Children! Evil!

I went on a short hack yesterday, which entails following a trail through a gap in some trees, that takes you into a small village. Some of the houses in the village have stone walls, about three or so feet high, on either side of their driveways. We ride along a row of these and get to another road. As we approached one of the walled drives, my horse had her head up, ears on alert, and started moving sideways. I was trying to work out what on earth she was doing.

Less than a second later, this kid on a bike comes barrelling flat-out down the driveway, sees us, slams on his brakes but was going fast enough that he couldn't actually stop and there was kid and bike flying towards us in a cloud of dust and squealing tires and brakes. The horse continued stepping sideways so as to be out of the way. I nearly jumped out of the saddle and shouted some choice expletives probably not fit for that child's ears. The kid, after he'd emerged from the dust cloud, tore off as fast as he could ride in the opposite direction. Little bugger.

The horse = kid and bike safe. The rider = not so much.

Well, at least the kid Tried to stop, lol. I was riding past a house once when this little kid pops up out of the ditch brandishing a toy gun shouting "Bang! Bang! Bang!" as loud as he could.
My horse jumped three feet sideways, and it scared the heck outta me too, lol.
Meh, kid was only about 8, didn't have horses, didn't know any better.

Went on trail sunday at the nearby metroparks. Rode past a house having a party.

On the way back the kids at the house started BANGING and BANGING on those rubbermaid play houses (or whatever they are)..sound like war drums! Right when we were next to the house! I was so proud of my horse he just raised his head in the air and did a little prance in place and settle down a little bit while walking down the trail back to the trailer ( stil with his head up and listening behind him ready to go!)

We still heard them back at the trailers (they did sound like indian war drums that I started to think maybe they hired someone)...

I felt bad to leave because 2 riders were still out there and had to pass the house .

I hate kids.

Haha young kids sure keep things interesting. Sometimes I feel sorry for them, they don't know any better and I've seen some adults yell at them, its not like they try to, I'm sure the little boy didn't know you and your horse were there!

I remember I was little and spinning my umbrella around and this lady started yelling at me for it! I didn't even know she was riding behind me! I was so embarrassed, I felt like crying, its no fun when your little and adults yell at you like that.

I think little kids are the worlds greatest horse de-spookers. I love riding though residential neighborhoods and having the kids come running out to see the pretty horsey. They come dragging shovels, blankets, racing up on go carts, trikes what ever! And after the horses get petted and told how pretty they are a few times and if you slip 'em a horse cookie or 2, pretty soon they like it when kids come running up to them too.

DISCLAIMER: I have no kids

Kids are evil!

In all fairness, you can't expect a child who knows nothing about horses to know what will spook a horse and what won't, or how to read horse body language. If the kid knew horses and knew that his riding the bike toward the horse would spook it, then yes, the behavior is inexcusable.

Luckily the only one of us who spooked was me. Horse handled it with remarkable aplomb.

I'm sure that kid had no idea I was there. That's why if I'd been in a car, which doesn't get out of the way if it sees something before its driver does, he'd have been toast.

At least we now know who the curmudgeons on this forum. After all, one of the only reasons to look forward to getting old is so you can sit on your front porch and turn the hose on kids that walk on your grass. I'm personally looking forward to curmdgeonhood and will not relent until you pry the garden hose out of my cold, dead hands!

Kids are great...some of them! Most of them just are playing - doing their own thing and like Dreamcatcher said - they help despoke horses. I do not really ever ride on neighborhood streets with Biscuit but he is pretty darn used to kids.

I have found that when we go to a local park and were parking about 125 yards from a basketball court that the horses were nervous - they didn't seem to understand the bouncing noise and the running screaming kids. LOL they have had to just get over themselves on that one. It is a park!