FFS! Relative upset after children could not ride my competition horses

I thought I read this same (or almost the same) post a few months ago(?).

You are absolutely right not letting young children ride your horses. I have tried for a while to learn to ride, on a farm where they had competition horses - mainly for jumpings. My parents were too cheap to pay for a manege. Those horses were beautifull but rather nervous and jittery (if that's how you explain). The owners let me ride bareback and without a hat. I loved it but quit after one of the horses threw me. Could've been worse : the son of the house was thrown and had to be recovered from a field by a helicopter.

@Sinescure sadly it's a very familiar scenario to anyone who has horses.

Nah I mean like, word for word. Not the same issue 🙄but OP says not so I will presume it is just my exhausted brain getting it wrong.

You could remind her of people like Christopher Reeve, Melanie Reid, Liz Halliday, (in the past) Cole Porter and many others who have suffered permanent disabilities- in some cases death- in riding accidents, And these were experienced riders, and were adults who could calculate risks and choose to take them. Hpw would she feel if her irresponsibility caused such a disaster to one of her children? Not to mention the potential dangers to the horses!

Would she allow a toddler to run into the road if they felt like it? This is no better!

Used to drive me wild having horses on a yard by a main road. People chucking carrots at their heads, literally. A youngster getting caught in the melée of older horses competing to get to the fence and the food. I’ve had to run over to stop people, who then threw the plastic bag into the field. I was ecstatic to move to an enclosed yard. One woman told me it saved the owners having to feed their horses! Quite mad. I compared it to coming to hers and feeding her dogs endless sausages over the garden wall ‘But it’s not the same!’ she wailed. How is it not?

There was a tragic post on the horse group last year about some idiot who thought they were doing a favour tipping just cut grass into a horse field. You can imagine the outcome.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before about being on a competition yard, mostly showjumpers/ KWPNs. The babysitter/au pair came onto the yard and asked if her charge, a boy of about 7, could ‘have a ride’’ . She received a resounding no, but whinged that the child was bored! Bonkers.

OP, you know you are not being unreasonable.

Although obviously you are a massive killjoy for not letting random kids, who know nothing about horses, to sit on and ride massive temperamental animals (without appropriate safety gear) which could actually end in serious injury or death. All your fault for saying no, because otherwise they would not be upset.

What is wrong with people?! I only foster cats and kittens but explaining that bringing your kids around to pet and fuss living, unpredictable and often scared living things is not the great idea some parents think it is gets frustrating. Particularly as it is not actually a nice experience for the living animal I am trying to tame and feel hopefully feel less scared.

There are still donkey rides on the beaches at Blackpool and St Anne’s. Plenty of petting farms and even riding schools too! OP should just not let them visit again. If there’d been an accident and a kid had come off, she could have been held liable! Without a hat too!

Zara - is that you??
Do the kids names start with A& L.??
I don’t blame you one bit.
It’s like saying to someone who has never driven anything other than a dodgem “Well can they just have a little drive of your ferrari”!!

Horses know if someone who sits on them knows what they are doing.
I would never let a novice sit on an ex racer/frisky horse because it only takes a second never mind horses that currently compete. And without hats?? MADNESS.

I used to ride for years before i moved to London. I wouldn’t ask to sit on a competition horse (apart from the fact it’s bloody cheeky) because I value my bones being intact.

A highly trained horse like that is going to know immediately that there is something odd/wrong with the rider just by the way you sit.

I know nothing about horses except that they are big and falling off them can be very dangerous. How can the mum expect her children to ride without the proper clothes or safety hat? And if there was an accident of any kind who would get the blame?

I would not hesitate to send a sharp message back. Maybe do a bit of a rant then run it through an AI and tell it to make it acceptable and professional. Afterwards block the texts.

So entitled. You were clear about what to expect. They should be squirming with embarrassment about their behaviour. I'm sure they are not though.

I would have been exactly the same with our horses, an older first pony and a (tank of a) 😅 cob, certainly not competition horses.

Stupid woman causing a scene!

