# Semi Abandond horse on my land



## farmerobrown

Hello to All, from Oklahoma,

Last June some folks had landed on hard times, they asked if they could bring their horse to my wife's and I place for 3 weeks till the horse sold. They were going to move. Well long story short the horse is still here almost 11 months later, the people never called or asked about the horse nor offered money to take care it.

Also, the horse was about starved to death when it came here. It is a problem horse and causes different trouble around the place, I have been needing it gone for a long time. Then about about 2 weeks ago the folks accused me of trying to steal the horse.
How can I get this horse away from my property, I need it gone soonest.
Thanks, Farmer


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## BarrelracingArabian

Contact animal control? I believe after so long you can contact autorities and get rightful ownership or approval to auction of the animal. 
Not sure of the correct legalities and everything though


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## Roman

I'd call your local sheriff and explain your situation.


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## Reiningcatsanddogs

Here is a link to Oklahoma livestock laws and another vote for calling the sheriff and explaining the situation. 

http://www.ok.gov/~okag/forms/ogc/aal.pdf


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## TimberRidgeRanch

Most cases after 60 days of no contact its considered abandonment. Have they moved?


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## Red Gate Farm

Did they actually move? If not, take the horse back to them.


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## KsKatt

Call the sheriff ASAP!!
The first thought that went through my mind, when you said the owners accused you of trying to steal the horse, is that they are opening a door. I fear you need to call the sheriff before they do. I'd love to know what they think you've done. You haven't moved the horse to a different location, you haven't tried to sell it. I don't suppose you have pics of the horse when it first arrived? Even if the horse is in the background, as long as you can see it.
Please keep us updated.


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## Saddlebag

Play their game if they involve the law. Tell the sheriff you came home and found a horse on your property. You tho't it had gotten loose and abandoned. Two can play their game. You're not lying, just leaving out some of the facts. Another tactic people in the wrong do is try to scare or intimidate with the threat of going to court. If they do, tell them Please Do, just tell me when and I'll be there. That usually takes the wind out of their sails because they know they will lose.


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## churumbeque

Saddlebag said:


> Play their game if they involve the law. Tell the sheriff you came home and found a horse on your property. You tho't it had gotten loose and abandoned. Two can play their game. You're not lying, just leaving out some of the facts. Another tactic people in the wrong do is try to scare or intimidate with the threat of going to court. If they do, tell them Please Do, just tell me when and I'll be there. That usually takes the wind out of their sails because they know they will lose.


That is lying. What is wrong with the truth? he did nothing wrong. Maybe if people had morals then he wouldn't be in this situation. Please don't contribute and encourage people to not do the right thing.


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## alexischristina

Saddlebag said:


> Play their game if they involve the law. Tell the sheriff you came home and found a horse on your property. You tho't it had gotten loose and abandoned. Two can play their game. You're not lying, just leaving out some of the facts. Another tactic people in the wrong do is try to scare or intimidate with the threat of going to court. If they do, tell them Please Do, just tell me when and I'll be there. That usually takes the wind out of their sails because they know they will lose.


I don't think lying to law enforcement is ever the option... if the truth comes out OP could be in a bit of trouble that's totally unnecessary and 100% avoidable.

I would get in touch with law enforcement and tell them the situation. If, after 11 months, they are only NOW accusing you of theft I doubt they have a case to make even if they DO take it to the police. Why would they not report the horse missing or stolen well before this?

Contact the law enforcement, tell them what has happened, read up on your laws and hopefully it will all work out.


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## stevenson

I would call the SD and A.C. . explain that 11 months ago, mr so and so , asked can you keep my horse for 3 weeks. You have not received money for feed etc. You are owed for the feed
and all care . Get a SD report, make an itemized bill showing cost of feed, water, etc etc
whatever was done to the horse. Send them an itemized bill through certified mail with return receipt requested. Give them the option of paying you for the feed and care, or you can auction the horse. It is probably considered abandoned at this point.


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## blueriver

You'll be out your time and feed ... However ... If you want said horse gone. Consign him to the next sale under the OWNERS name and advise the sale to send the check to them.

I don't know ... just saying ... heck maybe thats even against the law?


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## DraftyAiresMum

stevenson said:


> I would call the SD and A.C. . explain that 11 months ago, mr so and so , asked can you keep my horse for 3 weeks. You have not received money for feed etc. You are owed for the feed
> and all care . Get a SD report, make an itemized bill showing cost of feed, water, etc etc
> whatever was done to the horse. Send them an itemized bill through certified mail with return receipt requested. Give them the option of paying you for the feed and care, or you can auction the horse. It is probably considered abandoned at this point.


Don't know about Oklahoma, but in Arizona, that's called a feed lien. Most people will just let you have the horse to do what you will with once you present them with a feed lien, as the amount you've spent on the horse is most likely MUCH more than the horse is worth.


