There's a child on the yard. Rules?

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 this. I've found its the 14 year old that's the pain in the butt bringing down boyfriend or mates. I always took my son from baby in sling onwards as his young sisters had a pony. He behaved himself or had a smacked backside. He is 8 now and he either has to sit and wait in the car or help me . He isnt allowed to go unsupervised.
 
Agree it's not the kids fault if they don't have good parents. But if my horse had kicked them when they cone running up & grab his tail the parents would be blaming me not themselves. At yard before when kids came up they were no problem at all.
 
No unsupervised children, that got put into our yard when one of the parents used to drop of the 10 year old in the car park and just drive away, didn't bother checking to see if anyone was on the yard, I had to call her mother and was late for an appointment when there was no one else on the yard and I wasn't leaving a 10 year old on her own on the yard.
That's my main pet hate, it's a livery yard not a free babysitting service, whilst they burst my head with their arguing I have learned to zone them out.

I agree with above, how children behave depends on the parents and adults around them setting an example!
 
I can't bare kids running around screaming & running behind my horse etc. I get stressed/ angry as I go to my horse to have quiet time with my horse & unlike some parents, I cannot turn a bind eye when kids are unsupervised & unsafe. A friend of mine lost a child after being run over by a tractor (not in any way insinuating that the child was doing anything wrong) I think people forget how dangerous yards can be to youngsters! have brought young family to visit my horse (& ride, however they hold my hand or are close to me at all times. They know that if they don't listen to what I tell them they wot be allowed back & that is the end of it!
 
well behaved children are a blessing and I don't understand the child hate in the horsey world either. It seems to be that all children are brats and dirty smelly things lower than a slug in some peoples eyes. I have always like children and am happy to have them around and have had them around the horses and ponies for over 40 years and rarely have had a problem I have had the odd glitch but it si usually quickly sorted it is often the adults, especially sadly women, who cause far more trouble than any kid I have ever met
 
We had some very unruly children at our yard a few months ago. Running up and down outside the stables, screaming and being a real nuisance. I put up with it for a while but had to say something eventually. The mother was a really nice lady but the kids didnt do this round her side of the yard only where my horses are kept. I spoke to the YO and asked if he could request that the mother keep the children with her as they were preventing me from taking my muck barrow to the heap and getting under my horses feet. He did ask her and this was okay for a while but they eventually started to play up again. They have left the yard now as the mum sold her horse. I think they were more bored than anything because they were'nt very interested in horses and had to stand around quite a lot while mum did her bit with the horse. Hopefully if the mother gets a horse again in the future they will be old enough to do something other than stand around. I bring my grand daughters to the yard as they ride and they know that any misbehaviour will not be tolerated. They are 13 and 14. They are very willing to help with anything to do with the horses and are learning all the horrible bits as well as the good. (Had the vet out quite a lot in the last few months ). They know that they are very lucky to have the horses and respect this. They muck out with me and pick out feet as well as doing the feeds and haynets. Not all children are bad, just need to be kept busy.
 
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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You would think!! But alas no, with one we had it was a case of out of sight out of mind. Leave sweet wrappers all over the place, help your self to others things and don't put back. Play in the field, with the horses, chuck stones into the ditch and block it, run around the stables,etc etc. No more children allowed now thanks to them.
 
If parents are bringing their children to the yard with them, they should be warned about the rules which must be followed. They should be supervised at all times, not bother other people or other peoples horses. I am 15 and at my yard there are 3 small children who are allowed to roam as freely as they like, and personally I find them a nuisance as there are no rules and they are constantly asking to ride my horse which is totally not okay!
 
No children under16. No dogs ever, as they wind up my own dogs (who aren't allowed on the yard either as they are a menace too). No smoking on the yard. It's a quiet, relaxed adult environment and we work hard to keep it that way.
 
windand rain said:
well behaved children are a blessing and I don't understand the child hate in the horsey world either. It seems to be that all children are brats and dirty smelly things lower than a slug in some peoples eyes. I have always like children and am happy to have them around and have had them around the horses and ponies for over 40 years and rarely have had a problem I have had the odd glitch but it si usually quickly sorted it is often the adults, especially sadly women, who cause far more trouble than any kid I have ever met
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Excellent post! You complain about negative generalisations against children and then conclude with a negative generalisation against women! Irony is not dead on HHO!
 
