Gooooo BO :D

My BO is FINALLY getting a little upset about the 2-3 girls and is getting to the point where she wants to put a stop to it. She doesn't want to totally stop them from entirely stop them from riding because she has little lesson kids as it is but she wants the parents to at least sign a form saying that she is NOT responsible for the kids after their lesson is done...and any damage done THEY are responsible for...

Question...anyone have any good forms that states that she BO is not responsible for the kids after their lesson is over and that the kids are responsible for any damage they do whether accident or purpose (meaning if they break a bucket, rein, or whatever THEY have to replace it). Thanks a ton

I don't know of a blanket form for this, but she needs to know that regardless of what the parents sign, she will not be totally in the clear. It will help her if any issue does arise, but, in Ontario at least, people can not sign away their rights including the right to sue. Maybe she should see a lawyer. I'm sure it wouldn't cost much for a suitable form to be drafted up. A hundred bucks or so, I'd say.

The problem is she doesn't have the 100 bucks to do it. She is going to get one of her horses tested for Cushings and then another get their sheath cleaned cause he won't let her do it. So there's a good $300 bucks there if not more

My friend wrote up something that I think she'll like so hopefully it will work

Well mainly she lets the girls ride for free after their lesson (which I think is kinda stupid) but the girls will do really stupid things that the BO doesn't approve of. Yes she has tried talking to the girls about it, and to their parents...but they don't care. And yes she has tried saying they can't stay after lessons anymore, but guess what? They do (or they forget the BO said they couldn't stay). She doesn't want to get them upset and not come back because she needs the money, but she worries that one of them will get hurt and she'll be responsible.

A signed contract will protect her in court at least (usually) that if the child does get hurt and the parents sue they can't (at least that's what the form is supposed to prevent). She has one for the lesson program and for just riding on her property and she hasn't had problems yet.

Also she's upset that the girls will either misplace expensive items (yes they have done it LOTS of times before) or break things (yes they HAVE broken LOTS of things before)....let's see...they have broken 2 pairs of reins, one saddle leather, and exploded a bottle of MTG (dropped it on the ground and it burst)

I hope this works for her. In my experience, trying to collect anything from parents like this costs more than the amount is worth. Not to mention the stress of it. I know what it's like to be broke, but your BO may be better off sending those girls home regardless. They also affect how others see the barn operating and will restrict more responsible families from coming in. The only other option I can think of would be to require that the children must have supervision immediately after the ride, so if it's not the parents, they should have to pay for a babysitter. Maybe someone else at the barn wants a bit of extra cash!

It's not that the girls are running around wild, it's just that, they ARE kids afterall and do stuff that is foolish and dangerous WITHOUT realizing it. They are the average "nothing can hurt/kill me" kids which is bad.
The main stupid thing that they did and that has stuck in my head for a long time was when they put a Belgian/App cross in the roundpen and two of the three girls would stand by the side....as the horse was cantering around they'd run to the middle of the roundpen right in FRONT of the horse....now anyone can realize the danger in that, right?
Well of course both me and the BO screamed at them and they are no longer allowed to lunge in the round pen, but I'm sure there are still stupid things that they do when I'm not there (after I leave).

I think it's mainly there to get the parents attention that the BO is NOT always present after the lesson and out to babysit the kids. And that the kids ARE breaking things

The thing about horses is that they are considered an attractive nuissance and because of that you can get sued for just about anything. I read an artical about a girl that got kicked in the head by her own horse, she was in the paddock with the horse when it happened and her parents sued the barn owner and WON.

woah...now that is TOTALLY stupid.
Well I'm not sure if the Bo wants the contract to protect her from sueing of it it's just mainly to open the parents eyes to realize that the kids are NOT having supervision after the duration of the lesson, that they ARE going on trail rides without supervision, and that they ARE breaking things

I think she's hoping that just them signing it will have the parents realize that the BO is NOT a babysitting service

Put up a sign that says something like if you break it... you buy it...

Yep we'll be doing that also, but we want the parents to sign a form acknowledging that they agree that if their child breaks anything they are responsible

Why doesn't the BO just...well....Tell the kids that they are being a pain in the butt and meet the parents when they come to pickup the girls and tell them that their kids have been causing various types of mischief and they need to be picked up immediately after lessons untill they can prove that the respect the barn rules and the contents!