There's a child on the yard. Rules?

I am glad some people arent parents...but im over the moon that i wont grow old and cold. A horse can enrich ones' life, but it wont hold your hand on your deathbed.
I think children should be supervised in regards to horses, heavy machinery and horrible attitudes from childless women.
 
Cherrydan said:
I am glad some people arent parents...but im over the moon that i wont grow old and cold. A horse can enrich ones' life, but it wont hold your hand on your deathbed.
I think children should be supervised in regards to horses, heavy machinery and horrible attitudes from childless women.
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Not all who expect children to be supervised on other peoples property, with other peoples horses are childless, they just don't expect the world to revolve around their little darlings.'
 
I am very lucky, our yard consists of my friend and I. My two sons (6 and 4) have been around the ponies since birth. They know how to behave around them and listen to instructions. They have loads of fun climbing on the hay bales, playing in the water troughs, poo picking, grooming ponies etc....

They have the freedom to play which so many children miss out on. I do agree that on a busy yard unruly children could be a problem but that's down to the parenting not the kids.

My ponies are used to flying footballs, towers built out of bricks and sticks, shouting, shrieks of laughter and so on. Alll good training and desensitisation. My son was holding my filly at a show grooming the life out of her when she was 2yrs old. Weren't we all young once?
 
This has all definitely given me a lot to think about.
As a child I used to potter around the horses and do as much as I could on my own with my pony. I don't remember causing problems for other people but I wanted to be there and anything horsey kept me amused. Also my mum would've stuck her boot up my backside if I'd annoyed anyone and banned me from seeing my pony.
 
I dont remember saying the world should revolve around my children, but the world shouldnt revolve around a horse either...as other posters have said, its down to the parents and how much knowledge/ supervision they have. Kids will be kids; funny, passionate, untainted...some people just grew old and forgot what they were like whilst dining on pigs with wings. Without kids im sure a hell of a lot of riding schools wouldnt be able to pay their bills.
 
"and pigs might fly"...we will all idealise what we were, eg. We respected our elders, we were quiet, Well behaved, didnt swear, walked in single file...we were all just kids, we all started somewhere and if iencountered such hostility towards my kids, i would keep them from such harm, however as a sensible parent i would supervise them near such big animals and machinery...but if i felt their presence irritated other livery members, id just tell the kids tostay away from them. Its simple really, but then ive met a lot of childless horse people, and if they hold some of the attitudes ive read on here, its probably a good thing (for the child). Children should be seen and heard, quiet kids are usually very sad little people.
 
There is only one under 16 on my yard, she is blind and bloody brilliant, but she is always supervised by a family member.

If others bring visiting children then they are the sole responsibility of their responsible adult and I make that crystal clear.

They are expressly forbidden to go in barns, in fields where there are horses, on any machinery, in the goat pens, or anywhere near my dog runs, and don't chase my cats or ducks either! I would like to apply those rules to some visiting adults too - really, how are children to learn sense when pratts of grown adults march up to a dog run with GSD's clearly saying "Back off, this is my territory" in no uncertain terms, and stick their hands through the mesh.

From the safety, and peace of mind aspects I would prefer no children, I am not anti-children at all, but I would rather not face a lawsuit because they ate a lump of duck poop or slipped on a bit of mud and damaged themselves etc.

I think there are several perspectives to view this subject from, YO's, parents, non-parents and the children themselves.
 
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There are kids & kids. I suspect some people responding to this post have never been on a yard where feral kids have been allowed to make a real nuisance of themselves. Every yard I have been on has had parents with young kids but they have only been a problem on 1 yard.
They terrified me, it's only a question of time before there is a serious accident involving them. The parenting was so lax that they allowed a (only just) 6 yo & a 7 yo (with severe learning difficulties) to go & fetch in a 3 yo pony that they had only had a couple of weeks on their own with no adult supervision at all. The track they had to walk down has direct ungated access to the A6! The 6yo & 11yo sister used to run up behind my horse & grab his tail. She wanted to help with grooming & even though I kept telling her she was risking being kicked, Mum used to just smile & say "oh, she loves horses so much".
I know they used to go into my field as there was a small copse in one corner & you couldn't see the horses when they were in it. They used to tell me what my horses were doing in there & then deny having been in the field. One day they "got out". Fencing was 5ft post & rail (used to be a stallion there) so they hadn't jumped out. Naturally nobody had been in the field & opened the gate. Luckily a couple of days later I was offered a place on current yard. a 3yo comes to this yard but is no bother at all.
 
