Sense checking something

[Ambers Echo]

I am pretty clear in my own mind about this but was curious about other perspectives.

A kid on my yard and some friends went to a SJ lesson with a pro as an Easter holiday treat. Tragically a pony hit a fence awkwardly and broke a leg. Vet was there in minutes and euthanised pony there and then. By this time the next lesson was due to start and pro intended to just carry on with the pony still in the arena, saying they did not have time to delay while waiting for the fallen stock man, and people had come a long way for training.

One of the parents (not mum of the child who lost her pony) said it was disrespectful to the owners to carry on, and the riders waiting for their lesson said they did not want to ride with a dead pony in the arena anyway. So in the end everything got pushed back till after pony was taken away. I am not naming names - I am just interested in other points of view as I found that attitude quite hard to get my head around. I cannot conceive of wanting a lesson with a dead pony in the arena and a traumatised family still there, waiting for the body to be removed.

Would anyone be happy to just ride anyway?

 

[KittenInTheTree]

Sociopaths would probably be fine with it, I guess?

 

[greasedweasel]

I’m pretty lacking in emotions generally but I’d have given the kid a hug and loaded my pony back up and gone home. I wouldn’t have wanted a lesson at all in those circumstances. I can’t imagine most horses work well with a dead horse sharing the arena with them.

 

[HelenBack]

No. I wouldn't want to ride around a dead pony and can imagine it might be unsettling for my horse. If I was the owner of the pony I would be devastated at the thought of somebody being so inconsiderate and just continuing like that. Sounds like the instructor was only thinking about their time and money.

 

[AandK]

I'm slightly speechless tbh. There is no way I would want to ride with a dead horse/pony in the arena, no matter how far I had travelled. I can't believe anyone would think that was okay?!

 

[Skib]

We watch a lot of polo. Sadly ponies do sometimes get injured or die. A vet goes to the fallen pony at once and screens are put round the fallen horse which is then removed in a horse ambulance with a winch. The horse (dead or injured) is always inside the ambulance. It isnt dragged off the field. Play does not resume until the fallen horse has been removed.

 

[94lunagem]

Similar to @greasedweasel, I'm pretty cold in these circumstances, I tend to be the one friends call in PTS emergencies because I switch into practical mode. But out of respect for the poor child, parents parents and dead pony I would certainly not think it was ok to carry on with the other sessions, at least while the pony was still in the arena.

 

[shortstuff99]

Yeah it is weird.

 

[Squeak]

I wouldn't think doing lessons with a dead pony in the arena appropriate. Poor owners and pony. How incredibly unlucky.

Was there no other arena that could have been used instead?

 

[SEL]

Absolutely would not want to ride!!

I turned up at our livery yard once to find a horse had just been euthanised (colic) in the outdoor. They'd been trying to walk him round waiting for the vet, but he went down and it wasn't fair to try and move him so was euthanised where he was (old boy, twisted gut). I had planned to ride that night but no way in the world would I have wanted to ride around a dead horse - what a horrific thing to even suggest. Would the horses have been ok with it? Mine have always been unsettled when a horse has been euthanised, even one they didn't know.

 

[ester]

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I can sort of see the trainer's pov. S/he has a living to earn and wouldn't want to have to return all those fees.
Obviously the best solution would have been to move the next session to an alternative site. Children (and adults) do need to understand that "if you have livestock, you will have deadstock" and that life has to go on. I guess there wasn't an alternative arena.
The family involved should have been offered every facility possible to make the experience a bit easier for them and watching others training around the body of their pony really wouldn't fall into that category. I also think that what you can expect children/teenagers to be able to accept is different from what adults should be expected to 'just get on with'

 

[Titchy Pony]

Poor child and poor pony.

I would certainly not want to ride with the dead pony still in the arena. Then what? just take a break to let the fallen stock man collect?... I'm not sure if I'd want to ride at all that day, though I probably wouldn't feel like driving right away either to return home.

In the pro's situation I would be offering cake, hot drinks, whatever all round to give everyone time to regroup and then offering the next riders the opportunity to either delay until the pony has been removed or ride in a different area if possible or reschedule for another day when everyone's nerves have had time to settle. If there were other riders due later on, I would phone them up explain the situation and make them the same offer.

 

[rara007]

To be honest I’m one of the ones that get frustrated when an event is cancelled due to a horse fatality. But absolutely I would not be riding around a dead one! I’m not sure I’d even want mine to see the deceased one, I wouldn’t want to! And certainly wouldn’t want a lesson with the trainer/in the arena where the accident had just happened. Or be in the right head space to get anything from the session.

 

[Ambers Echo]

My YO who transported 2 of the kids/ponies (including the one who died) was horrified. I did not think our reaction was out of proportion - seems most people would absolutely not want to carry on regardless. Perhaps pros get a bit de-sensitized to the deadstock part of having livestock? But anyone with an ounce of empathy would see how distressing the situation was for the child.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Apart from the effect on the people present, only an utterly irresponsible fecker would expect horses to work in an arena with a freshly killed cadaver in situ.

