anyone else think this was cheeky?

my bfg

my bfg

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Was walking up the yard this morning and two women with a little girl in tow stopped me and asked which house sells eggs, told them it was on my route so I would show them, was walking along and they asked what was in my bucket, said it was my horses breakfast. They then asked if they could come and see it, don't like the idea of allowing strangers down the yard so said no she's a grumpy begger who bites (she's not) then showed them the house that sells eggs and headed off. They then said to the little girl do you want to go and see the horse which the girl said yes to, they started following me at a distance. I headed down the yard (my girl had spotted me so couldnt walk past) and they stood at the roadside calling the YOs horses in the front field over, one of them is a bit bitey so went and warned them and asked them to leave, they stood there for a bit watching me then left. Thought this was very cheeky as 1 they didn't know that wasn't my horse which I had already said was grumpy and bites and 2 I had said no, anyone agree with this or am I being possessive over my girl? X
 
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I don't mind folk who have been invited, just thought it was bad that they carried on after I had said no, after telling them my girl bit it could have been dangerous for the girl. I'm a dog lover but wouldn't follow someone home to give their bitey dog a fuss x
 
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they were on the roadside?
not on private land?
if so I think you are being a bit off, if YO does not want horses touched then they need to be fenced away from the road, if it was a private road then they were being a bit off to follow you.
 
They were on the roadside so not trespassing, but why call over a horse that could have been mine that I had warned them about? Maybe I'm being a tad overprotective about my girl and the yards security but I wouldnt go against a warning like that x
 
Gloi said:
I seem to spend half my time letting little girls pat, poke, feed etc. mine, but I'm soft like that.
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twiggy2 said:
if the horse bites then a sign should be up and the horse unable to get to people so a second fence in place-you sound grumpy
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Both of the above! I love people admiring my horse, and if I can bring pleasure to a little girl, by letting her pat my horse, I will without a moments hesitation. I can't believe how uptight you are about it.
 
The horses can't generally reach the road, folk have to stretch over to them which they were doing. Didn't expect to be deemed grumpy lol. Would anyone have invited three strangers into their yard then? I would class this as a security risk, but definitely thought it was bad after me saying no X
 
But they didn't go onto your yard, they stayed on the road. If they'd have followed you up the yard drive it would have been cheeky, but they didn't.

I would have brought my horse to the fence for her to pat, personally. I can understand not taking strangers onto the yard, but also understand that patting a horse would make a little girl's day.
 
my bfg said:
The horses can't generally reach the road, folk have to stretch over to them which they were doing. Didn't expect to be deemed grumpy lol. Would anyone have invited three strangers into their yard then? I would class this as a security risk, but definitely thought it was bad after me saying no X
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If they'd actively walked onto a private yard that would be a different matter but from what you've said it sounds like they were on a public road and were only calling/petting the horses so don't see they've done wrong. Maybe not the most sensible thing to ignore your warning about biting though but sounds like they were willing to take the risk.

Personally I'm always happy to stop and let people come and say hi to H. I remember back to when I was a horseless but horse obsessed little girl and am forever grateful for the friendly owners who gave me a quick pony fix so if I can do that for another little girl so be it.
 
Ive no problem with friends and family's kids coming down to fuss her. But I said no at the house they were looking for and they still followed after me and they ignored a warning about a biting horse. I was a pony mad lass once to but I doubt my mum would have done what they did x
 
Really, lighten up. They patted some horses on the road side. They didn't follow you to the yard.

I've been doing the same with my niece all week.
 
I don't really see what your problem is. They didn't follow you onto the yard, they stayed on the road, and it could I suppose be sensibly assumed that the horses that came over to them were friendly, as far as they could tell. Nobody was trespassing, nobody was in the field being at risk, nobody was feeding them anything.
I could quite understand you thinking it was cheeky if they had actually followed you onto the yard: it would have been. But they didn't.
Anyone could, presumably, say "hello" to the horses in the field next to the road.
 
Honey08 said:
But they didn't go onto your yard, they stayed on the road. If they'd have followed you up the yard drive it would have been cheeky, but they didn't.

I would have brought my horse to the fence for her to pat, personally. I can understand not taking strangers onto the yard, but also understand that patting a horse would make a little girl's day.
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I agree with this - and I would class myself as grumpy!
 
Have to say I think it was a cheek, and I wouldn't want to be followed to the yard.
I get fed up with this sort of thing, only last week some doting mother allowed her child to run up to our gate to look at the chickens and cats and didn't even notice (or perhaps care?) that the little darling had unlatched the gate. Perhaps she would have liked the little dears to see a squashed chicken in the road.
 
I don't encourage folk into our yard - it is our space. However, horses are currently in a slightly more distant field next to a byway. Arrived today to bring mine in and they were being fed bits of carrot over the gate by two little girls in flip flops. They asked the ponies names and I did feel a bit mean telling them to move right out the way while I brought my lads out the gate. However I didn't really fancy picking severed bits of little feet out of my lads great clumping hooves! Hope I'm not greeted by bits of tiny fingers another day. On the plus side we have lots of people walking past who keep an eye on the herd and I don't mind the occasional treat being offered in exchange for some horse watching.
 
