A friend told me that her BO wouldn’t let her ride other people’s horses except in lessons–as in, someone asked said friend to exercise horse and the answer was no. Is this a common rule? It struck me as odd.
Never heard this one. Is it related to insurance?
I have heard similar type rules, yes. No one that is not approved by the BO is allowed to ride anything.
In that situation it was a liability thing.
I can see there being rules like having to do a lesson at a show type barn.
Not particularly the type of place I would want to board but I can see it working for some.
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Not a show type barn or active lesson barn, which is why it seemed odd.
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Did the horse owner ask the BO if the friend could ride and was told no or did the friend tell the BO she was asked to ride the horse and was told no?
I can understand a BO saying no if the request was not specifically made by the owner. The only other reasons I can think of for saying no is that the Bo is not familiar with the friends riding or is and doesn’t think much of it. Or, the barn offers paid exercise rides.
Anything else and it sounds like a BO power trip but, their barn, their rules. :rolleyes:
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Chances are due to liability or the BO doesn’t want to deal with excess drama that goes along with other people riding someones horses. Especially if there are drama lama’s at the barn.
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It’s mainly a liability issue. People are more likely to get hurt riding someone else’s horse. There’s also a lot of potential drama and other issues that can come up as a result.
If someone arranges for a “friend” to ride their horse, it’s very difficult to make sure that “friend” isn’t actually accepting money which makes them a pro who needs to have their own insurance. It’s also a big headache for a BO to have to worry if a client is loaning their horse out to an unsuitable rider or a junior rider who really needs to be supervised.
I also once had a boarder who told me she was inviting her “friends” out to ride her horse, but it turned out that she was charging them money for lessons which was a very concerning situation as that put me in the position of having an uninsured, unqualified instructor teaching beginner riding lessons on my property.
It’s actually a pretty reasonable rule, if presented up front.
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Well, it would be hard for me, as an owner, to accept a BO who decided who could and could not ride my horse. I do understand said rider should sign a release with the barn. That’s fine. But other than that, I’d have a problem. Now, I can also see not letting a minor ride someone else’s horse only for liability since they can’t waive their rights. Releases don’t really work with kids.
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I’ve only boarded at small, non-show barns, but have only ever been asked to have the person sign a liability waiver for the barn and wear a helmet. I also have my own equine liability insurance as well though.
If it’s a friend’s kid or something, we do lead line rides and I am there; otherwise, it’s usually people who are decent riders and my horse is very quiet too, so it’s never been an issue. I do see both sides though. Tough call in this day and age of being sue happy.
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I have seen, and completely makes sense to me, an additional “form/release” that barn owner requires horse owner to sign stating specific person named can ride my horse. Totally reasonable and also would understand if BO reserved the right to not allow the other person to ride if they thought it was errr shall we say “obvious liability issue”. I would not want to board at a barn where someone could exercise my horse with out BO knowing I approved and also feeling comfortable to speak up/step in if they did not think what was going on was not what I intended/got risky.
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I wouldn’t think so unusual. No riding other horses at my barn without BO’s permission.
Your friend’s scenario is likely due to insurance reasons or BO got burned once. Either way, BO makes the rules!
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I have seen this before. It boiled down to the horse and rider combination. In order to keep the horse and rider safe, rider could only ride a particular horse in lessons. Another horse same rider, BO had no issues.
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Definitely a liability issue, and not unreasonable from the BO’s point of view. Not necessarily a power trip or a desire to bill for services either. I actually think this rule is more necessary in a non-show barn. In a show barn/lesson program, there’s usually more of a understanding of levels of expertise and suitability than there is in a casual/pleasure barn.
In a small barn, I can see the BO allowing it if 1.) she knew the exercise rider 2.) there was a signed release and agreement with the barn rules. However, in a larger barn or a BO that’s been burned before, they may just decide to make it a blanket rule.
Don’t think of it as the BO telling you who can and can’t ride your horse, it’s the BO deciding who can and can’t ride on their property which is entirely different.
