Client Terms and Conditions

Riding is a high risk sport so it is thoroughly recommended that you take out your own personal accident insurance. Although we have taken every precaution we can to minimise the associated risks horses are still unpredictable animals please take care and accept that accidents do happen!

Your horse will be tacked up and brought to the whiteboard outside the tack room for you. For Health & Safety reasons please either wait for your horse to be presented or complete an induction (the office
will arrange) before collecting, tacking up or untacking your horse. Clients are always very welcome to help in any way on the yard but please ensure you have been inducted by a member of our staff before doing so and that you have personal accident insurance. Your choice to ride or help on the yard is voluntary so please accept that you do so at your own risk and do not hold The Talland School of Equitation or its employees responsible for accidental damage or injury (excluding accidents caused by negligence).

Payment

All lessons are to be paid for in advance to confirm booking.

Cancellation Policy

24hrs notice of cancellation is required for weekday lessons, 48 hours for weekends lessons UNLESS SLOTS ARE REFILLED. Same day Cancellations or missed lessons incur 100% the cost of the lesson being cancelled. All cancellations via email or telephone (Leave a message is fine) only.

Refund Policy

We regret that we cannot refund any monies for whatever reason policy: Lesson payments will be held in credit for a period of 12months.

Thank you for your co-operation

In order to sign up, you must have read and understood the above statement and accept the risks associated with riding horses and helping on the yard I agree to be responsible to the yard manager and all at The Talland School of Equitation and will abide at all times by his/her rules.

If a rider of advanced standard wishes to ride without a BSI Standard hat, he or she must sign an official disclaimer before so doing, as soon as you are covered by Personal Accident Insurance cover Further information and forms can be obtained from the office.

Health and Safety Guidelines for Clients

(Please ensure your read thoroughly)

Recommend Dress Code

For health & safety reasons there are certain guidelines we would be grateful if you would follow:

For those wanting to help on the yard, we recommend old clothes and boots with steel toecaps. We suggest that you have a waterproof coat and in wet weather wellington boots and chaps are advisable (a change of clothing is always a good idea).

We recommend that clients do not wear jewellery whilst riding or handling horses and that long hair should be tied back. Please wear a correctly fitted hat and securely fastened chinstrap to current standards when mounted.
You can hire one if yours is out of date.

For riding we recommend you wear gloves and either breeches, jodhpurs or jogging trousers, as jeans can cause uncomfortable rubs. Footwear should be jodhpur boots, long boots or if you don’t have theses yet, a pair of boots or shoes with a flat sole (so not wellington as the sole’s too ridged) and a small block heel (so not trainers as they are too flat) will be fine.
We have small collection of boots we can lend if you have nothing suitable. Please ask your instructor or at the office.

We also suggest that body protectors are worn and that you have your own personal insurance.

Keeping Safe on the Yard (Horses are unpredictable animals, please take care!)

Horses can be dangerous and certainly unpredictable especially when cornered or frightened. Mares can easily be frightened, especially if they have a newly born young and when injured. Please take care.

Horses are bigger and heavier than you are. Take care at all times. Never approach animals suddenly – warn them you are coming!

Diseases do occur so please wear rubber gloves where necessary and wash your hands well after handling horses. Rats and mice can also carry diseases. Wash your hands well after handling bales and sacks to avoid infection. We strongly recommend that your tetanus protection is up to date before helping on the yard (if in doubt, check with your doctor).

Please do not handle any equipment or materials being used for veterinary purposes or any other chemicals on the yard – ask a member of staff to do it if necessary.

Please ensure horses are tied up at all time when being handled. The headcollar must be put on correctly and the horse tied securely. No matter how small the task, when you enter a stable, the horse must be tied up. Please be extra careful when dealing with stallions. If in any doubt, please ask a member of staff for assistance. Also take extra care when washing horses.

Muck forks are sharp and pointed, take care not to stab your foot if you are mucking out . Wheelbarrows can get very heavy, so please take care when wheeling them across the yard and emptying them at the muckheap. Brushing the yard can also cause muscle stress so please take care.

When lifting any objects; bales of hay or saddles etc.. make sure you bend your knees, keep your back straight, and carry out the lift in one smooth movement.

Please ensure all gates/stable door are kept close at all times, if you pass an open gate, ALWAYS close it whatever the reason for it being open. Please always put everything you use back in its correct place. Never leave equipment lying around the yard or in a horse’s stable. Do not put anything on the floor. Please make the time to put it away.

HORSE MAY BE UNPREDICTABLE. HANDLE THEM CAREFULLY, FIRMLY, QUIETLY AND SAFELY.

