Safety. Is this website talking sense?

All seems a bit garbled to me!

What strikes me is the multiple health and safety issues that can be picked out in the image at the top of the page! I can see 7 straight off!
 
Firstly none are wearing helmets or protection, pony has an ill fitting halter. That's all I seen in two seconds lol
 
EdTyndale said:
Sorry, what multiple health and safety issues?
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The kids with the pony. They are on a public road, by the looks of things.
No adult within grabbing distance,
Inexperienced kids
No hats
No gloves
Kids milling around the ponies back end within kicking distance
One texting rather than paying attention
Headcollar loose enough to pull over its eye, therefore loose enough to come off!
 
7 kids not wearing the correct PPE to handle a horse...

The article writer has thought far too hard on the subject of H&S. A risk assessment is just that, an assessment. You identify the risks, if you are not able to remove completely then you need to implement a suitable way around said risk. This might involve wearing BP's & hard hats, or making sure the user has documented evidence that a competent person has signed off said usable item.

However, in regards to the more than 5 employees the RAMS (risk assessment and method statement) will be to do with the manufacture of the item he is making and the employees surroundings. Not the item they are making per se.
 
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Just realised he is talking about providing access to ponies.... Still, principles are the same. Identify, rectify within reason and move one to next task.


Besides, if everyone took real proper notice of risk assessments, and in particular the ones that score using maths, we might as well not get out of bed. Although even that has inherent risks I should imagine :D
 
The main point from the main text that I thought was unfair was the comparison to Formula 1, horses are not inanimate objects, they have their own free will. We put our trust in them every time we handle or ride them, that is part of the appeal. You have to expect some risk, at one place I worked in where they were very hot on health and safety, we had to argue our point on not long reining, including running behind for not wearing body protectors and hats. The idea is fine but the practical application of wearing the body protector was our main problem. Our exercise area was an indoor school, this got very hot in the summer and running behind for 20 minutes is very hard on a sand surface in high heat, let alone when you have a hat, body protector, steel toe cap boots and gloves on. This is the whole point of risk assessment, we acknowledged the risks but pointed out the higher risks of illness/injury due to the wearing all the available PPE, in the end we agreed to wear hats, steel toe cap boots and gloves as this minimised most of the risks. We also had issues with not being allowed to ride in our riding boots, the steel toe caps provided were unsafe to ride in. It all smacks of nanny state, if your staff are properly trained and able then you do not need to go overboard with a 'non horsey' entity telling you what you can and cannot do.
 
Ah, Simon Mulholland. Simon is, put simply, a crazy inventor. He's very well meaning, he's got some good ideas but he doesn't seem to want to settle and get on with just one of them, managing to get himself involved in arguments instead.

He invented the Saddlechariot / Turfsurfer which ought really to have been something that everyone with youngsters of the human or equine variety should have heard of or used - so that mums could exercise small ponies and young horses could get out and about and gain valuable exercise with little strain on their young bodies. That seems to have died a death now, sadly.

If you read this Simon, sorry mate, you have some cracking ideas, you're a great bloke but you can be bloody infuriating.
 
I don't think you can compare eventing with F1, far more people compete eventing that race in F1 each year. If you want to compare with motor racing (I don't actually think it is comparable) then do it as a whole and since 2006 there have been over 30 fatalities. I'm not sure how many people have died at affiliated equestrian events since then but it's probably quite equal.
 
I would be interested to know what he would suggest I do with my horse who doesn't wear shoes but does have hooves so hard they would be equally capable of a deadly kick?

Rubber boots? Or should I just file them off :p
 
I honestly have no idea what the OP is on about I gave up half way down the page as I have to go back to work but felt the need to reply. Having worked in the equestrian industry and even just helping out on one yard (they made me read a 36 page risk assessment) health and safety in the work place is taken seriously but the activity is in itself a risk. I have had to write risk assessment for riding activities that don't even require a written risk assessment because people are so terrified of getting sued it's quite ridiculous. I might show this too my Dad he does this sort of thing for a living and loves to make a point when people go OTT and taken out of context.
 
Auslander said:
What strikes me is the multiple health and safety issues that can be picked hout in the image at the top of the page! I can see 7 straight off!
Click to expand...

Auslander said:
The kids with the pony. They are on a public road, by the looks of things.
No adult within grabbing distance,
Inexperienced kids
No hats
No gloves
Kids milling around the ponies back end within kicking distance
One texting rather than paying attention
Headcollar loose enough to pull over its eye, therefore loose enough to come off!
Click to expand...

All of the above!!

He seems v well meaning but I'm not sure how realistic some of the comparisons are.
 
On this page http://ponyaccess.com/2013/01/21/241/ he seems to claim that if only all carriages was equipped with his safety system, with a quick release mechanism if the horse would bolt or similar, then Carole Bullett and Dora Jufer would not have died, "and all the others uninjured" in two different accidents involving horses who had bolted with carriages. But a quick release doesn't stop the horse from bolting, it just means that the horse would bolt without the carriage, and as far as I know, a horse bolting through a crowd can cause injuries, and to collide with a galloping horse can lead to your death, e.g. Emily Davison http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Davison.
Maybe his Saddlechariot safety system would make it less likely for death accidents or injuries involving horses and carriages to happen, but I don't believe that it is the 100% guaranteed solution that he makes it sound as.
 
