Would you stop?

WOULD YOU STOP

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I've also been asked if they can have there photo taken with my horse and they weren't even children! Clearly they had never seen such a beautiful horse before ;-)
 
With Ned out hacking by myself - 100% no!
In-hand - depends how young the child is.

I used to stop all the time when riding Blobby, he LOVED kids and getting fuss from them :) Though I wouldn't stop unless it was safe for traffic too.
 
I live in a housing estate, maybe one or two fields (firering ranges) about and we are the only hacking horse in about a 5 mils radius. I always stop, some children where i live have only seen horses on the tv, and if they seen me hack by they will slip quietly out of their front doors to watch us pass. I always go back and chat, they love it and its brilliant learning for Kyra.
 
I agree that it depends on the situation. As the owner of the cutest, hairiest highland on the planet I often get asked to stop when riding through local villages. The hairy one loves a cuddle and isn't fussed who delivers it!! If the road conditions allow and the kid is supervised and isn't an obvious "hazard" in themselves, then I do stop. I stop short of letting the "have a go on my pony" though, as has been asked on occasion.
 
I seem to spend my life stopping for kids to stroke my pony. He does attract them though, being small, shaggy and unthreatening. He's happy to stand there for as long as I can cope with while they mess with him. I do try and make them get off their bikes and not charge up to him screaming, and tell them that some horses would be scared by that. Fortunately by the age of 24 he's seen it all before and couldn't care what they do.
 
Depends on the horse, and if safe to do so. If it’s not safe, I’ll apologise and explain why. Sometimes I spot people bringing their children to the window to watch the horses go past. I’ll always smile (and wave if not in the middle of a spook, or something!) and they usually wave back.
 
I've said no but thinking on it I do stop around here on the lanes as they are so quiet and I know them well and my horses is a good sensible lad.
 
Lolo said:
Depends on the horse, the road and the child... If the child is sensible looking and has a parent, the horse is settled and good with children and happy to stand and the road is clear with a place to stand out of the way of anything then yes, we're happy for them to pat the horse.
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This ^^^ I have stopped for to talk to children in the past and have allowed them to stroke my horse if circumstances allow, I have been known to offer before now too, I don't always wait to be asked.
 
My old boy wouldn't stand still for it under saddle but he is child friendly. I'm happy for kids to pet the horses when we're off them ie at the pub, but it worries me how little awareness some parents have regarding safety - maybe I'm just paranoid!

Years and years ago my cob was being fed grass by a little girl whilst I was sat on him - her parents were there too. She then started feeding something very small and he made a mistake and latched onto the tip of her finger, she was only a little tacker and he lifted her clear of the ground... and gently let her go when she (understandably) screamed blue murder. Been a bit twitchy about kids ever since...
 
I put I don't know as it depends on the situation, If it's a quiet lane and I'm not causing an obstruction, then yes I would stop and chat, on a busy road or in a risky situation then no I wouldn't!
 
I never stop with my Welshie as he is just to unpredictable to trust around children but when I am walking the minis they are positively offended if children and adults don't make a fuss of them. They will automatically stop as soon as someone walks towards them and stretch their noses out as if to stop the passer by, they usually get a very good reaction. People love them.
 
I said 'yes' but really it depends on the situ.

For example-busy road or cars coming-No I wouldn't stop.
An example of when we HAVE stopped before though was hacking with my mum past a public green, very quiet country lane and kiddies come rushing over asking to stroke our two quiet mares. So yes we did stop and let them have a fuss, which they loved.
 
Yes - we quite often stop as long as it is safe.

Our old hacking partner used to make a beeline for the kiddies! He loved a cuddle. I think it helps acceptance in the community if you are friendly and make an effort to say good morning or good afternoon to people as they walk by.

It's lovely to see the kiddie's faces light up when you let them stroke your horse - they just really enjoy it.

I will also stop and let kids pat the dogs if they ask - all three of mine love a fuss - particularly Jasper who thinks there is nothing better than having a good cuddle!
 
I will always stop if I can; and tell kids how to behave around a horse basically, i.e. don't stand in front, don't feed full stop, etc etc.

My two horses are fine with kiddies, love the attention........ and IMO kids need to know how to behave when horses are around. Its an opportunity we shouldn't miss, after all today's kiddies will grow up one day and start driving cars & motorbikes and it never hurts for them to have the memory of having gotten close to a horse at some stage.