I miss the days everyone used to help and look out for the younger children/teens..... and the teens/younger children used to help out to say thanks
I wouldnt know half I do today if it wasnt for those days.. Ho Hum!
 
Last time I was on a livery yard was about a decade ago and I was the token child with non horsey parents, my parents were usually there as usually required a lift and they would walk out hacking with me but apart from that they would sit in the car unless I asked for help. I don't remember this being an issue or any specific rules either I often used to look after other liveries horses if they were away or brought their horses in if needed I was always sensible around others horses and wore hat etc. and bp for jumping off my own back and took my turn in yard chores such a poo picking. The yard owners little son used to frequently ride his tractor down the middle of the stable block though and this was also a non issue good spook busting :P
I don't think I would have an issue with kids on the yard but then I would also bring up any issues if someone (regardless of age) was being unsafe I suppose this is because I am used to being the supervising adult in kids clubs on yards. This is different though to a livery where many people go for some peace and tranquility.
 
I was the same CB I used to love helping others, I was first the turn up, last to leave, Non horsey mum and dad, so was left to it, I loved every minute of it, Would take everything thrown at me, it got me out the house, kept me fit and active, If half of these rules were around then Id probably never have gone into horses, my freedom would have been non existent
 
This makes me realise how lucky my sister and I were- from when we were 11 and 13 respectively we spent 4 years on a proper livery yard. We were treated like mini adults, did as we were told, tried to help out when possible and were frequently used as crash test dummies by the adults. We did do childish things, like riding in bareback from the field but equally we had the furthest away field to make life easier for the adults. We weren't always supervised- we cycled to the yard in the mornings before school, but normally fed the other horses too if we'd been asked too and were generally dropped off at the yard to do the horses and ride so mum didn't have to hang about. I think we were lucky to have a very sensible and knowledgable mum, and the YO had grown up children of her own so knew we could be trusted...
 
I'm normally fairly anti-children, but there are some decent ones around. Out for a hack near the woods the other day, horde of children running through the trees. One of them spots us, calls to the others to stop running and be quiet so they don't scare the horse :)

In general, though, no-one under 16 unsupervised on the yard I'm at, and there aren't many kids about.
 
We have a 3 children on our yard, 2 belong to one lady & are polite, quiet & supervised by mum all helping to see to their pony. The other belongs to an experienced horse owner, said child runs about screaming, came running out of the shrubbery bashing about with a long stick while I was hand grazing my injured horse who had been on box rest for 3 weeks, luckily no one died. Final straw was when I was preparing stud holes ready for a show, child came whizzing past on a toy bike which makes a loud whining noise, horse went mental, swung round spraying everything including my white breeches in green poo, slammed his foot down & snapped the tap off in the shoe, fantastic. Luckily we are in separate areas of the yard so don't have to endure it too much, but I would have thought a bit of common sense would prevail, just because your horse doesn't mind doesn't mean everyone elses is the same. Edited to add that the mother of the awful child does ineffectually shout at him & he just carries on doing whatever he is being shouted at for....
 
