People with prams

[sammiemooo]

Does anyone else seem to get these people who just walk their children in their prams littlerally inches from a pony's back end. Now none of our ponies kick, but a horse is an animal at the end of the day and unpredictable and god some people scare me how laid back they are just pushing there kids anywhere.

Last season we had a pony waiting in a tiny collecting ring with several other horses and this woman came along with her pram and child, went under the collecting rope into the collecting area and walked straight behind several horses just to cut a corner.

Some people really do amaze me :L

[flee]

Also people who let their children sit on the grass by the side of the ropes with their legs sticking out into the ring like human cavalletti !!

[brt]

OMG, please don't get me started, prams are my pet hate and so are the people who push them.
But then don't we know that they are to be a priority at shows as well as at the supermarket?

[fanfarefan]

absolute pet hate at shows , along with the kids playing football , and kids on bikes !!!!!

[lovebird]

Equifeast last year was a nightmare, prams, kids on bikes, buggy's.

[fruity]

Sweeping statement brt :-) not all of us with prams are awful!!

PS. Tesco home delivery frankly, why take a pram (and I have twins!) to the supermarket when a nice man brings it to your kitchen!

[dawnie]

I think sometimes people forget they have a pram in front of them. I nearly hit one with my car last year when a woman crossing a narrow busy road stepped out between two parked cars to get a better view of the traffic, shove the pram straight in front of my car, am just glad nothing was coming the other way. My stomach turned!!!
I do get quite nervous with prams, I was a Bolton Annual Show years ago, when it used to be held on Leverhulme Park as part of the town show. A horse got loose and bolted and the reins hooked a buggy with baby in it..and the horse just kept on going and even more scared at the buggy and screaming baby attached to it.

[thecremellosociety]

We do try but the public are a law unto themselves, we do not have enough stewards to totally police the show grounds, no matter how many signs or calls you make people still do stupid things x

[fruity]

Jeez Dawnie, that must've been awful! - both stories sound horrific
My pram and babes have been to a few shows, but tbh mum and OH are great and sensible and take it steady and don;t go in silly areas. I can imagine it must be hard thing to police at shows, especially country ones where you get non-horsey visitors for a day out

[showingfanatic]

Argh prams, along with some silly non-horsey people who seem to think it's fine to push prams up ponies backsides, or right across working in areas. Loose children with no adult supervision playing football in the middle of a load of working ponies, what ever happened to common sense?!

[lucynlizzysmum]

I was stewarding last year at Keswick SHow and someone parked her buggy in the walkway for the child to get a better look She wasn't at all pleased to have to remove it!!!!

[viking]

Many years ago, showing at the Royal Highland, a woman pushed her pushchair right behind our colts hocks and even moved his tail aside to do so! Thank goodness they have a walkway to the ring now.

[Karen, garrettponies]

Makes me shudder but 'the public' have no common sense, they bring their kids to see the nice 'gee gee's'. My heart stops. A number of years ago at a show we had a particularly hellish youngster who hated travelling boots, he came out of the lorry all guns blazing, doing handstands to try and get his boots off. Suddenly small toddler runs away from parents and grabs back leg of pony going 'awwwwwwww gee gee'. We all had heart failure but the pony never (thank god) moved a muscle, just turned and looked at the child. Parents had no idea how much danger he was in by letting him run loose in a lorry park.

Mums with pushchairs in Malton don't like their children much, they push them out over the edge of the footpath when waiting to cross the road. Playing chicken with their kids frightens the hell out of me!!

[crazyshetlandlady]

please dont tar us all with the same brush... id hate to think people thought these things of me just becuase i push a puschair!

[gem86]

I was more appauled by the behaviour of 'horse people' (rather than 'child people'!) at a recent show. The walkway was quite narrow and some fool decided to trot her horse up and push everyone else out of the way. A rude act on its own, but a ridiculous one when her pony had a red ribbon in its tail!

[rubydoo]

not everyone who pushes a pram is a liability i have been a pram pusher when i had my babies but its kind of a neccesity when you have children , however i think alot of none horsey spectators at shows presume the horses are safe.

i remember that Dawnie it was shocking !

[quintet]

I agree. I think a lot of non-horsey people think that shows are one big petting zoo!!! I was a steward at a show last year and was on the horse walkway. Even though we had huge "stop" and "Go" lollipops, many members of the public ignored us and would quite happily push their pram with its precious cargo straight infront of the horses expecting them to either stop or dodge them! Some would want to stop to stroke them as they were trying to get to their rings!!!!! However we also had a lady on horseback, late for her class, who refused to acknowledge the "stop"sign and nearly took out a man with a pushchair who had waited to cross! Just cantered straight at him!!!

[Erinx]

Well I disagree here I think that horsey people are just as bad! We cannot expect people how don't have a clue about horses to know everything, I've been to shows where people ride straight through walkways just expecting pedestrians to move out of their way. I push my pram and am proud to do so, I wouldn't go walk right up a horses backside tho. But where is the consideration for us pram pushers when people ride on the pavement and their horse poos all over.....................................

[sarahp]

Um - horsewalks at shows are for horses and not pedestrians, that's the point! And surely anyone with a pram or pushchair should be responsible for the safety of the child in it, it's not just with horses, how often do you see people pushing prams far out into the road in front of them when they can't see if any traffic is coming? If in doubt, be cautious.

[melincave]

There was a tragic incident in the village I used to live in, when a bolting pony attached itself to a pram with a toddler in. The pram was caught on one of the rug straps & dragged the pram & little girl for miles

As you can probably imagine I am paranoid & do not mix horses & prams under any circumstance. The pram wasn't even near the pony It was horrendous

[Erinx]

The main walkway at our show is actually for both, one side each.


So what would you rather then toddlers in prams or toddlers running round?

[phoenix77]

I have kids and own a horse, i teach my kids not to walk behind horses in case they get kcked or stood on but we were all young once and i bet most of us started riding as kids......we were all young once. I've just home from the yard where my two kids were paying with anther 4 kids on the yard, they had a great time, they were all perfectly safe and it's much better than them being cooped up indoors. The only way they can learn to behave around horses is to be allowed to mix with them
We aren't all irresponsible parents x

[Dosierosie]

I have a two year old daughter, so as you can imagine if i go to a show all day i take along her pram (mainly so if she falls asleep she can). I just dont understand how people can let their children go anywere near a horses backside! Whether the horse kicks or NOT. All horses are unpredictable. I dont even let her go near any horse whether it be front, back or side unless i have hold of her and she is stroking the pony with the owners permission. I could never risk the chance of something happening to my daughter and put her in any danger if i can help it! I think some parents are just plain ignorant or dont realise the dangers of letting or putting their children up a horses backside.

[sarahp]

Good for you dosierosie.

Phoenix, I agree with you too, but you are educating your children correctly by the sound of it, this thread is about irresponsible parents at shows. I'm sure your children would know how to behave safely around horses at shows but sadly not all do.

[sometime]

Was at a show once when three little girls rushed up to my pony and hugged three of her legs My heart was in my mouth I knew she was unlikely to kick but is quite adept at standing on toes when the mood takes her

[ruftytuftyrider]

Erinx horse poo is not toxic and if you cannot avoid running over it with the pram a quick hose down of the wheels will sort that out. When I was a baby my grandfather used to take me out with a bucket in the basket under the pram to put the collected manure in.

Back on topic my daughter has been taught from an early age not to walk behind a horse in case it kicks and how to behave around horses. People are not having a go at responsible parents with prams only ones that put their children in danger (as well as horse and riders).