Plus the fact that I can STILL remember, oh so many years later on, of having been pony mad in my youth and it was absolute heaven if some nice person with their horsie would stop and let me pat it. Made not just my day but my week as well....... which is why I'll always stop for kiddies now. Call me a big softy.
 
Antw23uk said:
Where I hack every field is either filled with horses or sheep. If they are horsey kids they would'nt be interested in petting my horse and if they are sheep owning kids they really dont care about a horse riding past!

Other than that I dislike brats and would trample them rather than stop .. However Giz would be sensible and step round them :mad:
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I take it you don't like kids?
 
It depends on the horse and depends on the road/traffic flow etc!
We only ever hack along quiet lanes, and have quite often had children (and also adults!) asking if they can stroke the horses.
We usually hack out in a pair - the one horse is an absolute sweetheart, so he's always on "child duty" and gets lots of cuddles and strokes and will talk to curious pony-mad children for hours. I however always keep a safe distance with mine as she is more dragon than horse and is a bouncy figit with no manners (working on it) - I wouldn't trust her around children and would be far too worried about her throwing her head around / walking all over them. However I'm aware that this always looks very anti-social so I usually say something along the lines of "she's a bit scared of new people" or "she's young and can be a bit silly, I don't want her to knock you" etc (also sounds slightly nicer than "she's a bolshy thug" to someone so small!)
 
We always stop to chat and allow children to stroke the horses, if it is safe with regard to traffic. Given that so many people have such dire perceptions of horse riders I think it is quite politic to try and dispell that image. When the younsters start going out and about, they too will be taught to stand still and chat. We are quite fortunate in having neighours who are more than happy to feed chunks of carrots to the girls as they go past :)
 
WelshD said:
I like this answer :)

It works both ways as being nice for the child and good for the horse. I stop with the pony and also with the dog if a child shows interest - its amazing how many mums in the village ask how Milo is or how Otis is... they often say that the child mentions the pony/dog by name often - I think thats nice expecially for children who arent able to have a pet

It links in some way to AA's post about horses having manners, I would like to think that even the averagely schooled horse should be able to stand still for a short amount of time.
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Just what I was thinking! I should be ashamed of my horsemanship if I couldn't ask the horse to stand still for a few moments in safe place, for any reason I choose.
 
On Monday, if all goes well, then I shall be taking my boy around the village near his farm. I'm very much hoping that someone asks to pet him, and that we'll encounter children/families/dogs. I can't ride him yet, but we can we working on training him to behave around adults and children, and to be patient when standing. Not something he's very good at, yet, I've been told.
 
Depends on the road.

Our hacking is on quiet access roads and the country park - lots of walkers, kiddies, dogs, bikes etc. If I see a family and the small child is pointing at ponio I often stop and ask if she/he would like to say 'hello' and give him a pat, usually it's a massive yes and he's had his picture taken with a child - first time meeting/petting a pony. On a couple of occasions I've met an elderly lady or gent who had always been scared of horses, but seeing as my boy is pretty (and dopey looking ;) ) they've asked if they can pet him and conquer their fear ... More than happy to oblige ... We're sort of a part of a team of ambassadors for the local horsey community.

So yes I will stop is safe to do so, even pulled in to a local playgroup so the kiddies could have a fuss. I have been told by those I've stopped for that they've been blanked by other riders and were grateful for someone to stop, let their little ones have a fuss, we've had a good natter and in a few cases I've met them again at the local riding school :)
 
It depends on the horse and the place.

If in a safe place, I'd let them stroke my gelding. I probably wouldn't with my mare as she's 4 and quite sharp so I don't think making her stand on the road and having little kids fiddling about with her would be a great idea at this point.
 
Yes, I do now, it is one thing I'm fairly proud of actually, I used to have to refuse as I didn't use to trust my pony an inch with small things (this is a pony who my husband once witnessed picking up a sheep with his teeth and hurling it out of his field shelter...they no longer share a field...) however he is now very very good at standing at chatting, in fact he almost expects it now being as handsome as he is he gets a lot of attention - he's very vain and likes being admired! *rolls eyes* not just children either, because he looks like moorland mousie from the childhood book, he gets a lot of older people (lots of retireds in our village) wanting to chat and talk about childhood holidays on Exmoor :)
 
I would always stop as long as its safe to do so. Why not? The Sec A's are child magnets and love the attention. The 4 yo I would be more cautious of but part of his eduaction, even when it was in-hand was to stop and chat with people.
 
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