Heard on the news this morning that Blackpool council has decreed that the hours worked by seaside donkeys should be limited to 9 hours a day with an hour for lunch and Fridays off :)

9 hours a day ? :( that still seems far too long to be plodding up and down with kids on their backs - poor things

Yvonne

I would suspect that they are happier than if they were just left in a quiet field by themselves. Donkeys are sociable animals, not to mention nosey and love to be involved in things.

Hmm... its their job. Can't see many donkeys objecting to a couple of stone of child on their back - probably barely notice. That said, 9 hours is a long time and this lunch hour enforcement is pathetically overdue.

"Can't see many donkeys objecting to a couple of stone of child on their back!

For 9 hours every day ? - I know that donkeys are curious and intelligent animals but just how exciting can it be walking up and down the same stretch of beach day after day ?

Out of interest how long are  riding school horses expected to work without a break ? - bet it's not this long

Donkeys always seem to get the worst kind of treatment worlwide.

Yvonne

Well, I would imagine they would prefer to be off snowboarding or getting drunk or whatever..

Seriously, its probably very boring, but not NEARLY as boring as it is for Riding School horses who are worked for a good 9 hours 6 days a week, sometimes in ill fitting tack, with badly attended hooves (in some cases), with complete novices kicking their sides until they are dead to the leg, bored out their brains going round and round a school with an unbalanced rider of 10/11 stone upwards in some cases bobbing on their backs and yanking on their mouths. Even worse, children are provided with whips because the ponies are so dead to the leg and most of the time they don't even get adequate turnout and a break. They are then sold as "ex Riding School Horses" at a premium rate and are usuallty so nappy from following another horse round and round for yonks and not having to think that they end up god knows where once their new owner has lost confidence.

Oh yes, I can see that donkeys are far worse off working for 6 months of the year with a couple of stone on their back.

Apparently they love it. I was talking to a lady who looked after the donkeys on the seaside beach one day and she told me that they once escaped out of the field from home and she eventually found them all lined up on the beach that same morning!

Probably only through habit though - from years of being led down there. My arab mare escaped once and took herself to some stables down the road she had stayed at before! :)

Well they obviously liked it there more than the field they were in :D

In reality I don't suppose the donkeys actually work a full 9 hours every day in the season.  The British weather being as it is there's likely to be a lot of days when the beaches are practically empty.
I wonder what they'll do on their days off - a ride on the roller coaster,  a game of bingo ? :)

When I was younger and worked for a riding school which was quite near the beach, I was the person leading donkeys up and down all day long. The lot I worked with didn't seem too bothered and most of them actually liked kids and looked forward to seeing them. Our donkeys were always given at least half an hour off 3 times a day,with fresh water standing by at all times. Infact the donkeys were better catered for than the staff leading them up and down. I agree with Chloe about riding school ponies as I teach kids riding at weekends, we still have ponies approaching their 30th birthdays working in the school. They have been there so long and done the same thing day in day out for so many years that they don't actually listen to the riders anyway, ponies that are like this don't ever have a stick used on them in my lessons as they anticipate what the instructor is going to say and they are usually right. The ponies I work with are fairly lucky in that they are only used for 2-3 hours a day as we have a fairly good variety of ponies and a relatively small client base, obviously there are exceptions where they have to work 4-5 hours. I try my hardest to leave the older ones out especially if they have done an hour as thats all thats needed to keep them supple and fit. In the summer when the camps are on the kids who hire the ponies for a week are only allowed to ride for two hours a day as this is what my boss feels is enough for his ponies.

Thanks Alli - nice to hear about a more considerate riding school. All I seem to hear about these days are horror stories :(

I happen to think that most Riding School horses have a terrible life - true, money making commodities with no thought for their mental welfare whatsoever :(

My boss and I were discussing the age of the horses and ponies the other day, he told me the oldest one is about 33, and that he has tried to retire her a few times, but she hates being left out in the field at weekends, in fact she once broke through the fence to come back to the yard. If she doesn't get used in the school at least once on a weekend she kicks her door. On a sunday afternoon if she hasn't been used by the 1pm lesson she starts and will not stop until she is allowed into the school. Once she has been in the school and ridden for even 30 mins she quietens down and munches happily on her hay. I thought it was really sweet when my boss said "she has given me 25 years good service the most I can do for her is let her live her life happily till the end" I had a lump in my throat :) I have also worked in yards where like you say Chloe the ponies are worked till near exhaustion. I really think it is disgusting that some people care more about lining their pockets than looking after the investments that are bringing the money home.

Are there no regulations that set minimal standards that Riding schools must adhere to ? - do they need to be licensed and if so are they inspected to ensure that the animals are not being abused in this way ? - if not why not ?

Does the BHS have any say in how riding schools are regulated - do they give out guidelines ?

Yvonne

Yes, there are rules and regs if the RS is to be affiliated with the BHS - or BHS approved - but even so, thats not a 100% guarantee... problem is, the BHS are not there on a daily basis!

The BHS are also somewhat set in their ways regarding horsemanship - particularly with regards to the latest NH/bitless/iron-free/24x7 turnout.

Thanks Chloe - glad that there are some regulations in place but did'nt understand your last few sentences - can you 'translate ' :D

Cheers

Yvonne

Yup - course :)

Basically, there are 2 apparent camps in horsemanship:

Traditional:
Typically the old "BHS" way - including stabling (including stable management), shoeing, traditional tack and gadgets (such as extra strong bits, draw reins (bring horses head in to "teach" it to work in an outline - not comfortable for those who use them incorrectly), clipping, rugging, hard feed etc etc. Whips to go forward, spurs, lunging etc etc

Natural Horsemanship (NH):
Typically horses that live out 24 x 7 (better for the mind, body and soul) in herds, barefoot & trimmed, minimal tack - bitless, sidepull bridles that work on pressure on the head rather than through a concentrated point in the mouth - treeless saddles (some contention about these - but they seem to work very well on broad backed arab types), no gadgets, long reining (as opposed to lunging), ground work to build a mutual respect between horse and rider, stick-less, spurless happy hacking riding. Unclipped, unrugged (in native types) fed on feed balancers (contain all the nutrients and supplements needed) with some grass chop type feed.

There is a grey patch in the middle too - which is sometimes the area that works best.

However, some "BHS" Riding School establishments seem to be very behind with the thinking above and are still stabling horses for long periods - sometimes in stalls (cross tied, facing wall, only brought out for lessons), working the horses hard in ill fitting tack and strong bits for ponies that are dead to the mouth. I am reading a thread on a horse board at the moment about the conditions that some horses endure at colleges - stabled for long periods and only brought out to work - then they wonder why so many horses have so many problems.

Anyway - thats just my experience and what I have picked up along the way. My horses are firmly kept in the second camp ;)