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I spent a lot of time on a livery yard as a child but me and my sister were nearly always the only children, were supervised and were both very sensible.
I did used to be at a big livery yard/ riding school were a lot of kids from the riding school had bought ponies and moved onto the livery yard and BOY could they be a pain. The standard rules were in place, no running/ shouting, no under-14s unsupervised but the rules just went out the window the second the yard manager left.
One of the problems we had is that my pony at the time was a kicker. She was normally fine, we tried to muck her out in her stable if there were loads of people around and everyone on the yard knew she might lift a leg so kept out of her way. The problem was when some liveries bought down their young children and just let them run around while they were mucking out! If I noticed I'd get the pony straight into her stable but you can't always be on alert looking out for other peoples 3 year olds trying to run under your ponies belly. It'd wind up the most sane horse, never mind a grouchy chestnut mare with anger management issues. Also riding school kids going into my ponies stable and feeding her/ fussing her. She bites and kicks, not a good idea.
Some of the kids would play football in the garden and regularly kicked the ball up onto the tin roofs of the stables, terrifying the horses. They also rode quad bikes round our hacking area and let off fireworks.
Riding in the school was a nightmare, young kids just can't concentrate on riding and getting out of the way at the same time. We had so many near crashes with kids who didn't know school rules. You'd be cantering into a jump and they'd just ride out in front. At least it was good practice for warm up arenas.
I think my favourite though was one little girl, about 8, whos parents just bought her her first pony. She had clearly never ridden outside a riding school and didn't know what to do on her own. So she'd follow you like in a riding school (I didn't know the girl at all), nose to tail. I'd be trying to do canter circles or something and she'd be stuck to my horses tail. If you looked at her or spoke to her she'd just squeak and ride off. It was quite entertaining for a while but gets old pretty quick.
I don't really actually have a problem with children on yards but I do think the rules really need to be enforced and they need to be taught school rules before being let loose and basic manners/ horse sense to prevent accidents, especially with very young children.
 
Oh and I forgot about the time when I was riding and someones child started throwing rocks at me. Child must have been about 4. Hit us several times, including getting the horse in the head. Parents no where to be seen. I asked the child politely to stop because he was 'scaring the pony', completely ignored me. Good job the horse was quiet
 
I was also the token child on a livery yard - started loaning a pony from the YO at 10, then was bought my own horse at 11. My parents used to drop me at the yard and then leave me there until I wanted to come home. I wasn't allowed to ride out on my own but I was never short of people to hack with. In fact, often my fellow liveries would tell my parents that they would take me riding then drop me home afterwards! I used to get dropped at the farm at 6.15am before school so I could muck out and was always the first one there, so would run round and feed everyone else's horses. For years one livery, who would arrive at the same sort of time, used to drop me at home on her way to work! I used to help turn out and bring in other people's horses, and for a while I even had a livery "business" at the weekends, and quite a few people used to pay me to muck out or even exercise their horses (would have been about 12 at the time). It was a lovely, lovely yard and people were always asking me to ride with them (wasn't allowed to hack alone until I was 14). I kept my horse there for 6 or 7 years and am still friends with people I met there!
 
california dreaming said:
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.
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I am all for encouraging children around horses and helping them learn - it's when the parents used me as a substitute baby sitter that I start getting fed up with their children always always wanting to 'help'. I would never let my child bother someone else tot that extent. My horses are my hobby and my 'me' time and I get a bit precious about that now and I would respect that for other people(Thankfully horses are at home now so I can wallow in my solitude!)

With regards to rules definitely introduce them for the parents - they are the ones that need to look after their own children
 
Mum used to drop me off at the yard when I was 7 years old. No one needed to baby sit me, I was polite and just got on it. It was quite the normal then.
I feel sorry for children today.
 
I've seen plenty of children bored on livery yards when their mother has dragged them down and then turned their back on child. I saw one child winding a dog up, good job that the dog didn't get out as it would have bitten the child.

I've also shouted at a load of them as I was riding my baby horse in the school, and there was a large group of them running around outside (indoor school) and making such a racket it was seriously upsetting my horse.

Then there were the children that told me I couldn't use the school as they were going to be riding something for yo so I had to wait. Turned out they were lying so I wasted an hour of my time due to the little darlings.

Then there was the mother that decided to let her six year old in the school with me whilst I was trying to practise my jumping. Child in front of jump behind jump, every where in my way. To top it all off I decided to give up, rode my horse to the gate, and small child followed me. Don't think she could really control the pony, and parked her pony right behind my horses backside. It was a good job I wasn't riding my other horse, as he would have kicked... Right into the child's face.

Some children are fine, but why should I have to put up with behaviour like the two examples above?
 
