This bothers me way more than it should...

[Sansena]

My farm has a very gregarious owner and is friendly with all neighbors. Had a young couple with dog, stroller and toddler in tow last week in the driveway when it was time to bring in. They hung out in the driveway observing from a distance, then turned to leave, wordlessly, as I brought the last one in. As is usual, I asked in a loud voice “Can I help you?”. They were just there to visit the horses and had been given permission by the owner. I warned them that horses bite, cautioning them, and they cut me off. Imagine my delight when they said “Oh, we’d never touch your horses. We just like to look at them from a distance.”

It was such a relief. FINALLY someone with a lick of common sense

[Sansena]

Add: I’ve also managed a place that was part of a club. Kids would routinely come from the pool in flip flops or barefoot unattended.

A quick education on parasites usually stopped that. Well, the flipflop/ barefoot thing. They still wandered in after, just in sneakers and swimsuits. Meh… so long as they’re not repelling off horses’ necks, I’m pretty cool with it.

[lovemeinfocus]

There is a MAJOR difference between expressing polite interest and climbing into paddocks/onto horses/patting without permission/not waiting for horse owner or barn owner’s okay to even be on the property.

Polite interest is great. Otherwise, get the eff out until you can learn to be a respectful human being.

[Casey09]

I board a horse at a boarding barn that I really like. I’ve had people approach me about working there or about lessons or boarding. I do my best to be polite and give them the contact information they need because I’d like the barn to stay in business and I don’t want to run people off. Honestly, though, while I agree that interest is great for the industry, there are times when I don’t want to deal with it. It is a hobby for me, and a little bit of an escape from dealing with the public. I can understand what the OP is saying in that sense.

[Mtn_trails]

The other day my neighbor brought his grandkids over to see the horses only they didn’t come to the house to make sure it was okay. One of my paddocks borders the road so they were on the shoulder, not really on the property. I had just fed and they were all eating at the far end away from the road. I was watering my garden when they happened by and they told me they wanted to give my horse an apple. I know an apple isn’t going to kill her but I’d prefer she not start mugging for treats. I wasn’t about to stop what I was doing and go catch her up so they can give her an apple so I told them she was pretty busy and if you wanted to leave it, she’d be happy to have it for dessert. One of the kids was hanging on the fence and was one step from walking into the paddock. I warned him “Don’t ever go in there. Do not ever enter the paddock.” I think I pissed the neighbors off and they left, now I feel badly and I think I will invite them to come over and pet the horses and feed some carrots. Maybe if they play their cards right, I’ll throw a saddle on my quiet one and give the kids a pony ride.

I also have had co-workers ask if they can ride and I tell them no due to insurance. In fact, the last one was just a week ago asking if I let other people ride my horses. I asked her if she let other people drive her car.

[Drive_NJ]

PLEASE don’t keep up the ‘Horses Bite’ story

Yes it can happen, but the more we use this to distance people the more we are going to end up with things like the ‘viscious horse’ law in Connecticut and issues with allowing horses on shared trails cause they all bite and kick.

Better to stress that horses are big, they have big feet and people often put themselves out of the horses’s field of vision

Or that like a dog you prefer that they ask you before petting and definitely before feeding them.

The more we horse people distance ourselves from people who are interested in their beauty, the more we will have issues when zoning comes up or access to trails or other issues.

ALWAYS better to take a minute to educate rather than a quick - he bites and kicks. If he should bite or kick after that announcement you are MORE liable if something happens and you didn’t have that viscious animal property contained.

That said, no problem with - sorry no rides - insurance you know or even - do you give people your car to drive cause they like it?

[The_Crone_of_Cottonmouth_Count]

Wait a sec. Random strangers routinely stroll into your barns and blithely toss their kids onto horses in the process of being tacked up by their owners despite being told not to? Y’all live in Bizarro World.

[pryme_thyme]

:lol: Sorry but your rant is hysterical!
My favourite is when people who pay someone else to do all the training and riding and care of their horse try to lecture me on how to ride or groom or whatever it might be.

[kaitsmom]

[QUOTE=Drive NJ;7693652]
Yes it can happen, but the more we use this to distance people the more we are going to end up with things like the ‘viscious horse’ law in Connecticut and issues with allowing horses on shared trails cause they all bite and kick.

Better to stress that horses are big, they have big feet and people often put themselves out of the horses’s field of vision

Or that like a dog you prefer that they ask you before petting and definitely before feeding them.

The more we horse people distance ourselves from people who are interested in their beauty, the more we will have issues when zoning comes up or access to trails or other issues.

