Seaside donkey rides

[Mrs. Jingle]

I saw this earlier and wonder what thoughts you may have on it? I know weight of horse riders is often discussed on here but I can't see anything on size/weight of donkey riders.

Donkey owner demands kids are weighed before rides on the beach

John Nuttall said that he had introduced the weight restriction as "some are just too big to ride a donkey"

www.examinerlive.co.uk

 

[Cortez]

I saw this earlier and wonder what thoughts you may have on it? I know weight of horse riders is often discussed on here but I can't see anything on size/weight of donkey riders.

Donkey owner demands kids are weighed before rides on the beach

John Nuttall said that he had introduced the weight restriction as "some are just too big to ride a donkey"

www.examinerlive.co.uk

I’m surprised that weight limits haven’t been in place before. It’s obvious that donkeys can only carry so much, and with the size of many kids nowadays there will be many that are too heavy.

 

[Skib]

I cannot tell you what heaven it was - my daily ride in Littlehampton. Though I have been told this pic shows a mule. May be I was too big for a donkey. The man led you in walk to the next breakwater and then trotted you back.

 

[Roxylola]

They were talking about this on the radio. Some nutritionist type was all this is not a way to tackle obesity... The poor dude isn't even a bit interested in childhood obesity it's about animal welfare. The parents should know what the kids weigh and protect them from being "shamed" if it's potentially damaging to them

 

[teapot]

Good is all I can say. Always thought donkey rides have been used and abused a bit.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

They were talking about this on the radio. Some nutritionist type was all this is not a way to tackle obesity... The poor dude isn't even a bit interested in childhood obesity it's about animal welfare. The parents should know what the kids weigh and protect them from being "shamed" if it's potentially damaging to them

I saw a similar item on TV and was disgusted by the woman who said that. She seemed to think that donkeys are like fairground rides.

 

[Ratface]

I saw a similar item on TV and was disgusted by the woman who said that. She seemed to think that donkeys are like fairground rides.

I agree with you. When I was a child, we used to go on holiday to my paternal grandfather's house in Weston-super-Mare. I spent hours with my favourite donkey troupe, riding them, leading some of the quieter ones when they were being ridden and generally being helpful. The owner was known as "Donkey Jim".
Much later, when I had my son, I had my own donkeys and we used to walk round the fields together with our Afghan Hound. Eventually, he used to sit on them as we walked. Sadly, both eventually died and we didn't replace them.
My son is now 58, and recalls that time as a very happy one.

 

[cloverlea]

Our beach had ponies, from a local riding school. By school I mean get on, hang on and follow the one in front. But those ponies could carry a large child, and there was also a trap for the younger ones. At the end of the day kids from the stables galloped them home.

 

[Glitter's fun]

Our beach had a strictly enforced weight limit (well, size limit anyway -done by eye) for the donkeys. There was a pony for bigger children.

 

[cauda equina]

Good for him
The 'Won't they think of the children?' brigade should have enough sense to realise that this is all about animal welfare, not fat shaming
No one is forcing kids to present themselves for a ride anyway so those likely to be above the limit can just give it a miss
Well done Mr Nuttall for looking after his donkeys

eta I remember doing ridden donkey classes in the 1970s there was a weight limit of 8 stone; I don't know if anyone was ever weighed though

 

[Wishfilly]

Seems very sensible, and the Donkey's welfare obviously needs to come first. Perhaps if there is a demand for larger children to be able to participate, some owners will invest in larger ponies or mules? But it's good to see the welfare of working animals considered!

 

[SEL]

Good for him

It's not about fat shaming - some 10 year old boys could well be over the stone limit without being fat - it's welfare.

We've got an acquaintance whose child is obese. No shaming the child from us, but we're pretty critical of the parents behind closed doors. Their diet is shocking and their poor child is suffering for it. They'd be moaning at this if they were at the beach.

 

[Icedance]

Good for him

It's not about fat shaming - some 10 year old boys could well be over the stone limit without being fat - it's welfare.

We've got an acquaintance whose child is obese. No shaming the child from us, but we're pretty critical of the parents behind closed doors. Their diet is shocking and their poor child is suffering for it. They'd be moaning at this if they were at the beach.

I agree, we know of a family with very overweight kids but given the parents poor attitude to everything in their lives I’m not surprised

 

[Snow Falcon]

And why shouldn't he look after his donkeys the way he wants to? I applaud him for thinking of their welfare. Perhaps the parents of the overweight children need to do the same?

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I'm glad but it's a shame alot of countries abroad don't adopt the same attitude I absolutely hate to see obese people riding on horses and donkeys on their holiday

 

[BallyRoanBaubles]

Read this on fb before, good for him putting donkeys welfare first

 

[PurBee]

The highlight of a skegness trip for me as a kid was the donkey ride, in fact that’s all i can remember! The donkeys were so gentle. It was that which got me into ponies and horses

If these days 20% of kids are classed as obese, i agree with Mr Nuttall imposing weight limits. It’s sad for the kids that really are keen to ride, but hopefully the parents will see and encourage their horsey enthusiasm by taking them to a local RS to ride more suitable sized ponies.