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## farmerobrown

TimberRidgeRanch said:


> Most cases after 60 days of no contact its considered abandonment. Have they moved?



Timber Ridge,

Their out of state move fell through, they are still local.


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## Sharpie

If you know where they live, trailer the horse over and tie him to their doorstep. Their horse, their problem.


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## farmerobrown

Sharpie said:


> If you know where they live, trailer the horse over and tie him to their doorstep. Their horse, their problem.



That is exactly what I was thinking about yesterday!!! I can find out really easy where they live. Would need to pay for a coggins before I transported the horse, but would be worth it. I don't think they are over 12-15 min away.


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## KsKatt

You have to cross state lines to get there? I was never required a coggins unless crossing state lines. Of course I do live in Kansas.:hide:


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## alexischristina

Is there another place you can send the horse? A rescue or another home? If the horse came to you starving I would be hard pressed to send it back to the place it came from in those conditions… if you are able to do so legally (lien) that's the route I would take.


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## Skipsfirstspike

I second what Sharpie said.. tie the horse to their porch!


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## KsKatt

Sharpie said:


> If you know where they live, trailer the horse over and tie him to their doorstep. Their horse, their problem.


Liked the idea at first, even chuckled. But, I would have to really dislike the horse to send it back to them. The horse is the one who would suffer. Can't win for losin'.


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## farmerobrown

Yes, the horse was starving, was in a round pen, witnesses have told me the people have no business with a horse.

The poor animal has issues and I am disabled and I'm afraid it will hurt me if it stays here. Our two Paint's are calm and no problem to handle, but she;s making them jumpy because she's skittish. She leads them away from me, out to the field when I go toward them now.

No state lines, not even a 'City Limit' line from what I gather where they live now, and won't even come see the horse :-( 

I'm going to talk to the Sheriff's office as advised above to get a record of it all.

I have already sent in an inquiry to the AC folks yesterday evening, I don't figure the horse will get back in the shape it was in when it got here.


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## wyominggrandma

unless your state laws are different, you don't need a coggins to transport horse in the same state......... They still live close to you but convienently forgot the horse for 11 months, now after you have most likely fed it back to decent condition they want it back?
Load up the horse, drive it to their house and leave it tied to a fence....... 
Forget getting paid for all the money you spent on keeping it alive, court most likely will not be worth your time. Plus, since I assume you have nothing in writing, it will be a he said/she said type of thing. "Your honour, I paid them monthly for horses upkeep, paid in cash and he gave me no receipt. Your honour, I checked on horse every month, he just didn't see me" blah blah blah.
Eat the loss, load up horse and return it. Even if you win ,you won't get back payment from them , unless you get their wages attached or hauling horse to sale and dealing with that, will more than likely be a lot less than a hospital bill if you get injured by the idiot horse.


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## 4horses

I would contact the sheriffs office and talk to them first. 

Leaving the horse on their doorstep is not a good idea. If the horse breaks loose, runs away, jumps the fence etc, they can blame you. 

Or they can say you left the animal without water (or they weren't home) and try to sue you for vet bills, or some other made up costs.

By this time you are the owner of the horse and can put a lien on the horse or sell it/give it away. So approach the sheriff or animal control first and get their opinion. Lien laws vary depending on what state you live in, so you need to know what the law is in your area. 

I would start contacting rescues or see if animal control can take the horse.


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## phantomhorse13

I think a call to the local police to explain the situation, then request than animal control come and remove the animal - no different than if it was a stray dog that had wandered onto your place.

Bottom line is the horse is NOT yours, nor are you being paid to care for the animal. Therefore it is a stray.


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## Saddlebag

Run an ad in the local rag under notices saying that xxx failed to remove horse as per agreement and now owes xxxx dollars for feed and expenses. This is to be paid by (date) or horse will be sent to auction. If your lien law is like outs, it can't be a private sale, must go to auction. Whatever the horse brings in is yours unless it exceeds your expenses and any excess has to be give to the owners. Say $150 mo. (considered reasonable board) plus farrier, deworming, trailering to auction can all be held back to help cover your expenses.


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## stevenson

farmer , I would just go with the SD and AC. you dont need to be harraassed by the people
and this way there will be a record. Just turn the horse over to animal control. You will be out feed cost, but you can look it as a good deed done . karma points.


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## LoriF

Seriously? After two months I would have already called the police and the horse in question would already be mine. At that time I would have decided to keep it and train it, sell it or whatever. Call the police and tell them the situation. I would not give back that animal to people who don't care about it's well being. It really sounds like no one else cares either. I would give it to someone who would love to have it. The only reason why it is a pain is because it has been left to it's own devices for so long. Get everything documented. 

That being said, if you want these people to still come get their horse, have animal control come get it and leave a note on their door telling them where they can go get it if they want to. Make sure to tell animal control the condition that it came to you in.


