If the horses are fed a 7 a.m. and the kids are in bed by 10 p.m. that means the horse staff has just completed a 15-hour day. It is difficult to keep the riding experience lively and fun session after session. It is hard to stop the tiny acts of carelessness that result from fatigue. The foreseeable accident that results from fatigue-induced negligence probably has no defense. A solution is not impossible and the situation does not exist at all camps and riding establishments.
Backward analysis results from beginning the analysis at the wrong end.
For example, if a certain number of campers, riding students or ranch guests are expected, often that number is divided up among the existing number of wranglers, instructors, and trail guides and they are accommodated. Often this means that the staff are on their feet or on a horse long hours. A parallel problem that should be considered at the same time is the fatigue factor of the horses. Most camping personnel will admit that the horses improve the first few weeks of camp, then they go along quite nicely, but by the end of the camping season tiny mishaps increase. It may be little things, a laid back ear, a glaring eye, a raised leg that warns, or a little buck.