Preventing Horse and Tack Theft

Branding Horses

Ever try describing your horse to a stranger or a police officer with enough clarity it could be identified. Hopefully you never have the experience as it's almost impossible. Over seventy horses were stolen in Alberta during the year 1999. The main reason is these animals were not branded.

RCMP Livestock Section recommends horse owners obtain a registered brand and freeze brand their horses. Hot branding is a well established method of permanently marking livestock but is not as obvious as a freeze brand. Brands can be obtained in Alberta from Livestock Identification Services, in Saskatchewan at Saskatchewan Agriculture Livestock Branch and British Columbia residents at Ownership Identification Inc. The cost of a brand is a small fee to pay for the security it provides.

I have investigated stolen horse complaints where the stolen horse had been branded and once the thief observed the horse in the light of day and noticed the brand he turned the horse loose. The experienced thief knows the freeze branded horse is easily recognized. Anything short of locking him up inside a barn would mean someone would spot him and notify the authorities. One must realize a freeze branded horse can be identified from a half mile away with a good pair of binoculars and from a vehicle driving past at eighty kilometers if the animal is along the road.

There is the added security that all livestock sold at public auctions, going into feedlots and packing plants or transported out of province are inspected by brand inspectors. If the horse has been reported stolen and is branded the brand inspectors will identify it as stolen and seize the horse prior to the horse being offered for sale.

A lot of horse owners do not realize the protection that is afforded them when a horse is branded with a registered brand. Every time the horse is brand inspected and the person who has possession of the horse is not the registered brand owner that person must produce bills of sale proving ownership back to the registered brand owner. There have been incidents where the horse was recovered by brand inspectors before the owner became aware it was stolen. Also when the horse is identifiable by a brand a permanent record is kept by the brand inspector thus creating a permanent record. This is a serious problem for the thief.

Lets take a look at two separate incidents of horse theft that occurred in Alberta over the last year. One is the theft of two well-broke saddle horses from the Brooks area and the second is a mare and foal from the Fort MacLeod area.. Both were investigated by the RCMP with the assistance of Livestock Identification Services brand inspectors.

The first is a theft of two unbranded well-broke geldings from Lakeside Feedlot located near Brooks, Alberta which is approximately two hours east of Calgary. The two horses were stolen from their stalls over the weekend. Brooks RCMP Det. with the assistance of other police services have conducted an extensive investigation with enquiries made as far away as Ontario. The owners have published photographs in Horse and Livestock Industry magazines, placed poster all over Alberta and alerted brand inspectors in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Unfortunately the horses have not been located and the trail grows colder every day.

The second example is a branded mare and foal from the Fort MacLeod area, which is approximately two hours south of Calgary. A mare and foal were brought into an inspected feedlot near Fort MacLeod. As the mare was branded and the seller was not the registered owner of the brand, the seller had to provide documentation proving ownership. Documentation was provided although questionable in nature. The brand inspector, being diligent, contacted the registered owner of the brand by simply looking the owner up in the brand book. The owner was questioned about the sale of the mare. Not only did he not sell the mare he didn't even know she was missing. A mare and foal were recovered even before the owner realized they had been stolen.

During many of my presentations, electronic identification is surfaced and my opinion is requested. One must realize the brand is not applied to enable the owner in identifying the horse; it is applied so everyone else can identify the animal. If a branded horse is stolen a fan-out bulletin is possible as people have something specific to look for. An electronic implant is not visible to the naked eye and even with the scanner, one must have close access to the animal. I explain the ultimate safeguard would be a freeze branded horse with the electronic implant. The brand makes it possible to find the stolen animal and the implant would assist in the identification, saving the owner the trouble of traveling to where the animal is located.

Livestock owners must be aware that all brands applied to livestock must be registered with the appropriate service responsible for the inspection in your respective province. It is illegal to design and apply a brand without properly registering it.

Tack Identification Program

Your tack room is a thief's paradise; unlocked and containing thousands of dollars of your hard earned tack - handmade saddles, bridles and crafted bits. Very few are identifiable or insured as they are not property usually stored in your residence. A thief can load up your entire collection in a matter of minutes and disappear without a trace.

If this unfortunate incident should ever happen to you how would you describe your saddle to your local detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or police service? "One brown western saddle; make: Billy Cook" or "one brown English saddle". Hard to add that to the police computer system that is utilized across North America by police officers to recover millions of dollars of stolen property that "have" serial numbers.

Imagine describing a saddle to a person over the phone that might or might not know what you mean when you describe the skirt, fender, or horn. Are you talking women's clothes or parts of a car. Hard to publish a fan-out to police officers, auction owners and tack dealers.

