David,
Over the years we have changed everything over to "Electrobraid" (no affiliation), even to the point of stringing a piece of it along the inside edge of 'external' gates to discourage scratching. All frequent use gates are chains with clips: pretty much (so far) horse-proof.
All this because, despite the driveway being 1/4 mile long, one day a neighbor (who drives the school bus) called to say he had just chased our horses off the road.
Sometimes I think a boat with a hole in it would be cheaper. (Can you tell I am not the 'horse person' on this place?
If you do end in court, I suggest you advise the judge of your efforts to improve gate security and concerns regarding tampering (if you have evidence of that.)
Best
Les