Survey conclusions
First of all a big thanks to all the people who took the time to fill in the survey! I'll leave it open for a while, and hopefully if more people hear about it the responses will increase and I'll update the numbers.
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A snapshot of restrictions
From the results of this survey, yards are taking various approaches to how they handle the current lockdown. Larger, commercial yards seem to be imposing a greater level of restrictions than the smaller ones. This may be somewhat due to sampling bias of course (eg if 20 people from the same yard all fill in the survey, then that will comparatively inflate the results).
Looking across the regions, the patterns are very similar for the majority of answers, although the Midlands have fewer riding restrictions compared to other areas.
The majority of clients believe that the yard owners / managers are doing a good job under the circumstances, but there is a certain percentage who are unhappy with the restrictions placed upon them. This is directly linked to their opinion on how they feel about the level of restrictions imposed, and that they care strongly enough that they are looking to leave once this is all over.
It will be interesting to see if these opinions change as the lockdown rumbles on and everyone's patience and goodwill starts to fray at the edges. Which leads me to the next part...
Covexit.
And I'm totally taking credit if anyone else starts using that word!
As the Government moves from 'stop the spread' to 'how do we get out of this?', yards will also have the difficult decisions on when to lift the restrictions they've placed on their clients. A complete return to how life once was for society may have to wait until a vaccine is ready, but there's no way any horse owner is going to stand for not being able to see or work their horse for that long. Yards need their own exit strategy, whether on their own schedule (or on advice from the BHS) or in-line with the easing of Government restrictions.
The most important thing
Covid-19 is uncharted territory, and everyone is muddling through as best they feel fit. We're all under massive stress and this is bound to create friction and conflict, especially when dealing with something as deeply personal as our beloved animals. We worry (usually needlessly) about them at the best of times!
Balancing the needs of the yard and the needs of the clients is never going to be easy, and I don't envy any yard owners trying to navigate it all.
The survey suggests the key is constant communication. If anyone's ever been stuck on a runway for an hour waiting to take off, or on a train not going anywhere for ages, which is less annoying: being told nothing, or getting frequent updates over the PA system? It doesn't make the delay any shorter, but being kept in the loop makes a huge difference on a psychological level.
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Hopefully this survey was useful, and good luck to everyone. Stay safe out there!
About the author
I'm a scientist by day, researching into ways to detect prohibited genetic alteration and gene therapy in racehorses. When not doing horsey stuff with the lovely subject of all these photos, I write dystopian and urban fantasy novels. See my Amazon page here!