I’m a barn owner and trainer. I can tell you right now that my insurance company would not cover an injury to somebody Due to a hover board or skateboard zooming around in my barn with my knowledge.
Equipment needed for running agricultural facilities is a completely different matter. We are bordered on one side by pear orchards, which means unending equipment rumbling by, and air movers that sound like helicopters within 50 yards of the horses. They come on at random times during the early morning hours to keep frost off young fruit. On the other side we’ve got a vineyard, with similar equipment needs. Sometimes they have to shoot off guns to spook birds off the fruit. They text all the neighbors with Livestock before they do this. Of course the horses get used to this stuff. I did have one older lady with fear issues who simply could not handle it when there were tractors or other equipment rumbling by the back of the indoor arena. Because her anxiety, I’m sure that translated to her horse.
In my state, someone suing me for injury has to prove gross negligence. My knowing some thing is dangerous, and doing it anyway. Of course every barn has its own culture, but I for one do not think that the OP is completely out of line in what she wants. There are barns that focus On a quiet working environment. There are barns that are utter chaos and everything in between.
I try to provide a sanctuary at my barn. People pay to have their horses well-being be a priority. They pay for good footing that is worked every day. They pay for an environment where they can focus on their riding and training in a reasonable manner. That doesn’t mean there’s not stuff going on. That doesn’t mean that when loud things happen we don’t take it in stride or use it as a way to school horses if appropriate. However, my personal taste is anti-chaos. If a kid came zooming down the aisle unannounced on a bike or a skateboard there would be hell to pay. But my Barn does not have that culture, so there is a precedent set for a less chaotic environment.
Insurance liability is a big deal. I know three barns who were sued and lost because the plaintiff was able to prove gross negligence. For me it’s not worth the risk to have random crap happening all the time at my facility. Random dogs aren’t allowed on the property. Not loose, not on a leash. We have some well behaved farm dogs, and it’s their place. Not a dog park. One client let her dog out of her car and it immediately chased one of my barn cats up a tree so far that the cat got stuck and furthermore cut up by sharp sticks. She paid the vet bill. I have made exceptions for very well-behaved dogs, and one of my student’s emotional support dog.
I have had zero complaints about the atmosphere in my barn, people who value a quieter environment like it here. The horses are happy. I don’t believe that these horses are particularly more prone to be spooky because they aren’t desensitized to 1 million random things. They appear to be well-adjusted and confident, and if they are introduced to something in a reasonable way, they adjust.
People gravitate towards environments that work for them. I don’t think that it’s a fair assumption that people who like a quieter environment are fearful, produce fearful horses, and/or cannot handle unexpected occurrences. If they are good leaders, have already established a relationship with a horse so the horse feels safe with them…they have a good base to weather the occasional unexpected weirdness. Horses don’t need to be desensitized everything on the planet in order to be a well-adjusted animal. They need a functional relationship with their person so they don’t feel the need to be fearful of novel things. A normal working facility provides plenty of opportunity to practice confidence in the face of the novel.
