Insurance Indemity??? What should I do ??

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Biglets Mummy

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Hi all,
I wonder if you could give me some advice.....I have recently moved into a very rural little hamlet and for the first time I have my horses at home ! One of my brood is my very precious mini Shetland who my step daughter learnt to ride on and is the apple of her eye. She has now gone on to stealing mine so Jasper has a very lovely life of doing the odd in hand show and we go to fetes etc so kids can pet him...
My new neighbours are a bit odd and although I am a very friendly middle aged lady I find them very...well....dodgy. They rent a prop from the next farm and they regularly help themselves to tractors,quad bikes etc when the owners are away. Now ,in their defence, the farm owners are just so very very kind that they have prob said " help yourself to anything" but these people really do. I wouldn't dream of it without asking ! They take logs,food from their freezers etc but that must be with permission.
Anyway, they have a 14 month old son and she has approached me about " tacking up " and taking her little one for a ride ! I said I thought he was a little too small but when he was bigger he could have a sit on and have a photo taken.
Now my dilemma is this....I don't trust them.They take the farmers pony out of the field ( again when they are at work) but as I have said the owners are prob ok with this...That's up to them but I am not like that. I don't trust these people to take Jasper out when I am out if I let them sit on him for the first time. I feel it is opening the door to them as they freely help themselves to every thing else around.
I have a lock on the gate obviously and his tack is locked away but my gut feeling is not a good one....I don't like these people and I want to discourage any interest in Jasper before it becomes a problem esp as I am new to the area and don't want to be seen as being unreasonable.
I am more than happy to let them sit the child on Jasper with me in control but want to discourage any regular event. In the first place the child is only 14 mths old so I would suggest he is far too young to be taken up and down the lane. Jasper is an angel but he is used to older children and doesn't like screaming kids.
This couple are very broke...and something is telling me to cover myself and Jasper should anything happen.I am worried sick that is something happens they will try and sue me. I may be wrong but that's the impression both my partner and I have. Do you all think that if I got an insurance indemnity...something like " I am aware of the dangers involved in my child sitting on or being near ponies blah,blah..." it would distract them ? They know the pony is sound so cant got down the route of he cant be ridden as my nephew still likes to come and have a little ride on him.
Please don't think I am a bitch because I'm not. I just don't trust these people and want to protect my reputation,my money ! and most importantly Jasper.I just want to nip this in the bud before it becomes a problem as from what I can see you give this couple an inch and they take 6 miles.
Thanks as always all xxx
 
Just say no. Say sorry, you've checked up on the insurance and you're not covered so it doesn't seem fair to give the little lad the thought that he might be able to ride as he won't so sorry for making an offer that you can't actually fulfil but no rides, no sits, no nothing.
 
And sort the fence out so that it's electrified and they can't just wander in with the ponies. I caught some bloody daft woman posting a toddler through my fence the other day to go and talk to the horsies. Fence is now further electrified to keep out humans as well as keep horses in. Remember that you need the appropriate signage!
 
I would just tell them unfortunately your insurance doesn't extend to cover them to ride the pony (which actually it won't do). It is far too risky letting others ride your pony to be honest as, unless they have their own personal accident cover (which again, they won't as the child will be too young to be covered on a policy) then they could blame you should anything happen and anyone get injured. This is because, if you gave them permission to ride the pony then they would be treated as the policyholder so this would cover them should they cause damage to 3rd party property but not if they are injured themselves.

From the sounds of it you are best off not giving consent at all as it sounds like they take this as meaning they can do what they like whenever they like. If they did sit the child on the pony without your consent then they would have no come back on you should anything happen.

As far as getting a disclaimer type thing in place (is that what you're meaning and getting them to sign it?). You could try it but, in all honesty they're not worth the paper they're written on and mean very little
 
I would just say no. These people sound like they like to push boundaries, so set the ground rules straight. He is your pony, and if you dont want their child sitting on him then thats fine. You should make sure that they know from the start that although they get their own way with the farmer, its not going to happen with you.
 
They sound like chancers with a huge feeling of personal entitlement.
Logs and food from the freezer?:eek:

Just say no but I reckon it's not going to be pleasant.

Have to ask, how comes you know what they do?
If it's because they have told (boasted to?)you then I think they are working on softening you up so that you think you should treat them the same way.
 
Aarrghimpossiblepony said:
They sound like chancers with a huge feeling of personal entitlement.
Logs and food from the freezer?:eek:

Just say no but I reckon it's not going to be pleasant.

Have to ask, how comes you know what they do?
If it's because they have told (boasted to?)you then I think they are working on softening you up so that you think you should treat them the same way.
Click to expand...

You couldn't have put it any better !! that's exactly what i think they are they are..Chancers with a huge feeling of personal entitlement.
They have never boasted to me at all but its all a bit awkward..Shortly after I moved in the farmers went on hols and they asked me to look after their dogs !! ( not my neighbors) so they said please help yourself to meat from the freezers !! I would never ever take them up on this !!! My property is elevated and it looks directly down onto a huge open barn that has the freezers and log pile in so I can see them in the day taking stuff. I just presume its all ok with the owners as they use their tumble drier as well.....I sound like a nosey neighbour....but its all right their in front of me.
The advice about the insurance is brilliant. Thank you everyone xxx
 
Maybe mention it to your farmers, as they may know there is a problem, but maybe feel isolated in it. Maybe the neighbours were given permission once, and have carried on. You can always put it in a nice and innocent way.....that pony behaves well / doesnt like the neighbours when they ride it, etc, and open a door to finding out if they do/dont have permission.
 
I'm afraid if I was in your position, I would trust my gut instinct and politely say No...its my childs pony and stick to that..point them in the direction of a riding school!
 
Micky said:
I'm afraid if I was in your position, I would trust my gut instinct and politely say No...its my childs pony and stick to that..point them in the direction of a riding school!
Click to expand...
All my life I have always put myself out and been nice and generous with my time and my ponies and there has always been an issue so Micky I am going to trust my gut on this one !! thanks for your post x
 
I would just say no. I have a big horse, and 18 month ago a friend asked could her teenager have a few rides on him, she was over the riding school weight, but my horse would carry her ok. ( 10 inch bone and built like a tank)
Well she came for a ride. Was walked round school. Few trots ect, but I was not happy the way she bounced around on him. So asked her to just walk. After two visits, I said they couldn't do this again as I wasn't even getting a thank you and I worried in case she fell off. Well the mother bombarded me with text messages and I had to un friend them on fb..... It was turning into my worst nightmare.. So if you are not 100% happy to let them start and then take advantage, I would advise just say no... I felt bad about way it turned out, and regret ever saying yes. Will never do it again.
 
I wouldn't want people like that coming onto my property for any reason whatsoever. They sound like the type to try to worm their way into your life, take every advantage they can and then you find you can't get rid of them without being extremely rude, at which point they get stroppy because you've been rude 'for no reason' :rolleyes3: . I wouldn't even invite them in for a cup of tea! I'd go to a cafe instead (and only buy your own tea!).
 
Thanks so much everyone to taking the time to help me work this out !! You know what its like when you don't have many horsey friend to help you sort out horsey problems !! I have let people come and ride mine in the past and like you Romany 1959 it all ended badly. I was using my window vac yesterday ( Fabulous bit of kit folks !!! ) and she tried to hang over the fence watching. Then I got " ooohhhh...Ive seen those on the telly.Are they any good ??" I just lied and said it wasn't mine to let her try but I would put money on it if I let her borrow it I would never see it again. Thanks again for all your help xxx
 
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