Not good with kids.

Caol Ila

Caol Ila

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And I don't mean the horse.

I've never related to young children well, even under the best of circumstances. Today was not. I was riding on the road through the subdivision of houses near the stables. Traffic was zipping past, too close as per usual. Some young kids were playing in the garden of one of the houses. As I rode past, this wee girl started squealing "horsey! horsey!" as loudly as she could and running, making a beeline towards my horse's rear end. I was a bit alarmed, feeling caught between the cars and the child. My horse is as unlikely as any horse can ever be to kick, but I will never 100% guarantee that a prey animal won't kick or spook if you run up behind it screaming and squealing. So I said, as calmly and as nicely as I could manage, "Please don't run up behind the horse." Poor kid looked totally crestfallen and sadly turned back to her friends, and I felt really bad.

Not really a question there. Just having a moan.
 
LD that's about par for the course these days.

OP don't feel bad. Better a crestfallen child than a squidged one.

Children come up to us. They often want to stroke Dizz as she's very pretty, but she didn't used to stand still so I couldn't let them :(. They could stroke Big Cob and Little Cob though.
 
I shouldn't feel bad I don't like children and I have one (I do like mine). The fact that this child was actually playing out the front and able to get out of her garden on a busy road? Sounds like you were being more responsible than her parents! Like MrsMozart says better a cresfallen child then a squished one!
 
I have upset excited children before, my mare thinks anything under waist height is evil and must be bitten! I always say no if they ask to stroke her because I can't guarantee their safety, but better upset than missing their face!!
 
Its a shame it was so busy, i used to love it when the kids wanted to come over to see my older mare, again I had to tell them no shouting as it can make the horse nervous and walk quietly past her to the front.she would stand and let them pat her and scratch her, after theyd seen and patted her they were delighted, to me its good for kids, even ones without horses to learn how to act around them. They quickly learned to stop shouting when they saw us and just used to shout the horses name and wave :D
 
I wouldn't let any child I didn't know or wasn't with someone I know near ours. In todays society they only have to put their dear little fingers in the horses mouth and get nipped and you are in trouble!!!
 
sykokat said:
I wouldn't let any child I didn't know or wasn't with someone I know near ours. In todays society they only have to put their dear little fingers in the horses mouth and get nipped and you are in trouble!!!
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Thats quite sad, as a child before i started riding i used to love going out to see the horses and riders go by.
 
Personally, I would have paused for a moment to let her stroke his nose and explained calmy and nicely that it is very dangerous to run up behind a horse and the screaming can frighten them.

Not all kids are monsters and I find it very sad that some people can be so intollerant to little people. We were ALL kids once.
 
marydoll said:
Its a shame it was so busy, i used to love it when the kids wanted to come over to see my older mare, again I had to tell them no shouting as it can make the horse nervous and walk quietly past her to the front.she would stand and let them pat her and scratch her, after theyd seen and patted her they were delighted, to me its good for kids, even ones without horses to learn how to act around them. They quickly learned to stop shouting when they saw us and just used to shout the horses name and wave :D
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Its good for the horses too - next time a kid squeals the horse would be less likely to leap out into the traffic.
 
Children should be eaten and not heard :D

No not really, it's difficult because as annoying as it is we have to remember they don't see the danger, if safe to do so I try to stop and let them stroke and wonder at this amazing creature, plus answer any questions and educate as why not too run up behind, problem for me is if were heading home he won't stand still properly as dinner is calling.
 
Playing Devil's Advocate a bit here, but if, for example, your horse is known to react badly to children or you are worried that it might, should you be riding it through a place where children live and are likely to get excited about seeing a lovely horse going by?

I guess it's similar to the whole dogs and muzzles thing except much larger with the potential to do more damage!

And although the kid ran out the garden to the road, if it was 8 years old and not 3 years old I wouldn't think there was much of a problem with it doing this and it being a reflection on bad parenting?
 
