23/03/2026
We have been really busy recently due to a significant increase in instructions received from our clients who are experiencing the same issue with Fly Grazing Horses.
What does Fly Grazing mean?
Essentially it is Horse owners, or other livestock owners, putting their Horses on someone else’s land, whether that be Private or Public without the landowners permission. This can have a significant impact on not only the landowners but the Horses, too. Landowners face significant financial impacts including costs to fix gates, fencing and the land itself, which is often destroyed by the owners’ anti-social behaviour, driving in and out in different vehicles and criminal damage to the entrance gates and fencing to enter the land, not to mention the costs involved in removing and rehoming the Horses.
The Welfare of the Horses generally is really poor; they are often left on these plots of land, in fields for long periods of time without any real shelter. The owners rarely visit the site to tend to their Horses and care for them, resulting in starvation and leading on to more serious health issues which sometimes end in death, due to the negligence of the owners.
We are one of very few enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom that deal with Fly Grazing Horses and, whilst there are others, we have heard of some horror stories where Horses have simply been killed on site or removed from site and eventually killed by landowners or their contractors.
Here at the Horse Bailiffs, we work alongside some of best contractors in the industry and Horses would only be considered to be destroyed as a last resort and upon guidance from a Veterinary Practitioner.
The Control of Horses Act (2015) legislation is what allows landowners to use our company to remove and rehome Horses Fly Grazing on their land, as we did in the below story.
Our client attended their field in the Midlands in order to complete a survey with some of their contractors, though when they arrived, they found this little C**t in a really sad state – there was clear indications of neglect and it was extremely skinny. There was no shelter at all for him to go to, so the landowner contacted us. When we attended the site with our Horse expert to complete a Risk Assessment for removal and Welfare Check on the Horse, we made some local enquiries and it was apparent the Horse had been there for most of the winter months with no shelter. We also discovered the owners are very rarely seen and even when they do arrive they are gone very quickly, too.
We served notice at the entrance to the field, which was ignored by the owner(s), therefore, after the expiry of the notice (4 days as per the Control of Horses Act) our Bailiffs returned to the site with a Vet, Horse Handler and transport to take the Horse into secure stables.
In the coming week the Horse was well looked after and in much better hands. We had no one come forward to claim the C**t, so we instructed the handlers to seek re-homing and castrate him. A couple of months later the now Gelding is in a much better place, living a better life and extremely happy. Our Horse experts treated him, groomed him, chipped him and gave him a new passport before he was taken by someone much happier to have him.
He had no chance in the field where he was just deserted, clearly the owners didn’t care for him hence they made no claim to get him back but thankfully our client contacted us and thankfully the landowner cared for the Horses welfare, unlike others who would have just had the Horse destroyed.
Are you or someone you know facing the same issue? Please do give us a call: 020 8004 4644
