Taking baby to stables in winter

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dressage_diva

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I'm expecting my first baby (boy) in January and am already thinking about how I'm going to take him to the stables once he's here! I'm fortunate enough that both of my horses will be on Full Livery so I won't have to do mucking out etc, but I will be going to see them daily with the baby and hopefully get back into riding again at some point (currently both horses are off work due to injury so there's no rush to be riding again). Any advice you can offer would be much appreciated - I suspect I have a rather rose-tinted view at the moment that it will all just work out fine! I'll only be doing short trips (15mins?) initially just to see the horses (my husband has already said he will look after baby at weekends so I can spend longer at the yard then).

How do you all manage with babies at the yard and where do you put them when you're with your horses? We are getting an all terrain travel system, so I can definitely park that outside the stables when I'm with my horses, or if it's horrendous weather and I'm only doing a quick visit, I can park my car very close to the stables so the baby is always in view. I don't like the idea of having the baby in a sling when I'm with the horses as my young horse in particular is quite spooky and sharp and I'd worry it would be an accident waiting to happen.

What clothes did your baby wear at the yard in the middle of winter? I'm aware babies cant wear clothes/pramsuits in car seats, so did you pop extra layers on when you arrived at the yard, or did you find that too much of a faff and just layer them up with blankets?

How soon did you take the baby to the yard after they were born? Am I mad to think that after a few days home from hospital I'll feel up to doing a solo trip with baby to the yard?
 
I'd leave him in the car tbh. Dangers at stables are things like (other) horses running over the buggy, it being driven over by a tractor, baby getting really cold etc.

If you are only there for 15 minutes and can see the car the chances are he will be asleep anyway.
 
I'm expecting my first in January too :-) Stressing like mad about how I am going to cope with everything when the baby comes but will have to just get on with it. Don't have a horse at the moment, just a little Sec A pony kept minutes from my house. But do have dogs to walk and other animals to tend to. I am intending to get one of those all-in-one superwarm hooded jobs for the baby and not be out for too long at a time. But being in a part of Wales where it rains constantly it is this that worries me most! My friend had her first baby two weeks ago and has only managed to leave the house once in that time with the baby!!
 
I would either leave in car if you can park the car somewhere you can keep a close eye (warmer and safest) or I would take in car seat and "park" somewhere safe where no horses could potentially get near - I would avoid a buggy if possible as I think they're so high risk around a loose horse. I used to put my son in his car seat outside the paddock fence while I rode and outside my yard gate while I was on the other side grooming etc. just so he was never left sitting anywhere where a horse could potentially get loose. Weather-wise, I'd just wrap baby up really cosy, not much else you can do there. My son was about 5 months when it got to winter and I remember taking him to freezing cold events (got a pic of him with it snowing at one!) and I had one of those thick fleece zip up things which go over the whole car seat, that was really cosy.
 
In the car or in terms car seat wedged in the hay bar whilst I mucked out, sometimes noisily in the sling as mini SF wasn't the type to quietly sit if awake. I didn't like that due to dust/ammonia though.

Make the most of how much newborn babies sleep too. Aside from the first 2 weeks which frankly are horrid, worse in winter I think and pass in a daze as you haven't a clue what you're doing, you will never have it as easy again! Newborns generally sleep a lot and are a lot easier to manage than a bigger baby who wants to move and be awake more lol. I would feed mini, the straight in the car to the yard, she'd sleep for up to an hour then go home again.

Warmth wise layers are your friend, and a big suit on top if in a pushchair. Slings are great as the wrap type ones the baby keeps warm with your body heat so it's more self regulating. Blankets, the white company and toffee moon sell beautiful Blankets, make hints for presents!
 
All of the above really. My 2 were both taken to yard since day one as I was on diy. The easiest thing by a mile was to leave baby sleeping in car and pull car next to or near stable or wherever you are. Just for pure ease of not having to faff around. If they were awake then I'd simply turn horse out whilst baby in car then move baby in seat into stable whilst I mucked out. The new born baby smell soon gets replaced by mucking out smell 😀
 
Thanks all, sounds like car is the way forward! I was worried doing that would make me a bad parent, but sounds like it's the safest and easiest thing to do, given I can park close by and will always be able to see the car.

Other alternative I suppose is to leave him in car seat in tackroom (on top of tack trunk) but then I won't be able to keep eye on him (only hear him).
 
I'm due my fifth in Jan.. all my lot have been yard from couple of weeks old. I don't drive so always made the most of babies sleeping and parked pram safely where no loose horses could get to them. When riding they would sit in car seat at the side of the school. Plenty layers to keep warm..

This time our roles are the other way and I work my partner stays home with kids so will be a lot easier for me this time around to fit in my time at the yard without worrying about baby.

It's not always easy some days mine slept the whole time and I got loads done with no problems, some I'd be there 3 times longer than I needed to be as I was constantly being stopped to sort an upset baby out.

Take advantage whilst just a baby though because once they are more active you can't get them to stay contained in the pram! Lol
 
'Jolly Jumper' do a fab car seat cover (Amazon) that you unzip to show their face, means you don't need to faff about with coats and pramsuits etc which frankly are dangerous in a car seat (by squashing down and leaving straps loose in a crash situation). They do sleep a lot at first so prob leave them in the car in cold weather as long as you can check!