I was once riding out on good ol' reliable Blobby (luckily!) and a small group of 4 children spotted me. Like you experienced, they ran over squealing "Horsey!!" I knew Blobby was fine with kids running around him and I'm sure they could have hung off his tail and he wouldn't have cared. However, I thought they should learn some safety around horses, because if I had been riding Ned, he may have kicked or done something silly (while I'm training him out of this, it's hard going!)
I politely told the kids to be careful of his legs as horsies are really big and powerful and that they could stroke his face if they likes!

But no.
They totally ignored me and they started running in and out of his legs!! He didn't care, but what if they acted like this with a horse that wasn't totally bombproof?! I said again "Careful! Don't run around his legs, he might think you're a tiger!"

Then something happened that shocked me.
Their parents/guardian came over and said "Oh, don't be so boring, they're just having fun!!"
I couldn't believe it! So again I said they're welcome to say hello and fuss him, but just not to run around him.
The woman gave up and said "Come on kids" and gave me a glare.
I said thanks and went on my way.
 
Nah said:
Their parents/guardian came over and said "Oh, don't be so boring, they're just having fun!!"
I couldn't believe it! So again I said they're welcome to say hello and fuss him, but just not to run around him.
The woman gave up and said "Come on kids" and gave me a glare.
I said thanks and went on my way.
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Flipping heck, that's unbelievable. I know that not everybody has been fortunate enough to be brought up around animals, being taught how to behave near them and about their unpredictability - but really, for her to try and contradict you? It just goes to show how truly ignorant some people are.The parents would have been out for your blood had anything happened to their little darlings; someone get that woman a parent of the year certificate! :rolleyes:

Well done for trying though!
 
Dont feel bad you did the right thing, accident happen so quickly and you are not responsible for other peoples children. Was told a story the other day a group of children surrounded a horse on a cycle trail and one was clinging to his back leg, all the parents were bothered about was taking a photo!!!!
 
I also am not good with kids. Some children in the village where I ride run outside their houses when they see a horse come past, or they are already outside often screaming.

My gelding isn't great at standing still and likes to try and wipe his face on people so I tend to let children stroke his shoulder, telling them to watch their feet! Often very small children want to stroke and their parents pick them up. Many years ago he did end up with a small child hugging his back leg but thankfully he stood like a rock.

Less children ask to stroke my big mare but prefer to look at here. She is very sweet with children and if the parents are brave enough little ones get picked up to stroke her.

After an initial chat they know not to run or scream and that not all horses are friendly. This makes a huge difference when coming across a child with a horse eating ballon or scooter as they know to be quiet and move slowly when they see a horse :)

Teenagers in the village, esp groups of boys on bikes, get a bad rap but I have to say this summer they were picking apples (and messing around with them) and when I saw them they asked if my boy would like one ,which of course he did, and so they picked him a fresh one and fed him it. The next day a carrier bag of apples appeared over my gate handle :)

I think horses bring people together. I met all my field neighbours when I started long-reining the old Shetland around the village, her small size and me on the ground seemed to draw everyone out of their houses (adults and children alike) and she would stand still all day to be fussed rather than work.
 
A difficult one - after being horse obsessed since I was a toddler myself I can understand the children that are drawn to them but by the same token having had a broken toe myself when Ollie trod on my foot I worry about children getting accidentally trodden on. The best situations are where the parents walk quietly over with the children and ask whether they might be allowed to stroke them. Made me smile when a little tot sat for a minute in the saddle (dad holding her firmly and safely) and her little hands were going like a jockey wanting to be off!
 
Under other circumstances I would have stopped and have done in the past, as there are often kids playing in the village when we ride through it. But we were not in a safe place with regards to the traffic and my horse was a wee bit fresh, as she'd had an impromptu two weeks off due to my recent car debacles. I can make her stand, but in that sort of mood she'll fuss with her head and fidget and can easily whack a kid with her head or accidentally step on one.

To be honest, I just saw out of the corner of my eye this kid charging up behind us, reacted first by telling her to not do it, and then thought about it later.
 
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