Hopeless? ...Well, not quite. RCMP Livestock Investigation Section is promoting the Tack Identification Program. Simply stamp your driver's licence number into the leather in the gullet area (underneath the horn) of your saddle, easily observed and difficult to remove without the assistance of a saddle maker.

Stamping is easy to do, wet the leather with a rag or sponge in the area to be stamped and using metal stamps stamp the number into the leather with a hammer or mallet. One could also utilize the assistance of your local saddle maker.

The area under the horn on a western saddle is easily accessible and very easy to describe to anyone. Police officers all over North America and even around the world are accustomed to utilizing serial numbers. Now fan-outs and computer date banks can be used.

I have investigated several saddle thefts where the thief stole unmarked saddles and left the stamped ones behind. A few minutes of works can save police countless hours of valuable time and will make the difference in whether your saddle is stolen or recovered.

Alberta Rural Crime Watch, 4-H and independent groups have organized workshops for the general public to bring their tack to a central area and have it stamped. Stamps can also be borrowed from Rural Crime Watch through the local R.C.M.P. Detachment.

Help me protect you, stamp your tack.

Stray Livestock

Stray livestock is an ever-increasing problem especially around our larger municipalities where the livestock population has increased dramatically with the acreages. Rural residents have their own problem with cattle getting through fences and into neighbors' herds or onto roadway right of ways. Anyone that has observed a motor vehicle accident involving livestock is well aware of the danger to human lives. Livestock owners should be aware it is the owner's responsibility to keep their animals "in" not their neighbors' job to keep them "out". It is an offence under the Stray Animal Act to allow livestock to stray.

The majority of stray animals complaints are chronic and are the result of two problems. The livestock are kept in an area without suitable fencing and/or adequate feed. Livestock that are pastured on over grazed pasture will soon go looking for grass. Also if the fences are poor livestock, similar to a lot of people, think, "the grass on the other side of the fence is greener" and want to taste it.

If you have detected your livestock has strayed on one of your frequent checks, what should you do? An owner should search for the livestock through the usual channels of checking with neighbors, then Livestock Identification Services (brand inspectors) and the RCMP. If the animals have not been reported found prior to your enquiry report them missing. One should keep in mind any physical evidence at the scene (cut fences, remnants of grain or signs of portable panels etc.) This will of course be a theft and should be reported as soon as possible to the RCMP for criminal investigation and advising Livestock Identification Services will make it possible for them to be on the lookout for your livestock. If the livestock are branded this will assist the investigation tremendously.

Once the livestock have been reported missing to the authorities a Missing/Found Livestock report will be completed and circulated to all brand inspectors in Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C. A search and comparison will be made between all Found/Missing Livestock Reports to determine if there are any matches. Once the matches are made the animals are returned to their rightful owner; a brand once again assists in this determination. During 1999 Livestock Identification Services returned 454 country strays to their owner. When the livestock is returned the owner should determine why it escaped and remedy the problem - either feed or poor fencing and usually both.

The following few points of interests should be kept in mind when dealing with stray livestock problems. When there is livestock on both sides of the fence each party is responsible for half the construction and repair costs. When stray livestock become an issue that cannot be settled between neighbors for whatever the reason, Livestock Identification Services must be contacted. Do not take matters into your own hands. Livestock Identification Services have the authority to seize livestock and will involve the RCMP for charges under the Stray Animal Act if necessary. Another important section of the Stray Animal Act to remember is a person cannot harbor their neighbors' livestock without reporting it to the owner or Livestock Identification Services.

Livestock Manifest Requirements

Don't let your day be spoiled and wallet lightened by getting a violation ticket from the R.C.M.P. or local police service for failing to complete a livestock manifest when transporting livestock.

Police officers and Livestock Identification Services will be increasing their enforcement through routine highway checks and checkstop programs. The compliance rate has increased but efforts will continue to get everyone to comply with the law.

To assist the police in the investigation of livestock thefts all people transporting livestock in Alberta utilizing motorized transport are required to complete a livestock manifest and retain possession of that manifest for two years. Livestock Identification & Brand Inspection Act of Alberta which regulates livestock manifests requirements define livestock as - cattle, horses and game producing animals (bison, elk, deer etc.) There are two exceptions (1) when you are transporting livestock to and from the veterinarian during emergency situations (2) when a person possesses a Horse Permit obtained from Livestock Identification Services (formerly Alberta Brand Inspectors).

The Horse Permit, which was implemented for people that transport their horses frequently, can be obtained through Livestock Identification Services for $3.00 plus $00.21 for G.S.T. per head and they can be contacted at the following phone numbers.

1. Lethbridge Area - Don Garriock - (403) 307-7006
2. Calgary Area - Wayne Daye - (403) 934-9943
3. Red Deer Area - Everett Loney - (403) 309-4716
4. Edmonton Area & north - Rod Hines - (780) 413-8141