Tail Thieves

[Marsha Cassada]

I heard there has been a rash of horse tails cut off in Idaho. Anyone heard of this?

 

[lkblazin]

What!!??!?? That's odd. Unless are they selling them? The attachments are expensive. Wow that's really wierd.

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

Sadly it does happen a lot, like already stated, the tail extensions are expensive so most theft is probably for that reason. Luckily hasnt happened around here a lot but we have heard of it before.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Yes, I think it is suspected they are being sold for extensions.

 

[amysue]

I had never heard of people doing this. Then again, I have lost faith in much of the human race and people don't surprise me anymore. I'd say put a kicker out there and that'll teach the thieves a lesson...but in this messed up world that we live in...I'd get sued because some thieving moron was stupid enough to trespass and pull my horse's tail And get his teeth kicked out. This is awful, thanks for posting this so we can keep a lookout.

 

[lkblazin]

OK!!!! I googled/ did some digging....and I found that white horse hair is being sold on eBay for over $300 a lb!!!

Apparently there is quite a large market. It is so diverse that most people would never even think about some of the things they use the hair for.

Instruments

Potery

And many astetics around the house. I knew about the pottery. But I thought they came up with something else for violins. I guess not. Its disgusting. And they are not just cutting the hair they are also in some cases injuring the horses, just so they can make a profit.

Just google "stealing horse hair". Many articals come up. Some from years ago but some more recent. If you switch up the wording there are different websites.

 

[lkblazin]

Lol amysue forget the kicker and put a donkey in the field. Then get hotwire fencing and an alpaca to survey the perimeters lol

 

[Minimor]

There was one time--a lot of years ago now--when the tails disappeared off two of my Morgans. It was very odd--they were in a corral, so a contained area, not as if they were roaming a big bush pasture where tail hair could get caught and pulled out and I wouldn't find it. Their tails were there, then they were gone--no hair stuck on fences, nor pulled out on the ground. The two horses sure didn't chew the hair off each other. Someone had to have taken it.

 

[AngC]

You have got to be kidding!

I had never heard of this, and I'm spinning right up into the stratosphere!

Two of ours came to us with way more shaving than I care for. I've been waiting a few years for hair to grow out.

I recently agonized over cutting Coco's and and Nicky's tails because they were stepping on them. I settled on doing a feather-type cut vice whacking it off straight horizontal. I've been waiting for Coco's forelock to grow out. Nicky's forelock (which is ample-down to the end of his nose) protects his eyes. If somebody trespassed in order to steal/cut I would be irrationally peeved off, just at the trespassing, never-mind the hair theft.

ok, I should calm down here. I wonder if they want body hair. Nicky's body hair is 3-4 inches or so in length, and Nicky is getting vacuumed this year. I am tired of picking hair off my face when I brush him. This could be like winning the lottery; I could sell Nicky hair on ebay?

 

[lkblazin]

Not body hair. Just the tail is what I found. In the summer I shave my girls hair and send it in to a lab that does research for human allergies.

 

[amysue]

I've donated clipped body hair to the oil spill clean-up effort before. They use it to soak up oil slicks on beaches. Ive donated bits of horse hair from regular grooming of forelocks and bridle paths to local artists and students for crafts (horse hair jewelry and dream catchers etc.) I even had an unruly goat nibble on a pony's tail once. But I have never had one stolen. Totally believe it though, people do not surprise me. I never gave it much thought as to where the hair for extentions came. I just assumed it was sold from processing plants or pmu farms or other places like that. It makes me worry because I have horses turned out all over this place and they are not all where I can always see them. If I do catch a tail thief ill do th them what I did to the girl in high school on my riding team (whom I despised and im sure the feeling was mutual) when she roached my gelding's mane and tail on purpose. She did it to tick me off, so I confronted her, she swung at me first.... so I grabbed her skinny butt and cut her long ponytail right off (at the top of her scalp). Took years for it to grow back. Payback is a beautiful thing.

 

[Miniv]

Sure hope the tail thieves don't injure the horse while doing it! They could easily cut the tail bone!

 

[Ryan Johnson]

OMG Amysue I am literally in fits of laughter, id probably do the same LOL

 

[lkblazin]

Amysue if I had the guts i would let em have it. But i m a bit of a chicken. Although who knows maybe I'd run out with my vintage pellet gun screaming like a mad women :-D !! Its kinda funny cause the manemane, tail and for lock are like gold to me. My mom roached one of my girls manes once, and ughgh I was sertifiably derranged.

 

[amysue]

Im not proud to admit this...but I have a tiny little problem with managing my rage towards people who do stupid things seemingly on purpose. On more than one occasion I have shot off a couple rounds to scare off stupid kids and ballsy trespassers. I have a ZERO tolerance for people not respecting my property. People in my town seem to think they can do whatever they want on my property, ride their horses or atvs, hunt/fish and rifle through my garages and shop. Not to mention just waltz around my barn yard like i run some sort of petting zoo. They give me this derranged look when i inform them they are trespassing. I have come to the conclusion that either they are all blind and illeterate and completely incapable of comprehending the concept of "no trespassing" signs....or they're just so arrogant and inconsiderate to care. I have had horses and cows stolen, fences tampered with, tools, metal and equipment stolen and even lost animals to unsupervised misbegotten children with deadbeat parents feeding inappropriate treats or bringing germs in from their dirty farms at home. Some years ago, these neighborhood punks stole a mare out of the yard of the nice elderly gentleman up the street. They ran the mare up the street, she slipped on the ice and fell, breaking her leg. They left her there to die. It was the night of a snow storm where we got over 10" of snow. That mare lay there dead buried in the snow plow drift on the side of the road until the snow melted and the mare's owner found her. The cops never arrested the kids.... but lets just say karma is a beautiful thing. Couple of locals put them in their places. You know what I've learned, when someone breaks into your barn and you do the "right thing" and call the cops...and they tell you they're too busy to assist you, and they advise you to stay inside where its safe...once I tell them im going to shoot- they make it here in record time.

 

[lkblazin]

That's OK amysue guts can be useful, just send some my way. And we have the right to defend our property!! So who's to say what happens when know ones looking....lol

 

[AngC]

Our pellet guns suck; they're pretty much for amusement purposes only.

The husband and I have arguments about limits on property defense. (He's less inclined to consider any limitations; while I contemplate the potential for going to prison.) But this topic just flabbergasted me, and I would be awfully tempted to drag out the biggest firearm I could find if somebody was trying to whack off one of our horses' tails.

Anyway, the suggestion about donating body hair for oil spills, is a good one. I'd never heard of that.

 

[Minimor]

Here is a news article from Ontario:

http://m.torontosun.com/2015/01/05/tail-stolen-from-horse

And on another group, someone just posted about the tail being taken from her bay horse--she had worked hard at keeping her horse's tail long and full--and now it is all gone.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Someone who kept (maybe keeps?) their horses at our city operated equestrian centre had her horses tail attacked (if I recall correctly that included physical damage to the tail - a chemical burn from a hair removal product I think) The owner was an amateur reiner who was doing very well, her horse had the requisite long flowing tail. It made the news at the time and rumours were about that it was a jealousy thing. I never did hear if they found the culprit but it did make them up security at the arena. I guess this can crop up any where there are people