I use an all terrain buggy but make sure it is parked away from horses, ie in stables with door shut, or behind a fence.
 
I felt the opposite and that mine was safer in a sling than in a pushchair, particularly when she was tiny as you have both hands free. I would leave her in the car if she was asleep, or put the car seat on the pushchair rather than swapping, cover her with blankets and park her somewhere out of the way. I felt that in the car seat she was more protected than 'loose' in the pushchair.

As she got older and heavier I switched to a backpack style carrier- although I did regret pulling a mane while she was in it as she decided to do mine!

As much as possible though I would leave her at home, I needed the break and although some days it would be no trouble, others it was just a disaster from start to finish and very stressful!

Eta- I got a second hand "yard pushchair" off eBay rather than getting my proper one covered in mud and dust. I kept it at the yard covered with an old duvet cover to keep the worst off, so no mud in the car either.
 
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I know of someone who rented the stable next door to her horse's, which she used to "stable" the baby and then the toddler in, with toys, blankets etc! Can't work out if this was genius or child abuse lol! But the child is now a horse mad teen!
 
I used to take my baby with me from 4 days old, born in November he came to the stables with me everyday. Luckily my horses are at home but I took him out in his car seat, dressed warm with blankets wrapped around him and would put his seat in my feed room on top of my rug rack while I fed and then once horses were turned out I would carry him from stable to stable as I mucked each out. By the time he was toddling he knew that while the horses were in the stables he could wander about then when it was time to turn them out he would stand in the hay barn until they were all out then he would 'help' muck out. Would take me twice as long but he loved it. Children that are allowed around the yard very early on have a great understanding of how to behave and keep themselves safe.
 
I had a 6 week premature 4th of January baby in 2014, a very cold winter!

I was sat on a pony in 5 days (I REALLY should have left that a little bit longer ;) ) and she was on a pony at 8 days old.

I used a sling and not a pram - in prams they are head height to a kick where as carrying them in front of you your own self preservation will kick in! You are also able to wrap them up in your own body heat and a nice big coat to keep them warm. The all-in-one baby grows are toastie for them. I generally tried to avoid nappy changes if I could making sure she was clean before I went - obviously there were some disasters

My small person came EVERYWHERE in a carry sling thingy. I've trawled XC courses with a camera, show grounds and given lessons and she slept through most of it snuggled in.

She did spend quite a lot of time asleep in the car, if you time it right you may get a peaceful night too and you can just take the car seat in the house. job jobbed :)
 
Congratulations!
My bosses babies spent all morning every morning parked on the yard! I always worried they would be cold but neither ever seemed it! They were quite cosy and contented! We took rocking or walking the pushchair in turn and doing feeds!!
Personally with my own baby as above I timed visits with being fed and sleeping and left her in the car! Far to nervous to just leave her on the yard!
 
Baby NB is 11 weeks now and I've picked up a few things over the last couple of months. Definitely second the pre-loved all terrain pushchair. I picked up a three wheeler with lovely soft suspension, perfect for grass, including the carrycot, for £40 on eBay. I leave it outside (under cover) so no cleaning the wheels, etc. I have a new, small four wheeler for going out with which is obviously a lot smarter and smaller. No way would I want to be trying to do it all with one pram!
Slings are fantastic but not around horses. Not safe imo. Whether baby is in a pram or a sling, always keep a fence/wall between baby and horse.
For warmth, get a proper sheepskin footmuff for the pushchair. They are amazing. I have a Kaiser. Expensive but worth it - no need to dress baby up like an Arctic explorer.
 
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I would be worried leaving a small baby in a car on it's own, what if it has reflux and chokes etc ? if the car is near enough with a window open so you can see and hear it maybe.
 
I struggled on my own with a baby and the horses. I loved slings in general but never used them around horses as I have been knocked over and squashed by horses in the past. I had an all terrain buggy but MiniBoo1 especially, screamed all the time if the buggy was stationary and it was impossible to push the buggy and a wheelbarrow, for example, at the same time. I only managed to ride once with the baby in her buggy and that was the time a delivery arrived!

I don't mean to depress you, it really depends on the baby, some are more laid back than others (MiniBoo2 was easier but by then I had childcare in place), but with mine anything other than a scratch over a stable door was impossible.
 
Ha ha ha ha, yes - some are certainly easier than others - I needed the car journey to get her to sleep so I could get half an hour maybe of time, never rode as didn't have an arena, and its probably frowned on to go for a hack leaving your baby in the car ;)

She wasn't happy at all being left to sleep if not moving. Also, don't rush back into normal life, live will never be normal again, I wish I had sat back a bit more in the first few weeks/months instead of rushing around like my life hadn't changed at all. By all means make the most of newborn sleep, but not to the detriment of yourself. I think the shorter days and general meh ness of winter can take its toll too
 
Morrck baby hoody - Google it :) kept my little one snug in the winter without all the faffing of extra layers or wakening baby as soon as your home to take layers off. When he's up and about spotty otter outdoor gear has been my go to. It's breathable so can be used year round.
 
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