Tresspassing

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

K S SWIGART   katswig@earthlink.net


Micahel Sherrell said:

> Things may be different in your neck of the woods, but everywhere I've gone in California,
> from Redding to San Diego and Big Sur to Tahoe, the private cattle lands are fenced and sport
> "Trespassers will be Prosecuted" signs.

Being somebody from California who has "Trespassers will be Prosecuted" signs on the property I am on, and who has for years
been riding on a bunch of other private land with the same
signs, I can tell you that the sign means, "ask for permission
first."  If you ask for permission before you go through
somebody's gate (or fence or even past their sign), then you
aren't a trespasser, and if you don't, you are.

Generally, I have found that if you ask permission before you
invade private property (and you ask nicely-rather than thinking
that it is an entitlement), people are quite amenable to
allowing you to ride on their property (although the Irvine
Company requires you to have taken a class in preservation of
local habitat or be accompanied by a docent who has).

I haven't had any problems getting permission from anybody.  But
it does require that you be polite and accommodating, as well as
respecting their requests that you not go to particular places
or at particular times...oh yeah...and that you not use it as an
excuse to teach your horse about cows, by chasing their cattle. 
It also helps if you volunteer to help them round up their cattle if they ask, catch their for them bull when it has
liberated itself, and communicate with them if you find
something amiss while riding on their property (such as a
section of fence that is down).

You'd be surprised how far this goes to building good-will and
how far good will goes to getting permission.

kat
Orange County, Calif.