There's a child on the yard. Rules?

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MadJ

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Those who allow children on the yard, what rules do you have and how do you enforce these?
Do you have different rules for the younger ones?
I have a dilemma and am trying to get a rough idea of how others manage as I'm getting to the end of my tether.
 
There are no children on my yard. I only have professional career adult owners here. I don't really have any rules on my farm as there's no need, my people are all very sensible.

What is your dilemma?
 
The yards I;ve been on that had rules about children had safety rules, e.g. whether children were allowed to bring in/turn out on their own, especially when this might have involved other people's horses in the same field, whether children could ride in the school unsupervised or stay on the yard unsupervised. There is also a concern that some parents may dump their children on your yard for the day and expect you/liveries to look out for them.
 
We have a few that visit our yard. No running, shouting, screaming in the vicinity of any horses! Also no feeding carrots etc unless the owner says you can and you have to ask every day. Child should be under supervision of parent and not go near any horses that aren't their own as I personally would feel uncomfortable talking to people whose child my horse may have kicked due to inappropriate behaviour.

Kids in general are pretty good on yards, and are usually helpful little souls! I have absolutely no concerns about having them there - provided they are well behaved and supervised, which goes for pretty much anywhere! I don't like it when they are naughty or if I'm expected to supervise them/keep them company etc as that's mum and dad's job, not mine - I usually have a limited amount of time to do all my jobs and looking after little uns slows me down. Plus I am irresponsible.

As for enforcing said rules it's a case of warning the parents then asking the family to leave if they don't comply; wouldn't see this as any different to any other rule, as it's for the safety and enjoyment of everyone.

Really want to know what those kids are doing now!
 
No kids under 14 to be left unaccompanied. Any kid over 14 being a pain in the arse needs to be supervised until it has leant how to behave. If they can't be supervised, it is strongly suggested that they find alternative accommodation for their equine.

I find the really smalls an absolute pain, they have their mother there but she is no doubt busy elsewhere. There's only one set of smalls that run feral though, other parents have theirs with them at all times.
 
Queenbee can vouch for my kids , they are 4 and 6 and never run around if they come to the yard with me, it's normally my 4 year old who helps me muck out and I shut her in the stable whilst I turn out and she's cleans my buckets etc whilst I do this, I have had horses longer than kids and I hope it shows, the kids have been dragged about with horses all their lives ....
 
Its a bad thing when you need to have rules re children. You'd like to think parents with horses would use common sense and not let them run around screaming, touch other people's stuff or put them in situations where they'd get hurt.
 
We have one set of smalls on our yard- newish livery, clearly cant control her Children, they were running around shrieking and then ran straight into my horse (luckily she isn't badly behaved and just looked at them).
I got down to their level and told them that they need to stop running around where the horses are and don't play with the dogs if you are scared of them (yard dogs that want to lick you to death), they wandered off quietly, 5 mins later the exact same thing happened so I took both by the hand and returned them to the mother explained what they had done twice and perhaps she could keep an eye on them.......................................
haven't seen them since :)
 
Kids on the yard minus strictly enforced rules really bugs me as it's just an accident waiting to happen and irritates other liveries who are paying to keep their horse on the yard and therefore should not feel hassled when they visit. OP I think if this is the first time you have considered having a child on the yard it would be a good idea to call a meeting with the parents. Nothing too formal just a chance to run over the rules and ensure that the they are aware that these need to be followed through and adhered to. The previous yard I was on was a nightmare for kids running wild and this was a contributing factor to me leaving. I can't be doing with any screaming and shouting and dashing around and kids in every box mucking about with the horses. It makes me very uneasy.
 
The children on my current yard have parents who are experienced horse owners and know the risks so its unusual to have a problem. If anything does arise with a new livery, the YO is pretty quick to tell the parents that its inadvisable. She won't tolerate stupidity.
Otherwise, its a very tolerant and child friendly yard. Scooters and bikes are the norm in summer and none of the horse's bat an eyelid.
 
On our yard, no child under the age of 14 is allowed on the yard unless accompanied by an adult at all times and no child under the age of 16 is allowed in the horses field unless with an adult. I am very strict on this and have no problem enforcing it. I do know of yards though where lots of children just run amok and are in potentially very dangerous situations regularly. Don't know how they get away with it I just know with my luck I wouldn't!
 
