Always Henesy
Well-Known Member
This may be a bit of a long one so bear with me.
Before I go into the issue I have - understand that I am a Mum of 3 children & I have so been there/done that regarding children & horses.
I am currently on a lovely DIY livery yard. Two liveries have very small children. 1 girl aged 16 months, 1 boy aged 20 months & 1 baby girl aged 6 months. Another livery has a daughter aged about 2.
The children are left to wander around & pretty much do what they like. Anything I put down is walked off with, used to smack the car with, throw into the nearest water. One throws rubbish out of the car onto the yard, walks into my stable & throws bedding around, sometimes eats the horse poo - oh & the best one? - wanders off the school whilst people are schooling their horses/ponies.
The mother quite often leaves the children in the car. So the eldest has the windscreen wipers going, hazard lights flashing, hitting the horn over & over again. Either that or they are screaming at the top of their lungs whilst the mother is down the field/riding/doing whatever.
As a mother myself I feel I can't leave the children unattended if they are just "left" with me on the yard. Neither can I leave a baby screaming without trying to sooth him/her.
The other day the 2 year old was left in the car totally unsupervised whilst the mother watched her pony being ridden in the school. The child was constantly hitting the horn & ended up locking herself in the car. She was left for 45 minutes & in all that time was not checked on once by the mother.
Not only that but it is so dangerous when I am trying to lead/groom/tack up/feed my horses & I have tiny children riding their flaming toy tractors around the yard!
This is my "fun" time! I am meant to enjoy my horse & want to enjoy the time I spend with him - not spend the whole time pulling out small people from water butts & plug sockets! I am sick & tired of them being on the yard! Sometimes the noise & screaming drives me demented!
When mine were small I left them at home with my husband before he went to work (I was up at 5.30am) & again left them at home in the evenings. If my husband wasn't around then I arranged assistance for someone else to do my horse. Having my children on the yard when they were small was not something I was happy with.
I know I sound like a grinch but I am not sure I can stand it anymore. Who is responsible if my very large (18hh) horse was to kick or step on a small child? Who is responsible if something happened to the children whilst left in my care (even though this is not what I have agreed - they are just abandoned with me sometimes)?
Other liveries are also so fed up with it.
I have never seen or experienced anything like it in my life!
What would you do?
Before I go into the issue I have - understand that I am a Mum of 3 children & I have so been there/done that regarding children & horses.
I am currently on a lovely DIY livery yard. Two liveries have very small children. 1 girl aged 16 months, 1 boy aged 20 months & 1 baby girl aged 6 months. Another livery has a daughter aged about 2.
The children are left to wander around & pretty much do what they like. Anything I put down is walked off with, used to smack the car with, throw into the nearest water. One throws rubbish out of the car onto the yard, walks into my stable & throws bedding around, sometimes eats the horse poo - oh & the best one? - wanders off the school whilst people are schooling their horses/ponies.
The mother quite often leaves the children in the car. So the eldest has the windscreen wipers going, hazard lights flashing, hitting the horn over & over again. Either that or they are screaming at the top of their lungs whilst the mother is down the field/riding/doing whatever.
As a mother myself I feel I can't leave the children unattended if they are just "left" with me on the yard. Neither can I leave a baby screaming without trying to sooth him/her.
The other day the 2 year old was left in the car totally unsupervised whilst the mother watched her pony being ridden in the school. The child was constantly hitting the horn & ended up locking herself in the car. She was left for 45 minutes & in all that time was not checked on once by the mother.
Not only that but it is so dangerous when I am trying to lead/groom/tack up/feed my horses & I have tiny children riding their flaming toy tractors around the yard!
This is my "fun" time! I am meant to enjoy my horse & want to enjoy the time I spend with him - not spend the whole time pulling out small people from water butts & plug sockets! I am sick & tired of them being on the yard! Sometimes the noise & screaming drives me demented!
When mine were small I left them at home with my husband before he went to work (I was up at 5.30am) & again left them at home in the evenings. If my husband wasn't around then I arranged assistance for someone else to do my horse. Having my children on the yard when they were small was not something I was happy with.
I know I sound like a grinch but I am not sure I can stand it anymore. Who is responsible if my very large (18hh) horse was to kick or step on a small child? Who is responsible if something happened to the children whilst left in my care (even though this is not what I have agreed - they are just abandoned with me sometimes)?
Other liveries are also so fed up with it.
I have never seen or experienced anything like it in my life!
What would you do?