Legislation

A good start to any risk Assessment is checking the legislation, not to cover your backside, but because most legislation is the product of either a series of accidents, or a one off  catastrophic accident. The Legislation was written by people who knew what could go wrong, therefore it is worth looking at it.

So see PUWER 1998

I don't include much horse drawn vehicle legislation, because there isn't much of it, and the stuff that exists talks almost exclusively about Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). All Health and Safety professionals know that PPE is the last resort after you have tried, Removing the Hazard, Substituting the Hazard, Engineering Controls and Administrative Controls. I prefer to discuss which of the four preferred options I have used and why they work. 

The conventional grid Risk Assessment  is fine working with conventional activities and equipment.  If you assess riding a bicycle, most people have ridden one, probably most people have fallen off one. They see them on a daily basis running red traffic lights etc, and have an opinion on how they should be used.

The risk with Grid Risk assessments  for a new activity,  is that the person writing the Risk Assessment can adjust the probability or severity to produce the assessment they want.
Do you know the risks of Llama's appearing over a hedge? Are you aware of what a pony might do if a Llama appears over a hedge.
I can write improbable and marginal in the boxes but it has happened three times, and without the IPRS the results could have been catastrophic.
This Risk Aassessment is my experiences over 16 years taking people who use wheelchairs cross country, and what I have done, and what I have changed over the years to keep my 100% safety record.  And also to explain what I am doing to improve on that 100% safety record.

Obamobility Risk Assessment

My extensive experience with my vehicles, 26 years inventing,  building, operating, rebuilding etc ad infinitum has taught me that my vehicles do absolutely nothing when there isn't a pony attached. With a pony attached, their movement is controlled by a pony who may, or may not listen to what I say. If he is scared, or panicked, his sole concern is to run away. 

This is called bolting. There is a word for it in the English language because it happens a lot. Bolting is catastrophic, and there is no point planning to "control the animal" as the definition of a bolting pony or horse, is one departing flat out, ot of control.

Rather than pretend I can control an animal, I control machinery which is predictable.

The Instant Pony Release System (IPRS) was developed in 2005 and worked then. I have improved it every year since.  I can release the pony from the vehicle instantly, start to finish under one second, from any position around or on the vehicle. See (IPRS).

Rule 1

If there is any threat to safety, release the pony from the vehicle.  You can continue to hold the pony if that seems appropriate, or let it run if that is safer. 

Ponies hate being trapped above all things. If they are scared and trapped they may bite or kick. If they are loose they run away.

Ponies running away do not harm you or the people you are working with.

Ponies run away to open space.  For them safety is the ability to see potential predators for 30 metres all round. So they go to a space with no people as people might be predators, or conceal predators, and no things big enough to conceal predators.
If your pony wants to run to somewhere that no people can claim damages from and no large objects can claim damages from your Insurance Broker will be happy. Always a good sign in a Risk Assessment.

Ponies. Risk Assessment

I use ponies for multiple reasons.  A 1.2 metre pony is powerful enough to do the work and small enough not to tower over a person sitting in a wheelchair.  People think they are cuddly and cute and safe, but most horse people think that ponies are tougher to work with than horses. You get horse sized attitude overflowing out of a pony. However, people feeling confident around smaller animals means they find it easier to control the pony because they feel confident. A virtuous circle.

A Riding School Risk assessment pointed out the big risk with horses is that they are large and heavy. 

Ponies are smaller and lighter. This is good. If they lean on you in a stable, it is unlikely to damage you. If they tread on your foot, it hurts but you don't get broken bones.
Since ponies have, on average, better feet than horses, they are less likely to have metal shoes nailed on. ( See section on Horseshoes below.) Being stood on withn horseshoes is actively dangerous. Barefoot ponies are painful.

Kicking and Biting

All horse people know that biters and kickers are well known for theitr proclivity and pretty identifiable as such. I wouldn't employ people with a track record of hitting children, I apply the same rule to ponies. (see ponies). 

Horseshoes.

The Snell test for equestrian helmets, in addition to the normal kerb shaped and spherical test anvils, uses a horseshoe shaped anvil. This shows that horseshoes are the hazard. Applying ther Heirarchy of Controls, I remove them. 

If the pony really needs shoes, and Obama sometimes does, I substitute hoof boots, fabric and rubber trainers for ponies, which are softer, more rounded and lighter than steel shoes.

I will not use ponies with steel shoes.  If there was an overriding veterinary reason for doing so with a pony I knew and trusted, I would consider it, but all staff would be wearing toetec boots and the pony would not be interacting with children standing on the ground.

Multiple Ponies.

I work Obama on his own, and trust him, as a result of 16 years working with him. If he is with friends, (pony friends) he is no longer predictable. He gets jealous and protective of me, (as a source of food) when other ponies approach. This is not true of all ponies or all locations, but it is necessary to be aware if using multiple ponies close together and a full Risk Assessment after trying it with able bodies volunteers is necessary. 

Getting on the vehicle.

Getting on and off a pony or horse drawn vehicle is a high risk activity.

Firstly they tend to be high. Tradition dictates the higher the better, 

There is top heavy and there is over the top heavy. This is clearly the latter. These vehicles are challenging for anyone with mobility issues, impossible if you use a wheelchair, and no amount of modification will solve the issue.

The Obamobile 3 is designed to address all the safety issues here. 

Firstly, I will not use spoked wheels. They scream "trap hazard" as spoked wheels are just big, blunt, repeating scissors, ready to mangle any limb that enters the gaps.

Secondly. Solid tyres are harder work for the pony, and mash any foot or limb that gets under them. I use wide (275mm) pneumatics. If I run over my feet I hardly notice and my vehicle has been on the sacred turf of the Old Course, St Andrews, by invitation purely because it does not damage what it runs over.

Thirdly, height is a near permanent refrain in any Risk Assessment. Falling from a height is NOT good. So the floor of the Obamobile 3 is 125mm off the ground. Falling off is the same as falling off a kerb.

Fourth. ramps in the UK are meant to be less than 10 degrees. The Obamobile tilting floor loading system is about 9 degrees.

And finally. Loading a person with mobility issues into any vehicle is far safer if the vehicle is stationary. The traditional approach is to attach the pony, or horses to the vehicle and then get on. This is dangerous if you are fit and agile and the pony moves. Lethal if you have mobility issues. 

To see the loading process click this link.

We get the person in their wheelchair securely fastened in place BEFORE we even think of attaching the pony. I never managed to get my children to stay still when I wanted them to, I have no hope with a pony, and if something scares him,  random Llama appearing or a dog attack, he is going to bolt. Even the Instant Pony Release System would allow the vehicle to move a bit. 

So we get everything safe before we attach the dangerous bit. 

And then we concentrate on being ready to operate the release.