What are some of those “this is so common sense that I can’t even believe I’m telling you this” rules.
Unfortunately I’m having to draft an email out to all of our members about the basics of horse safety. We already have rules about helmets, no ground tied horses, etc. But this is getting back to the basics.
For example: No running, no sitting on the ground with your horse, etc.
No running
No screaming or jumping around
Do not feed horses without the owner’s permission
No throwing things
Dogs must be leashed, silent, and respectful of people and horses
No chasing horses
If approaching a horse from behind, pass wide and try to gently use your voice to let the horse know that you are passing by.
If approaching a tied horse while leading another horse, make sure to ask permission to pass and the enlist help to pass safely.
No open toed shoes while handling horses or in the pastures
No smoking while on the property
Do not climb under your horse
No riding in the barn aisles
Do not mount your horse while the horse is tied
Do not mount your horse inside the stall
No borrowing of horses, tack, or equipment. Don’t bring friends or relatives to the barn without permission, and appropriate signed waivers.
Might run some sessions about safety knots for tying horses, that WILL quickly release when pulled. I strongly suggest using the Highwayman’s Hitch knot, because we have not been able to make it bind up and not still be released with the pull on the rope end. I crochet up the long end left, in the loop sticking out, so rope is used up when tied. Here is one illustration, there are plenty of others if you want to look up Highwayman’s Hitch knot.
http://www.surreyknots.org.uk/50-highwayman’s-hitch.htm
Correct locations to tie, that won’t break off, give way, when horse pulls a bit on it. Appropriate horse snaps on the rope to tie with, expect that rope to hold the horse and not break easily.
Small children on leashes :winkgrin:
No tying of horses by the bit or bridle
No waving of objects
No remote controlled toys (cars, helicopters, drones, etc)
[QUOTE=shiloh;8101104]
Small children on leashes :winkgrin:[/QUOTE]
" … or they will be crated in the dog room".
Sign in our vet clinic.
One important safety rule, never wrap or attach any lead or rein to a human or where a human may get tangled on it.
Always keep the extra length looped where, if the horse panics and takes off, the human is not tied or hung up in any way to said horse.
Use a drawing of a hand holding a serpentine looped line.
ONLY tie to a post, never a rail or gate. ESPECIALLY a gate. Believe it or not, I’ve had vets do this, and need to be gently corrected! :eek:
ALWAYS get both butt-bar and tailgate of trailer up before tying horse’s head, and never, EVER take the breast-bar down. Duck under! (Unless you want a horse stuck hanging halfway out of the front door, sideways).
TEACH your horse to stand for mounting and dismounting; from the ground, with a leg-up from a helper, and especially from a mounting block or rock. Feed him a carrot and make the mounting block his “happy place.” There is NOTHING more dangerous than a horse taking off while you have one foot in the stirrup and the other’s still on the ground!
NEVER wrap any part of lead shank, rope or longe line around your hand or other part of your body.
ALWAYS “speak” to any horse you’re working near, so he puts his attention on you. You’re a lot less likely to surprise him and get a nasty surprise in return.
DON’T “FALL ASLEEP!” 
If you don’t know how to do something, ASK!
If you forget how to do something, ASK!
Don’t feed other people’s animals.
Helmet: every ride, every time.
Pass left to left in the arena.
If you wish to bring your horse past a horse that is cross-tied in a barn aisle, do NOT try to just duck under one of the crossties with your horse. Have the other person unclip one cross tie and make room for you to pass.
Always have cross ties snapped to a loop of twine, so it WILL let go under pressure.
I’m sure there are more…
Leave gates as you found them, always close and latch a gate if you had to unlatch and open it.
[QUOTE=Wonders12;8101056]
What are some of those “this is so common sense that I can’t even believe I’m telling you this” rules.
Unfortunately I’m having to draft an email out to all of our members about the basics of horse safety. We already have rules about helmets, no ground tied horses, etc. But this is getting back to the basics.
For example: No running, no sitting on the ground with your horse, etc.[/QUOTE]
Members of what? Would be helpful to know what we’re supposed to be considering rules for. I’m assuming you mean some sort of riding club, but are you talking Pony Club chapter? Trail riding group? Therapeutic riding class? Sunday school class?
Do not use other peoples feed when you run out and can’t make it to the store. Especially when it’s a new bag that has only 1 feeding taken out and we come back to find only 1/4 of the bag left.
Do not use other peoples tack, supplies, or lead ropes and then not put it back so we have to search everywhere for our stuff.
Do not let your dog get into the tack room and destroy all the supplies in the boxes. Do not toss that stuff back in the boxes in hopes that we would never notice.
In addition to not sitting on the ground with your horse, I would add - don’t sit on the ground in horse areas. (Possibly not clearly phrased - I noticed this past summer when introducing a kid to horses that he thought nothing of crouching down to look at something on the ground while still in the stable yard, completely oblivious to the horses around him, and could just picture a horse getting loose while someone was preparing to lead to the pasture or something and splat. So no sitting or crouching in spaces like that where there is likely to be horse traffic - even if it is only accidental horse traffic.) (Crouching to actually work on a horse would be an exception, of course, but even then I’d tend to think you should try to do it so you aren’t sticking out into the flow of traffic while you are focusing on wrapping the horse’s leg or what have you. Kind of like you try to get safely off to the side of the road before changing a car tire? 
)
Generally, any rules that support being aware of your surroundings. The best way to phrase that will depend on your audience, but people need to remember that horses are animals, not sofas. They do not stay where you put them, particularly if Exciting and Surprising things happen. So you don’t need to be tense and hyper vigilant, but if you can spot a potential Exciting and Surprising thing before the horse does, then you have a better chance of reacting appropriately.
(I think possibly with certain groups I would actually walk through almost a drill of what do to if something goes wrong. Because you can’t assume that a young kid will come up with the right answer alone when something happens. So perhaps with young kids actually practice some things with a human adult pretending to be a horse? Like what do you do if you go into the stall and the horse is crowding you or being rude? What if the horse is tied and starts pulling back? Etc.)
No Parelli stuff in the aisles or in the arena with others - that is, no rope swinging, “liberty” schooling, tarp throwing, and so on.
Those people are a menace.
[QUOTE=shiloh;8101104]
Small children on leashes :winkgrin:[/QUOTE]
and if they aren’t kept under control, they will be sent home with 2 bags of leftover halloween candy and a puppy.
[QUOTE=Red Barn;8101927]
No Parelli stuff in the aisles or in the arena with others - that is, no rope swinging, “liberty” schooling, tarp throwing, and so on.
Those people are a menace.[/QUOTE]
TARP throwing? :eek:
Yep.
I think it’s supposed to be some form of sacking out, only more, um . . . “natural.” Or something.
I used to board with a couple of ladies like this, and they were absolutely terrifying.
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