Dukey and I are both in NJ.  We seem to have endless issues with non-horse, non-farm neighbors (particularly of the McMansion breed) who do thoughtless, crazy things.  Is this indigenous to NJ, or do other states have their required population of fools who think all open land is fair game and horse people are fun targets? 

I live on a family farm so my close neighbors are family who have horses or are used to them. There is around 150 acres to ride etc.  My grandparents started it all then 1 aunt ,my parents an uncle and a cousin all have houses besides us. Our non family neighbors are great,some are like family i'v known them forever. We've been very lucky, sorry to hear they are'nt as nice in your area. Most of the non family neighbors let us ride on there property, some have horses most don't.Hope things get better for you,I would guess your horses were there before the McMansion breed .

Thanks!  Me too.  LOL

The problems Dukey and I have been discussing have to do with trespassers and folks who just don't "get" that that field where they're tossing their trash actually belongs to someone who's going to have to go out and clean up the mess.  I'm guessing you don't have that situation since you're all family.  That is VERY cool! 

I must add, though, that several houses across the street from me all belong to members of one family, and they spend a great deal of time complaining about each other, particularly about the one that can't quite keep her livestock contained on her own land.  LOL  But overall they seem to have a pretty good thing going. 

Funny . . . originally my SO and I planned on marrying and moving to his family's farm in PA.  It took only one conversation to discover that the dairymen in the family were in no way anxious to have my horses (or my horse business) on their land.  It was a feud in the making, and we hadn't even said "I do" yet!  People are funny sometimes.

 Thanks. Me too!!!! That must be nice to have family surrounding you. In my area there is only 3 small horse farms including ours. I just don't think non horsey people understand us.

 I board my horse and we don't have problems because the property is pretty far back off of a country road.  The neighbors across the street however, have the fence to their horse pasture llining the road.  They have a sign posted that says something like "This property is under camera surveilance 24 hours a day", so they've apparently had problems like you mention.

Growing up, my street was a dead-end and next to a diary farm.  There was a corn field, then a cow pasture.  The farmer was a nice guy and I remember him coming to my house to report to my mother that my brothers had been upsetting his dairy cows.  His brother owned the neighboring farm and had horses.  He wasn't as nice and we all knew to stay off of his property because he had guns and didn't think anything of firing them off.  That was 40 years ago, of course - sure couldn't get away with that these days.

 Hey JMF, maybe we should get signs like that. Maybe it will help.

  Couldn't hurt, right? 

JMFriedman:

Thanks!  Me too.  LOL

The problems Dukey and I have been discussing have to do with trespassers and folks who just don't "get" that that field where they're tossing their trash actually belongs to someone who's going to have to go out and clean up the mess.  I'm guessing you don't have that situation since you're all family.  That is VERY cool! 

I must add, though, that several houses across the street from me all belong to members of one family, and they spend a great deal of time complaining about each other, particularly about the one that can't quite keep her livestock contained on her own land.  LOL  But overall they seem to have a pretty good thing going. 

Funny . . . originally my SO and I planned on marrying and moving to his family's farm in PA.  It took only one conversation to discover that the dairymen in the family were in no way anxious to have my horses (or my horse business) on their land.  It was a feud in the making, and we hadn't even said "I do" yet!  People are funny sometimes.

First, it isn't just you.  Nitwits abound everywhere.

My very favorite thing (NOT) was when I lived in SoCal for five years, and eventually a dirt bike area got shut down, sending the city slicker kids in their very expensive, yuppie riding gear, out to the rock hills where I rode.  My neighbor's children on their dirt bikes were very courteous of the horses, but when those city kids started showing up, manners and being courteous of a horse went right out the window.  They thought it was cute to scare a horse and hopefully get to watch someone fall off.

Second, having been raised on a dairy farm, I can understand how your in-laws felt about the horses - lol lol  Some horses will chase cattle and that stress can cause milk reduction.  Milk reduction means a loss of income to dairy farmer.

We farmed with horses until I was five, and the team did run in the same pasture as the dairy cows, but they never bothered the cows.  I know plenty of dair farmers that absolutely will not let horses run in with the milk herd.

One of my grandpap's raised Welsh ponies AND beef cattle.  They all ran together --- no milk reduction to worry about with Beefers

I now live in Middle Tennessee and am surrounded by big farms of either beef cattle or horses.  Everyone minds their own, and if the fence breaks, whoever finds it first fixes it.  Even if the folks don't see eye-to-eye on things, fences still get fixed and people still come out of the woodwork to help in crisis.  I am so thankful to have found this little rural "nirvana"

Keeping trespassers off is tough, unless you can fence with woven wire, put a strand of electric on top, and either be home to watch or keep a video camera on the fence so you can then press "malicious mischief" charges.  Then you may or may not run the risk of someone purposely hurting your horses. 

It's a sticky wickett for sure,  I hope you can get something resolved.

You're right on the money!  LOL  I didn't plan on running the horses in the cow pasture, and that was the rub.  They didn't want to give up any space for separate areas (the house we'd have been in has 30 acres of crop fieds), AND they didn't want "no strangers comin' down the lane", referring to any boarders I might bring in.  So much for sharesies. 

