So Glad I Left

Gingerwitch

Gingerwitch

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Just had a call from one of my friends at my old yard.... she is moving too BUT has said that she cannot believe what is going on and should she report it.... and if so to whom....

Mum is leaving 4 years old in car whilst she goes off to catch in...- now we are not talking a 30 second dash - we are talking of a good mile walk - to field and back - catch in pony- shut the gate - so you just think how long that takes...

Friend saw little girl screaming, strapped into child seat in back of car tonight... and is quite upset about it. Ive told her to keep out of it, after all you all know the reaction i got when i complained about the screaming child.
 
I dont think that is too bad. I would have put the child in the boot. Much more secure and less people would have heard the screams.
 
I suppose locked in a car it's safe.

Someone who was at my yard would just leave the toddler playing in the yard while she went to catch. It's not too far but it takes 10 minutes by the time she walked to her field caught and walked back.
Sometimes she would say ask someone to keep an eye as she was heading off and without waiting for an answer.
 
It needs to be reported, what if some weirdo had broken into the car and kidnapped the child or the car had some sort of electrical fault and set on fire? Doesnt bear thinking about atall!!! If it was me I would report to the authorities eg, Police, NSPCC, Social Services. Owner of the horse should be paying someone to see to it if she cant do the job properly.
 
You wouldn't leave your purse in the car on full view to anybody passing, so why leave your child? Something that is much, much more valuable than a purse.

Poor child :( and what an irresponsible mother.
 
I think too long too to leave a child, imagine if the child choked or something..it takes seconds for something to happen, not that every child has to be watched every second but.... We used to have a much younger baby left briefly (10 mins if that to field and back) in a car but the mother always would find someone and ask politely if they would keep an ear out and an eye on and no-one minded and on that basis people we're happy to keep the little chap entertained until she returned.
 
I agree, I wouldn't leave a child that young in a car, alone, for that length of time. Nor would I be prepared to walk a mile to and from a field to bring in either!
 
Yes ... I agree too that really is disgusting, i wouldnt leave my dog in the car never mind my child!!!!!
 
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when my daughter was young I put her in a backpack so I had both hands free when bringing ponies in and child safley out the way.
As one ofmy kids would scream, hold her breath and pass out if she didnt get her own way wouldnt have dared leave her in the car.
Think yard owner should be dealing with this
 
Well I am obviously a dreadful mother. Quite often when my son was a baby, he would be parked in the pushchair in the corner of the arena or if he was sleeping I would park the car next to the arena and leave him to sleep (obviously not on baking hot day!) but I would leave him the car to get the horses in, again, I could see the car, but if he had to be with me at the yard if my husband wasn't around, then it was far far safer. He is 5 now and is on the yard with me quite a bit helping or goes and plays with the house owners sons but sometimes is ready to leave before me so will go and play with some toys in the car. He got sent to sit in the car the other day for being a little sod, (there wern't any corners or stairs) and he cried, and I let him.
 
Only reason the horse is a half mile walk away from yard is it attacks other horses and cannot be trusted with the others.... needs a bullet as far as i am concerned - it has nearly killed two older mares that it was turned out with and one of the mares has still not recovered.

Why you would take this on with a young child in tow, that obviously does not want to be at the yard, as well as the childs pony i will never know.

As for reporting who would you go to? allegedly the husband is a police officer.....! now that may make for intersting reading in the local rag
 
Leaving a child in a car is never acceptable IMO it annoys me when mums rush into shops whilst leaving their babies in the car. ANYTHING could happen, takes 2 mins to undo car seat straps and pick them up, if they can't manage both horse and child then the child should come first.
 
Cyberchick - i dont think it unreasonable to leave a child "in view" or "in hearing " but the old yard track is a good half a mile - and their is no-way she could do anything if something had happened -and to be frank she would not even know! A horse yard has huge buckets and water troughs, knives, pitchforks as well as loads of old freezers.... does not bear thinking about in my opinion and i do not even like children but woud not like to hear of one being drowned or trampled in my local area !
 
Many years ago (probably 40 :) ) my parents left my brother and I in a car to 'pop' into the supermarket. My brother (2 yrs older than me) released the handbrake and as the car started to roll, jumped out. Leaving me in a car gradually picking up speed. I vaguely remember alot of other shoppers stopping the car from rolling down the hill and my parents running towards the car.

They didn't leave us alone in the car again after that.
 