Not related to that Irish racehorse trainer, are they? The one who sits on dead horses to make phone calls?

 

[IrishMilo]

That's really odd. Who in their right mind would be able to ride with a dead horse in the arena? I'd be super curious as to who the trainer was...

 

[ester]

And everyone is going to understand why there is going to be a delay waiting for the fallen stock person while mostly being relieved it wasn’t their horse.

 

[Wishfilly]

This sounds really... odd. Like to the point where if someone put it in a book, I'd consider it far fetched.

I wouldn't want to do this as an adult, it would unnerve me, I'm 90% sure it would unnerve my pony, you clearly couldn't use a large part of the arena, so it wouldn't work well as a training session anyway? And I just wouldn't want to do it...

I think children are even more likely to be distressed by the sight of a dead pony, even one they don't know, so hardly likely to be a productive session. I can't imagine any child being calm in the face of this.

I also do think it's really unfair on the family of the pony that has died. That's an absolutely horrific event for them, and for the professional to treat it like an inconvenience is just not on. I know freak accidents do happen, but equally if it were me, I'd feel the pro also needs to take a bit of responsibility for what has happened. After all, it's their course/surface/arena that has potentially contributed to the accident.

I guess the professional is very desensitised and so is just thinking of the lost time and money but this would definitely make me think less of them and make me want to avoid them in the future.

 

[Ambers Echo]

Totally agree. I would never consider a lesson with them now and glad I decided against this one.

 

[splashgirl45]

What an unfeeling person, I know it’s their job and it means they are short of money for that day but surely she/he could make it up after the pony has been removed. Poor kid whose pony it was

 

[SaddlePsych'D]

Totally agree. I would never consider a lesson with them now and glad I decided against this one.

Which defeats their object of not wanting to lose money. Very short sighted of them as I am sure you are not alone in being put off by this experience and can't imagine many attending recommending this person for teaching children (or most adults).

 

[SEL]

We had a really nasty human fall at a clinic I was on. Ambulance took forever and human couldn't be moved because it was a suspected broken leg.

Maybe we should have just popped cones around her and carried on regardless.....

 

[Pinkvboots]

Very uncaring and selfish it would put me right off using such a person for anything.

Tbh I would have struggled to have ridden myself after witnessing that

 

[Maxidoodle]

For me it shows a complete lack of compassion, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to ride with the dead pony still in there. I wouldn’t give two hoots if it was my lesson that was affected and hope that most people would be the same, I would expect the trainer to be respectful of the pony and the family.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I can sort of see the trainer's pov. S/he has a living to earn and wouldn't want to have to return all those fees.
Obviously the best solution would have been to move the next session to an alternative site. Children (and adults) do need to understand that "if you have livestock, you will have deadstock" and that life has to go on. I guess there wasn't an alternative arena.
The family involved should have been offered every facility possible to make the experience a bit easier for them and watching others training around the body of their pony really wouldn't fall into that category. I also think that what you can expect children/teenagers to be able to accept is different from what adults should be expected to 'just get on with'

I cant see that POV at all, that's why trainers have insurance and can also rebook session another time.

Life is shit, things happen, I bet they wouldn't have been able to carry on if it had been a rider! Actually, H&S would have prevented anything going on if was a human.

AE, that's bloody awful for all involved and what an ar5e of a coach!

 

[humblepie]

Wasn’t the trainer/pro upset at all. After all they’d been teaching when the accident happened. Sounds awful all round.

 

[SOS]

If that was an event there is no way they’d be allow to continue until the horse was removed off course/out of the arena. I’m fairly sensible about these things (bar when it’s my own!) but there is no way I’d be happy to ride in there. The pro should have delayed the next lesson and subsequent ones until the body was taken away.

I did a hunt race a few years ago and as we jumped a few fences from the last there was a dead horse (later found out it was a heart attack) and the rider stood crying next to it. It absolutely knocked me sideways and at that moment all I wanted to do was pull up, dismount and hug my horse. I did have to have a stern word with myself to concentrate over the next two fences for the sake of my tired horse, which took us to the finish, where help and water was. I don’t think il ever forget seeing that.

 

[Surbie]

I really can't believe the trainer's attitude. What a way to lose clients and your reputation for any ounce of empathy/compassion.

I wouldn't ride in an arena with a dead horse in it. Quite apart from the trauma you'd cause the poor owners by being quite that unfeeling, my horse wouldn't find that a positive experience.

 

[Roxylola]

It's not an excuse, and I don't think I'd want to continue in that circumstance, but I wonder if the coach just sort of shut down a bit and went in to some sort of autopilot that they have to teach their next lessons and just focused on the wrong thing.
I'm very focused when I teach on what I am teaching, I'm also very conscious of the need to be on time, especially if people are traveling etc. I like to think I'd have dealt with this better but if the coach is alone with strangers (who might be a group) I can see how they might have ended up doing this.
Like I can understand the thought process although I don't approve of it if that makes sense - sort of a panic making them shut it off and just get through the tick list of the day