We have been told by the police to watch all horse stock. They have been informed that horse theft is up because of all the problems in Europe. Horse meat is in high demand and so are liveing animals {they cant get Hoof and mouth?}He said Canada is on the look out for stolen horses but has little control,an animal can be stolen and in canada with in a day and no trace is left. I for one will be more aware of ours mostly at night.

-- renee oneill{md.} (oneillsr@home.com), March 14, 2001

Answers

My dh and I were just talking about this last night. I expect slaughter horse prices to go way up in the near future. We are fortunate as our horses are rare and easily identified, one of us is almost always at home, and we have several retired (and well armed) neighbors who keep a close eye on our place. Not to mention a couple of good (and noisy) dogs. Later this year we are adding two livestock guard dogs.

On the humorous side, out of 50+ head of horses, we have only about 6 that are halter broke, and altho some of the horses are friendly, others would definately be more fearsome than a good guard dog. Most of the mares are not shy about attacking "predators" in any form, and the stallions will protect their mares. I'd hate to be a stranger trying to get into some of our pastures at night, LOL! However, your warning reminded me to speak to our horse owning friends who aren't quite as well prepared for trouble as we are.

-- Lenette (kigervixen@webtv.net), March 14, 2001.

I'd want to look into getting my horse freeze branded or tattooed in some way. Supposedly (in a perfect world, of course), the guys at the stockyards will look twice if a horse has a brand on it. I guess money talks, though. There I go, being paranoid again! Guess I'll need to watch my goat herd, too, huh? dh in nm

-- debra in nm (dhaden@nmtr.unm.edu), March 14, 2001.

Well - there goes all our BLM horses..... And yes, horses can get it. That is why the wild population in Britain is under threat of extermination. Hmmmm..... go figure.

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 14, 2001.

If you're going to mark your horses in some manner, I highly recommend a freeze brand in a prominenent location on horse. Rarely are horses checked for tattoos, and of course since a thief can't see the tattoo, it wouldn't deter him from taking your horse. (Same goes for microchips.) A conspicuously marked animal is much less likely to be targeted in the first place. IMHO, a freeze branded animal is also safer because the penalty for illegally slaughtering a BLM horse is a usually a lot worse than for just any horse. Given the wide variety in size, color and type in BLM horses, no potential thief would be able to tell if your horse was just a backyard horse or a BLM mustang.

-- Lenette (kigervixen@wetv.net), March 14, 2001.

I thought horses could not get it just carry it.?

-- renee oneill{md.} (oneillsr@home.com), March 14, 2001.

Brand your horses!!!!!! I agree that nobody checks for tattoos nor do many slaughter houses check for microchips. If you were a thief would you choose the horse with a big mark on his rump or the one with no mark? I live in Az and lately tack theft has gone up. Lock your stuff up!! We have one of those metal mobile mini storage things and the local police dept. said thoae were the best to have.

-- Kim Ames (Kountrygirl27@aol.com), March 14, 2001.

Definitely brand in some way.We had some cattle stolen around here and the thieves were caught when the owner called all the stockyards in a hundred mile radius asking if any cows with that brand had come through.Being that the yards only pay by check,they got a name and address of the thieves.

-- nobrabbit (conlane@prodigy.net), March 14, 2001.

How stressful! I got to thinking...A well organized ring of horse thieves (or any stock) probably wouldn't have to worry much about brands, It may be like the organized car thieves,,stripe a car completely in 10 minutes or less. The thieves may slaughter the horses very soon after stealing them, (horrors!!),if that is their purpose. I would put more guards and alerts on the "home front",,various reinforced safety measures. Several big guard dogs, as mentioned, sensors of various kinds, what ever a person could come up with. I used to just bring my horses up closer to home when there was a threat of any kind,,stabling at night is good,,with dogs inside,,and lights, Of course this only works for someone with a few horses. ***Thinking of you all and your horses,,take care,,,

-- Patsy (cozyhollow-gal@care2.com), March 14, 2001.

