Neighbours horses keep coming on our property.

Oh for God's sakes - townie attitudes.

Put up your own fence if you feel that strongly. Lots of people in the country will not upkeep fences/hedges etc. or they let them over grow. Indeed my own hedges are a bit overgrown at the moment.

My townie neighbour asked me to chop them. I haven't ( long story but I do have reasons which are quite reasonable). She can be a bit of a motormouth which is why it has not been done yet ….. it will be done.

If someone came to me with all the whinges/ excuses/threats that have been suggested on this thread, I would dig my heels in too.

Sometimes we neither have the money nor the time to do what you want as pronto as you want it - despite what you may think about us being loaded …...

Animals get out even if well fenced. I had cows in my garden a few years back ( from the field behind me) . They trashed it but I have the attitude that I would rather that , than a human clown trashing my garden or (worse) trashing my car as I had when I lived in a town.

If animals get out, be a good neighbour and take them back or look after them until the farmer/owner can get there. If you do that, you will usually find that they are really dead friendly and will do all they can to make amends for any damage without you having to whinge at them.

Horses are hardly difficult to handle - sheep and cattle are worse, you have to get them to follow you.

My neighbour often loses her chickens into my garden because they like the leaves under my over grown hedges...… I just take them back or go round and tell her, then they are in my garden until she comes for them.

I draw the line at rats..... but often townies encourage them more than country folk.

No big deal.

What did you move to the country for if you don't like it and expect urban and suburban standards?

There, I said my piece. Not everyone is so friendly and supportive as the general grans net crowd .

NFK I think it was just to say that there might be poisonous plants that the horses might eat.

Did someone suggest planting poisonous plants just in order to harm the horses? I missed that.

A heck of a lot of common garden plants are bad for animals and children. Daffodils for example. But you don’t leave little ones alone in a garden until they know better than to eat the plants. Horses on the other had, like many animals, will feel things with their mouths and have a bit of a nibble on things. They like variety as much as we do. (They don’t like daffs)

Some of the suggestions on this thread are very odd. Why suggest something like poison that will cause more distress, some plants which are poisonous to horses are also toxic to children. It is not worth the risk. The horses owners might expect you to cover their vets bills if you deliberately set out to cause injury.

I would never risk my grandchildren being injured by an animal, why not put up a simple wire fence that will keep them safe from the horses wandering in, does it really matter if your unpleasent neighbour thinks he has won? A spooked horse can mow down a child or person in an instant, I know it has happened to me.

Owing land is a responsibility and it is not unusual to have double fences, one each side of the boundary, I have one here where we have a boundry with NT land, their stone wall can be climbed by visitors, and has been, so I have a barbed wire fence on my side to deter people from using our side.

Good point on the insurance Merlot.

Take a photo of the horses on your garden and send it to Horse and Hound. The letters page might be a good start.

Also, check out your home insurance because you may be covered for legal expenses in a dispute if damage to your property occurs. They will advise as to whether or not to involve the police.

Be careful if you erect a fence, if a horse injures itself on it, because it was a quick, maybe cheap job, guess who is likely to be held responsible.?

But you can always say "What if any of the plants in my garden are toxic to the horses? I could have planted them unknowingly."

A responsible horse owner should always check the perimeter of their turn out field. Try to catch them and have a word when they come to check on and feed the horses.

Please do not knowingly plant anything toxic to horses to deter them that is cruel and barbaric.

FYI I am a horse owner.(a responsible one, as is my daughter)

The easiest way would be to wander over and talk to the horse owners when they come to ‘do’ their horses. They won’t want to know that the field - and your garden is NOT secure and their animals WILL end up loose on the road, or that you have plants which ARE poisonous, or that they will be held responsible for any damage. Be nice but firm about it and come from the angle of being worried about their beasts. Let them pressure the field owner.

Its far more practical for them to put an electric fence on their side where the grass is grazed down and for them to replace it. Most horses recognise them and respect just the tape, even when it’s not working - although my hairy beast was quite capable of scooping underneath one at speed when the mood took him.

Yes , the landowner is responsible to maintain good fencing if he is renting the land out for horses. That’s one thing they pay rent for.

