What would you do?

[wantminimore]

We live way off of the main road and my horses can't be seen unless you drive or walk down our driveway. For about a year there has been this lady with a baby in a stroller coming to see the horses (our house is a little futher in then the horses are), my boyfrind met her on the driveway one day and had his window down and said "hi" and she never said a word. Another day I was out cleaning stalls and I could see her through the trees (felt like I was being stalked) and she just watched and took pics of the horses.

Now her boy is old enough to walk and she lets him go right up to the fence and put his little hands in to pat the horses, she kinda stands back taking pics. I'm afraid that one day he will get bit even though they have never done that before but you just never know. I have one that will turn her butt to you looking for scratches, what if he got kicked?

I have learned that this lady is a mail order bride and does not speak english (I guess that's why she didn't say hi back), what do I do to keep her kid from getting hurt? I don't mind them looking or taking pics, I also heard that she's a photographer but don't know for sure. She was just here and had her kid and another lady with her.

 

[Southern_Heart]

Can you put a gate up at the end of your driveway?

 

[wantminimore]

I can't because there's to much traffic in and out and there's one other house down past us.

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Can you put a gate up at the end of your driveway?

That's what I was going to suggest. Maybe either build another perimeter fence where they can't come into contact with the horses, or cut your horses fence a bit shorter (with another fence) so that they can't reach the road area?

 

[Southern_Heart]

If she doesn't speak English, maybe you can get the point across one way or the other. I don't speak Spanish, but when we have had workers here they get the idea, just waving the hand and making gestures. Once she knows the danger that the child could get bit then maybe she will not come back. I would at least try, as no harm in trying.

 

[Miniv]

There are signs you can buy that aren't just in words but show a picture of a horse biting the hand....etc....that you could put up.

I can imagine you are feeling two things -- one is that your privacy is being invaded. And the other is concern for the liability involved.

What makes it difficult is that you know she doesn't speak English very well. However, is that YOUR responsibility? That is an interesting subject because we have a metal sign which is up in front of our barn which gives the Law of our state in regard to an "Equine Facility". We posted it because we kept coming home from running errands and finding a woman with her kids running loose on our property!!!

Some people would say these people were trespassing but then there are cases where a BURGLAR has injured himself, sued the home owner and gotten away with it!!!

It used to be that a person's private property rights were important, but this country has changed.

 

[candycar]

If you know she is a mail order bride, do you know who her husband is? Maybe you can talk to her through him. I personally wouldn't want to discourage her and her son.

We have a young mother and her child come to the folks farm and watch the chickens all the time. They don't bother them, and get a kick out of it.

Maybe it would be an opportunity to make a friend. I would just be concerned about their safety, as you are. Unless you really don't want her on your property, try to find a way to get your concerns across without being discouraging? Just my opinion...

 

[Sterling]

A couple of years ago I had a little girl and a grown up male with her, I don't know if he was her guardian, family member or....? But they would ride bikes and stop at the edge of our fence line and then come look at the horses. I did not mind that as our fenceline sits away from the road and they were in a good place out of danger and all. As time went on she started trekking more towards the wooded fencline into our property and at one point I started seeing her climbing onto the splitrail fencing we have. I didn't like her getting on top of the fence for liability issues and the fact that I thought she came this far from where they started ...what else would she try to do.....maybe one day I would find her inside the corral? Anyway I tried to say hello from afar to the man...I waved to him too....he just looked at me, gave me a dirty look and looked away at the girl. I was like what was that all about? Long story short, I put up a "No Tresspassing: sign and hubby put some branches forming a bit of a barrier between our fenceline and the woods to deter anyone from getting in. I also had noticed some ground wasps making nests underground in the vicinity that she was taking to get into the property. I don't mind when people come and look at the horses. I would like if they are going to take photos tho for them to ask permission. And I like to approach people who are looking at the horses so I can educate them, chat and make sure they know not to feed them anything.