Agree, I rent a private yard, just me and my horses so slightly different but when he was a baby I was on a small livery yard with a lot more dangers but he was still in a buggy but now, at 5yrs old, I think I would have heart failure and I don't know if I could concentrate on doing the horses and knowing his every whereabout. Luckily, from a very young age he has been taught what he is allowed to touch/go near and what he isn't.
I couldn't/wouldn't have the car out of sight. Thinking back to when I was on a livery yard, there were times I was terribly paranoid that my son would be in the way, to noisy, scare someones horse by dropping a toy, get squished etc etc so lots of times I tried to be there when no one else would be so we didn't get in the way. It wasn't always an enjoyable experience but that might just have been the yard.
 
I see no problem. The child is 4, not 4 weeks. It needs to learn to behave itself. Safer in the car than near the savage horse surely?
 
Glas it's not only me. I've no kids (thank gods) but I can't see the problem with leaving a child in the car for 10mins whilst you got and do something that's too dangerous to involve them? They're safe, secure and out of harms away. It's not like it's a hour?! If they can't sit quietly for 10mins without having a hissy fit maybe it's time they learnt!
 
It may not be ideal but if the alternative is letting it run loose round the yard then it may be the lesser evil.

At my last yard ( and one of the reasons I left) I have seen

small child run up to a horse and hug it round the hocks
Child waving a pitchfork next to a horses face
Trying to come into the school when I was trying to lunge a horse that was doing handstands, then throwing a tantrum because I told her not to come in.
Running round paddock till the large horse in there got excited and started charging round - cue tears and screaming.
Baby in pushchair in the middle of the school while people were riding.

If we complained, yard manager would talk to the children who would remember to behave for all of 10 seconds.

So in that context securely locked in a car would have been preferable.
 
I think I may be hypocritical as I have a young son but I couldn't be on a yard like that. In fact I wouldn't be on a yard with a lot of children, but my son, in no uncertain terms, would not be allowed to behave like that. It is circumstances like this that people shy away from children on yards when really it should be enjoyable and they should be out there enjoying the ponies as much as we did. The one major factor here, is that I bet we were not allowed to behave like that. I no I wasn't, and neither is my son. This is down to the parents, full stop.
However, this is digressing from the OP, but yes, there are times when it is safer for children to sit in the car for 10 minutes than get squished.
 
it is unacceptable to leave a child alone in a car for that length of time. Anything could happen. If the mum wouldn't listen to my concerns I'm afraid I'd report it to Social Services. If I stood by, knowing what was happening, and the child came to some harm I'd never forgive myself.

In the warmer weather the sun would very quickly make the car like an oven.
 
I don't like leaving my daughter in the car but if she's asleep and i pop into pay for petrol i don't see the harm as i can always see the car. i don't think i'd leave her in the car if she was awake and certainly not for more than a couple of minutes.
the mother should be reported because anything could happen. the child could get out of the seat and do anything. Better safe than sorry.
Also why has the child got a pony when all it does is scream at the yard?
 
criso said:
At my last yard ( and one of the reasons I left) I have seen

small child run up to a horse and hug it round the hocks
Child waving a pitchfork next to a horses face
Trying to come into the school when I was trying to lunge a horse that was doing handstands, then throwing a tantrum because I told her not to come in.
Running round paddock till the large horse in there got excited and started charging round - cue tears and screaming.
Baby in pushchair in the middle of the school while people were riding.
Sweet Jesus, especially to the last example! Who on earth thinks this is a good thing to do? GT, the mother seems to be completely unable to mind her children safely so while I don't think its the worst thing in the world to keep a child in the car, she not making sure said child is supervised, so I would report it. She sounds like she needs a lesson in manners and parenting and it wouldn't do the child any harm if the lessons in manners rubbed off. Too many people are afraid of interfering but its people like this that are raising a generation of self absorbed, self obssessed kids who will be a dialy irritiant to all as they start making their dozy way through life.
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Hmm...scary really. I see her point about locking kid in car (agreed the boot would be much better or perhaps a locked cage?) rather than dragging it a mile down the road to catch an evil horse but I'm sure there is a better way? I'd speak to the YO too, it's not really bad enough to go NSPCC or something like that but dangerous enough to speak to someone. Nothing freaks me out more than oblivious parents with kids in pushchairs- at horse shows/hunt meets/hacking. All horse has to do is spook or lash out and kid can't even get away! Gives me the heebie jeebies.
 
Sensible thing to do would be to leave the child in someones care away from the yard altogether. Walking a mile takes too much time anyway and then walking back again. Irresponsible "mother"!!
 
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