Baby's and horses at livery

[marion95]

Hi

I've been living abroad for a couple of years and my horse has been on retirement livery (not that she needs to be retired!).

I'm coming home in Feb and having a baby in early April. I am harbouring dreams of getting my horse back and having her on nearby part/full livery after a couple of months. May/June. My husband is planning on being a v hands on dad and will happily look after the baby for an hour or two in the evenings when it's light enough to ride and also at weekends.

My question for mums in this situation - is it possible once the baby is in a bit of a routine to take them to the yard at nap time and leave them in the car while you ride in the arena (in full sight, in the shade, not when freezing cold,with windows open and all the other common sense type things) or am I being totally unrealistic thinking this is an option?

Just trying to get an idea of what will be possible in terms of riding etc.

Thanks

 

[Polos Mum]

Yep - both of mine happily sleep in a pram by the side of the school, as you say some comon sense stuff like not doing it if theres nobody else around (if you fell of etc) but I know plenty of others who do this to.
Just check when you are viewing potential yards that they will be ok with it - trickier is the toddler stage when they want to 'help'!!

 

[MiniMilton]

If you can drive the car up to the arena, this is very possible. I used to just have my baby in the buggy outside the arena (I have a fear of car getting stolen or bursting into flames). It can be a bit tricky though if baby wakes up screaming and you have your hands full with a horse, so really the temperament of the horse is a major factor. My horse was initially terrified of the buggy so I got him used to it without the baby. I put a "hitching post" beside the arena if I needed to tie the horse up and tend to baby.

That easy young baby phase was short lived though. Once the baby is on the move and sleeping less, it is very difficult to contain them. Once my son was crawling he would absolutely not remain in the buggy, and of course containing him in a car seat would be a no no also as he would scream to be freed. So at this point I could only ride if I had someone to mind baby.

Good luck with your new bundle of joy

 

[marion95]

Thanks, that's a very good point as my horse is terrified of pushchairs! She's pretty laid back otherwise though, so I'm sure she'd get used to it pretty quickly.

Glad it's a possibility though!

 

[MagicMelon]

Yes, you can time it so they're sleeping while you ride. It really depends on your baby! I was lucky that my mum generally looked after mine while I rode but when she wasn't around, I timed it when I knew my baby would fall asleep in the car (I had to drive to the horses as they were kept at my mums), left the window down so I could listen and watch for him waking up. Otherwise, I did sometimes park him in his buggy on the other side of the paddock fence if I was doing something quick like lungeing as he would sit happily for a little while.

I find its a lot harder now he's 19 months old. He's so active now, running / climbing about all over the place so I can't just leave him in his buggy as he hates it nowadays and he's a lighter sleeper in the car. I can't wait for summer again when I can ride after he goes to bed!