 

[Witts Mini Horse Ranch]

I have a sit up like yours, I have a sign where you turn onto our road that states "shown by appointment only" also have a gate down the road, this still does not stop folks..I have had them open the gate and walk on in and look at the horses. I have now put a NO trespassing sign on it..which can be seen when the gate is open..still people come on in...drives me insane. I could never do that, I don't like dropping in on anybody.

I was ready to kick this one guys butt, my dogs where barking and I walked out there a man and woman where in a car..he kept pointing at the dogs and I kept saying can I help you..he got out of the car and headed for the horses the whole time I was saying CAN I HELP YOU...mind you I just had a horse stolen so I am very protective and suspicious right now...I was really losing it..and finally figured out they where death

. Still did not give them the right to come on my property. My husband said well what did you expect them to do, call ahead?!?

I got no answers, I am going to put out beware of dogs signs and signs stating camera surveillance, I have see signs showing beware of horse/donkey. I think coming on to other peoples property and invading thier privacy is just RUDE.

 

[Charlene]

i've had people see my horses from the road, drive into and down our private lane, get out of their cars and walk up to the fence. i hate it! in 14 years, it's only happened a couple of times so i don't think about it much.

f.y.i., horses are considered an "attractive nuisance". you must be very careful about putting signs out ("no trespassing" signs are good). but, other warning signs can work against you. IF a child (or adult, for that matter) gets bit, even if it's purely by accident, if you have a sign up that indicates your horse is a biter (even if he isn't), you have opened yourself up for a lawsuit. the law looks at it this way...you have a horse...your horse is a biter...you have not taken the proper precautions to prevent someone from getting bit (i.e., stall your horse in a locked barn)...because you have a sign up, you KNEW this *could* happen so it IS your fault. bam, lawsuit. i'm not saying i agree with it, it's just the way it is, unfortunately.

when i boarded my horses in a high traffic area, i had a sign on the fence that said "please do not feed fingers to the horses". it didn't SAY my horses would bite, it just said i preferred that they didn't eat FINGERS.

 

[wantminimore]

i've had people see my horses from the road, drive into and down our private lane, get out of their cars and walk up to the fence. i hate it! in 14 years, it's only happened a couple of times so i don't think about it much.
f.y.i., horses are considered an "attractive nuisance". you must be very careful about putting signs out ("no trespassing" signs are good). but, other warning signs can work against you. IF a child (or adult, for that matter) gets bit, even if it's purely by accident, if you have a sign up that indicates your horse is a biter (even if he isn't), you have opened yourself up for a lawsuit. the law looks at it this way...you have a horse...your horse is a biter...you have not taken the proper precautions to prevent someone from getting bit (i.e., stall your horse in a locked barn)...because you have a sign up, you KNEW this *could* happen so it IS your fault. bam, lawsuit. i'm not saying i agree with it, it's just the way it is, unfortunately.

when i boarded my horses in a high traffic area, i had a sign on the fence that said "please do not feed fingers to the horses". it didn't SAY my horses would bite, it just said i preferred that they didn't eat FINGERS.

I have read about the "attractive nuisance" on here before, it just doesn't make any sense that somebody can come uninvited on your property and if they get hurt then you're in trouble, somethings screwed up with how that works.

Maybe i'll get a sign like yours, i've seen one like it somewhere.

My parents live on the coast and when you walk out their door you have lawn and then the ocean, I can't tell you how many times they've had people walk across their front yard to take a look, they also live off of the main road. I would never just help myself and not give a thought to trespassing like that.

 

[bevann]

My concern is that strangers would feed my horses something that might not be good for them>I would find out her native language, find someone who can translate and tell her that she is welcome when you are there with her.Since she is a mother she should understand that these are your 4 legged children. Make a deal with her.I won't feed or visit or touch your child without permission and you don't feed touch or visit my horses unless I am there.

 

[HGFarm]

I can also see how you feel your privacy is being invaded but concern as well- for their safety and the horses safety too. (feeding things they shouldnt, etc..) I also would try to get hold of the husband as well and let them know how you feel and to please do not feed them or stick their hands through the fence. And I would get the 'equine facility' signs and the one showing a possible bite could happen. What ever you can to deter people from doing this.

