Fencing and livestock

[Hopingnwishing]

So we moved into our smallholding about 18 months ago. It had been left to rack and ruin a bit and at first the horses got out of their field a few times but were always still on our property. We paid someone to stock fence the field properly but there is one fence line that borders our neighbour's forks whuch is not our fence line, it is his, so we didn't pay to fence that as there was a hedge there. December 2016 they broke through the hedge into the neighbour's field which was basically scrub with no crop or livestock... So we put up electric fencing. This worked perfectly thoroughout 2017. My neighbour had said after the horses recalled in December that not too worry he'd be putting a proper fence up in summer 2017. He removed the hedge but ran out of money and didn't fence the field.
Fast forward to January 2018 when we had those awful storms and 80mph winds which blew the electric fence down and the horses got out again for about 30 minutes. We put the electric fencing back up and since then no issues with escaping. He's now threatening us with "legal action" if they escape again onto his land.
I know we are liable for any damage caused (He's not asking for money he just hates us and hates horses) whuch is fine but I'm not sure what legal action he could take if any? We've fenced the field effectively and in those winds people died and lost their roofed etc so my electric fence stood no chance.

Of course you can put a fence up before spring. It might be hard work, it might need redoing in spring, it might be money you don't want to spend, but that doesn't make it impossible. If you haven't got the money to pay someone else, and can't be bothered yourself to put some decent posts in, then why on earth did you buy land?

If it's so wet that the fence line is all under several feet of water, then you can put the fence further up. Although if it's that wet I can only imagine the damage they are doing to his ground.

I'd check with your insurer too, they are unlikely to be on board with paying out every time your inadequate fence falls over.

If he could prove you have been negligent in your duty of care then who knows, I’m not a solicitor.

Just read your previous posts and it says it’s 20 ft, you could fence that by hand. We did about 40m on Friday and Saturday, about 4/5 hours in total, by hand with a stool to stand on, a sledge hammer and various types of wire, along the edge of a pretty wet field.

Our sheep were escaping beside a gate as the strainer had rotted and was letting the gate shift so we just had to do it before they got onto the road and caused an accident.

Electric fencing is ok for partitioning off bits of fields but surely not as a boundary.

How can you sleep at night knowing it might get blown down, your horses escape onto your neighbour's land, and he might have left a gate open?

He's now threatening us with "legal action" if they escape again onto his land.
I know we are liable for any damage caused (He's not asking for money he just hates us and hates horses) whuch is fine but I'm not sure what legal action he could take if any?

I am asking what the legal situation is in general regarding livestock if they get out onto sometime else's land on a very rare basis

I am just asking legally what line he could go down?

He is threatening criminal legal action and I was asking if there if anything in criminal law he can use.

Actually, it was only in your last post that you said he was threatening criminal legal action. Prior to that you had always said legal action. Can’t blame him though if you deal with him the way you’ve dealt with people on this thread. Secure your horses. Twice in a year is too much. His land is not your buffer zone.