Coping with a toddler and a horse?

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3707rachela

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Hi, just wondered how people manage day to day stable duties, riding, competing etc with young children? I have a 15 month old and have been offered a share in a friends horse ( I have ridden and competed for a number of years and have had horses on loan before) but, and I know it sounds stupid, I am just musing on how people manage mucking out etc with a toddler in tow, or is it a complete nightmare?! Just want to try and make the best decision for all involved really..... Thanks in advance.
 
Just dont expect your child to look clean.....ever!!!!

I have 4 kids, and have had a horse/horses on DIY all through having them....It is hard, especially on really cold wet days, but it is manageable, and was worth my sanity!!!

I wasnt able to ride a huge amount until the kids went to pre-school, but I did manage to fit the odd ride in and ride at weekends! I didnt compete, but that was out of choice I suppose!!

....ETA Portable DVD players are a *godsend*!!!
 
Hmmmm tricky one. Do you have child care for your toddler?
TBH i have 2 kids, one is 5 and my eldest is 6 and has ADHD, found it really hard to manage during the hols, they where running around, could'nt leave them alone for a mins as they would just be messing about. Had to put riding on the back seat for a while and mainly been riding after work (part time 5 - 7pm) when OH had them after his shift.
If you havent got child care then to be honest i think i would wait a while - i found it hard enough witha 5 and 6yr old, let alone a toddler..........
:)
 
Little one goes to nursery two mornings a week but by the time I've dropped her there and got back home, I'm back in the car driving back to pick or up (or so it seems!)! My partners around a bit but he does work long hours so can't really rely on him all the time. Thanks for all of your comments, just wondered how people manage with the two. Perhaps we may need to hold off a bit, or hope our numbers come up tonight and can afford livery for horse and nanny for little one!!
 
I had a toddler and a wheelchair bound 4 year old. I had to look after my five ponies and two children alone when I was with my ex. Twice a day I would go up my yard and muck out my ponies stables and paddocks with my daughter in a sling/pouch thing and my son in his wheelchair. If I was handling the ponies I would pop Hannah in a buggy I kept in the office and she and my son would sit and watch me. In winter I would put the heater on and the tv in the office and they would watch Tellytubbies in the warm while I was outside the window. As they got older I was able to take Hannah up whilst Aeron was at school and she would ride and play on the yard while I worked (horses would be turned out before I let her loose). I was so glad when they went to school/nursery and now my three teenage daughters are a god send lol! They are all pony mad and my son still enjoys being taken up there in warm weather and he loves watching the motorway as he is car mad!
 
I have 2 ponies and a 16 month old toddler. I manage to muck out and it is a juggling act and can take double the time but it can also be great fun too. My Daughter loves playing with the hose and helping to put poo in the bucket! I think routine is helpful too for example she knows she has to sit in the buggy while I get the ponies in and out of the field etc.
I must say though I am very lucky to have a fantastic husband and horsey mum who make it possible. I would give it a go if it is what you really want, It is amazing the things you can do with a toddler clinging to one leg, a horse in the other and the rains pouring down!:D:D
 
I forgot to say when I rode I would pop them in the wheelchair and pushchair tack up and then put them by the menage gate before running back to get my horse and riding. Hannah and Aeron grew up looking up at me on a horse for the first few years lol
 
I have two children(7+2) three horses (one a yearling) and me and OH work full time...in answer I have a very understanding OH who helps out not only with the kids but the horses *he does morning duties* riding when I had the little ones was restricted to sleep times and either before or after work..:)
 
I did it, i was at a yard were there was wonderfull teenage girls and little ponies they would take my little girl riding while i did mine. :) Shes ended up a very keen rider and now i just have a pony for her, shes 6 now and is very horsewise and very helpfull, she mucks out her own pony. It can be done but have to pick your yard carefully and it does depend on the child i have a quiet and pretty well behaved girls, on the otherhand my mum has a boy the same age as my little girl and he could just get into so much michief as down the stables. I also used to compete and she either stayed at home with her dad or one of the lovely teenagers came with me for a bit of pocket money! :D
 
presission planning!
ive got 3 under 4yo & keep my 2 on a feild with no facilitys however its brilliant, summer months the older 2 play in the feilds whilst i poo pick, fence move & exersise (no riding unless there is someone else about) & in the colder months they sit in the car with DVD player on & a pot of chopped up fruit. the smallest one (5 months) is happy anywhere.

i have an old dome tent for them in the summer & a few plastic toys for them that live there in a box in feed room (old shed)
 
I am currently doing this.....and well................it doesnt work that well so far as I work FT as well :(. I only get to the horse 3, possibly 4 days a week. So I am having to get someone in to help.

Daughter is NEVER clean when we are seeing to them, and you need eyes on the back of your head!!! She will be IN the field with them before you can catch her. But I trust them with her, and she now knows to heep her hands out their mouths and off their butts!

I would recomment getting a kiddy wheelbarrow and tools though, as Emma loves to sweep up. but she uses her dolls pram to carry her wee sweeping brush in (must get mini barrow!). In the future though it will be handy as I am planning on instructing her in the fine art of poo picking :).

