Responsible for other people's children?

B

Blimey

Active Member
Joined
26 April 2009
Messages
33
Location
Fife
Visit site
I'm a little worried.... I keep my horses at a small DIY yard. This morning while I was mucking out one of the children was up and started riding. It was only while I was driving down to work that I passed her mother heading up to the yard! (I thought that her mother had been at the yard). I'm really concerned that if something had happened, even though I was in my stable mucking out, with my ipod in my ears, I would be held responsible....

Does anyone know the laws that govern this?
 
You are not responsible for someone else's children. You have not been employed by the parents or the government to look after them, so other than being a responsible human being, you are not legally liable for that childs welfare.

Different topic - the horse in your signature is lovely.
 
How old is the child? Does the yard owner have rules about unsupervised children riding on their property?

I used to belong to a yard with a big riding school and they also had quite a few child liveries. It was frightfully common for parents to just dump off the kids and leave them to it and pick them up hours later. Since the yard owner was okay with that, there wasn't a whole lot else the other adult liveries could do about it. Kids were allowed to ride unsupervised on the property and in the arena, but they couldn't hack out on the roads without adult supervision.

I'm not sure how liability would work, but I think if it happens on the yard owner's premises, the yard owner would be responsible and they would have to have the appropriate insurance? But other people on the forum might know better than me. :)
 
Blimey said:
I'm not sure, 12 or 13......
Click to expand...

If that is the case, then I think that is about the age that they should be able to ride unsupervised (given decent riding ability and a sensible horse/pony) - I know that my daughter was hacking out alone at the age of 13 and I am a reasonably protective mother!
 
i know fromt he age of 11/12 i was left to my own devices on the yard during the holidays as my mum went to work. but i was an uber sensible, responsible child. i knew when i went to the yard there were jobs to be done, and how they were meant to be done. i rode in the school by myself, and often tagged along on the riding school hacks or went out with friends.

i then moved to just a livery yard when i was 14 and was wholey responsible for mine and my sisters horse - 5 am turnout and muckouts and after school bring in exercise and feed. i never knew it any other way and i actually hated when my mum was there.

i always felt though if something happended 9and it did) there was at least the yard owner nearby or another livery
 
Our yard has a strict 'Children under 16 to be supervised' rule, but that mainly stemmed from 13 - 15 year old's being caught smoking in one of the trailers! Unfortunately the naughty ones ruined it for all the good ones.
That said, we are mainly an adult yard now and the few younger riders we have are all polite and well-supervised.

When I was 12 / 13, I was riding and hacking out alone and my parents and the yard were perfectly ok with this.
 
No, you're not responsible.

And also, how nice to hear of a child riding on their own. I've noticed from threads in the past that old wrinklies like me think happily of our unsupervised riding childhoods. Once we were reasonably competent - and lets face it, a good child can ride a lot better thana poor adult - we rode on our own, and learnt to be responsible for ourselves, our ponies or horses, our friends and the environment we rode in

However, if the child is not a capable rider, or its pony has issues, then I think you would be quite justified in mentioning your concerns to the mother..
 
I basically lived up the yard from the age of about 13 with several others who were younger than me.

However, I wouldn't be too happy for mine to be up a yard by themselves for a variety of reasons.

Child is NOT your responsibility though and if the mother wants to leave her child alone up the stables then that is up to her.
 
I would not think you were responsible.

But I was always left on my own from the age of 9 or 10 and never had any issues. The yard owner was always around though and she didnt mind - i often looked after half of her horses at the same time!
 
I often used to be left at the yard on weekends and school holidays, with no issues, my mum or dad would then come down after work and spend an hour or so with me and pony. They only done this once I got to know the pony, if I was bought a new pony then I had to stay with them while I got to know it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top