Hoof and Mouth is a virus of cloven-hooved animals

-- Earthmama (earthmama48@yahoo.com), March 14, 2001.

My friends overseas tell me that horses are raised for food. (I know of folks here doing the same thing.) But even more horses are now being raised for food since the Hoof and Mouth outbreak. It's the popular meat. Horses can not get the disease. Only cloven hoofed critters can get it. But horses can carry/transfer the disease on their hooves.

England will not allow American beef in their country due to all the hormones and junk that Americans pump into their meat. I suspect it will be the same for the horse, now that they are consuming even more.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), March 14, 2001.

Debra: you're not paranoid! At our local auction, the local meat dealer got the horses even before they made it out onto the floor. I would see him walk to the owner, the anounced horse wouldn't even come onto the floor. They aren't even shy about it. Thankfully, our horses are surrounded by dogs who bark at any intruder: all my neighbors and I have dogs who complain loudly at anyone who comes near.

-- Epona (crystalepona2000@yahoo.com), March 15, 2001.

Horses DO NOT get or carry Foot and Mouth disease, they are one of the very few that do not get it!!! Almost all wildlife DOES get it, deer especially, even moles, voles, and other rodents, birds of all kinds, especially chickens, that is why this is so serious and such drastic measures are being taken overseas and in Argentina NOTHING is being done, so watch for it to come here from Argentina, like with the swallows that are to return from Capistrano today.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), March 19, 2001.

Annie Miller, please read:

http://www.nfucountryside.org.uk/news/feb01/FMD3.htm

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), March 20, 2001.

You folks must realize that only cloven hooved critters get Hoof and Mouth Disease.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), March 20, 2001.

I understand that the disease is carried by cloven hoofed animals, but the point that does not seem to be understood on this thread is that: everything, affects everything ELSE. If there is less BEEF to eat, then folks will begin to consume something else. Horse meat doesn't particularly appeal to me, but there are people that can make you believe the meat you're eating came from cows. Even if it did not. Back in 1988 I spent a couple weeks in India, and we came to appreciate QUICKLY the meals we had that contained MEAT. And at least 10 of those suppertimes included GOAT. Yum, may I have seconds, please. Supply and demand, just like Europe is experiencing now.

-- Action Dude (theactiondude@yahoo.com), March 20, 2001.

One of the problems with branding ... if you live in a state that has a brand law you have to "register" your brand with the state for it to be legal though as far as I am aware there is nothing to say you can't freeze brand an I.D. number, for instance, along the neck like the BLM horses. Also, since moving east, I've found that in the states with no brand laws they completely ignore brands ... if you had something that was branded, and called all the sale yards, if something came through with that brand on it they might hold it, I'm not sure ... as they do not have any "brand inspectors" here ... and I would have no idea how to contact all of the little sale yards that actually do sell horses ...

Fairly simple in a state with brand laws and brand inspectors ... call the state brand inspection office and report it ... they notify all of the state brand inspectors ... not sure how it would work in a state that did not have any centralized office like this.

-- sharonmcael (timberln@hyperaction.net), March 20, 2001.

Just a quick question.... What are BLM horses.... i have been around horses and horse people all my life...but, I haven't ever heard of BLM horses. Thanks ahead of time.

Sarah

-- Sarah Wilde (gilded_lily_1@yahoo.com), March 21, 2001.

Sarah Wilde, I'm not a horse person, but I believe BLM stands for Bureau of Land Management, and they are referring to wild horses that the government lotteries off to lucky individuals. Someone correct me if I am mistaken. (My wife says: "I thought I was wrong, once, but I was MISTAKEN.) Nyuk, nyuk.

-- Action Dude (theactiondude@yahoo.com), March 21, 2001.

That's the correct answer for BLM horses -- mustangs on federal lands, that come under the jurisdiction of the BLM's land....er....management. As opposed to mustangs owned by individuals.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), March 21, 2001.