I don't understand the volume of posts on here from horse owners who have to constantly gatekeep their animals from people who think they know better. It's astonishing the sheer cheek of people.

I know very little about horses beyond that they can get nasty gut issues, so not to feed them unless under the direction of the owner. But you can tell just by looking at them, that any accident involving one can be significant, particularly involving bigger horses. They are living beings with their own traits, likes and dislikes. Why would anyone presume to know better than the owner what the horse will and will not tolerate?

I don't know if it's just a quirk in the algorithms showing me a disproportionate amount of horse posts, but this extreme level of CFuckery seems to be pretty exclusive to horses. What is wrong with people?

Well I think you were absolutely right to stand your ground! She clearly doesn’t value her kids welfare if she is prepared to let them sit in a horse against advice! I have to admit, part of me wishes she had ignored you and put her kid on the horse anyway and something happen! You could then say “I told you so” whilst she waits for the ambulance! Obviously I don’t actually mean any child harm but it would have been karma! Be proud for standing your ground and protecting her children when she is clearly the precious one

Wow my daughter rides and we would never ask to ride someone’s own horse unless they offered. She a confident ride and uses school horses at a centre but recently they’ve got new horses and it hasn’t gone down well with her and some of the class riding them and these are supposed to be good horses for schools.

As for the feeding, I see so many issues on our local equine pages about sick horses because people walk past the fields where they are turned out and feel like they can just feed them despite there being signs up. So many horses and ponies are on strict or specific diets as well.

Can my children ride your horse?

Only if you’re happy to go home via A&E 🤷‍♀️

Silly woman

Yanbu. You was very clear on what would and wouldn't be happening with the horses, parent should have made that clear to them and backed those rules up when children became upset. I'd be telling her she and her children would not be able to come see the horses in future.

And a lovely photo of the kids feeding or stroking the horse's nose with some advice about asking the owner which horses and which food is safe would have been just as lovely!
Stupid mum.

I don’t know. I think it’s a them problem not a lack of experience problem. I’m not a horsy person in that I’m not involved with riding and looking after them. But I do know you can’t randomly give them treats because of the risk of colic. I also know that people do get seriously injured and die from horse related injuries.

It’s more of a rules don’t apply to them situation. I bet they are like that in many areas of their lives and drive others mad a lot of the time. I think it’s likely due to not being told ‘no’ enough times in their childhood so they get the idea they can do whatever the hell they like.

It’s the kind of people that think it’s other people’s problem if they don’t like them talking all the way through a film at the cinema. Who regularly let their children scream in the garden at 6am. Who don’t supervise their kids in restaurants so they go around shrieking and nearly running into the waiting staff. You get many of these types on here who argue that anyone who complains about this kind of behaviour just doesn’t like children, should stay at home all the time etc etc.

I’m sure you could take other non horsey people who aren’t thoughtless wankers and they’d think it was magical just being round them, being able to give one apple each, would listen to instructions etc. And as for messaging your parents to complain, only the cheekiest of CFs would do that.

Yes message them back and tell them where to go and how you explained everything about the horses before their visit so wondering why they messaged your mum with a complaint.

Best advice I received from a good old friend - keep a massive distance, whenever possible. You basically invited trouble by inviting them. Sorry, they are competition horses, they don't like people/children they don't know. You can go and see them in a petting zoo. Or your mum can sign you up with kiddy riding school and they do lessons. Competition horses!!!! It is like having a Bösendorfer in your house and invite little kids who want to play a recorder, to have a go at it. I keep a massive distance at all times - but I meet my friends, my friends with children and my children's friends in a restaurant, at a museum, in a cinema and in cafes - tmi but just to make sure that in keeping a distance I still socialise.

I actually don't think cousin's offspring is genuinely interested in horses. Their mom probably just wanted to brag on social media.

Thanks for the laughs @NewNewForest , the picture in my head of you driving to her wedding with your two totally untrained, totally mismatched, totally freaked out horses really tickled me!
The level of stupidity is hard to fathom, even compared to the OPs relatives.

Coz obvs she didn’t want to pay for it! Cheeky feckers OP