ALWAYS better to take a minute to educate rather than a quick - he bites and kicks. If he should bite or kick after that announcement you are MORE liable if something happens and you didn’t have that viscious animal property contained.

That said, no problem with - sorry no rides - insurance you know or even - do you give people your car to drive cause they like it?[/QUOTE]

I agree with you there. The horses that I told her could bite and kick were polo ponies. They are not used to anyone without horse sense messing around them and they were all anxious since they were tied in the common space. The fact is the front end of an anxious horse is no where for a novice to be much less a child. I guided them over to my nice calm guys and gave a quick how to of handing a treat that you have permission to give to the horse and how to quietly pet them.

People who think any horse is approachable, ride-able, friendly, and dying to be rubbed by strangers; needs to be told they CAN bite, they can be dangerous and just like strange dogs, you should ask before approaching. Too many people think the only dangerous place is behind the horse and that all horses are dying for human affection.

I didn’t make the horses sound mean or vicious, but pretending that 6 rowdy polo ponies are completely sweet and approachable is not the best idea. The woman was not taking hints and if being blunt saved her kids from a bad experience, or worse an injury, then that did more for the sport than allowing their first experience with a horse to be negative.

[LouBeans]

Our private facility has a gate with an “invite only” policy toward guests, but we have occasionally had people see the horses out, show up and call at the gate asking to look around. If the barn manager isn’t around, we politely let them know to call her and make an appointment, which they usually never bother doing (plenty of other lesson facilities around with no gates, I figure they wander off to one of those).

The worst ones we’ve had here are actual guests- one family has come in twice now, one of the kids is an absolute brat, following me around and whining about how cold or bored he is. The dad would tell him to stick close, and- I kid you not- the kid (who must have been 11 or 12) would stamp his foot and scream “NO.” Dad would just walk away. Then the one time I was feeding, and dad insisted on getting pictures of the kids feeding the horses, telling them “Go get food from the cart!” and the kid proceeds to try and grab an entire flake. I just took it from him and said “thanks,” then look over in time to see the other kids feeding scraps with their little hands shoved into the bars of one of the nastiest biters I’ve ever handled.

I don’t mind people with kids that come up to the pasture fences from the road and watch the horses- I use to do that all the time as a horse-crazy kid, and yes, I had owners come out and tell me “that one bites, don’t pet it.” I boarded at one facility that was along a famous, busy trail, so we would frequently get onlookers. One little girl got away from her dad as I was putting my guy out with his buddy, and came scampering up the driveway- is was cute how excited she was! She asked me what their names were (the buddy didn’t have a name yet, so she named him for us ), and if she could feed them her potato chips (aww…). Dad was very embarrassed and kept apologizing, but no harm done, and I just found her interest in the ponies to be so dang sweet.

[romewhip]

I’m all for letting someone come pet my horse- If they ask first!

I grew up wandering around barns and show grounds, and learned very young that if I wanted to touch someone else’s horse I had to ask first. And my lifelong love of horses started with all the people who would let me pet them, and who even threw me up on their backs.

A kid with a dad acting like that guy? I’m calling the cops. A kid like the ones who come into the barn and ask to pet the horses? They will get to pet them, and give them treats, and learn their names, and play with all the other animals, and I’ll spend the time with them happily.

[Snowflake]

Imagine my scenario. I board with two other people who aren’t horse people by any sense of the imagination. The one I walked into the barn to find her in her horse’s stall meowing at her horse. I’m kind of like “huh?” and she said “Oh, she really liked the barn cat at her last barn and so I meow at her so she doesn’t get depressed about being away from her friend. It keeps her spirit up.”

The other boarders do chores and to turn horses out, they literally simply open stall doors and let horses run out of the barn down a small walkway and into the pasture. It HORRIFIES me. They comment on how respectful my guy is and how he’s not pushy like the other horses. Hmmm… Maybe because I have a halter and a lead rope on my horse and establish boundaries. Plus, I take the time to reinforce training EVERY DAY. These horses NEVER are handled. They might get ridden about once or twice a year and it’s a quick, slap the saddle on, ride like a stuffed monkey flopping about and put the horse back in the pasture soaking wet.

