Oct 24, 2012 at 09:20 pm #555974

Well, I have a thing or two to say even though it looks like this issue has worked out already. I have been a helper and I have been a participant without a helper! I went as a helper to a horse friend. As someone who knows the method and knows horses, I feel I was much better able to really “help” than any family member or close family friend. And for Pete’s sake, as a participant, if I were to have gotten hurt, needed medical care, etc., just call a dang ambulance. Let me sign a form that says my helper can make those decisions and have a little talk about it with them. Make sure they have my actual emergency contact information and let them call my husband or my kids (who are sure never gonna go to a two week clinic with me). I would be much more concerned as a participant that I had someone there who knows about horses and could be intrusted to feed and care for my horse during in my incapacitated state. Worrying about my non horsey family or friend taking care of my horse would make me a worse wreck than whatever accident had already happened.

I also noticed in the two clinics that I attended at the ranch, that the non horsey family/friend helpers often disappeared throughout the day to go to town or whatever while the DUH horsey helpers were always right there by the arena, totally absorbed in the business at hand. And if one of my non horsey family/friends did happen to be standing nearby when I had a wreck on my horse, I daresay they might actually make things worse in their horror (and lack of proper horse emergency behaviour) as they came running to my aide.

Having said all that, I totally defer to the judgement of DUH as they may have had bad experiences in this area and have learned a thing or two that I don’t know about.

Esther (future Intermediate clinic hopeful and likely to need a helper)