I have tried putting her in a buggy but she creates merry hell and so its easier to have her doing her own thing (its my parents so enclosed garden etc). I do prefer it though when I can go straight from work and so no baba in tow.
 
Hi,i have a 2 year old and 5 horses!

It takes dedication and an understanding partner!

I get up at 5am to se to them in the morning, i have to be back home by 7am so that my OH can go to work.
Even at weekends i get up early to get things done, i jsu done have to rush home!
Sometimes i will go uo during the day, she will sit in the car for a while if i lunge or she will try and help!
If im waitibng around for the farrier i tend to leave him to it and go for a walk or give her a snack in the car if i have to hold one of them!

Then in the evening i wait for OH to come home and go to yard then.
Soemtimes i go and he puts her to be other times i put her to bed then go up after, it just means im at the yard very late sometimes!

Also since she was 15 months she has been going to nursery, its good for her to play with other children and have structured lessons like at school.
I get 5 hous at the stables those two afternoons!
 
I think a lot of it depends on the toddler and the horse and the yard set up! I echo the others... if it is full of teanagers, most likely some of them will help entertain your toddler while you are doing things... Theres one at our yard and she is always helping us muck out - sweeping is her favourite!! so if you can engage your child in the activity you are doing - even if it is holding the hose to fill up a water bucket and letting you know when the water is at the top!

Perhaps you could arrange to do the morning stint early so that you can go up toddler-less and have a ride and get as many of your jobs done then? then go back later in the day with toddler.

I really don't think it's a bad discipline for kids to learn from a young age...
 
Wow, thanks for the reponse! Lots to think about, I guess I was just after whether there are people out there that do it and are still sane at the end of the day (relatively speaking of course!). Thanks very much, will keep you posted! x
 
hi, I have 4 horses, sheep & cattle which I do pretty much on my own I found a back pack invaluable he was safe I knew where he was. I mucked out, lambed ewes etc but he was out the way and safe. He is two now but I still use it a lot in a situation where I need him out of the way. You will find a way even if it is not how you planned it!!
 
Hi, I have a 2 year old daughter, I work 4 days (shifts) and my horse is on assisted DIY. He gets fed and turned out/brought in and put to bed depending on what I am working, by the YO, and I muck out etc around that. My daughter loves being at the yard and will "help" me muck out, make his feed, pooh pick etc. I am also lucky in that the people at the yard are great and are always happy to spend 10 minutes playing with her so it is safe to let her run around while I get on with things although if there are other horses around on the yard I am more careful with her. My horse loves her too - a spooky TB who everyone told me would not cope with prams etc has turned into a lamb around her and she sits on him, grooms him etc and he doesn't bat an eyelid. When she is with me at the yard, I usually long line him or lunge him. When she was smaller, she would sit in her pram/pushchair and watch but now has to come and help me and comes in the middle to hold the lines! I save riding for the days she is at the childminder or when my hubby is around as I can not ride properly and keep an eye on her. I do competitions as and when I can fit them in, again while hubby babysits, although they will often come along and watch. Basically, you need to be super organised and have an OH/someone who doesn't mind you spending time at the stables when you could be at home with them! All the best.
 
Its completely do-able if you want it bad enough and at 15 months its a good age IMO to introduce them to the idea of horses, outdoorsy type lifestyles etc.

I have a 2 yr old and a 5 yr old (who has autism so is really like a 2 yr old lol). Mo is kept out so no problem with mucking out but when he's being groomed etc the kids just entertain themselves nearby or else I put a brush on my son's hand and try to show him brush strokes etc. They still don't understand not standing behind a horse so that needs supervision... I guess it would depend how well done the horse is and how calm, also if the horse is used to children.

Obviously for hacking out you will either need a bombproof horse and take the baby with you for gentle hacks or a babysitter. The hardest thing will be childcare through the winter when you have to go turn him out/bring him and its freezing rain. That's no fun for a toddler.
 
Hi I don't have kids but my friend has a 14 month old daughter, S is usually in her buggy watching K muck out, or she is just outside the school when K rides (if it's dry). They're on a busy DIY yard and know the other liveries really well so someone is always about if S is fussing but she's such a quiet baby that it's really rare
 
I looked after the daughter of the nasty witch who didn't pay me for the whole two years I worked for her/was best pallies with her, as she was always in bed or out shopping!

I would go in first thing in the morning, and get her up, shovel breakfast down her throat and then take her out on to the yard. I had eight eventers to muck out and ride, and I got through it by getting her to help me. She loved horses to pieces and was on permanent poo watch! Her main job was "if there is a poo, DON'T LET IT GET AWAY!" So we had lots of "ROB!!! POO POO POO!!!!!!" shrieks in the mornings! She was also FAB at filling haynets, carrying a tiiiiny bit of water in a bucket to help top up waters, cleaning bits and rolling up bandages. I turned out with her on my hip or having a piggyback if I had two, and when it came to riding I'd either have her in the school in her buggy next to me while I lunged, on the side of the school in her buggy while I was jumping or schooling, or I'd ride while she was inside sleeping in the afternoons, with the baby monitor strapped to the saddle! Hacking out and fast work had to be done when there was someone else around, but the rest, I managed for two years and didn't have any accidents!

I miss her like you would not believe now though :(
 
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