric fence had been pulled partially through the chain link - towards the outside. No way a spooking pony can thread one of those through and start pushing it out. And the power supply for the fence had been unplugged. Which means they would have had to get into the shed through the overhead door. Nothing appears to be missing, just messed with. We live in a very rural, usually quiet neighborhood. I have no idea what someone would be trying to accomplish by this. It's not like the electric fence is valuable, and had they been intending to steal the ponies they would have already been inside the back yard to unplug the fence and could have just opened the gate to get them.

I am planning on posting a mess of no trespassing signs around the exterior, and a couple of "smile you're on camera" signs close to the shed. Finances do not allow me to actually buy a security camera system just now, but that is probably coming too. Have any of you had to deal with a similar situation? Any ideas for other things I could do? I don't know much at all about security camera systems, and what I have researched so far is pretty confusing. There isn't much back there that is valuable, just my babies. And it is my babies I am afraid of them harming or trying to steal. Short of sitting out there with a shotgun overnight I am not sure what to do.
 
You mentioned security cameras, but look into game cameras, they might be more economical.

I live so rural, it's too much work for people to come out and harass us. [Knock on wood, it's not happened yet.]
 
Wish I could actually SEE what you describe. And other than adding more locks and possibly a camera system, I don't know what to suggest.

We are also relatively rural, but live only about a half mile off a country 2 lane highway. The top of our property extends up to the highway, so it does make us vulnerable. The gate up there does have a padlock because we've had hunters trespass........literally opened the gate and DROVE IN with their rifles, tracking a deer. We also had some kids come up to our barn pasture during the night and open the gate and leave, just to make trouble. The gate was padlocked after the 3rd night of it happening. We also called the county police and they came and looked over the situation and put our street on their regular evening patrol schedule.
 
Chandab, the game camera is a great idea! Much more affordable and easier to set up. Miniv, I do kind of wonder if it is just kids messing around here too. There are new padlocks placed now so if nothing else, they ought to know we are watching closely. If anything else happens, I will try to get some photos.
 
I have not had any thing quite like that happen but I have had some weird stuff go on. About 9 years ago was the incident of "the box" where someonw woth a dolly was trundling a big wooden boz through my side pasture. I scared the person anf he ran off with his dolly, leaving the wooden box behind. No idea who it was or what he wanted the box for--or where he got it. Some mo ths later.the guy was put there again with his squeaky wheeled dolly--we heard him squeaking all g. When I yelled he.yook off running--the squeaks came much faster. After that he either quit or he oiled the wheels as i never heard the dolly again. One of those things where I could only ask WHY???? About tjat same time someone stole 2 flat tires (on rims) out of my yard--yet they left the good tires which were stacked yards away. Again, WHY? I have had a few odds and ends of tack disappear out of boxes too--a fleece girth, a couple bits, some shoeing tools. If someone were trying to steal your electric fencing, stuffing it through a chain link fence seems like the hard way to do It? That is odd.

With all the horrible things people do to horses (a Mini in England was just sexually assaulted and stabbed 16 times, for example) it is concerning when you know someone has been prowling around in the yard or pasture.

Game.cameras are perhaps cheaper than security cameras--just make sure you get one without the flashing light. Wild animals don't care about the light but a person will notice it and probably steal the camera!!
 
I have electric front gates with a code attached. I also have a sensor at the gate so when a car pulls into the driveway or a person passes that sensor all the lights down the driveway automatically come on. I also have a security system with cameras. I can look at these anytime on my mobile phone. I have a number of "dummy" Cameras located around the place they look quite similar to the security system cameras , Beware of dogs signage, Private Property trespassers prosecuted signage. Probably a little extreme on the security front, But I live quite close to cities and towns and there are plenty of Crazies out there !!

I would maybe suggest some sensor lights , you could probably get solar ones from the hardware store.
 
Wish I could actually SEE what you describe. And other than adding more locks and possibly a camera system, I don't know what to suggest.

We are also relatively rural, but live only about a half mile off a country 2 lane highway. The top of our property extends up to the highway, so it does make us vulnerable. The gate up there does have a padlock because we've had hunters trespass........literally opened the gate and DROVE IN with their rifles, tracking a deer. We also had some kids come up to our barn pasture during the night and open the gate and leave, just to make trouble. The gate was padlocked after the 3rd night of it happening. We also called the county police and they came and looked over the situation and put our street on their regular evening patrol schedule.
Thats terrible someone would open a barn gate "for fun" . Years ago we had someone going around letting horses out of paddocks, yards, stables, right throughout the town. Many horses and ponies were hit by cars. There are many many "Weirdos " out there .

Minimor, years ago we had someone going around sexually abusing horses , it went on for months , he was known as the red ribbon "pervert" as he would leave a red ribbon on these poor horses. Thank goodness , to this day, he is still in Jail.

Its no wonder we protect our properties !!!
 
I've never had to deal with pasture security where we live. But I would think a good electric fence charge would be helpful. A motion detector light might be good. And I've heard of people who put up fake cameras, which has been effective. Make a sign to go with it, like "smile, you're on candid camera". We had a sign made for my dad's property several years ago: "Warning! This property infested with--we used the Latin names of mosquitos and ticks--enter at your own risk!". It was very effective.

Ryan, I think I heard of a similar grotesque happening in the United States a few years ago.

Some people in our town had their horses tails cut off by a malicious druggie. (not the tailbone, just the hair, but it was pretty sad to see those pitiful tails trying to swat flies)
 

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