My horse is a fancy hunter who sticks out amongst the 14.2hh grade QH crosses. My guy is 17.1hh and has four high white stockings so he’s a looker. I was approached by the one boarder who said that his granddaughter just loves my horse and wanted to know if she could ride him. I’m sort of like “Nah… I don’t think that’s a good idea…” And they kept pushing it saying that they would ride with her, etc. I’m like “He’s a whole different kind of horse than you’re used to and I’m just not comfortable with it. And he’s a whole lot taller than your horses. If she were to fall, it would be a whole lot higher to fall from.” “Oh, he’s such a good boy, she’s not going to fall.” “Yes, but he’s still an animal. I am not comfortable with her riding him.” “Well… She really loves him and I think he really loves her.” “I really love him too and always try to make the best decisions I can for him. I have to stay firm on my answer here. I’m sorry.”

To top of the lack-of-horsesense nonsense, the barn owner, who is a sweet, albeit just as not horse savvy owner, told me she turned my horse out for me for the overnight. I was like “Ok thanks!” I arrived at the barn in the morning to find him with a halter on upside-down and serious halter rubs on the side of his face. It was topped off with a “HELP ME!” look on his face.

So I live with the horsey-wanna be’s. My only problem is they have horses!!!

[vxf111]

It’s one thing for someone to come in and politely ASK. How will they know if they don’t?! It’s quite another for them to touch/feed horse without permission or argue once told no.

[TaterTotTB]

I do see both sides of the argument. I think as long as the people who drop by are nice, respectful, curious, and not crazy it is not a huge deal to talk to them for a bit and answer some questions, provided it is a lesson and boarding barn. If it is someone’s private barn that is different.

When I was about 4 and a half, I was driving around with my Dad one weekend, I saw a little girl taking a lesson on a white pony at a stable we drove past. I expressed curiosity (I had been having a horse-obsession for some time already), and my Dad turned the car around, and we pulled into the barn. He asked the woman teaching the lesson if the barn did pony rides, she explained that no, this is a show barn. My Dad asked if he could book a lesson then, and she said that while I was a bit younger than she would normally take (usually the minimum was 6), we could give it a try. Before I left, she let me sit on the pony for a minute and I had my first lesson the next week.

Now, I have been riding and showing with her for 14 years, my Mom also rides with her. My family has purchased horses through her, and we currently board my mare with her and my Mom leases one of her horses. I also work for her. So you never know when a random passerby can become a client!

[AmarachAcres]

[QUOTE=kaitsmom;7693401]
I also like how they think lessons should cost 25 bucks or be free since their kid is too young to really get anything out of it yet. Rude. ![/QUOTE]

And what is so wrong with that?

People complain that so many people know nothing about horses, then we price them out of learning.

I never thought I’d teach, but now I take on a few people at that exact price so they can see if it is for them. When they get to a point where I feel a more experienced professional can guide them down the path they want they are willing to pay more by then.

Others stop showing up after a few months because they know now it isn’t what they want, but they leave knowing how to be around horses and still liking the animals.

To some of the other posters:

I’ve had ONE truly rude person in all my life. The rest were just ignorant. I gritted my teeth for some and embraced others, but gave a few pointers to all of them. The teeth gritters were often the quickest to apologize for their ways with “Oh…good lord, if I’d only known”.

Yes, there are some truly jerky jerks out there but overall I think that yes, if you are someone who wants more people involved in the horse world, to you know, participate in trail riding, horse showing, or buy up all those horses that are finding their way to kill pens and rescues, then maybe yes, we do have an obligation.

Due to that attitude I’ve made some neat friends or at the least stopped some dangerous behavior.

[Gorgonzola]

[QUOTE=The Crone of Cottonmouth County;7693658]
Wait a sec. Random strangers routinely stroll into your barns and blithely toss their kids onto horses in the process of being tacked up by their owners despite being told not to? Y’all live in Bizarro World.[/QUOTE]

Thankfully not routinely! The gate was almost always closed, but was left open that day for a delivery I believe… Dad had obviously driven by a few times and had ‘jumped at the chance’ to finally go in to a private barn/home… Hopefully this will never happen again due to the new auto-gate!!

To be fair, I never told him NOT to throw his kid on my horse, because he never asked, he just put him up there, ya know, so his feet wouldn’t get smushed…

[kaitsmom]

[QUOTE=AmarachAcres;7693828]
And what is so wrong with that?

People complain that so many people know nothing about horses, then we price them out of learning.

I never thought I’d teach, but now I take on a few people at that exact price so they can see if it is for them. When they get to a point where I feel a more experienced professional can guide them down the path they want they are willing to pay more by then.

Others stop showing up after a few months because they know now it isn’t what they want, but they leave knowing how to be around horses and still liking the animals.

To some of the other posters:

I’ve had ONE truly rude person in all my life. The rest were just ignorant. I gritted my teeth for some and embraced others, but gave a few pointers to all of them. The teeth gritters were often the quickest to apologize for their ways with “Oh…good lord, if I’d only known”.