I think if you'd asked them not to come, it's a bit off that they nevertheless came. A bugbear of mine at my last yard was passers by getting annoyed when I politely asked them not to feed endless kilos of carrots to the horses. One woman told me it saved me a job!! Mad. One group-family outing :rolleyes3: was throwing carrots at the horses' heads and when asked not to feed them, asked what they could feed. It's not a bleeding petting zoo!

I'm a bit protective over mine and I'm off the beaten track now so no longer a problem, really. Mine can be quite spooky with little kids (puppies, trucks parked in a new place, people coming out of doorways unexpectedly, lots of things! :rolleyes3:) so I prefer not to have him backed into the stable sweating.
 
I think you were boring and mean in the first place to be honest. I'd love to be able to make a little girl (and her mum!) happy by allowing them to say hello to one of my horses.
 
My horses get patted over the fence all of the time - and I don't mind. Going into the yard or paddock would be a different matter though.

I will stop when I am out riding, if I am asked nicely because I was that pony-mad kid once, but I don't get asked nicely very often these days. "Please" and "thank you' don't seem to be in common use these days.
 
I agree with cob goblin and Celtic fringe.

I'd be bothered too when telling adults, that no, there won't be a horsey visit today, only to have them use the child as an excuse to be rude.

If they had just happened by, then, fine.

I don't have a problem with visitors or even mail people etc, giving my cat a scratch when they see him. But if people saw me with a bag of cat food, asked to see my cat, then proceeded to follow me after I said it was a feral beastie and would scratch you.

( yes I know not a likely real life example haha, but a bit how I see it. I did have a post it on my computer that said "remember to be nice", so perhaps I'm even grumpier than the op :p)
 
I'd go a step further and say I think you sound very grumpy..
I spend half my life letting small kids pat my pony. Not to mention accosting dirt bike riders and asking them to give my horse a carrot! (Now he loves dirt bikes approaching us, but it is also a segway into a conversation about being safe around horses).
I would have said "We don't let strangers onto the yard but if you wait here I'll bring my horse over for a quick visit" and brought her to the yard gate for a pat. Makes a little girl's day, gets round the issue of strangers on the yard, and means they don't then feel the need to go and pat some horses in a field, unsupervised.
There is a general perception that horsey people are stuck up, rich persons and we should all be doing our bit to counteract that, IMO.
 
The problem is that people are incredibly stupid. If you allow them to pat your horse and feed it a carrot when you're there, what happens when you're not there? Half a dozen apples? Chewing gum? A pocketful of sugar lumps? A bucketful of grass cuttings? How about going into the field and forgetting to shut the gate? Or climbing over a locked gate and being squished by a herd of horses eager to see what treat they are getting today?
Nah! When people get some sense they can come near my horses, but I can't see that ever happening.
 
cobgoblin said:
The problem is that people are incredibly stupid. If you allow them to pat your horse and feed it a carrot when you're there, what happens when you're not there? Half a dozen apples? Chewing gum? A pocketful of sugar lumps? A bucketful of grass cuttings? How about going into the field and forgetting to shut the gate? Or climbing over a locked gate and being squished by a herd of horses eager to see what treat they are getting today?
Nah! When people get some sense they can come near my horses, but I can't see that ever happening.
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The only way you can guarantee that doesn't happen is to keep your horses away from public access, it isn't too difficult.

Yes, IMO grumpy old bag for not letting small child pet horse.
 
My boys have a footpath along one side of one of their fields. There is (signed) electric fencing, but I wouldn't mind people letting children pet them as long as they stay on the footpath and don't feed them. I did once find veg peelings and a polo by my gate, shortly before my mare died of colic (displaced gut, so not actually related). One of the neighbours had also been throwing grass clippings over the fence. After my mare died I put a notice up that the horses were not to be fed as it may have contributed to her death... also told the neighbour this... a bit mean, perhaps, but it worked! Feeding is the only thing I really worry about. If someone asked, I'd happily bring my boys over to the fence for a child to pet them. It would be a nice opportunity to explain a bit about safety around horses to people who potentially don't know a lot about it :)
 
OwnedbyJoe said:
I spend half my life letting small kids pat my pony. Not to mention accosting dirt bike riders and asking them to give my horse a carrot! (Now he loves dirt bikes approaching us, but it is also a segway into a conversation about being safe around horses).
I would have said "We don't let strangers onto the yard but if you wait here I'll bring my horse over for a quick visit" and brought her to the yard gate for a pat. Makes a little girl's day, gets round the issue of strangers on the yard, and means they don't then feel the need to go and pat some horses in a field, unsupervised.
There is a general perception that horsey people are stuck up, rich persons and we should all be doing our bit to counteract that, IMO.
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Restoring faith in humanity. I can be grumpy too but trying my best not to be! I wave at children on hacks, stopping to let people stroke pony I also took the pony to my daughters school it was lovely to see the childrens faces light up and they were very interested and asking questions. Not everyone is lucky enough to have horses in their lives!

I hate seeing strangers on the yard and will approach them to find out who they are. I have had holiday passers by come to talk to me about the horse before which I try to put on my best smiley face and answer their questions etc. Just try to be friendly until they prove otherwise!
 
Op I don't think you are grumpy, it's your right not to have strangers around your horses if you don't want to. Not everyone is comfortable with that.
 
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