Horseriding with a screaming 9months old

[Pumkins]

Hi there -
Title says it all. I have a very active, busy 9months old DD. She is happy to be independent in the house, at clubs, goes to nursery no probs, will explore her surroundings and so on. She spends lots of time with dad and family as well as quality time with me when I am off (working flexi hours).
She goes in the pram as well as the sling (soft back and woven wrap) and loves the yard, animals the horses etc...
I can lunge and do loose work with my horse no probs she goes in the sling and loves it but I can't get 20min to ride. Literally. I cannot have her in the pram she goes mad, so I set up a little travel cot with toys and comforters on the side of the arena. Ideal, I can see her, she can play, she has slept, eaten and is clean, she is happy and giggling about.
Then I put her in the cot - cue screaming... non stop. She wants picking up and she will scream the place down until I stop my ride and give in.
I tried leaving her -non stop crying for 35 min that was rough.
I tried moving the cot IN the arena. Great training for the horse but still no better.
Tried regular comforting (5min ride, quick cuddle, 5 min, quick cuddle)... she just wants holding.
Any idea what I can do? I have no help available and not riding is not an option for me. Especially on a beautiful, windless crisp sunny day!

Well if you think it's hard now just wait a few months till your baby is a walking talking independent toddler. They don't take too kindly to being plonked in a cot and left to cry, I'd imagine the noise would be upsetting for a horse too. You have 2 options. Give up riding or get childcare, there are no other options. Incidentally I was informed on a work course recently that equine vets sustain more injuries than any other civilian profession. Food for thought.

Horses make great babysitters, as do Great white sharks and Tigers.
Seriousl though, , I love horses and rode from around age 4. I also work with a horse based therapy charity and think they are amazing animals.
BUT even the gentlest ones can spook and through no fault if their own hurt grown ups, let alone small people.
I think calling you names isn’t on op but you are being a bit negligent here

Yeah you need childcare.

I don't believe for one minute a HV would agree with riding a horse while wearing a baby though. You need to stop doing that. Find someone to look after your child. Accidents happen and You can't take these chances.

It's post such as this that make me wish that MN towers had all our contact details so they can report situations to Social Services or the Police.

It's not just that you are placing your child in harm's way, it's the complete entitlement to place her in harms way that I find so very disturbing. If you want to jump off a cliff - as a grown adult that's fine by me. You do not have the right to throw your DD off a cliff. It takes a village to raise a child and the members of this village are very concerned at your approach to child rearing.

Well it's half term now on some areas so perhaps you can find some bored schoolkids to help out.....

That's the thing - it happened once out of desperation why were you desperate? Desperate to ride your horse? Why can't you look into a sharer??

OP, assuming you're genuine, please understand that people disagreeing with a point of view does not make it a toxic community.

My concern here is if something happened TO YOU - what would happen to your little girl? How long would it take someone to find her?

It seems like you need to find a sustainable (ie that will work when she is more mobile), low cost solution that gives you the time to pursue your hobby and that keeps your daughter safe - agree with posters who have suggested students or teenagers to walk her around or play with her for 30 mins while you ride.

Are you in the UK?

You must not handle a horse with a baby in a sling (or push a buggy at the same time for that matter). I have been knocked over twice by two different horses that had never done this before and never did it after. Both situations were just bad luck but the force of the horse pushing me to the ground was enough to stop my diaphragm from working - I cannot imagine what it would do to a baby. I have also been squashed against a stable wall, hard enough to crack a rib, again this could cause serious injuries to a baby. It is negligent to take these risks.

You must not lunge with a baby in a sling, an errant horse kick can catch the baby. Again it is negligent to take this risk.

There is no moment of desperation that excuses putting a cot in an arena, what is the desperate need? Even a cot by the arena could be dangerous if another horse gets loose.

If you think these horse accidents are exaggerated you haven’t been around horses for long enough. Get a sharer to help ride your horse if you cannot afford childcare until your child starts school.