I thought about putting up major hot wire right after I chased off the kids with their snowballs, but I was concerned about the "attractive nuisance" angle.  I figured I'd be sued the first time one of them got a nice zap from the fence, signs notwithstanding.  I've proven myself to be a maniac, so the pasture fields are pretty much left alone.  It only takes a couple of mad dashes across a field screaming at the top of one's lungs to ensure a wide berth.    But the front paddock along the road and the hay field, which fronts on two roads AND faces a McMansion development, is a lot harder to police. 

I'm both glad and sorry to hear that SoCal has the same issues.  I always figured that was Equestrian Nirvana.  LOL  My farmer neighbors are excellent. It's the newcomers who don't "get" the whole rural thing. 

JMFriedman:

I'm both glad and sorry to hear that SoCal has the same issues.  I always figured that was Equestrian Nirvana.  LOL  My farmer neighbors are excellent. It's the newcomers who don't "get" the whole rural thing. 

Where'd ya get that idea?  Most places here are so urban/suburbanized that kids never even see a real horse unless they get brought out to the fair or a field trip to a "farm."  Cities and communities that used to be horse areas have been bought up by developers or rezoned to rule out trails, horsekeeping and such.  People move into an area known for horses and then start complaining about the smell or the flies knowing full well that the animals were nearby before they moved in.  Then the rules get changed and nobody has horses anymore.  Unless you are in a very outlying area (the desert mostly) or an area that traditionally has trails and cannot be built on (such as waterways), there ARE no horse areas in the main part of SoCal. 

Then there is NORCO!  We are on the western edge of Riverside county (next to LA, Orange and San Bernardino Counties) and are a dedicated horse community, complete with city charter providing that all properties, built, sold and otherwise have animal keeping space and access to the trails.  We have trails for sidewalks and though we are within an hour or two (or less) of most cities, this is about as rural as one can get without going 80-100 miles out from the center of commerce.  Everyone in Norco has a speed limit of 25, rules about not driving or parking on the trail, and even city ordinances where one cannot "intentionally" upset a horse.  Most people are very understanding here, but we are unique.

KCS:

JMFriedman:

I'm both glad and sorry to hear that SoCal has the same issues.  I always figured that was Equestrian Nirvana.  LOL  My farmer neighbors are excellent. It's the newcomers who don't "get" the whole rural thing. 

Where'd ya get that idea?  .

 Uhm . . .  movies, I guess.  LOL  All those clips of gorgeous, half-naked riders bareback on horses galloping down the beach HAD to be taken in your neighborhood, right?

Norco sounds like Horse Heaven!  What a grand idea!  I've heard of places like that, but I didn't know there were any that were operating successfully.  Good for you!

Whatever you do, do NOT look to move to Calif. north or south if you want to escape rude, ignorant people.  Even in No. Calif, which used to be nice, they are building everywhere, horse properties are getting scarcer and more expensive every day; that is, the ones that don't become strip malls overnight.  Soooo glad to get out of there.  Here I can ride in my neighbors' fields without problems, down the small roads, and (get this!) people slow down, and pull way over for you if they meet you riding along the edge of the road!!!!  I swear it's true!!!!  I'm sorry NJ has its share of nutsos, but believe me, they are lotsa places!  Maybe if you go outside and target practice with a rifle, it will get your "neighbors" attention; especially if they already think you are maniac (lol) and leave your property alone!

I don't want to offend anyone living in Calif; I grew up there.  And I know there are great people still there.  I'm just happy that I am not!

 It's definitely not just the NJ area. I agree, they are everywhere. The owner at the last barn I belonged to said that she used to have this magnificent driving team. The barn is in an area of town that has become more developed over the years but has managed to stay somewhat rural smack in the middle of our city. It's a great part of town. But she used to take her driving team with a carriage or wagon up and down the main street and give people rides, etc. Well people gradually got more and more disrespectful until one day this car drove by loud and obnoxious and tossed their drink out of the window at the horses. She said that was the last day she ever did that. So sad. 

Now, my new barn is moving locations and the morons that live next to the property like to ride their loud dirt bikes and 4-wheelers right along the property line that has rows of horse stalls backed up to it. It's going to cost me a small fortune but I hope to board my mare in these indoor stalls with runs attached because I refuse to put her through that. People are so rude.

I board my horse at a small stable and the neighbors in the immediate area are all very nice. The problem I've had in the past is with motorists. They seem to range from those that will either slow down or completely stop and wait for an okay to pass to those that feel a need to drive by as fast as they can.

Gee, that is really too bad.  Sounds like riding will be a lot of fun with dirt bikes running around behind the barn.....NOT!  At least not with my horses....lol!  Can the owner, or someone maybe talk to these people and explain why it is a problem?  So many people who aren't around horses just don't understand about noises, etc.  And, sadly, some are just inconsiderate.  Hope you get it solved; it sounds dreadful for horses and people!  Good luck to you!

Lynda