A few months ago I got on a new horse that reared straight up. Now the company's using him for kid camp?

Question

The second I got on a new wiry chestnut he reared hi and got ready to do it again as soon as his hooves touched the ground. The trainer didn't work with him because she didn't feel comfortable putting me (a minor) on him. So now he's turned up in the list for horses I'm supposed to put little kids on at summer camp. I asked the barn manager and she said "they used him for two weeks and he was fine." the other instructor said, "oh yeah, he reared last week with me.... don't worry, i fixed him. and if he does anything else I'll fix him again!!" I don't know this instructor. I seriously doubt that whatever she did in 1 session made the problem any better. I'm afraid that when (not if) he rears again his little rider is going to follow her natural instinct to lean back and she'll pull him right on top of her. i'm not willing to risk a camper's safety that the "fix" that this arrogant, young instructor made was effective. and i'm responsible. but no one takes me seriously

Answer 1

You have to follow your gut instinct with the kids safety at stake.  State your concerns with all of the owners, managers, guides etc etc.  Refuse to have that one horse in your string and explain why.  I have worked on ranches that took out strings and if I had a problem with any of the horses and did not want a particular horse out that day I would say so.  End of conversation, after all you will be the first one looked at and sued if something goes wrong.

Answer 2

Let them know how you feel, just tell them that your uncomfortable in using this horse with/around these little children campers.

On the weekend a little shetland that we use for pony rides (I had him) bucked a two yr old off (she was fine, just scared, she got back on a horse). That was unacceptable, he got in so much trouble, my friend hopped on him and I took her for a 'pony ride' on him (she's 15) and then we lunged him for about 20mins. We didn't use him for the rest of the day (he was tired and we didn't want to). We decided that he doesn't get enough exercise during the week so we lunge him now before using him hoping that he's learnt not to do it.

Stick to your guns, don't back down from it until you're comfortable with using this horse. If it makes you a bit more comfortable insist that one of the instructors is around at all times and takes full responsibility of this horse.

Answer 3

I don't know, I have mixed feelings about this.  

When I was 8-9-years-old, my riding instructor put me on EVERYTHING in the barn -- good, bad and ugly.  I was thrown, I was kicked, bitten, stomped on, spooked, flung over jumps, reared-up on, you name it.  

Besides some bruises and cuts, I learned to be a better rider and "read" my horse.  Decades later, a simple raising of the head or flick of the ear tells me what the horse is thinking and I can react to it.  I wouldn't have gotten there without learning some things the hard way.

I pity the young riders whose trainers ensure they ride only 100% bomb-proof horses and ponies.  

I don't suggest interfering.  If the trainer made a mistake, let the management find out about it on their own.  Just do your job.

NO WHINEY WOMEN or FOO-FOO HORSES!  :-)

EDIT:  OK, to the point -- it is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS since you are NOT the manager.  You know that most horse people are self-centered and do NOT tolerate anyone telling them they're doing something wrong (yes we ALL know this), so unless you want resentment and distrust from your peers, let them get into trouble, not YOU!

Answer 4

Is there a higher-up you can talk to? A barn owner? I'm sure they don't want to get sued when a kid gets squished. While you're talking to them, make sure their liability insurance covers you as well, since you're a minor.

If that tactic fails, can you avoid using the horse? I'd be making up some excuses - "he looked off" or "gee, I couldn't catch him, so I used Fluffy instead" before I'd knowingly risk some small childs life.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Express your very valid concerns to the camp director; if she allows the horse to remain in the horse program then the liability rests with her, not you.

Keep a diary of what you said to the instructor, what she said to you and if you contact the camp director you also want to  make a note of what was said between the two of you...keep your bases covered.

I really don't see any good coming from this situation.  The horse is a liability, not an asset to the camp.  If something does happen, watch the camp's liability insurance get yanked right out from under them.  

It takes a true professional to rid a horse of a rearing habit...if they are ever really cured.   Rearing is a dangerous habit for a horse to have as you well know.

(Leave all this "Cowboy Up"advice (nonsense) in waste can where it belongs); a young rider, at a horse camp, and their parents, have reasonable expectations of having a horse behave itself and their child returning from camp in one piece.   No doubt the parents would be beyond concerned if they felt their child was placed in jeopardy by riding an obnoxious bronc which has no business at a horse camp.)   The camp owners/managers are irresponsible and waiting for a fall.



Count on this....the train wreck will happen.  Sooner or later they'll pay for their ignorance...in this case, it may well be sooner.

Good luck to you..you're on the right track.