 

[Charlene]

I would never just help myself and not give a thought to trespassing like that.

technically, a person isn't trespassing until such time as you have seen them, warned them, and they return. it's when they return after a warning that they are trespassing.

believe me, i don't necessarily agree with the law but what are ya gonna do? *sigh*

i had a circumstance that had nothing to do with my horses...had a county deputy "drop in" on me late one night just a few months after my husband passed away. he wanted to know if there was *anything* i needed. guess i don't have to translate that. i told him, in no uncertain terms, no. he left. came back a few weeks later asking if i was sure i didn't need *anything*. i told him no, i did not need *anything* and yes, i was sure. i asked him that, being a law enforcement officer, was he aware of the definition of "trespassing". i haven't seen him since. sometimes, ya just gotta be blunt!

 

[Allure Ranch]

[SIZE=12pt]I actually look at this subject a bit differently myself. We live on a very public road and we have people stop in front of our home almost everyday to see the horses. Sometimes they get out of there cars to take photos and sometimes they just want to pet the horses. I really don't mind myself and I usually wave to them. Sometimes I go so far as to invite them in to see the horses up close and personal.[/SIZE]

In all honesty I look at everyone as a potential prospect. Better yet they may even know someone who might be. You never know....

 

[PromiseAcres]

Hot wire that bites hard (with a warning sign that it's hot, in spanish and english) and 2 big dogs that run the property (underground fence)(dogs are actually friendly just loud barks) has done the trick for us so far. Though I did catch a girl go under our fence one day lucky for her that part was turned off or her butt would of gotten zapped.... I was in the process of pulling into the drive and hollared at her and now the fence is always on even w/o horses in them. We have a lovely trailer park across the street.... and the kids mostly just want to look, but they never have parents around. So it makes me very nervous to just let all these kids over when ever they feel like it. Plus if you're dumb enough to go under a possibly hot fence when there's a gate opening within 30', well please stay off of my property.

Good luck comunicating with the gal. Unfortunately not all cultures see property lines as the same.

Danielle

 

[topnotchminis]

My parents live on the coast and when you walk out their door you have lawn and then the ocean, I can't tell you how many times they've had people walk across their front yard to take a look, they also live off of the main road. I would never just help myself and not give a thought to trespassing like that.

This is off the horse sign topic, but we have a house next to the Beach in FL . It was up for sale for a few months. We had people use our downstairs shower ( We had a house on stilts),and then they opened our gate and were walking up our stairs to look at our house. Our dog was locked in the house, and we were eating dinner. Our dog goes nuts so my Mom looked outside and these people ran down the stairs as fast as they could my Mom saw them when they were running down the stairs so she went outside and talked to them. They said they were just looking at the house because it was for sale and they lived down the block. You could tell they were so embarrassed. It was so funny because our dog was about 5months old, and these people ran so fast becasue they thought this huge dog was about to eat them. I think they learned there lesson. Also we had a huge beware of dog sign and they still came in.

 

[AshleyNicole]

I've had the same problem. Different people would actually drive up the driveway(and it's long...) get out of the car and walk around. It really freaked me out, it would happen weekly and with different people. I'm sure they want to see the horses but I don't go up to their house pull in and walk around...do they not think thats just strange? The first thing we did was put up no trespassing signs and beware of dog signs....that did cut it down a little but some people just seem to ignore them. We did end up putting up a gate so that at least cut down on people driving up to the house. Dogs work too, I have one that I trained to bark when I tell her to so that pretty much scares people away because she *looks* like she means business(she wouldn't bite though but be careful if you do that because you have to really know the dog). Now if I see people at the edge of the road or they see us outside and ask if they can see the horses then I don't mind showing them, some people will ask if I have some for sale. I dunno theres just something about people wondering around the property that I can't stand. I know that in your case there is a language barrier so the idea of talking to her husband is probably your best bet. Good luck

 

[Relic]

l like to keep things simple when it comes to the minis

 

[AshleyNicole]

l like to keep things simple when it comes to the minis

lol I want one... people around here seem to think my house is the local zoo/park