This situation is not being over-exaggerated.The North East is being heavily targeted at the moment. Several people have seen these thieves in the Northumberland /Durham area over the last 2 weeks and so far 5 horses have been stolen and several other attempted thefts have been thwarted thanks to the extra vigilance being taken by yard owners. Additional CCTV and watch rotas are now in place. The people involved have been seen close to and fit the descriptions from other parts of the country, i.e. mid-Eastern origin and with pit-bull type dogs. The same vehicles are being used, white van - Regn. No. N253 XAJ, red Land Cruiser and a blue VW. Police in the Hexham area stopped thieves on Ist June from taking 2 mares and foals from a field. The people got away but the police got a red 4x4 and a wagon. There were no fingerprints in the car but the wagon contained quad bikes. Someone who knows a 'dodgy' dealer has spoken to him and he has confirmed that this is a serious rustling ring. The horses are being stolen, advertised on the internet outside this country then being shipped abroad.
The police are involved up here but it seems to me there should be national co-ordination. Also, are the Customs people aware of what's happening? There are not many points of export so it would make sense to put stringent checks on any horses going through there. Passport checks probably are inadequate as they are so easy to falsify, especially if the horse is a common size and colour.
Just heard 9 coloured cobs were stolen near Cannock on 2/6 and 5 horses near Lichfield 1/6.
Maybe local and national media should be involved to make more people aware of the situation. Not everyone reads forums like this or gets H&H. We have a very active community site in the North - www.giddyupnorth.com which is where I first became aware of the problem but not many people I have spoken to knew anything. It's very worrying.

You can't be too careful. And it isn't just the threat of rustling. Has anybody else seen the piece in Horse and Hound about yet another attack on a horse?

This one had cigarettes stubbed out on its face at some point during the night while turned out in the field. Apparently he is a very friendly little horse who would always go up to humans. The owner knew straightaway that something was wrong as the poor thing wouldn't come across the field when she went to catch him. Police are appealing for witnesses but the chances are remote as always.

Until they start to give proper punishments for attacks we will see more of this. Remember the recent case of the mare attacked with a machete and was so badly injured she had to be put down? The perpetrator got five months and will undoubtedly get out much sooner. Anybody with horses close to roads or footpaths etc needs to be very aware of this, especially with horses that are easy to catch.

Aside from the wanton cruelty aspect of these attacks what the courts don't seem to consider is the long term effects of this sort of thing, even if the horse survives. I once met a girl who owned a fairly elderly horse that had been attacked in its field some years before. He'd been slashed in a horrible attack and though he survived he couldn't be turned out again as he would panic if left alone, even with other horses around him. His entire management and quality of life changed as he had to be kept in and just turned out for short periods in a menage but only when somebody could sit by the fence. The minute you moved away he would try and jump out and follow.

just reading all the threads i live hampshire near the coast & was told 10 horses were stolen from a nearby yard on Mon not sure how true this is or if someone has there wires crossed with the 9 horses reported as stolen elsewhere but be aware.

Hi all 4 horses have also been stolen from the great yarmouth area, I believe the four stolen were all coloured. Also stolen was a trailer. 1 man and 1 woman of eastern european looks have been seen and chased but not caught. Vehicles were a white transit and a silver renault, Both were in the late twenties.

jill

hi the way they get horses out off this country is they take them vi irelend were no pastports are required then ship them out through southern irelend to europe so be aware,,, we have been burgled last month tack rugs and feed were taken,, then they came back 2 weeks later and stole all the feed again.

The issue is, that as far as the police are concerned, horse theft is relatively rare compared to, say, car theft and in many areas they literally do not have the resources to deal with it.
Some police forces have 'rural officers' and it is these that get involved with the horsewatch network and use their own systems to pass on info about suspected crimes to other forces - this is how the message about the current spate of thefts was originally distributed.
Horse owners have to support the police and horsewatch groups by being vigilant and recording accurate, detailed info about suspicious incidents and reporting it IMMEDIATELY to their local police.
The sad fact is that coloured horses are increasingly prized, especially overseas, so tend to be the target. They're also quite hard to tell apart, even to an experienced horseperson.
Police advise owners of coloured horses to keep an up to date set of photos, taken without tack, from both sides, and close ups of any unusual markings. This can help track them down if the thieves get spooked by increased police activity and dump the horses.