Answer 6

self experince: horse that rears+ newby=OWWW! U need to work this out. I know I fell of soooo many times from rearing! It;s not safe for campers. You need lesson horses!I use to ride them and a few naughty ponies but NEVER a spooky horse or a bad tempered one! If it's totally nessesary. Put someone that is modest about their talent but has ridden in the past. If you put one that blabs that she can do this and that most likely they can't.

So if u have to use him put an experinced rider on and keep a close eye. If you can try lungeing him for that campers ride. Hope you get it worked out!

ride on!

Answer 7

I have seen horses 'fixed' by one session.  But I have seen the same technique backfire and make other horses even more unpredictable.

REGARDLESS the horse can not be trusted enough to put a child on them and if anyone gets hurt a lawsuit could well ensue.  For the sake of this years students talk to someone.  If you are responsible then stand your grounds and refuse to use him.  If he rears and hurts someone and you know he rears then you could be held responsible.  In a worst case scenario you could (I don't think you would, but in some states could) even be charged with manslaughter if a child is killed.

Bottom line...Use YOUR judgment.  If they are not ready to listen then maybe it would be better to work somewhere else.

Answer 8

The only thing I would add to the majority of these answers is that when you notify the director or administrator about the problem, that you do so in writing, and save a copy of the letter yourself, so you have something to show, just in case something does happen and someone tries to pin any blame on you.

Answer 9

You are quite right in your concerns.  I would report this to the camp administrator and if you do not get that horse removed from the camp go above his or her head and state your concerns.

I am also concerned about the trainer "fixing him", she must have done something barbaric.  Just because they used him for two weeks, does not make him a non-rearing horse as you know.  Things can happen in a split second.  I wish you luck.  lLet us know how you get on!

Answer 10

you may need to report this to an administrator----

Answer 11

Present your case to whomever has the authority to make a decision regarding whether the horse stays.  Make it clear that you are unwilling to be a party to allowing any child to mount this horse, and that you will go to the parents if necessary (and especially if your job is in any way threatened because of your concern).  Whatever happens, don't risk letting a child pay because you regret something you didn't do to stop it...no job or anything else is worth that.

Answer 12

I agree with you completely - rearing cannot be "fixed" in one session, and what the heck kind of a trainer refers to working with a horse as "fixing him"?!

So what is your position - how do you fit into all of this?  Are you a camper, or a helper at the camp?  I would locate the highest-up person you can find, preferably the camp director or someone close to them, and share your concerns.  Regardless of why the horse was rearing, a rearer should not - EVER - be used as a kid's horse at a camp.  Absolutely terrifying.  Go tattle to whomever you can and if they don't listen, talk to someone else.  Is there an adult you can talk to who can act as a go-between for you?  Adults sometimes tend to take other adults more seriously, I'm afraid.  Good luck, and you are absolutely in the right with this one.

EDIT: I feel the need to mention this...  For the first 7 years of my riding "career", I learned to ride on push-button horses.  I learned a lot but I learned a LOT more when I rode horses that sometimes misbehaved, took a step wrong, had "quirks", etc. or who otherwise involved working with on the ground and learning to "read".

HOWEVER, there is a time and a place to put a rider on "hot", "fresh" and/or "problem" horses and a camp is so NOT it.  Kids at camps are usually beginners, if not total novices, and even if the camp lasted a month or two, that is NOT long enough for the rider to gain enough skill to be able to handle a horse like that, nor is it long enough for a trainer to be able to assess whether or not the rider is ready for such a thing.  

Simple misbehaviors like refusals or balkiness are one thing - rearing straight up the second a rider mounts is QUITE another.  This has nothing to do with frou-frou-ness or "Oh noo, he might actually act like a HORSE, how SCARY!"- ness.    

So while I appreciate the value of being exposed to many different horses as a way to learn how to handle them and how to "read" them, putting a camper on a rearer is a terrible, terrible idea.

Answer 13

From what you have said, I wouldn't allow a child to ride . Apart from a horse with a rearing habit, that instructor sounds very dodgy. I would certainly be wondering about the rest of the riding schedules for this camp. I think it is worth you speaking to your parents about this. They could at least have a word with the camps director, then at least you would feel that the responsibility was lifted from your shoulders.

Answer 14

Since it seems your the one going to be assigning horses at this camp.  And you know he is a problem.. Cover yourself.  Does the camp director have a E-Mail?  If so  E-mail him/her with your concearns, Listing all of them, nameing the instructors and barn manager in it as well as their comments to you.  Ask for a time to talk about it BEFORE you have to use the horse.   Make a Hard copy of the email for your records as well.  If after that, if somethings happens you, wont be the one they pin responcibility on.  

Also I would use that horse ONLY if absolutely needed.  and then only at a walk if you could get away with it. 1 shot fixes can work.  But more times then not they just make things worse.