Should we ever intefere or just mind our own business?

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Azabache

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I won't go into details but heard today that a fellow livery is planning to do something which imo has a very high risk of ending up with an unhappy / potentially dangerous outcome.

In light of a previous emotive thread and now this situation, it got me wondering - are there ever any situations in which you should 'interfere' or should we always keep out of other people's business as afterall they are a grown up and it is their own horse?
 
Azabache said:
I won't go into details but heard today that a fellow livery is planning to do something which imo has a very high risk of ending up with an unhappy / potentially dangerous outcome.

In light of a previous emotive thread and now this situation, it got me wondering - are there ever any situations in which you should 'interfere' or should we always keep out of other people's business as afterall they are a grown up and it is their own horse?
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And what is your claim to expertise?
S :D
 
This one for the YO - if they approve or won't interfere all you can do IMHO is keep yourself and your horses out of it!
 
That assumes the yo can tell one end of a horse from the other :D
Not always the case, some yard owners dont know anything about horses but have the land to run a livery and just let folks get on with it.
 
No claim of expertise :)

I am not planning to say anything, nor is YO but then are we wrong in not doing so if the worst does happen?
 
I would only interfere if the safety of a child (or myself!) was at risk. Adults make their own choices, as long as its legal.
 
YO, knowledgeable or not, has a duty of care to the horses on his/her land. Fellow liveries do not. This means that YO has a legal duty to express his concern, if fellow liveries do that would be interfering.
 
I think its sometimes OK to offer help or suggest something, as long as if the answer is some version of "get lost, not interested" you then walk away and stay out of it. Also, if you are genuinely worried about a horse's welfare, then "interfering" in so far as reporting it to the relevant authorities so they can look into it is perhaps the most sensible thing to do. In the situation you are talking about, it does sound like it isn't something you ought to get involved in, IMO.
 
cellie said:
omg hope op knows your sense of humour before she replies pmsl
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I am not being daemonic.
Well, I am. :p

But it is true - no matter what you do, as an owner, or how perfectly you look after your horse, they will die in the end. And horses never seem to die a peaceful death. It doesn't mean it's somebody's fault.
S :D
 
These are always no win situations im afraid
If you dont say something and it goes wrong or a horse suffers, you'll be lambasted for saying/doing nothing. So in the wrong.
If you do say something, and the person thinks its none of your business, youre interfering, and in the wrong
Nowadays i'd only say if it was a child at risk, citing my concerns, or if i thought a horse could be seriously hurt by someones actions, or inactions, but usually open and finish with, its your choice, at least then my conscience is clear, then i leave them to get on with it.
 
Shilasdair said:
I am not being daemonic.
Well, I am. :p

But it is true - no matter what you do, as an owner, or how perfectly you look after your horse, they will die in the end. And horses never seem to die a peaceful death. It doesn't mean it's somebody's fault.
S :D
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I don't think the OP is saying the horse will be PTS as this is not 'dangerous', but that they plan to DO something that will probably be dangerous or have a very unhappy outcome.

I think if this is the case, then as a YO I would say something. If it would endanger any other horse or person on the yard, then I would prevvent it from happening, and if I couldn't, would tell them to leave.
 
Wagtail said:
I don't think the OP is saying the horse will be PTS as this is not 'dangerous', but that they plan to DO something that will probably be dangerous or have a very unhappy outcome.

I think if this is the case, then as a YO I would say something. If it would endanger any other horse or person on the yard, then I would prevvent it from happening, and if I couldn't, would tell them to leave.
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Assuming you are a horsey YO, then you have a duty of care.
When I was involved in a college :D I had a duty of care to make sure student complied with our risk assessments, so did so.
On my livery yard, I will walk straight past anything happening, without comment, and only intervene if an immediate action is required (accident etc happening there and then).
It would be nice if others would mind their own business as there is, IMHO a lot of bitching/bullying couched as 'horse welfare concern'.
S :D
 
Shilasdair said:
Assuming you are a horsey YO, then you have a duty of care.
When I was involved in a college :D I had a duty of care to make sure student complied with our risk assessments, so did so.
On my livery yard, I will walk straight past anything happening, without comment, and only intervene if an immediate action is required (accident etc happening there and then).
It would be nice if others would mind their own business as there is, IMHO a lot of bitching/bullying couched as 'horse welfare concern'.
S :D
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I agree entirely.
 
If it was going to effect one of my horses then yes, if not, no, although if pieces required picking up afterwards I would help if needed, or if they asked me.
 
Azabache said:
In light of a previous emotive thread and now this situation, it got me wondering - are there ever any situations in which you should 'interfere' or should we always keep out of other people's business as afterall they are a grown up and it is their own horse?
Click to expand...

If it was something that would put me, mine, kids or the vulnerable at risk I'd interfere... Not much good at ignoring obvious cruelty either...

Adults can kick on and put themselves in harms way as often as they want... Just let me know if there's likely to be a spare kidney available after the event - pref B neg... :D
 
I think there is a big difference between somebody who who constantly expresses their opinion on anything and everything that other people are doing on a daily basis and someone who, quietly and tactfully, expresses genuine concern to the individual involved when it really really matters.

If someone told me that they were planning to do something which I thought would put them or their horse at risk, I might gently suggest - "had you thought what might happen if....?" However when offering advice, one should always respect the other person's right to ignore that advice if they wish.

When someone offers me the benefit of their opinion, I don't take offense, I will consider what they say, weigh up the situation, then make my own mind up as to what I will do - and then go ahead and do it! Sometimes I have been annoyed that people have offered unwanted advice because they have not respected my right to make my own choices, but sometimes I have been grateful to hear another point of view which I hadn't considered and i have taken the advice - but that is always MY choice!

If I really really feel concerned I would say something, but approach the subject very carefully depending on how well I knew the person involved and how serious the situation is, and having gently sown the seeds, whilst taking care not to cause any offense, i would back off and let them act as they see fit without further comment. That way i would not have anything on my concience if things went horribly wrong. BUT if it was concerning a matter I had no experience of I would keep my mouth shut and stay well out of it.
 
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