I would put a fence up
"do you want to be right or do you want to be happy" is a phrase that I feel applies here... sure, you could let it drag on on principle, but personally I would rather get a fence & get on with my life!

Oh, I would not plant things that would harm the horses, it's not their fault. But I would def. put a fence up.

MOnica is right - get it sorted and then forget about who is right or wrong. Life's too short.

bobbydog24 Do not cut your nose off to spite your face. Posts and wire are really cheap at somewhere like Wickes bang a few in stretch the wire between them.

Then here is a link to plants that are poisonous to horses. www.thesprucepets.com/plants-toxic-to-horses-4121978. Plant some in your garden well clear of the fence and tell your neighbour you have done so and that if the horses get into your garden and eat any of them and come to harm, they will have to answer to the owners as the field boundary is their responsibility.

Get the names and addresses of the owners of the horses and warn them as well. I am not advocating poisoning the horses, you could also find plants that look like the poisonous plants and plant those, or not plant any at all but still pretend you have.

Electric fencing is fine in the summer when horses have not got rugs on.

You can get an electric fencing kit for around £100. Lots of horsey people use them. Very effective.

PS find out who the horses belong too, and contact them, I’m sure they won’t be pleased to hear that the animals are unsafe in the field.

Horse and Hounds website has this question answered, if you Google it, it says that the Landowner is responsible, he has a legal liability, should have Insurance and that if it’s happened before then he has to accept liability and pay for any damage, I fear though that you will have to take legal steps on this one.
Have a look at Horse and Hounds website.

Could you get some strands of wire stretched along your side of the fence line (leave his tatty old stuff up), just going high enough to keep the horses back but not giving him the satisfaction of a proper fence going up at your expense. A few wooden posts, wire and fixers.

I understand your point. I just thought it might be an idea. I suppose, in my case, the fence wasn't too long.

I do hope you get a solution.

He would be thrilled if we paid for and erected a proper fence, something which he should have done years ago with rent he takes off the owners. He's so arrogant I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. The land he rents is almost bald even before the lack of water so of course our garden is a magnet to the horses.

I haven't had this precise problem but, years ago, a fence for which my neighbour was responsible blew down in the wind. He should have put another one up or paid for one to be put up but he was the type of person who wouldn't do so.

In the end, I had one put up between our gardens even though it wasn't my responsibility. I accept that some people may think I was weak to do this but I didn't want continued unpleasantness from someone who wasn't very nice. I definitely wanted a fence so paid to have one.

Good luck!

Well, you could do everything Elegran suggests, but that won’t stop the horses in the short or medium term. Or even the long term if they just ignore you. Then you have to get solicitors involved.

I’d just go for the cheapest, easiest solution myself. I’d want a fence anyway to stop the grandchildren going into the horses field!

Please don’t send the horses out onto the road. It might be your son or daughter in the car that serves to avoid them. Or mine.

You may have to install fencing, but first do some work on getting the horse owners and the field owners to co-operate instead of being obstructive.

Can the horses get out of your garden onto the road if the front gate is open ? You have every right to leave it open at all times if you so wish. It is not up to you to keep it closed for the sake of other people's livestock in the next field, and you have not given permission for them to use your land.

Write to the owner of the field that your land is not secure to livestock. Ask for the names and addresses of the owners of the horses using his field.

Put it in writing. Tell them direct that your land is not secure and you are concerned that when the horses get through into it they are in danger of getting onto a public road and either being injured or killed themselves or causing an accident where someone is injured, or worse. This could be very expensive legally as well as a danger to life. Remind them that in owning an animal they assume responsibility for it and for its actions. They cannot want to risk the safety of their beloved animals, or of motorists who could lose their lives in a crash.

Add that it is not up to you to fence your land against their horses. They should be keeping the horses in, not you keeping them out.

Then get a professional gardener to put right the damage caused in your garden (take photographs before it is fixed) and send the bill to the field owners.

I know it will be costly, but given the circumstances I get the best fencing I could afford, or an electric fence put up. ( probably not have it turned on when GCs around).