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BO can’t keep track of who HOs friends are, who she wants on her horse and who is just some random kid or even another boarder who does NOT have HOs OK.
I have actually see this more in the more casual barns where some boarders " borrow" somebody else’s horse or assume they or their random non boarder friends can ride it.
Big show barns usually do let a client ride another clients horse-with other clients permission and trainer approval. They do not let client bring in non client friends to ride others. Some will allow non client friend of client to ride client horse in HOs abcense but only after personally meeting them and getting a release and only that one horse.
But the reason doesn’t really matter, it’s their property and their business. As an HO client, I don’t want anybody on my horse and appreciate a BO who cares and pays attention to such things. Been in casual barns with 25 horses and about 45 kids between boarders, siblings and friends in and out…,who is going to keep track of what owner wants which kids to ride whose horse? That’s how mine got ridden behind my back a few times, sometimes with spectacular results-for the onlookers.
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Yeah, I get what you all are saying regarding the ability of the BO to make rules and possible concerns. I guess it was just more surprising because it’s not a rule that is made plain, everyone has signed releases, and both of the parties in question are people who board/ride at the barn in question. Of course, one never knows what has happened in the past that reflects some of the situations you all have brought up that the BO wants to avoid…
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FWIW, most of us BOs actually choose our clients. It’s not usually an issue, but I do make a point of choosing customers who are properly paired with suitable horses. Some of these riders are experienced and have more difficult horses, some are timid amateurs riding well-mannered middle-aged creatures. After I’ve agreed to take on a customer, I don’t want the responsibility of vetting other various riders to figure out who is and isn’t appropriate to ride which horse and exactly what they are capable of doing with it. So it makes sense to me that a barn might allow other people to ride, but only in a supervised, lesson situation. Some people overestimate their riding ability. Sometimes someone is a good enough rider, but might lack responsibility or judgement. Plus, horses aren’t cars or motorbikes. Even the well mannered old horse might have a quirk or peculiarity that takes a new rider by surprise.
The liability issue is complex. If a rider is injured while riding their own horse, it is overall less likely for them to blame the BO or the facility. After all, they were injured by their own animal. If they are riding someone else’s horse, it is more likely that another party will be blamed. Either the owner of the horse, who may or may not be insured for such a situation, and/or the facility/property owner.
I understand that this rule might be a frustrating one, but overall it’s sensible.
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Let’s boil it down to this very simplistic view. Horses are property (very valuable monetarily and sentimentally) if someone parked their car in my driveway while they went on vacation and one of their friends/family member came up and said “hey they told me I could borrow the car” I would want to make dang sure car owner had given me permission before I handed over the keys. BOs (in theory) should want to keep all safe happy and healthy and having say in who can/can not ride other people’s horses is a very reasonable rule to try and ensure the well being of all.
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At my barn no one rides client horses (aside from trainer/assistants) without permission of the clients. I’ve ridden friends horses at other barns but they set it up with their trainer directly so the trainer knew that I had permission from the client to ride their horse.
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If both people board and ride at this barn, I can see it as being a little unusual that BO said no. I absolutely understand saying no if its someone who the BO is unfamiliar with
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My Rules are simple:
- Boarders are 100% responsible for guests (so they cannot bring in an “outside” rider to ride their horse without being there). I did make one exception when a boarder was going to be away for 3 weeks, but she introduced the other rider to me.
- Boarders can only jump their OWN horse outside of lessons.
- No bringing in professionals without providing proof of insurance and WCB (that includes trainers, massage therapists and such).
I don’t mind if boarders swap horses for a ride, or ask another boarder to exercise their horse when they can’t, but I do not want strangers being invited to ride and have access to my property without a boarder there the entire time.
My barn is very small though, so not hard to keep track of who might be riding whose horse. I could see at a bigger barn I would want it in writing if someone is being asked to ride someone else’s horse to ensure there isn’t something going on that shouldn’t be.
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