Advice please, about someone wanting to ride my horses

[dibbin]

Jenna, you explain to mum that when you first let her daughter have a sit on Lui, you were under the impression that she was quite expert, with enough experience to be going out on beach rides unaccompanied, jumping bareback etc. If she had been that experienced then it would not have been a problem to let her ride him (provided they took out some insurance for her). However, you now know that she wasn't able to ride at all, and with her riding lessons she is now what you would consider a novice rider. Lui is not suitable or safe for novices to ride, and will get less safe as you fitten him for competition. This means that there is no likelihood of her daughter being able to ride him in the near future (come back in 2 years!).
That's going to need a phone call or a face-to-face I'm afraid.

I'd go with this, firm but diplomatic. Points out that they were very much in the wrong by lying to you initially, without pointing out that they're rude, ignorant cretins as well. And definitely more than 2 years before she's asked back!

 

[NeverSayNever]

Love it. Just say that Lui is a competition horse and far too advanced for this kid. I think you have to be a bit cruel to be kind (to your horses!) and be v honest and say that you just will not have her riding your boy-she is far too novice and you have schooled him to a point where you don't want him going backwards in his education.



It astounds me that people are forever letting themselves onto our yard (on a fairly busy street ) and asking if they can just come and see the horses. Er, no! You don't ram on people's doors and ask to see their dogs so why think it's OK to do it for horses? One woman got really snappy with me yesterday and said 'I was let on last week'-well, touch luck, love, that wasn't me and if I find out who is letting strangers on to the yard, I will kill them! You wanna play with the horsies? GO find a ruddy petting farm!

oh i love it :d and you are so right.... we think alike, im forever moaning that people think im a petting zoo! ANd believe it or not, I DID have a family come and knock on the door when i was staying with my gran, (with my dogs) to bring their kids to see my dogs. pfffft! Ive also had young lasses that are tattie picking in the fields near us, come over while ive been about to go on a hack and ask to ride. Errr... 2 words for you.

 

[FairyLights]

Just tell her your horses are not riding school horses,they are competition horses and that you are not insured for others to ride them. Blame the insurance company![hee-hee] just say you would love to but you cant..........................................

 

[Paddydou]

Just tell her your horses are not riding school horses,they are competition horses and that you are not insured for others to ride them. Blame the insurance company![hee-hee] just say you would love to but you cant..........................................

DO NOT SAY YOU WOULD LOVE TO BUT CAN'T - they will be back and back nad back again a bit like Chukky in those horror films they just will not go away!

Be firm and say no.

 

[dibbin]

Also, I know you probably won't, but whatever you do DON'T give in and let her ride him. If you put her on a horse which you know is unsuitable for her skill level, then you will be liable if anything happens to her (as much fun as it would be to give her a good scare and send her packing lol ... maybe I'm just evil that way).

 

[baymareb]

It astounds me that people are forever letting themselves onto our yard (on a fairly busy street ) and asking if they can just come and see the horses. Er, no! You don't ram on people's doors and ask to see their dogs so why think it's OK to do it for horses? One woman got really snappy with me yesterday and said 'I was let on last week'-well, touch luck, love, that wasn't me and if I find out who is letting strangers on to the yard, I will kill them! You wanna play with the horsies? GO find a ruddy petting farm!

No kidding! Our place is huge and it has a winery and tasting room as well. They host corporate parties and weddings. There are summer camp programs for kids, riding lessons and vaulting lessons.

This means we have tons of "tourists" as I call them. People who figure that since they are there, they may as well walk around and pet all the horsies. I had to disarm a small brat with a rubber band gun the other day - he was shooting off rubber bands at the horses while Mom was cooing over another several stalls down. When I handed it to her and told her what Little Junior was doing, she simply said, "Oh, no, he'd never!" Mmmm....

 

[sidesaddlegirl]

I once got a father and his disabled daughter (she was in a wheel chair) ask if she could ride my horse and help out at my stables. Although I would love to have lots of kids around the stables helping out (I was a horseless horse crazy girl once so know how these kids feel!), I already have my friend's 13 year old daughter and her pony at my place, am not insured for other people other than us and I don't have the facilities to accommodate a disabled rider.

I felt bad saying no but the father kept on even after I told him to contact the RDA. In the end, I had to tell him that I have limited mobility with my arthritis and the beginnings of osteoporosis so don't even have the physical strength to cope with a disabled rider. Some days like today with all the rain setting off my hands and hips (I was in agony hacking out today hacking out because of the damp), I can barely do my own horses let alone haul a disabled girl nearly as big as me, onto a wappy 15.3 TB!! It would be like the flippin blind leading the blind to be blunt!!!

Sometimes I think, it's the parents that are more pushy than the kids. I think if you explain it to the kids, they understand why they can't ride your horses but the parents think it's a way for "free" riding at no cost to them so they push for it.

 

[Jenna500]

You guys are great, thanks! I was starting to feel like it was me being mean, saying 'no', but I'm not, am I? And yes I have been darned patient with these people, how many times do I have to say it before they get the message?

I want to pre-empt them turning up at the yard, which they're unlikely to do while it's raining, so I think I'll have a think about exactly what I'm going to say, and give her a bell tomorrow.

Just out of interest, where n the country are you?

Just outside Bath.

Unbelievable though, isn't it, the things people do? I remember last summer, I was coming back from a hack with Kira, my slightly loopy welshie. I was walking to give her a break and me a leg stretch. A chap with a little girl of about 2 in his arms stopped to say hello to her, and was just about to swing his little darling up into her saddle so he could take a picture! Didn't ask, and then got stroppy when I said no! You do sometimes feel like saying 'go ahead then' and then watching as Little Darling disappears into the next county (but that's probably just me ...)

 

[starsnrunes]

Unbelievable though, isn't it, the things people do? I remember last summer, I was coming back from a hack with Kira, my slightly loopy welshie. I was walking to give her a break and me a leg stretch. A chap with a little girl of about 2 in his arms stopped to say hello to her, and was just about to swing his little darling up into her saddle so he could take a picture! Didn't ask, and then got stroppy when I said no! You do sometimes feel like saying 'go ahead then' and then watching as Little Darling disappears into the next county (but that's probably just me ...)

No advice, but's thats rediculous.

It astounds me that people are forever letting themselves onto our yard (on a fairly busy street ) and asking if they can just come and see the horses. Er, no! You don't ram on people's doors and ask to see their dogs so why think it's OK to do it for horses? One woman got really snappy with me yesterday and said 'I was let on last week'-well, touch luck, love, that wasn't me and if I find out who is letting strangers on to the yard, I will kill them! You wanna play with the horsies? GO find a ruddy petting farm!

We had a bloke and his 2 kids stop and just wander on to our yard the other week and start looking/petting the horses, Good thing was it wass middle of the day so there were very few horses in for them to 'fuss', down side, the ones that were in were the stallions and colts, that are rather nippy/bite if you don't expect it. Thing is me and my mum were stood in the gate way and they didn't say a thing to us or ask, and i didn't recognise them as anyones partner.