HORSE owners and riding enthusiasts are being invited to a series of events to help protect equestrian property as police are hunt criminals who are targeting rural stables and outbuildings.

North Yorkshire Police has announced the Horsewatch events following eight break-ins in Hambleton and Harrogate districts in the last month.

Police said the latest incident, between 9pm on Sunday and 7am on Monday, saw three properties broken into on Main Street and Back Lane, Alne, near Easingwold, and horse tack and power tools stolen.

Incidents have also included a large amount of tack being stolen from a tack room near Little Ribston, near Knaresborough, on September 17 and a raid on outbuildings near Kirkby Overblow, near Harrogate, overnight on September 21.

Other burglaries in the area include two overnight on September 28, when stables near Tockwith and near Askham Richard were burgled and on October 10, two saddles were taken in a burglary at North Deighton.

Police said the stolen items included saddles, girths, bridles, breastplates and numnahs.

PC David Mackay, of North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce, said: “In light of these incidents, I am urging horse owners to take immediate steps to ensure tack is protected from thieves. Make sure you have a record of any serial numbers, register your property, and be vigilant – report any suspicious activity to the police.

“If someone offers you second-hand tack for sale, and it seems too good to be true, consider that you might be buying stolen property. Check serial numbers, and if in doubt, ask the person for proof of ownership.”

The move to provide free tack marking comes just months after it emerged rural crime cost North Yorkshire more than £1m last year.

Using sophisticated property marking technology, leather items of tack can be marked with a unique number – deterring would-be thieves and making it much easier to reunite stolen property and secure convictions.

The drop-in sessions will be held at Beaver Horse Shop, Harrogate, on November 12, from noon to 3pm; Broken Brea Farm, Easby, Richmond, on December 3, from 12.30pm to 2.30pm and at RideAway, Stillington Road, Sutton-on-the-Forest, on December 4, from noon to 3pm.