leaving ponies alone at shows - just a moan

My original post was more about those that dont thank you, or really didnt seem to care becuse they went away again without doing anything to stop it happening again!

I have left and will sometimes will have to leave my boys alone again but I do everyhting I can to make it safe for them and stay as close as I can. I hardly ever get to see friends / team members compete but thats the price I pay if I am alone that day. I suppose leaving them in the trailer is as safe as I can get since they are supposed to be safe in there while they are travelling but in the summer that wasnt practical either and hearing about horses getting hurt by breech bars thats given me a whole new thing to worry about!

My new volunteer "grooms" are set up to help me this weekend and the next so that will help a lot. Other times its my (non-horsey) husband and a mobile phone.
 
coffeeandabagel said:
My original post was more about those that dont thank you, or really didnt seem to care becuse they went away again without doing anything to stop it happening again!

I have left and will sometimes will have to leave my boys alone again but I do everyhting I can to make it safe for them and stay as close as I can. I hardly ever get to see friends / team members compete but thats the price I pay if I am alone that day. I suppose leaving them in the trailer is as safe as I can get since they are supposed to be safe in there while they are travelling but in the summer that wasnt practical either and hearing about horses getting hurt by breech bars thats given me a whole new thing to worry about!

My new volunteer "grooms" are set up to help me this weekend and the next so that will help a lot. Other times its my (non-horsey) husband and a mobile phone.
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Very impressed that you now have volunteer grooms. I am picturing you sauntering around shows with an army of willing teenages in tow, bathing, plaiting and tacking up, and getting you drinks n snacks. Will you hire them out? :D
 
I left mine tied to the side of the trailer once. I had to, I was desperate for the loo. OH was left in charge of the horse, but horse escaped anyway. Something scared him and he broke the leadrope and got away. It all happened so fast there was nothing OH could do to stop him.
Since then I do not trust anyone or anything, I have bought a long rope so I can wee in the trailer while still holding on to horse!
 
Sorry suestowford but what happens if horses pulls back while you are in mid flow! Awful!!

Bernster - I have two and will hopefully have one with me each time I go out! Yes one is a teenager, the other in her early 20's. I pay for the tea / coffee / coke and food to keep them going. Fist occasion is stressage at Chesfield this Sunday - my first time out with 2 horses and OH doesnt do dressage, and the following week ODE at Keysoe.............so I will report back on how well it goes.
 
coffeeandabagel said:
Sorry suestowford but what happens if horses pulls back while you are in mid flow! Awful!!

Bernster - I have two and will hopefully have one with me each time I go out! Yes one is a teenager, the other in her early 20's. I pay for the tea / coffee / coke and food to keep them going. Fist occasion is stressage at Chesfield this Sunday - my first time out with 2 horses and OH doesnt do dressage, and the following week ODE at Keysoe.............so I will report back on how well it goes.
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Exciting, paid in food and drink, that's not a bad wage really. Unless it's chucking it down this weekend, in which case you wouldn't tempt me out even with a fresh bacon sandwich (which I couldn't eat last weekend as my tummy was doing backflips).

I'm off for a short xc schooling lesson on Friday and on the south ox sp ride on Sunday for my xc fix! And we will have company, so horsey should be bold as brass :)
 
I go to a lot of comps on my own and leave my boy in the trailer with ramps up to collect my number and pay medical fees etc but the top bit of the side ramp is open so he can look over and see where I go. Generally he just stand and eats his hay. I can never leave him tied up to the side as he is houdini and can get any quick release knot undone or just pulls/chews until the baler twine breaks!
 
I leave my horse tied to the trailer if I have to and see no issue with it. Mine are better standing outside the box than in (in about 22 years of owning horses, I have only ever had problems with horses I've left in the box!). It really depends on the horse - obviously people should never leave their horse on its own if they aren't trustworthy etc. I always try to park beside people I know though and ask them to keep an eye on mine (and do it for them in return). If I go to an event on my own, I have no choice than to leave the horse if I have to go and walk the course etc. Its the people who dont try to minimise problems like those who leave the rope FAR too long so the horse gets his head stuck under it or whatever, thats just dumb. Its really up to the people what they do with their horses. I will continue to leave my horses outside the trailer if I deem it safe to do so. Personally I feel its a lot better for my horse to be able to move about even slightly outside than stand stock still on a box for hours staring at a wall (basically) breathing in loads of hay dust...
 
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Had the misfortune to be at a show many years ago where a child was killed by a horse who had been tied up to a sheep hurdle the horse was spooked and took off with sheep hurdle attached and it hit the child. No matter how bomb proof we think a horse can be there still may be something to make them take flight. Also have witnessed a pony tied to a trailer put its foot through the bodywork of a vehicle and almost rip it off. Personally I never leave unattended.
 
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