MerrySherryRider said:
Mum used to drop me off at the yard when I was 7 years old. No one needed to baby sit me, I was polite and just got on it. It was quite the normal then.
I feel sorry for children today.
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Totally agree with this, it was a lady who had 3 loose boxes at the end of her garden that took me under her wing. I got dropped to the yard on weekends and spent the whole day there with my pony. I made her cups of tea and was a prolific poo picker and cleaner of tack! That was when I was 9-18, I even ended up loaning her horse for a while whilst she did a degree! I was 15 and he was a stunning dressage horse!
i am now in my mid thirties with 3 kids and I still love horses, so does my daughter. She comes with me to the yard sometimes , there are 2 horse she's allowed to give a treat to and she is always helpful and quiet although she has moments of barely contained excitement.... Like when my WB gives her a kiss :)
I feel utterly depressed reading some of these posts, today's kids are the owners of tomorrow and isn't it for us to help them learn and be better... Like our elders did for us? I guess it is horses for courses (ahem... Couldn't resist the pun sorry!) when it comes to yards and I can see how a bad experience can easily turn someone against having kids around.
Still strikes me as sad though....... :(
 
Lots of kids at my yard, mostly fine, but they always bicker which often turns nasty then they forget themselves and think all horses are like the RS ones, quiet etc but the private liveries are not necessarily and they need to be shouted at occasionally. They get a bit silly sometimes and do daft things with the ponies. Two 5 year olds were allowed to run round one day, desperate to talk to me, came pelting up behind me, my horse spooked and nearly ran me down. The YO saw and went mad at the parents. Good man!
 
Have experienced bad and good with kids but feel sorry for how restricted kids are now - I grew up int he 80's and from the age of 5 was left at our riding school for the day. I would have a lesson and then spend the day helping with yard jobs. I wouldn't have been allowed that young but my older sister stayed for the day (she's 2 years older) and she was expected to keep an eye on me. I learnt loads and had a lot of fun but we were sensible and knew how to behave around horses (depsite being a riding school we only paid for the lessons, it was almost expected that you'd do some yard work and learn how to care as well as ride)
 
MerrySherryRider said:
Mum used to drop me off at the yard when I was 7 years old. No one needed to baby sit me, I was polite and just got on it. It was quite the normal then.
I feel sorry for children today.
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This - I used to spend every day at the yard with my pony from about the age of 8. We used to get up to all sorts of things my mum is horrified about when she hears now. She didn't seem too worried at the time. I don't even think there was a phone on the yard so what we would have done if there was a problem I don't know.

It was a RS and I used to help lead and then took hacks out at a very young age (I moved from there aged about 12) I used to hack alone, play in the river, ride my dad's 16.2 bareback in from the field (at speed - no brakes).

It is a shame that today's society expects children to be so controlled. I rented my own yard when my daughter had a pony for the reason I didn't want to be worried about them annoying other people. I am now back on a livery yard as daughter doesn't ride. i do try and allow my children some of the freedom I had as a child - they go and play in the woods or go for bike rides etc.

In terms of rules - it is difficult now as any adult on the yard would be expected to help if there was a problem with a child. Everyone is so much more aware of health and safety! I would be annoyed if someone else expected me to supervise their child while I am doing my hobby so it is a dilemma. We don't really have children on our yard (two older teens who are great). My son comes and plays with the dogs but I make sure he behaves and doesn't annoy anyone.
 
Abacus said:
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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This, my grandson has been around my horses since birth, he was parked up in his pram in the walkway while I mucked out etc, he was poo picking at 16 months, now 3 yr old, he knows where he can stand safely and when he can groom/stroke knees or tails, all I need to say is "like a mouse Charlie" and he knows to walk and be quiet around my horses, who love him to bits and lower their heads for him
 
When we were at a livery yard, over 20 years ago, two girls of about 10 years old nearly caused a serious accident to our Big Appy. There was a low stone lintle over her door, which we discovered she cracked her head on when these children ran at her shreiking and waving their arms about. Children are fine, unsupervised ignorant children are not!
 
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