When finders are not keepers
You may never encounter a stray horse, but if you do, take these steps to keep him safe, increase his chances of making his way home and protect yourself legally.
You may never encounter a stray horse, but if you do, take these steps to keep him safe, increase his chances of making his way home and protect yourself legally.
The other day as I was feeding my horses I heard a strange noise. I turned around and jumped: A palomino gelding had walked into the feed room. I don’t own a palomino horse. None of my neighbors do, either. So where did this horse come from? And what was I to do with him?
Luckily for him and his owner, I knew how to handle the situation. I contacted the sheriff’s department to report a found horse. About 15 minutes later, I received a call. It was the horse’s owner, who told me that he woke up that morning to find his gate open and his horse gone. He had taken a break from looking for the horse to call the sheriff’s department and report the animal as missing. Less than an hour after the gelding wandered into my feed room, he was back home.
While everyone is familiar with stray or abandoned dogs and cats, many people are surprised when they learn that something similar can happen to horses. When they are found wandering without a known owner, horses are called “estray.” Some estray horses are like the palomino I found: They escape from a barn or pasture and their owner is frantically looking for them.
In other cases, estrays are stolen horses who have been dumped by thieves who fear being caught. Many
years ago, a rescue I ran picked up a mare found wandering a road. A few weeks after she arrived, one of our volunteers saw a flyer at a gas station looking for a horse that matched this mare’s description. When the owner came to pick her up, we talked about where she was found and who turned her in. As we pieced the story together, it became increasingly clear that an angry neighbor had probably stolen the horse and then set her loose nearby.
Estrays are sometimes simply horses abandoned by owners who can no longer care for them or no longer want them.
This may involve opening a gate and letting the horse wander away. Or an owner may haul the horse to a country road, unload him and drive away. That may sound far-fetched, but we’ve dealt with more than one such case at Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society, the rescue I currently run in Texas.
All of this means that’s it’s wise to learn what to do if you find an estray horse. Some people think it is like finding a stray dog: You look around for the owner a bit and if you don’t find him, you have a new horse. But most states have laws that govern estray horses (and other livestock), and you need to follow them to protect yourself---if you keep a horse who isn’t yours, you could be charged with horse theft! Also, think about the horse’s owner. If your horse escaped his pasture and you were frantically looking for him, how upset would you be to find out that someone had stashed him away in a barn or field and intended to keep him?
So if you ever encounter an estray horse, follow these guidelines to protect all involved and to avoid inadvertently running afoul of the law.
Secure the horse. oe If the horse is loose, catch him if you can---that keeps him and drivers safe if he’s on or near a road. If he is near your home, confine him in a paddock or stall.
Call the authorities. oe If you found the horse within city limits, call the police department or animal control. If the horse is located outside of city limits, contact the sheriff’s department. Tell them you found an estray horse. If you are on the side of the road or someplace you cannot secure the horse, describe the situation as an emergency. My husband once pulled over on his way to work and caught an escaped