Cherrydan said:
I am glad some people arent parents...but im over the moon that i wont grow old and cold. A horse can enrich ones' life, but it wont hold your hand on your deathbed.
I think children should be supervised in regards to horses, heavy machinery and horrible attitudes from childless women.
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Anybody who has a child so that there will be someone there to hold their hand in old age is having them for the wrong reason. There's no guarantee your child will be there for you at the end: the amount of lonely elderly whose children never come near them except once in a blue moon is evidence of that.

It's not anti-child to say that the yard is a dangerous place and too many parents fail to teach their child the things that will keep them safe, and also everybody else safe too.
 
YorksG said:
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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was the 'low stone lintle' not too low in that case?
 
MadJ said:
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.
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We have our rules in all weather plastic. All children to be supervised you need to get them done in plastic and are up for all to see, then given them a signed livery agreement where it said I have read and will abide by the yard rules

some of ours

• NO DOGS ALLOWED ON PREMISES

• HARD HATS MUST BE WORN WHEN MOUNTED

• ALL VISITORS MUST ABIDE BY THE YARD RULES.

ALL CHILDREN MUST BE SUPERVISED

HORSE RIDING IS A HIGH RISK SPORT AND HOLDS POTENTIAL DANGERS. HORSES MAY REACT UNPREDICTABLY AT TIMES.

xxx xxx xxx and its Owners accept no responsibility for injury to person(s) or damage to their property.
All persons involved with horse activities at the stables are strongly advised to get personal insurance to cover all horse riding and associated activities.
 
Have to say when the child is a livery its a whole new ball of wax, mum kept leaving the kid on the yard while she went off, kid sat on her pony without hat etc and bareback. Used to bug everyone that mum was more interested in her sport than stay with her kid.

OP you must gets some rules made up and put in an obvious place and liveries sign they agree and will abide by them. Ebay is full of companies who will do this for you.
 
I am on a yard with minimal rules, but everything is normally OK. Luckily another livery has moved on who came up with a gang of kids every day, but we still have one livery who just lets her kids run riot! Normally she take them in her own field while she poo picks and they run around in there out the way, but my goodness do they make a lot of noise! They literally scream constantly and must have screamed my name 200 times yesterday! The mum leaves them unattended a lot too and yesterday I took my fresh, fit, just bathed Haflinger into the school to let off a bit of steam, and within seconds of letting loose the fire breathing, bucking farting monster, her two kids (2 and 4) appeared in the school! They were on the completely opposite side to where mum was, so she's screaming at them to get out, I couldn't get near my pony as he was in full on hoon mode! It could have ended so badly. Actually, saying that, the same happened when this lady came to look around the yard, I was lungeing said crazy pony when her kids appeared in the school. This time though, mum was no where to be seen!

I don't have kids, but I do have nieces and nephews and I keep them with me at all times.

The way I see it, the school is for exercising horses, not children!
 
I have a child ( ages 8 and non horsey) and my sharer has children (5 and 7 again non horsey) we try not to take them to the stables ..but sometimes we have to .. So ..I'm lucky because I have my own gated area with in that area is .. 2 stable ( one empty) a tack room / feed shed and tie up ( enough room to tie 2 or 3 horses) so our children r locked in the gated area with us .. My tack room has seats , drinks, food , pencils , paper, puzzles .. But tbh they are happy sitting in there with the iPad ! .. My child has been around horses since he was born .. He knows not to scream, run , shout, scare the horses.. He would never feed the horses .. And if I'm riding while he is there .. I make him call a dressage test for me ! :) ..I HATE young children being dumped at the stables ( not the kids fault)
 
I am not anti child but I am childless by choice, therefore when I pay a considerable amount of money to keep my horse on a nice yard I do not want my enjoyment spoiled or myself or my horse put into a dangerous situation because another livery cannot control their child. Yes of course kids should be kids & run around & have fun, but when I have spent a lot on vet bills & the child is allowed to scream & crash about in the bushes, coming bursting out waving a long stick around when I am hand grazing & I then have to hang on to nearly a tonne of fly bucking rearing horse hoping that a) I won't get kicked in the head b) he won't get loose & c) then have to worry that child that isn't even mine won't get kicked that isn't even funny.

