Gypsies, tramps and thieves

[Emerald]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#One house I lived in backed onto a Ravine, Teenagers wearing baseball caps would take a short cut climbing the chain link fence and go thru my back yard. (I mention that because my dogs as a result barked at anyone wearing a baseball cap)#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I had my workshop broken into from the back, #ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys/Teasing/1.gif"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#So then I came up with a rather smelly messy solution. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I used to line up doggy poo along the fence (on both sides)#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#This seemed to work.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Maybe you could use Horsey Poo ? #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#you may even get a foot print or two.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[graciespook]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#and do the real csi thing by lifting the prints, comparing models and finding the culprit #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[babytigger]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#and do the real csi thing by lifting the prints, comparing models and finding the culprit #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#LMAO GS - i'd leave that to the "experts" !!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Ruth]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I'm not going to call the police at this point. I did think about it, but I fear that little will happen, and worry the person may retaliate by setting my barn on fire or something. One of the boarders where Boomer is boarded is a police officer so I will ask her for some advice though.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Other than the first incident this is not happening at night and has happened when people are home, the two days where someone had been in the barn there were guys at my place working on the bathroom which my SO is having redone. I know it wasn't them who were in there either, I phoned to check. I'm not sure in this case if the motion detector light would make any difference, while it certainly wouldn't hurt we'd have to get an electrician in to install it.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Geese are an interesting idea. I might even be able to borrow some. What do they live in?#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#We are considering padlocking the barn at this point. I have brought the more expensive blankets in the house for now, other than the horses we don't have much valuable stuff in the barn, the saddle I have at home is a ancient Wintec that I paid $25 for, the good one is up with Boomer, and I don't think they'll be able to drag the bush hog out of there!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#We're also considering the idea of a couple of outdoor dogs, so if anyone hears tell of someone looking for a home for a couple of farm dogs, preferably complete with doghouses, please let me know.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#The video camera is a good idea, but I am in fairly dire financial straits at the moment, so I can't buy anything right now. My vet bills were astronomical this summer and I lost my hay - I'm really strapped.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I'm not in a town, we don't really even have any close neighbors, but we are right on the 400. Our closest neighbors are on the other side of it. We do have 8 acres of bush beyond the pasture, and also a 1/2 acre right in one of the pastures.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#It does make me nervous though. I have taken to carrying our big honking flashlight when I go out to the barn at night, outside of providing some light it was made for sailing and is quite a good weight, I figure I could make a good dent in someone's head with it if I had to. I'm not petrified the whole time I'm out there, but I'm definitely not comfortable.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[graciespook]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#and do the real csi thing by lifting the prints, comparing models and finding the culprit #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#LMAO GS - i'd leave that to the "experts" !!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#What...my hours and hours of watching the show doesn't qualify?? Darn it! #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[draftdriver]

You can get a solar-powered motion detector light at Canadian Tire. I've got one. It's been working fine, up until yesterday. I guess we haven't had enough sunlight to recharge it properly lately.

[Ruth]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#How much?#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[babytigger]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#GS - if you want to make molds out of horse poop footprints, go for it!! oh, and good luck with the fingerprints too! lol#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Ruth]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Oh, I forgot to tell you guys, my boss's wife wondered if they were wrapping dead bodies in the horse blankets instead of sleeping under them. I said "Gee, thanks, I hadn't thought of that as a possibility!"  Not that I think that's what's happening really.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[GoDDeSSofWiNgS]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Yikes this isnt a pleasant situation at all!  I would start padlocking.  I guess its a hassel when you used to leaving it unlocked, and all the barns I have been riding at dont lock up but its probably the cheapest and easiest way to go.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[draftdriver]

$60 or $70. No wiring to worry about. Just attach with screws (privided), and attach small solar panel (a little larger than a pocket book) where it can get lots of sun. All wire for between solar panel and light group is included and already attached to each part.

[jax]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Well definitely talk to the police officer / boarder and get some suggestions.  She may even have access to some equipment you can use, you never know.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Ruth]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#DD, is there anyway I'd know from the house that the light had gone on? We can't see the front of the barn easily from the house. Not impossible, but it would require staking out from a bedroom. Like I said, this largely seems to be a daytime problem anyway.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Eileen]

#ed_op#TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"#ed_cl##ed_op#TBODY#ed_cl##ed_op#TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"#ed_cl##ed_op#TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off"#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I can understand how you feel about talking to the authorities regarding what seems like a petty B&E at best but it may be to you benifit if you do make out a formal "report" just so you are covering your ass so to speak.  If things do get more serious then you have it all on paper that you did alert the authorities that you were having problems way back when.  It may seem to you that you are being way over zealous here but in this day and age you cannot be too careful...and you say that this has been happening in  broad daylight...all the more to worry I say.  I think that the doggie doo doo palced in stratigig places sounds like a good idea.  I am sure that if you do not have a dog of your own, you will have plenty of friends that are willing and able to help you out by donating any doo doo that you might need.  #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#perhaps if you have an electrition friend or someone that is talented in that area...you can invent some sort of alarm system with light or sounds or both when the barn door is open....also if there is a back door as well as a front door to this barn...perhaps it may be a good idea to keep the back door locked from the inside so that one has to enter the front entrance in order to open the back door...this is just a mere inconvenience for the culprits though...I guess it would not deter them much  #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/TD#ed_cl##ed_op#/TR#ed_cl##ed_op#TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"#ed_cl##ed_op#TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV id=hotbar_promo#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/TD#ed_cl##ed_op#/TR#ed_cl##ed_op#/TBODY#ed_cl##ed_op#/TABLE#ed_cl#

[Ruth]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I'm going to talk to my police officer friend before doing anything, because I do see the sense in what you're saying Eileen, but I'd like to talk to someone I know off the record first. I hope to see her Monday.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#We have 48 acres so I don't think the doggie doo will help - I do have plenty of horse manure should we decide to try that, or I guess maybe I could just leave some in front of the barn door, rather than trying to line the entire property.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#The back door is a sliding door which is locked from the inside. We also have a 3rd man door off the side of the barn, it is like a bathroom door, I might be able to turn the door knob to lock it, I haven't checked yet because at the moment we aren't locking the front door either. It might not be a bad idea to lock it anyway, we never use that door anymore and that is the only door that goes directly from a pasture into the barn - I would not want horses getting in the barn through it anyway. The fact it is narrow doesn't deter them, I know from experience when we used to open it to fill the trough.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I'll keep you all updated.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[tbbrat]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Geese don't need anything special - mine just wander at will inside the goat pen.  They don't spend much time in the barn, sometimes they're inside in the morning.  They eat mostly grass, so you don't have to feed them a lot in the summer.  Mine get chicken feed right now, just because I'm carrying it down there for the chickens and ducks, but on occasion, they get goat feed.  The woman I bought them from gave them horse sweet feed!  In winter, you can give them alfalfa hay.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#They do need a full bucket of water, they mess it up real fast, but they don't seem to mind.  I've tried to get mine into the pond, but they don't seem terribly interested.  If I leave the gate open (goats in their stalls), they don't go very far, not like some dogs.  They do kick up a fuss if there's anything out of the ordinary.  I think I got lucky, they're not aggressive with us or people that come down with us.  I'll have to send an unsuspecting stranger down and see how they react LOL#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Emerald]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#If you see multiple foot prints in the Horsey Poo, #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#it must be a horse person,#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#We are the only crazys who don't mind the squish. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#