What you need to know about
safety
Shoes
Flat shoes without a heel (trainers) are not safe for riding. Without a heel your foot can slip through the stirrup, and if you were to fall, your foot could be trapped. This is dangerous and could cause serious injury.
Shoes with a high heel are also unsafe for riding in. They put your foot in the wrong position for riding and the heel can scare or injure the horses.
Shoes should have a small heel (1-2cm/half inch) similar to chelsea boots. This means your foot cannot slip through the stirrups.
This is the only suitable footwear for riding.
Busby has the right to not let you ride if you show up in inappropriate footwear.
Shoes are not an expensive purchase (much less than a helmet) but are an essential safety item. You can buy them at most large sports shops or online. They are also for sale in Everything Equestrian, the shop on site at Busby.
Helmets
You do not need to have your own helmet to ride with the club. Busby have hats that you can borrow at the stables, and these are sanitised between each use.
If you do have your own helmet it needs to meet the current standard. Most branded helmets (Champion, Charles Owen) are up to standard, but hats from some sports shops are not. You need to check before you ride at the stables, and if Busby see your hat is not up to standard you may be asked to borrow one of their helmets.
Your helmet must fit properly to be safe. If your helmet is too big or too small it will not protect you properly in the case of a fall. If you want to buy a helmet but are unsure which brand or size to get, Busby sell helmets on site in Everything Equestrian and can fit you with a hat.
Behaviour on the yard
You need to act appropriately on the yard and listen to staff at all times. This includes instructors, shop workers, yard workers and helpers. If you do not listen to staff and are acting in a way that is dangerous you may be asked to leave the stables.
When you arrive at the stables and enter the shop/gallery you need to be quite and sensible. If there is a lesson going on at the time and you are being too loud or moving around, you may spook any horses being used and cause an accident. Horses are animals and can react to things that may not seem scary to you. If you are watching a lesson going on, you need to stay quiet and not move around too much. If you don’t behave appropriately you may be asked to leave.
On the yard you need to follow instructions. You should not walk behind a horse too closely incase they kick, or get too close to their mouths in case they bite. The horses at Busby are incredibly well trained but can react unpredictably in certain situations. You should not enter the stable buildings unless you have been asked to by a staff member, or are with staff or helpers. This is because some of the horses are either on special diets, medications or not suitable for everyone to meet.
Recordings
If you want to record in your lesson, or take photos which may have other people in the background, you need to ask the permission of every person in your lesson, including your instructor. If anyone says they are not comfortable being on camera you will not be able to record. You cannot post any footage of others without their permission, so even if your lesson consents to being recorded, you would need permission again to use this footage elsewhere. You need to get permission every week as peoples’ answers may change. Busby is privately owned so consent to recordings is not implied.
If you get permission to record you will need to use a small, silent camera (no phones going off as you are recording) and place where it will not spook the horses. Some of the horses at Busby, especially in higher-level lessons, can be scared of unknown objects. If there is a horse in your lesson who is spooking at the camera it may be taken down for the safety of everyone in your lesson.
PLEASE DO NOT USE YOUR PHONE WHILE ON THE HORSE! IF YOU WANT A RECORDING OF YOURSELF ASK YOUR INSTRUCTOR IF THEY ARE WILLING TO FILM YOU, DO NOT TRY YOURSELF.
phones
On arrival at the stables, please switch your phone to silent if possible. Your ringtone or vibration may spook some of the horses which could cause accidents. If you are waiting on a very important call which cannot be missed, ask your instructor if they can hold your phone for you, but this is not guaranteed and should still be silenced. Some phones also flash for notifications, which should also be turned off if possible. We recommend not having your phone on you while riding as it may fall out of a pocket and be damaged, as well as being able to cause injury if you fall on it.