 

[Denali]

This is normal for the good outfits in the US that do rides through the national parks like the Grand Canyon.

 

[scruffyponies]

He also has to think of his business risk. I can tell you from personal experience that fat kids struggle to get on and off, and can barely sit upright, let alone balance. They're top heavy and have no core strength. As a result they're not only causing damage to the animal, but much more likely to be injured.

 

[Equi]

He has chosen to set a lower limit than the guidelines for the welfare of his animals. Good on him.

 

[I'm Dun]

his stance has incited outrage from director of the Obesity Health Alliance Katharine Jenner who condemned the practice, stating it is "completely unacceptable to weigh a child in public - and then say they can't go on a ride".

Its NOT a ride. Its a living creature. How can people be so dense?!

 

[Kunoichi73]

If the 'won't people think of the children' brigade cared that much about the children, they'd be tackling the parents of the obese children not demonising someone who cares about the welfare of his animals. Too many people think their 'right' to do anything they want takes priority over the rights of others. They want the 'rights' without taking any responsibility for anything. It's always somebody else who they blame.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

Glad we all seem to agree (for once! ) All I could think on reading it was I wish all of these beach rides stuck to the same weight range. Or as someone suggested maybe added a pony or two to their string to accommodate the larger children.

I hope it does upset the parents, hopefully it will upset them enough to make them encourage their children off their backside staring at their phone to actually get moving and feed them some decent nutrition too. It is a bit sad for the larger kids though, as really IMHO, it is a parenting issue, unless of course the child has some sort of health issue that is contributing to their size.

 

[Denali]

I have zero sympathy for people who pitch a fit over being told “no” for the welfare of an animal.

I understand people especially children can’t always control their weight but that’s life. I got too fluffy to ride so I’m busting my butt to lose the extra lard by mid-July so I can try my hand at reining.

 

[Lauraback]

Well done that man putting your donkeys first

 

[Nonjumper]

If I remember rightly, there was a bit of a fuss when donkey ride owners set an age limit too, restricting rides to children of primary school age and younger. This was the start of trying to prevent people that were too heavy for the donkey's coming up for rides, but these days even the younger kids are just a big as their parents.

 

[Skib]

This is normal for the good outfits in the US that do rides through the national parks like the Grand Canyon.

We toured the West and National Parks, where I went on brilliant trail rides. I was never once asked my weight. Nor was OH when he eventually started to ride too. He learned to ride because he was fed up with waiting for me in car parks..

 

[lizziebell]

I heard this discussion on Radio 2 yesterday and was quite disgusted by some people’s attitudes that protecting children from embarrassment and/ or upsetting a child by telling them they can’t have a donkey ride should take priority over the donkeys welfare !

The donkey owner isn’t weighing the children in public, but he has got scales available if a parent wants to haggle over their child’s weight.

Sorry if this upsets anyone, but a lot of the overweight children I see, have overweight parents, and I’m fed-up of obesity being promoted as body positive.

 

[SilverLinings]

If the 'won't people think of the children' brigade cared that much about the children, they'd be tackling the parents of the obese children not demonising someone who cares about the welfare of his animals. Too many people think their 'right' to do anything they want takes priority over the rights of others. They want the 'rights' without taking any responsibility for anything. It's always somebody else who they blame.

This (above).

We weigh children when they come to hospital appointments and some parents even claim doing that is unacceptable and they are being 'victimised'. We see an ever increasing number of obese children (with no other medical problems) who can't jog, let alone run, can't stand on one leg and who are out of breath walking the very short distance to the assessment rooms. They are referred by their GP because they are presenting with problems usually seen in middle aged and older patients, including back, hip and knee pain, and type two diabetes. Up until 2000 type 2 diabetes was unheard of in children, it is now rife.

Parents (and those working with children) need to understand that whilst fat shaming/name calling is unpleasant (and bullying can be deeply so) it really is the least of the child's problems regarding their obesity. The saddest thing is that if parents don't help their children maintain a healthy weight that child will find it far, far harder to do so once they become an adult.

At work we see children with serious disabilities and illnesses, and those who are victims of horrific events such as accidents or strokes, but the obese children often seem the most tragic as their conditions (eg diabetes resulting from their weight) could have been prevented.

We see hundreds of very overweight children per year for illness stemming from obesity, we also see all children in our area with diagnosis that can cause obesity (such as Prader Willi Syndrome), but they only account for single figures. Almost without exception the parents of the children with syndromes such as Prader Willi are successful at keeping their children a healthy weight by weighing food and calorie counting, so it is possible.

So well done to the donkey owner, he may well improve the welfare of a few children as well as his donkeys.

 

[lizziebell]

That is heartbreaking @SilverLinings