What age…

[ILuvCowparsely]

I’m not sure where best to post this. I was going to reopen an old thread but that was more about misbehaving smaller children so don’t want to start that off again!

What age can children be on a yard alone without adult supervision? The child in question has her own pony and appears well behaved. she lives very local to the yard and can bring herself up without her Mum or Dad being here. some believe that having a livery contract stating that parents remain responsible is sufficient and that the parents must understand that there is no ‘child care’ available at the yard. However, if child does turn up on her own and I’m the only adult there, do I legally have a duty of care? (morally is not in question! I’ve stayed whilst an older lady rode because i wasn’t convinced she was entirely safe to be left alone!)

just wondering and probably overthinking things as usual. It’s made me very concerned.

thanks

I don't know how much stance this is, but here we have the parents sign a disclaimer to be allowed to leave their children here un supervised. No younger than 11, and it is a case by case as some of the children that were here were really sensible.

 

[Auslander]

My yard is adult only, as we all rather like having time away from our offspring. If I had kids here, I would have a rule in place that they were not to be on the yard completely alone. Doesn't matter how sensible/competent they are - if something goes wrong (and let's face it, accidents happen to the most experienced, competent adults as well), they are simply not equipped to deal with it, nor should they be in a position where they have no-one there to turn to. I would not expect other liveries to babysit, but I know all mine would happily step in if there was a problem. Also, whether you believe it or not - women and children are at greater risk from the predatory in this day and age when out and about alone.

I don't impose rules about riding alone, but if someone is planning to ride late, they usually text me when they start and finish. If I don't get a "finished" text, I go out and check that they aren't in a crumpled heap somewhere. My yard is at the quiet end of the farm, with no-one there but us, and my arena isn't overlooked after the people who rent the business units have gone home, so it's up to me to make sure everyone is safe. We also use the Whatsapp live location when hacking alone, so we know where to go if a horse comes back on its own/they dont come back when expected.

 

[laura_nash]

If any parent is prepared to allow an 11 year old on the yard on their own without even speaking to other liveries then they are clearly not taking their role as a parent seriously and are taking advantage of other horse owners in the process.

Nonsense. If the kid was a beginner or over horsed and they were expecting other liveries to help, sure. There's no suggestion of that here from OP. Maybe they haven't spoken to the other liveries because it hasn't occurred to them it's any of their business? It wouldn't occur to me. Presumably they've cleared it with the YO, which is all that is needed. They might very well have a system in place of text messaging or a safety app so they know if anything happens, no reason OP would know about that.

 

[smolmaus]

But who are these people who ask, "Where were the adults?" And do they have children? I was just wondering this the other day for some reason.

Well depending on what goes wrong, maybe the insurance company, social services or the police?

 

[Starzaan]

The law doesn’t but insurance may. My insurance prevented any under sixteens from being on the yard unsupervised.

 

[Winters100]

Nonsense. If the kid was a beginner or over horsed and they were expecting other liveries to help, sure. There's no suggestion of that here from OP. Maybe they haven't spoken to the other liveries because it hasn't occurred to them it's any of their business? It wouldn't occur to me. Presumably they've cleared it with the YO, which is all that is needed. They might very well have a system in place of text messaging or a safety app so they know if anything happens, no reason OP would know about that.

It would not occur to me either. There are a few children on our yard, and sometimes they are there alone. I would consider it very odd if their parents came to discuss this with me, what would be the purpose of the discussion? To seek my approval or permission? They do not need either of these, and ultimately it is the parents who are the ones to decide if their child is mature enough to be alone. Of course I would help if necessary, just the same as I would help any adult who needed it.

Had my children been interested in ponies I probably would have left them unsupervised from time to time. They go off unsupervised on their bikes to the forest, and yes we have had some injuries. One of these was from one of our sons climbing a tree and not succeeding, resulting in a fractured clavicle. So what lesson should we take from this? Is it a lesson for us parents that we should never let him out alone again and wrap him in cotton wool, or is it that the lesson is for him, that he needs to assess risks more carefully and be more aware of his abilities? For us it was the latter, and the subsequent discussions were not centered around 'don't climb trees, it is too dangerous', but advice from his father on how to select your tree (not one with rotten branches as in this case), and how to climb it more safely. Children need to learn to do things for themselves, and that means that sometimes there will be accidents, but I do not believe that it is in their best interests to grow up without learning about risk.

 

[Crugeran Celt]

Nonsense. If the kid was a beginner or over horsed and they were expecting other liveries to help, sure. There's no suggestion of that here from OP. Maybe they haven't spoken to the other liveries because it hasn't occurred to them it's any of their business? It wouldn't occur to me. Presumably they've cleared it with the YO, which is all that is needed. They might very well have a system in place of text messaging or a safety app so they know if anything happens, no reason OP would know about that.

I agree if they had spoken to the yard owner but the OP seems to feel obliged to stay at the yard because the child is unattended. It is not liveries responsibility to watch a child unless a parent has cleared it with that livery. Times have changed and even though I rode horses at 11 without my parents being around they wouldn't dream of suing anyone, unfortunately we now live in a suing culture.

 

[ElectricChampagne]

I had this in a yard I was in. Child was 14 and clueless and mother would drop her off before work, leave her on her own in the yard and pick her up later.

I kinda felt obligated to stay in case something happened, even though it was nothing to do with me.

Thankfully I was there when something stupid happened that was very easily prevented and said silly child pulled an idiotic stunt and got herself hurt.

At the time I was horrified and thought something way worse had happened, but thankfully they only got a bad shock and absolutely no serious injuries, bar a little bruise, despite the melodrama and tears. Clearly the child thought they were more competent than they were and panicked. But it put me in an awkward position I must admit. it was a bit of a mess to sort out in the end though and to be honest I could have been injured myself with no help from the child.

I kinda made sure not to be left alone on the yard with the child again afterwards.

 

[Winters100]

deleted

 

[laura_nash]

I agree if they had spoken to the yard owner but the OP seems to feel obliged to stay at the yard because the child is unattended.

That's just the OP though, there is no suggestion that anyone has asked her to do that or even mentioned it in passing, or that the child needs her help with anything or has given her any reason to think she should stay other than her age.

I wouldn't leave my 11 year old unattended in charge of a pony, as she has a tendency to flap in a crisis, but of her three close friends there is one 11 year old I think would be fine left alone, with a process to keep in contact (or at least as fine as anyone else of any age). One of my daughters close friends is a 14 year old and she certainly wouldn't be okay to be left. Once kids are over about 8, I don't think you can generalise based on age. Presumably the parent's know their child.