My old yard had children, there were regular complaints about them riding bareback down the drive, they were very novice as was the mother and it was worrying to watch as they couldn’t control these horses in a bridle, let alone without.

New yard has children and they are wonderful! Polite, helpful, well behaved, you can have a conversation with them, I have no problems with them, they have parents that are experienced horse owners.
 
Honey08 said:
Its a bad thing when you need to have rules re children. You'd like to think parents with horses would use common sense and not let them run around screaming, touch other people's stuff or put them in situations where they'd get hurt.
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This! My daughters been around livery yards since about 5 and id never ever have dreamt about leaving her unaccompanied or letting her mess around whilst we were there.
A few others did and they annoyed other liveries to the point my daughter became a favourite and got lots of chances to have a go on other peoples horses and go to events with them so actually it really does work both ways!
 
only one rule specifically for kids and thats ' no unsupervised kids under the age of 10 to be left at the yard' all the other rules which are unwritten apply to everyone i.e not feeding other people horse/going in stables/ running/screaming blah blah

we have scooters/bikes pogo sticks etc in the blocks-horses are fine with it, tents in the fields/water fights in the fields (kids/parents horses fields), footballs in the jumping field-balloons/banners for birthdays/births of babies.

my daughter used to help on the yard from the age of 12-bringing in and turning out/mucking out- not being allowed in the field alone under the age of 16 is a bit extreme, if we had problem horses they would be on individual turnout so would not be an issue/the horses would be taught some manners but if it is not safe for my daughter at 12 (has a lot more sense than many adults at the yard) then most of the adults would be at risk too. she was handling my mare at 13 when the mare was 2yrs
 
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MerrySherryRider said:
The children on my current yard have parents who are experienced horse owners and know the risks so its unusual to have a problem. If anything does arise with a new livery, the YO is pretty quick to tell the parents that its inadvisable. She won't tolerate stupidity.
Otherwise, its a very tolerant and child friendly yard. Scooters and bikes are the norm in summer and none of the horse's bat an eyelid.
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Same with our yard too :)

Yard owner has two young tots and one of the liveries has kids, they're a pleasure to have around but this is purely owing to their parents making sure they're never a burden or a danger to anybody. Anybody who did cause problems wouldn't be staying very long.

I have been at a yard before where it was the norm for owners to send their 7 year old to fetch their boisterous bargy cob from the field. I've cringed watching their kids struggling with heavy wheelbarrows and waterbuckets, basically being treated like unpaid labour. It was also normal for the parents to just swan off on a jolly hack leaving the kids to run riot. I did a lot of free babysitting at that yard and I've no intention of ever letting myself be used like that again. The problem on that yard was that the owner didn't care what was happening so long as bills were paid, so everyone was miserable as a result and it was a very unsafe place to be.
 
One of the main reasons I left my last yard was uncontrolled children. They never seemed to be in school - told they were poorly, but not too poorly to run screaming around the place. I ended up always grooming my horse in his stable with the door shut & they still got in. Then there was the time that I got to the yard & my horses had "escaped" from the field even though the fence was still up, they hadn't jumped out & allegedly no-one had opened the gate... hmmm. Final straw was coming back from a hack 6yo &7yo kids came screaming round the corner by the school straight into us -on their way to fetch pony in with no adult in sight.
 
We have a fair few on our yard. My two know the rules, they know what's safe and isn't. I do have to regularly remind my 8 year old not to run though... I'm very conscious that they don't get in people's way, don't make too much noise etc as I can imagine that it could be a pain for people who don't appreciate them being around. Luckily I think all the kids on our yard are controlled and the parents are responsible.
 
I have the following rule in my livery contract which is specific to children:

'Children are the sole responsibility of the parents whilst on the yard. The yard owners will not be responsible for their supervision. Please do not let your children play with the yard dogs or leave them unattended with them at any time.'

I also have rules applicable to everyone which addresses behaviours which will not be tolerated:

'Absolutely no smoking at the yard.

No dogs allowed.

No one is allowed to ride at this yard without a hard hat and safe footwear.

No running or shouting in the yard or fields.

No riding is allowed in the paddocks unless by prior arrangement or if the jumps are set up there during the summer months.