At an old yard years ago, same scenario but different box rested horse, uncontrolled child thought it would be funny to go into the corrugated iron barn behind which I was hand grazing & bang loudly on the tin wall, I couldn't hold onto the horse & she galloped off & fell over on the concrete, when I complained to the mother she just said "Oh well you know what kids are like" err yes that's why I'm complaining to you..... Sorry but just because you have a child it doesn't mean that everyone else will instantly love it like you do & will want to be irritated by it...
 
I think it all boils down to safety. Horses are unpredictable at best, and situations where the actions of children create a safety issue for themselves, others, the horse, the horse owner-- are a concern. Yards are not playgrounds-- of course if you are on your own property you can treat it as you wish, but a livery yard is not a substitute playground. Yes, children should be able to shout, scream, run in the countryside, ride their bikes, etc-- and there are suitable places for them to do that. A livery yard or around horses at all is not really the place-- again because of safety issues.

I have been on yards in the past with lovely, helpful, knowledgeable and well-behaved children and teenagers-- many of whom were left for the day without supervision. But they did not need an adult minder in the sense that they were able behave responsibly and not cause safety hazards.

I would not take my dogs to a yard and let them run about senseless, barking at children, adults and horses and causing mayhem. So likewise, children should not be at a yard causing mayhem--with or without supervision. It is first and foremost an issue of safety, and when the behaviour of children is putting themselves and others at risk, there should be zero tolerance of that behaviour. It only takes a split second for there to be a tragic accident or even death.
 
twiggy2 said:
was the 'low stone lintle' not too low in that case?
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Only when some pratt waved their arms in her face, causing her to lift her head up quickly. The roof inside was very high and she and the Anglo stallion who had inhabited the box before never had a problem at other times.
 
You get as many/if not more badly behaved adults in the equine world as you do children - both usually the result of some poor parenting skills. At least you have a chance of influencing children to behave a little better - I would rather have children around than some of the neurotic, irrational and bizarre adults that I have come across on livery yards over the years.
 
Ha. Try the chap in his fifties who randomly starjumps, claps his hands together and shouts loudly to emphasise a point in his conversation. Right outside the stable where your yearling is recuperating from an injured stifle...man jumped, pony jumped, we all blimming jumped...
 
I must admit I have been put off being on yards with children. One there were two families with girls of about 9 who if they fell out used to take a whip to the other girl's pony. Left that yard as parents did nothing. Another yard the managers child was allowed to use a catapult on the yard, broke several windows, and used to spend most evenings jumping all over the hay in the barn, which was very loosely stacked, so you can imagine what could have happened also had no hesitation in running about behind horses,
 
I spent quite a time in some yards with minimal rules and children/teenagers, who spent a lot of time there. Some of them were related to the YOs or their friends. I experienced:

* General unsupervised running, screaming and playing around the yard, including riding bikes, kicking footballs, throwing frisbees and such. Good for despooking, I admit, but there were situations when such behavior was unacceptable.

* Unsupervised children appearing out of nowhere under horses, right behind their hind ends, right under their heads, including in close proximity to kickers and biters. I remember at least two getting minor (thank gods that just minor!) injuries.

* Unsupervised children running around the fields, messing with horses they have no business with, ignoring any safety rules. Once I even saw two girls, barely older than toddlers, crawling onto a sleeping mare... Their parents were nowhere to be seen. Other times there were kids just hanging out amidst several horses who were about to have a fight, kids standing right in the way of a galloping horse (had to rush and drag them away), kids stirring up the herd into a cantering mess while trying to "chase" one in order to put a head collar on; kids wandering into the riding arena and starting to play there/suddenly stopping in front of a jump while riders are working in the said arena, and more.