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## KsKatt

LoriF said:


> Seriously? After two months I would have already called the police and the horse in question would already be mine. At that time I would have decided to keep it and train it, sell it or whatever. Call the police and tell them the situation. I would not give back that animal to people who don't care about it's well being. It really sounds like no one else cares either. I would give it to someone who would love to have it. The only reason why it is a pain is because it has been left to it's own devices for so long. Get everything documented.
> 
> That being said, if you want these people to still come get their horse, have animal control come get it and leave a note on their door telling them where they can go get it if they want to. Make sure to tell animal control the condition that it came to you in.


I wish I could like this dozens of times!:clap::thumbsup:


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## stevenson

Most state laws require a horse be Sold at Auction for back feed bills, any money over the amount of the feed bill must be given to the owner of the horse. the Property owner is not allowed to keep the horse Unless the 'owner' has signed the horse over in lieu of back board. If you keep a horse, the 'owner' can sue you .
All property owners need to find the state law in which they reside to protect themselves.


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## TimberRidgeRanch

If they are still local find out where they are send a certified letter stating they are to remove the horse/horses or will be billed a pasture fee and care charge. If they do not respond in 30 days go to your local court house and find out what your next step is. Either the horse/horses will be yours or the owners owe you a huge boarding bill. The hardest thing is right now its a liability thing god forbid they get hurt and they are on your land. accused of horse theft when they want them back. Who knows now a days right? But taking the above steps will safe guard you till something is done. Good Luck

TRR


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## boots

In WY you can file a pasture lien (also called grass lien) if someone dumps a horse on you. Which these people essentially did. Last time I did one it was $12 and the form is available at the courthouse.

Then, from the date you file, you can count the days to fulfill abandonment. Once that is passed, the horse is yours. I get a brand inspection in my name.

But I would have filed the lien at 30 days.


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## Saddlebag

It's pretty much the same as the mechanic's lien, warehouseman's lien. You have an automatic lien the moment the horse remained past the agreed upon time. The newpaper ad is read by many people so they'll know who owes you for board. This also makes readers mindful that these people aren't financially responsible.


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## Corporal

You have cared for this horse for nearly one year. Give these people a bill to compensate for the cost of caretaking, IF they want the horse back. If they pay you in full than you aren't out anything. If not, hire and attorney. Usually that spooks people into behaving, and then you can dispose of this horse or retrain it...up to you.


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## natisha

"What horse?":think:


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## KsKatt

Is there an update?


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## farmerobrown

*Update*



KsKatt said:


> Is there an update?



YES, hopefully a positive one---I did go to the SO and speak with a deputy. Come to find out, he happened to know these folks and called th and got it through to them that it needed to be moved right away.

So yesterday, I got a fb message from the lady owner, that they were going to get the horse moved off of my place very soon. with -sorry- at the end. Said they were moving close to me. I didn't respond. 

However, the deputy also assured me that he would make sure that it happened or the SO would remove it as abandoned and take it to auction. 

At least it's on record and the Sheriff's office is now involved. Hopefully I'm not standing alone now.
THANKS for all the advice and info, I'm poised to move to the next step if needed.
Time will tell.........Farmer

PS-- To kinda give you all an ideal why I let it go this long. They lost a 10 yr old daughter a year ago, since then the husband had been injured on the job, layed off and been in the hospital a few times.
Terrible luck, but then accusing me of trying to steal a horse that I wanted GONE. Crazy


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## stevenson

Farmer, well that was very kind of you. After a year i would say that it was enough.
If they do not move it an a month, i would call the SO and say come get it please.


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## Saddlebag

Help someone out and it comes back to bite you. Happens all too often.


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## farmerobrown

they came and got the horse late yesterday afternoon. they could not load the horse so it left being towed behind the horse trailer about a half a mile an hour. I had heard that they found a place not too far from me sothe horse is with them now.
also I had heard the horse had broke a ladys arm when trying to help load it a year ago when it came to my house. come to find out it was the deputy that I talked to, it was his mother in law and they what's keeping a donkey for these people, but it was a good donkey and they told them basically that the storage had eat it up and that they were not getting it back. Good for the donkey as the poor old horse will be hard up for food now I would imagine. 

Many Thanks to all. , Farmer


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## stevenson

i hope the SO keeps track of the horse so it wont starve to death.


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## MsCuriosity

It was very kind of you to help them and the horse. Losing a child must have been a huge trauma to them and it's possible they did not even remember making arrangements for the horse, in their grief. That may have resulted in the claim that you stole it. Then later they realized and made apologies. 

Grief does weird things to people. And losing a child must be the absolute worst. You're good for taking care of that horse... it likely belonged to their daughter.


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## farmerobrown

Thanks MsC,
I think everything is doing better for them, and I am glad.
Our 2 horses have settled down now and are acting nice again lol.
this area had been in a terrible drought that is all over now there is grass on top of grass, so all of the livestock have plenty to eat everywhere.
Farmer


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