Parents! do you? would you?

[JadeWisc]

I wonder how many horse or pony owning paernts allow your childrens friends to ride and or handle your horses or ponies.

If you do , so you require a signed waiver or permission form from the childrens parents?

Would you ask the parents of a child to sign a waiver and if not, why?


If you are at a yard, does the YO require it for insurance purposes??

 

[merlinsquest]

Let my daughters friend ride merlin as she was having lessons at a very reputable local yard...... my 12 year old rides him no problem and she is very slight..... the friend is a much chunkier and stronger 12 year old and has had far more lessons than my daughter.

Long and short of it was that the horse went ok for her till she lost her stirrup and started screaming..... he then fled round the arena and dumped her (unintentionally)head first into the kick boards.

I stepped out to stop him and he nearly jumped into my arms... stopped so quick she got ejected.

so the answer to the question is NOOOOOOOOOO not again!!

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

From what we hear in GB about the culture of sueing in the US I think you have to insurance over there otherwise you would stand to lose everything if something went wrong. Unfortunately no one believes in accidents anymore...it's always someone's fault.

 

[Irishcobs]

I wouldn't let anyone under the age of 16 on my horses, mainly because they are too big for someone younger to be safe on, but also because if anything happened I could be liable, even though I am insured, its just not worth the risk.

 

[Ottinmeg]

one of my daughters asked if a friend could come and ride her pony, said friend was under the illusion that she was a good rider..i wasnt keen and said to daughter that no way was her friend getting on the pony without signing a waiver. luckily enough it never did happen . neither of my horses are suitable for novices etc.the pony is fine if you lead her but on her own she will try every trick in the book and doesnt suffer fools. if they ask again the answer would be no but even if there horses were suitable for a novice to get on or anyone for that matter then i would want a waiver signed first.

 

[Selkie]

Friends children ride my pony you have just started me thinking what if?

 

[JadeWisc]

[ QUOTE ]
From what we hear in GB about the culture of sueing in the US I think you have to insurance over there otherwise you would stand to lose everything if something went wrong. Unfortunately no one believes in accidents anymore...it's always someone's fault.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was mainly asking what "you" would do. I already know what I do.!

I am not sure it matters where you live. All it takes is one unfortunate situation to lose everything really.

Here it is not so much the "sueing" by the families that concerns me. It is being liable for thuosands if not millions if an insurance company of the family sued me.

Here it is more the insurance companies that go after people instead of the actual "people"

They do not want to pay , so they try and demand you do.
A waiver often stops them dead in their tracks

I do take WAY too many risks with allowing children and adults on or near my horses and ponies.

I am starting to re think being so open about it all

 

[PennyJ]

Crikey!

Yes I do let my children's friends ride my children's ponies. Only if I know though that they are competent riders.

No, i have never asked for a waiver thingy - mind you these friends are usually gung-ho pony owners/riders too, just like my kids, but you can never predict how other parents might act...

 

[alleycat]

What exactly should this waiver say, and would it be really worth anything in law? I wonder whether the law would just say- You're supposed to be the expert, the other parents don't necessarily know anything about horses, you're supervising the children; you're still responsible!

On the other hand when I went parachuting (as an adult admittedly) we had to sign a form saying that we knew the sport was potentially dangerous and we also had to have individual (and surprisingly cheap) personal insurance arranged by the parachuting school but asigned to us as individuals. I do think something like that would be appropriate for riding schools rather than the riding school bearing the full cost and taking all the responsibility.

As to other peoples kids riding our ponies; yes, I did allow it; I found it hard to refuse knowing how much I yearned for a pony when I was that age; but it was mostly on the leading rein, and I didn't enjoy it. The semi-experienced ones and the daring ones were the scariest, and I'm afraid there were some that I avoided; one girl in particular- an ambitious but rather brutal rider who'd won a lot on a long-suffering reliable pony and was just itching to get on board my young 14.2. - who would have BURIED her.....

 

[splatty]

Am afraid dont let anybody else ride our pony or my horse unless they are capable riders. My daughters pony is not the sort you can put any child on and plod about, she is a sharp competition pony, but am at a yard where there is a couple of plods which i can borrow and let a child sit on and be safely led about.