The article is garbled and the bit about shoes was silly but the wider Equestrian Industry on the whole is terrible at following very basic health and safety procedures and safe working practices. There is a mind set which says you have to take risks when actually there are a lot which given some thought you could remove completely or reduce. There are certainly many avoidable accidents in my opinion.
 
I know Simon Mulholland and I have driven the saddlechariot myself. I have also seen it driven, under very close adult supervision, by disabled children. It is incredibly easy to drive. I am not familiar with the later, wheelchair version, although I have watched various film clips of it and its variants. As *hic* said, it is an invention, "which ought really to have been something that everyone with youngsters of the human or equine variety should have heard of or used."

Unfortunately, a swathe of obstacles have been placed in the way of wider acceptance of this magical vehicle, almost entirely by bigoted establishment people and organisations (no names, no pack drill), that may well amount to a restraint of trade. Why this has been done I really cannot guess and I certainly do not know. However it is a great shame, because it has prevented lot of people having a great deal of fun. And SAFE fun, at that. I could write a long essay about all this but shall refrain. I just hope that Simon's monumental efforts to promote his undoubtedly excellent vehicle will some day bear the fruit that they unquestionably deserve.
 
EdTyndale said:
How do you establish from a single photo that the individuals are inexperienced?
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I can't speak for Auslander, but I made the same presumption about that they're inexperienced. Based on that none of them is wearing any safety gear, that some of them doesn't seem to think about that they're near the pony's behind (within kicking distance), that one of them is busy with texting rather than paying attention to the pony, that none of them have noticed or corrected the headcollar so that one part of it isn't in the pony's eye. Which to me, makes it look as they're inexperienced around ponies.
 
EdTyndale said:
How do you establish from a single photo that the individuals are inexperienced?
Click to expand...

Experience! I've around horses for 35 years, and teaching/training for 20 - and I can spot horse-savvy in an instant.

They just aren't handling the pony correctly, in a way that would be second nature to an experienced child. You can tell from a photo - pretty easily
 
Earthtracer said:
I know Simon Mulholland and I have driven the saddlechariot myself. I have also seen it driven, under very close adult supervision, by disabled children. It is incredibly easy to drive. I am not familiar with the later, wheelchair version, although I have watched various film clips of it and its variants. As *hic* said, it is an invention, "which ought really to have been something that everyone with youngsters of the human or equine variety should have heard of or used."

Unfortunately, a swathe of obstacles have been placed in the way of wider acceptance of this magical vehicle, almost entirely by bigoted establishment people and organisations (no names, no pack drill), that may well amount to a restraint of trade. Why this has been done I really cannot guess and I certainly do not know. However it is a great shame, because it has prevented lot of people having a great deal of fun. And SAFE fun, at that. I could write a long essay about all this but shall refrain. I just hope that Simon's monumental efforts to promote his undoubtedly excellent vehicle will some day bear the fruit that they unquestionably deserve.
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Same as any other inventor/developer trying to break into an established market then??? Simon should compare notes with James Dyson for some pointers, but his garbled article stupidly saying he can make handling horses 100% safe is not the way to go about it, I reckon.
 
Whether he's got a fair point or not, the rant makes him sound like a loony.

Having just looked at the website, I can't get over the poor fit of the collar on his pony. I'm sure it won't hurt it too much with a lightweight vehicle, but it paints a dim picture of his horsemanship.
 
I am using EdTyndale as an alias because for some reason my Saddlechariot identity is blocked. I am Simon Mulholland, drunk or crazy according to you. Your various answers support my case that the equestrian industry doesn't understand the first thing about Health and Safety, or care.
I find it depressing that the only basis on which anyone can judge the "experience" from a single photo is colour. The photo wasn't taken on a road, and that fact would be obvious to anyone who looked. The kids lack experience because the equestrian industry does the minimum to be inclusive. I was told by a very grand lady that "coloured people don't like ponies" and when I looked surprised, she said, "I know what I am talking about, I go to lots of horse shows and I never see coloured people there."
Those children were concentrating, the boy is looking back to see the pony is comfortable. Yes some are texting. Have you never seen anyone at a horse yard texting?
I had risk assessed the pony for doing things like this while driving him from Brecon to Birmingham in a Saddlechariot so I was reasonably confident of his nature. In all that time driving him in that "headcollar" or halter, it had never fallen off.
And if it did fall off, what would he do, amble over to some kid for a scratch.
You may need protection from your properly trained ponies. Obama, as long as nobody takes a whip anywhere near him, and nobody tries to ride him, is a sweetie. It is a shame that somebody made him so terrified of whips and riders.
To make judgements about people's abilities on the basis of their colour is prejudice. I find it disgusting. I will not tolerate my friends being attacked on the basis of race or ability/disability.
Will you please have the decency to restrict your personal attacks to me.
 
Booboos said:
I am now worried the Equestrian Industry might come after me (runs off to don foil hat for protection)!!!!!!!
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*sends a spare tinfoil hat to Booboos*
tin-foil-hat.jpg



:confused3: Why?
 
Please point out where any one has mentioned colour. You seem to be the only person to have mentioned it in this entire thread. For the record I do know 'coloured' people that ride but I don't see how that's really relevant.
 
Ed that's an awesome risk assessment.
I haven't read the material everyone is discussing here, but I've always liked the saddle chariot concept, looks like great fun.
 
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