Children working on yards

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DipseyDeb

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Out of interest, just querying, to settle a discussion more than anything......what would you say is the minimum age for someone to be left in charge of a yard with no adults there responsible for said child or horses??
 
I think it depends on the child and the horse! If it's a laid back horse who you and the child know well than maybe 14? Otherwise 16 - that's just my opinion, I know that my lad can be a bit of a handful so I wouldn't be happy with anyone younger handling him just because of lack of experience.
 
Personally, I would not feel at all comfortable with any child being left in sole charge of a yard full of horses so I suppose the minimum age for me would be 18.
 
On a small private yard with two or three easy horses and no other people, then perhaps 14/15. On a bigger pro yard with youngstock/liveries/clients and difficult horses then over 16, but age woudln't really be that important - maturity and experience would count.. Possibly legally 16??
 
sorry I read the question wrong! I thought you meant what age could a child be left alone on a yard to look after a horse not in charge of a yard! In that case 16 would be the absolute minimum but I would be much much happier with an adult as apose to a child running the yard. Only because if there was an emergency or accident I feel someone younger may not be able to cope and deal with the situation as well, although it does depend on the individual.
 
Depends entirely on the child, when I was about 12 (a long time ago) I could spot a mild colic, knew what leg a horse was lame on and had an idea of where it was lame, I could deal with cuts, knew how to bandage, and had a basic knowledge of first aid as my mother was a nurse so it was drummed into me from a very early age. Some adults can not do that so in that regard I would have been better to leave in charge. However that was a long time ago and I don't know many children now who know much more than how to put a plaster on a cut so if I was at a yard I would not expect anyone less than 18 to be in sole charge, but as others have said it would depend on how many horses and what sort of yard it was. Even if a 40 year old was in charge its possible that although they have more life experience that they don't have the horse knowledge to match it.
 
Thanks for the replies....personnally I would agree with the minimum 18, the youngest I was ever left in sole charge of a yard was 19, I'd worked in yards since the age of 15 but it was unheard of for a child to be left in sole charge, even if just for an afternoon.
 
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