* Children appearing at an empty yard and messing with horses, giving each other "lessons" and getting into dangerous situations. After being reported to the YO and their parents, getting vengeful and stirring up a drama against the mean adult who didn't let them to jump their ponies, while they are barely able to trot.

* Tack, feed and supplies going missing frequently and/or broken, once even on purpose because of said drama.

* Horses being fed unsuitable snacks in large amounts, e.g. raw potatoes, crisps, candy and such.

* Kids hiding in tight places just to jump out and scare horses on purpose (in the fields, as well as the stable). Sometimes stuff was being thrown in the stalls just to see the horse become alert and scared.

* Mess and junk being left all over the place - none of them ever cleaned behind themselves.

* Playing in the hay - not only dangerous, but also I hated seeing good hay being trampled by mucky boots and tossed around senselessly.


Luckily, it is all in the past and I am now on a mostly adult yard with a sensible set of rules to which everyone abides. There are a couple of children, but they are well mannered, supervised at all times and pleasant to be around - and, no, I'm not talking about little, human shaped robots that are bored to death, but normal children who are simply being taught to respect horses and their fellow men. They know very well not to run screaming their heads off around the yard, the stables, up, by or under the horses; they don't ever touch what is not theirs, they politely ask you to pet your horse and/or give him a treat and in general seem to be growing up to be nice and sensible horse persons.
 
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ATEOFD children are children and if they want to run round scream play, that is what play grounds are for. A livery yard is like a hotel people pay to stay or keep their horses here and should be given respect and respect to their property.

Running round screaming messing about etc etc, is inconsiderate behaviour to others on the yard. Its down to the parents to make sure their children know the rules of the yard and behave accordingly. Most owners work all day in an office or such like, and their horse is their down time of the day where they can relax and enjoy their riding or schooling.

They don't want to come up to the yard and walk into playground behaviour, going up to strange horses and giving them titbits. When that horse could be a laminitic and must not have such treats.

The other thing I hate but only once happened here when I intrusted someone to do my yard while away, is children toys every where, bikes dolls. Apparently it was a child's playground.

When you have children some don't think what its like to be childless by choice or dislike children.


One yard I was at. no names mentioned the owner had two Brats and they were brats.

I would come up of an evening to do my mare and donkey and get:



What ya doing

I am filling water bucket
why?
she needs a drink
why?
she is thirsty


what ya doing?
filling a haynet
why?
its her food

what ya doing
making her feed
why???

and so on and on and on and on and on and on and on

They would then walk up behind me and poke a cane in my back


what ya doing?? and on


Then they would go up to my hay and pee on it.


The mother would not let me fill my mares water from yard tap but i had to bring it with me 7 miles from home. The grandmother would turn light out while I mucked out, I would then turn it on and she would return and turn it off.


I then did a midnight flit from that yard , Her and her family were a nightmare.
 
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What ya doing

I am filling water bucket
why?
she needs a drink
why?
she is thirsty


what ya doing?
filling a haynet
why?
its her food

what ya doing
making her feed
why???

and so on and on and on and on and on and on and on
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Oh yes, this as well. I enjoy answering questions and sharing experience with young horse enthusiasts, but not if the questions are dropped senselessly and the answers forgotten a second later.
 
My parents ran a livery yard when I was a kid - I can only imagine how annoying me and my sister were! We were always pretty sensible, both of us rode before we walked - how else do you learn?! We had several lucky escapes between us, but it was mostly when we were supervised - I never hurt myself when my parents weren't around, probably was mindful that they weren't there. When they were around, aged 5 I had a horse knock me over and tread on my chest, aged 7 a horse barged out its stable and knocked me over and stood on my leg - both times I was with an adult!
 
The day I was trying to back my pony in the barn [first time] two or three kids decided to come and play on the high bales right behind him. I asked them to go away, but had to give up.
An adult, who was a witness came round and complained that
a] my horse had pooped
b ]I had plenty of time to get mounted and ride off
c] I was intolerant
Never seen the woman before, I have to assume she was of the "my kids can do what they like" school of thinking.
 
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