Please stay away from the areas below

Workshop: Please do not go in to the workshop due to the dangerous machinery and chemicals kept there. Under NO circumstances touch any of the farm machinery.
Hay barn: Be very careful around the hay barn as we use very large, high density bales. NEVER place yourself near stacked bales. Do not climb on the bales or smoke by them.
DO NOT SMOKE ANYWHERE ON THE YARD.
Lorry: Never stand;
1. under the lorry ramp (particularly as it comes down),
2. behind a trailer ramp,
3. under the forks of a tractor.

In case of an accident

Please report any injuries to people or horses, or damage to equipment to a member of staff as soon as possible. There is a first aid kit in the office. The first aid box is checked and replenished every 12 weeks by a member of staff. The following staff are trained in First Aid:

Pammy Hutton
Pippa Hutton
Brian Hutton
Hilary Hughes
Gerry Sinnott
Claire Graves
Emma Harford
Raffi Bailey
Britt Lankston
Vicky Lipscombe-Kettel
Megan Field

Talland riding rules

If you bring your own horse, please avoid riding alone. Pleas ensure that there is always an instructor present even when simply exercising. Whilst you are here, you will be riding either in our indoor or outdoor arena or out in the fields.

Please always mount your horse from the mounting blocks which are situated inside the schools.

Please make sure you lead your horse with the reins over his/her head and the stirrups run up.

When riding, please adhere to these rules:

Please call “door please” before entering or leaving the school and wait for permission to be granted before going in or out.
When approaching other riders, please pass left hand to left hand
If riding at walk, please work on an inner track and leave the outer track free
When halting, please do so away from the track so not to impede other riders
Do not pass slower riders from behind, instead please circle or turn away across the school
Please do not ride around horses being lunged
Please ensure that both doors are properly closed at all times. Do not ride until the doors are closed.

Fire Safety Rules

Fire Precautions

SMOKING IS NOT ALLOWED ON THE PREMISES EXCEPT IN DESIGNATED SMOKING AREAS
2- Please note the position of the fire bell and instructions (just inside the door to the stables) and familiarise yourself with the Fire Procedure. In case of a fire:
1. Ring the Fire Bell. Send someone to rind the Fire Service (dial 999 – telephones are situated in the office).
  Notify the staff.
2. Stay calm. Only trained staff should get the horses out (and then only without putting themselves at risk), starting with those nearest the fire. Lead horses to either the top field or to the Outdoor School.
  Do not waste time taking off headcollars, just unclip the rope. Do not take off rugs. Do not turn horses loose in the yard unless absolutely necessary. Try blindfolding difficult horses or backing them out. If impossible, leave the stable door open and get other horses out before wasting any more time.
3. When horses are out, assemble at the fire point then trained staff can tacked the fire with extinguishers.
  If the fire is caused by an electrical appliance, turn the electric off first.
Keep all passages clear at al times and do not leave tools lying around
Please note positions of fire extinguishers and how to use them
Headcollars should be hanging up near each stable
Hay nets must be tied securely
Doors should be properly bolted
Do not leave tools in the stable
When turning out and catching, a hat and gloves MUST BE WORN.

If you hear the bell

Turn off any electrical appliances
Close all doors and windows in the immediate vicinity in which you are working
Direct individuals to the nearest, safest fire exit and assembly point, which is situated in the car park.
Trained staff should assist in the evacuation of the horses without putting themselves at risk
When all’s clear report immediately to the assembly point for registration

Do not block any access to the evacuated area, as this will slow down the progress of assistance.
Do not re-enter the building/area until the senior fire officer or yard manager gives authorisation to do so.

Dealing with smoke

Fire Often creates a great amount of smoke. More people are killed each year by inhaling the smoke than by actual direct burning. It is therefore important you know how to react in a smoky atmosphere.

In smoky conditions

Keep low, near the ground and if necessary crawl along the floor
Breathe shallowly through the nose place a wet towel over nose and mouth
Keep close to the walls in rooms or stables
Feel your way with the back of your hand
NEVER open a door with smoke coming out below it. Report it – raise the alarm

It is the duty of all concerned to prevent the loss or injury to life in the event of fire. For this reason, it is important that you ensure you are familiar with all escape routes and know how to attack the fire using correct equipment should the need arise.

Fire Prevention

Good housekeeping is the simplest and most effective means of fire prevention. General tidiness, the proper disposal of waste and the limitation of exposed flammable materials can reduce the fire hazard simply.

Please always dispose of waste sensibly
Please always unplug electrical appliances immediately after use
When switching off electrical appliances, please turn off the equipment and at the wall
Never mix water and electricity
NO SMOKING anywhere in the yard.

Fire Fighting Equipment

Extinguishers – use the correct extinguishers for the type of fire

REMEMBER

Do not run or shout
Walk Quickly
Human life takes precedence over animals
Do not stop to collect personal belongings
Do not endanger your own or anyone’s life
Do not panic
NO SMOKING