<human>: Can you give me the gist of the text in a nutshell?

I live off the grid with six horses down the hill from our house.  I am at the barn at least once a day to; at least feed them, refill their waters, and make sure they are all up and walking.  They are behind a five foot wooden AND wire fence.

I do find shotgun shells and pocket knives on occasion at the outside edges of the pastures, and it doesn't surprise me since we are in a rural area (on a mountain in the woods, at that), and I talk to our neighbors when I can to help keep up the "neighborhood watch" courtesy.

**The problem now** is that last night I was down at the barn to do the regular nightly routine, and they were all happily munching on hay, so I went to the house.  This morning, the gate was open.

I know for a fact it was shut last night, and that no one else here has been down there since then.  My neighbors are shocked as well, since we all have livestock we strive to protect, and no one saw or heard anything.  Most people will tell us they need to go through our property and lock up behind themselves -- at least that's the way its been for four years.

My dogs did lose their minds in the middle of the night, but I brushed it off thinking they'd seen a coyote or bobcat and tended to my startled-awake daughter in her crib.

Reddit, what would you do?  I am going to put locks on the gates, but I don't know how effective it will be...
<bot>: The gate to our horse pastures was open this morning when I know it was shut last night.  I am really concerned about my horses' safety.  What should I do?