Yes, there are some truly jerky jerks out there but overall I think that yes, if you are someone who wants more people involved in the horse world, to you know, participate in trail riding, horse showing, or buy up all those horses that are finding their way to kill pens and rescues, then maybe yes, we do have an obligation.

Due to that attitude I’ve made some neat friends or at the least stopped some dangerous behavior.[/QUOTE]

It matters because some people like my trainer and many barn owners rely on the revenue from lessons and can’t be giving out free or cut rate lessons to every bored mom that walks onto the place. I can see asking for a free first lesson to see if your child is even interested. Maintaining a horse is expensive. Why should a trainer or BO go to all the expense of maintaining a kid safe horse if they can’t charge a fair price for their time? What happens when other students find out that they are paying more per lesson. And since many trainers don’t own the barn the BO gets a cut of the lesson fee so an hour lesson that my trainer gets paid 25 dollars for becomes 15 in her pocket, when you consider an hour long lesson really takes longer due to grooming and tacking 15 dollars is nothing especially if it means she will be working later into the evening to get her other work done.

Would I like to make a few bucks letting kids ride the horses I am maintaining anyway? Yes but I also work as a firefighter for 3 24 hour shifts per week, I have an autistic child that has occupational therapy 3 times a week and costs me 375usd a week so no I don’t have time to spend 2 hours making 15 bucks. I would love to take the mini to every birthday party I could, I would do it for free just to see a kid be happy, but the fact is I can’t afford to haul him all over creation and not at least have my expenses met. I don’t think anyone intends to price students out of the sport but kids these days aren’t like they used to be. I worked my butt off doing chores just to get free arena time, I paid full price for my lessons and I came early and groomed my lesson horse and stayed after to get her squared away. Many kids don’t want to do any of the dirty work and shouldn’t the person doing it at least get a fair wage? I think so.

[ACP]

I DO want more people to get involved with horses. But it just astonishes me how rude and stupidly arrogant some of the ‘lookers’ are. The man who asked me if they could cut some of my show horse’s tail for a keepsake had his pocket knife out and was opening it up. It is really hard to want to have a person like that involved in horses.

[CaitlinandTheBay]

It’s never occurred to me to not let people pet my horse. Granted, I think horses are enough of a ‘normal’ thing around here that we don’t have people wandering into the barn or the pastures. All the people I meet at the barn are guests (usually of the BM). That said, I have a big but friendly guy. He’d never met a child until a year ago when a family with 4 kids was boarding their pony at the barn. I guess the parents lost track of the little one for a second and she made a beeline straight for his grazing face in the pasture. I saw it happen but was too far away to stop her. I really thought that I was going to watch that child die. Instead he merely lifted his head up and blew in her face. Never been more proud of my boy.
I typically don’t have a problem giving people ‘pony rides’ that ask. It’s usually close friends or, occasionally, a coworker. I was really blessed to have people willing to let me go help them feed or haul and extra horse to 4H meetings for me to ride. The first horse I ever met was a big TWH that belonged to the farmer who lived behind our subdivision. He let all the kids feed Traveler carrots and gave us pony rides. Without his kindness, who knows if I’d have caught the bug. don’t mind giving other people a safe and fun introduction to horses. Besides, I love showing off my boy!

[skydy]

[QUOTE=horsepoor;7692392]
Replace “boarding barn” with “my house” (where my horses live too), and I’m with you![/QUOTE]

I did have a gate with a long driveway. Not much chance of people acting in that manner, however as I lived in the “country” at that time people knew better than to behave in that manner.

I did let the 1/2 mile away neighbor’s visiting grandson hack out with me on a few occasions on dead quiet mare.

When I was a kid my neighbors were very kind to a horse loving kid who trespassed (me) though I only stood on the lowest board of the 3 rail fence and stared at the horses.

Of course we were neighbors, but still , they were very kind to me and we had a great relationship for many, many years. I rode their horses in local shows and hacking out (for miles and miles)!

I ended up watching their horses when they were out of town and I went hacking out with Mrs. M. many times. I was 8 when we met and she and her husband were great friends and mentors to me.

When the neighbor that I didn’t know from “Adam” 's, grandson wanted a ride , I felt that I should pay it forward. I did tell him that I must speak with Grandmother first, so we called and had her, and Mom’s, OK.

He had FUN the few times he was visiting his Grandmother. When I was home and he came by to ask if we could ride, I considered myself “paying it forward”.

Of course people without any sense whatsoever, (kids can be clueless, but parents?) no words.