Help! Vandalism? Just escape artist horses?

On the cheap...a baby monitor.

I had one that worked a good 200 ft away from the base. I used it in my hen house when I had an unknown marauder. That was 20 yrs ago. I'm sure they make even better ones now.

Driveway alarm

Wireless Driveway Alarms - Driveway Alarm System

You just need to position it closer to the barn and up enough so the cats or dog does not trigger. I'd place it in the access area to the barn instead of the driveway. Likely they are approaching from another way.

Recording won't do any good if the intruder is covered up. If they do step up to harming things, a video would be too late. With the alarm, the BO could be outside in 2 minutes with cell phone in hand.

It doesn't take anyone being mad or holding a grudge. Some people just do stupid crap like that for the sake of being stupid. While it isn't uncommon for a horse to be able to do stuff like that (I have one mare that I have to keep her pen double locked or else she'll get loose within about 5 minutes of me leaving the barn), I would be much more satisfied to know for sure. If you've got the money, I would invest in both the alarm and the camera because
A) that way you'll know for sure whether it's a person or a mouthy horse doing it
B) if it is a person, they may not be entering the property via the driveway
C) if it is a horse, then you can see a bit better how they are managing to get out so that you can get it fixed where they can't.
D) you would also know exactly which horse it was that was turning everyone else loose so that the owner would know if they have to move barns.

I like the suggestion of guard geese lol, I'm terrified of geese, they're certainly vicious! I hope you get this figured out, I'm having a similar thing with my chickens, so we're looking into cameras as well.

I am pretty sure it wasn't the horses who left the tire tracks. And if it was, you simply must use the "club" on vehicles to prevent them from doing this in the future. But seriously though, you need some sort of monitoring system to get to the bottom of this.

Waresbear - read your post then left the site and had to return as I just got it lol lol

I had geese those suckers are mean mean mean They guarded the barn so well I couldnt go in at night to do barn checks lol. My mom could but she had the white hair and all lol geese loved her.

WARESBEAR never know one might of hot wired a car when they got out lmao JK

TRR

I made my doors so high, and the latches on the front so low, that mine can't possibly get their heads over to let themselves out. Maybe try putting latches lower on the door, just for now, to see if that's the problem? You know, something simple and cheap, to see if its a naughty horse letting himself out. As for the water spigot, depending on what kind you have, you can get one of those bike locks, and wrap it around and loop it through, that way it can turn. Or put a pin through if you have the kind that you just pull up, the hydrant kind. Of course, that's all on the idea that its a horse, people are a different problem.

This sounds so frustrating, I feel for you. I worry so much that someone with some sort of issue with me, will come by and do something to my horses or let them out when I am not there. So I put a gate on my driveway, with a battery powered motion light, and I keep the gate locked almost every time I leave.

I would be careful that some of the trail cams have a flash, and you definitely don't want the person to see the flash go off. So maybe leave a small light on or use the night vision ones.

Subbing cause I'm now curious after reading this whole thing! Cameras and driveway alarms are great ideas! The owners where I board have a driveway alarm so they always know when someone comes or goes.

We have ours protected the old fashioned way. My male husky lives in the barn. He's the sweetest dog ever to my husband, my kids, & I but would just as soon tear anyone else to shreds and has a LOUD bark. They'd be gone before they go in lol.
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