No bad language or abusive behaviour is permitted on the yard.

Clients must not attend to or interfere with other horses on the yard except with prior permission from the owners and notification of the yard manager.

Any bad treatment of horses will not be tolerated.'
 
There are loads of mother daughter shares on the yard I am at and I have to say ALL of them are very responsible and lovely. The big rule our yard owner sets is that NO child under 16 years of age to be on the yard without responseible adult. She does however have a NO dog rule which is a good one for keeping the yard clean and safe.
 
The only rules I'm aware of on my yard is that children need to wear hats when they ride and that their parents need to keep an eye on them. There aren't many children on the yard though. Mine do all the usual child stuff like cantering their ponies up the hill bareback, in a head collar, hacking round the lanes bareback etc and would rather jump than school, but they have grown up around horses so are generally pretty sensible and don't zoom around when someone else is working in the school.
 
twiggy2 said:
only one rule specifically for kids and thats ' no unsupervised kids under the age of 10 to be left at the yard' all the other rules which are unwritten apply to everyone i.e not feeding other people horse/going in stables/ running/screaming blah blah

we have scooters/bikes pogo sticks etc in the blocks-horses are fine with it, tents in the fields/water fights in the fields (kids/parents horses fields), footballs in the jumping field-balloons/banners for birthdays/births of babies.
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I would hate that! I suppose it is good as despooking training though
 
Also have to say it's very sad to see so many negative attitudes towards children in the horse world. We were all children ourselves once. It's not the child's fault if they have irresponsible/inaffective parenting.
 
I'm the only one without children at my yard and it can be really annoying, for example 2 and 3 year olds running through the barn with prams straight into my youngster's bum - she's a kicker. When I shouted stop, don't run you're going to get kicked the mother then gave me a load of abuse. She then saw my mare rear when she was refusing to go into her stable and since then has kept her daughters away from my horses !!

Most of the children are well behaved around the yard but argue constantly with their siblings or their parents, it's hardly relaxing.
 
We arnt on a yard as we don't own or share a horse (and won't be doing for a v.long time until the pair of us have had a lot more experience), my daughter has just had a few lessons at a RS. All I can say is if my children acted the way some others have been described I would be utterly mortified!
My daughters (5 and 2) wouldn't dream of zooming around a yard or stables screaming, feed other peoples horses or help themselves to other peoples property! I guess it's just how they are brought up, with the understanding to have respect for other people and that different rules apply to different situations.
I also wouldn't dream of leaving my children on a yard whilst I went off on a jolly hack, what are these parents thinking? I think all YOs should just be upfront about the do's and dont's regarding children on the yard. It's the parents responsibility to make sure their children behave and if they can't behave - don't bring them to the yard. Easy peasy!
 
Honey08 said:
Its a bad thing when you need to have rules re children. You'd like to think parents with horses would use common sense and not let them run around screaming, touch other people's stuff or put them in situations where they'd get hurt.
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Agree with you but maybe it's a case of yard having unsupervised kids with their own ponies with parents who know sfa about horses?
 
webble said:
I would hate that! I suppose it is good as despooking training though
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And I guess that's the beauty of choice isn't it? I've done a few years on child free yards, when I wanted that. And now that I don't give a monkeys, and indeed have a5month old daughter of my own, then I consider it par for the course. I'm now on a friends yard, but my previous livery yard was full of bikes and scooters, just that they needed to be used sensibly. Several of us had small babies in prams and car seats, there were always birthday cakes and barbecues and football games for the dad's and husbands whilst the mainly female riders got on with it. Lovely place.
 
We all have kids, and so far we haven't needed actual rules. I have my own quiet rule, which is that my small boys don't run free on the yard unless it's completely free of horses and other people. There's a big empty field they can play in, or the school if it's empty. I only take them on my own if we are going up for them to ride the yard pony, in which case I can manage the boys and one pony. If I am handling the bigger horses on the yard, my husband comes up to supervise the boys so there is always one set of eyes on the kids at all times.

My older boy at 4 will do as he is told but I also have a 2 year old who isn't perfectly broken in yet. For that reason, we are extremely careful. I would hate to think they wouldn't be allowed to go - they love every moment, it's incredibly good for them, and will teach them how to behave around horses and generally. If they were banned, how would they learn?
 
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