What should I have done? (almost hit horse and rider with my car)

I think you just need to put this down to a live and learn situation...no harm done. I do find horses annoying on roads though I must say.

OP
Thinking about it I'm not sure there was anything else I could have done differently apart from drive at slowly all the time which obviously isn't a sensible option.

You don’t have to drive slowly all the time but you do have to be driving slowly enough to stop if there is an obstruction. I do lots of driving in our local lanes and I always slow right down when I can’t see around a corner. It’s scarey to think that you think it’s ok to drive fast around corners.

It’s not just horses, cyclists or pedestrians there are lots of other potential hazards. The deer around where I live have a habit of jumping straight out of hedges in front of cars, you see a lot of dead deer.

Have a look at some of your normal routes and see how much time you would actually save by going fast rather than just going at a sensible speed. It probably isn’t going to save you that much time and driving slower is much more relaxing. Chill and enjoy the ride. 🧘🏻‍♀️

If a bend is particularly tight, especially one on a single lane road, I sometimes give a pip of my horn.

Because horses require exercise, roads are a means of getting from a to b, many bridlepaths are out of use or gone completely, because going round and round in circles in a school is fairly boring and not good for the horse...

Because it isn't legal to just 'ride in the fields' as those fields belong to other people who likely don't want them churned up with horses.

Why do any road users use roads - the road takes them where they need to go.

I'm a horse rider (and I drive) and there are things both rider and driver can do to help stop this sort of thing from happening.
Firstly the corner is the issue. If you can not see around it go slow, you never know who or what might be around the bend secondly what was the horse rider wearing?
I wear a hiz Viz hat cover so I can be seen over hedges at much as possible, my horse wears high Viz too or a zebra stripes fly riding rug in the summer. I do everything I can to be seen. Riders who don't do this are asking for trouble!
I'd say if your on a narrow country lane at least expect so meet a horse, dog walker, cyclist or car and be going slow enough to stop easily.

As a horse rider, why on earth would I like that to be your angle? I’m pleased that it’s not.

unfortunately, riding on country roads is usually unavoidable in order to get said horses out and about. It’s illegal to ride horses on footpaths or pavements so that wouldn’t help much. Wide grass verges are wonderful when they are there but often they aren’t. Country roads can be, almost by definition, narrow and national speed limit. It is what it is 🤷🏻‍♀️

Read the road matey. Accelerating out of a village onto a blind bend just because speed limit says you can is reckless and foolish.

The horses (well, their umpty-great grandparents) were using those narrow roads long before the loons started driving motor vehicles. The reason they are narrow is because that's all the width a horse needs. Perhaps the narrow roads should all be made out-of-bounds for any motor-vehicle driver not holding an advanced driving qualification that includes a significant element of content on safe driving on rural roads (renewable every 5 years min) and anyone who doesn't invest their time and effort in learning appropriate road safety for such road types can just restrict themselves to destinations and routes where the roads are wide enough and straight enough to not need additional skill and good sense. Drivers do not own the roads.

Thank goodness. No fun having a car bonnet up your backside.
No, not anti horses or anti horses being ridden, though you may like that to be my angle.
I love to see them out and about, just not on narrow roads with a 60 limit, no footpath and nowhere to go out of the way of a loon 🤷‍♀️

This - and also on single track roads you need to be able to stop in half the distance you can see is clear (to account for possible traffic heading towards you)

Scary incident that at least no-one was hurt in, but the guidance is regardless of the statutory speed limit you only go as fast as the road conditions and visibility allow, and blind corners should be approached very very slowly. 20mphr would be the max I’d take those.

That said, if it changes immediately from 30mph to 60 at that point, it might be worth writing to the local council and/or your MP because it sounds as though it should be a max of 40 on the approach to a sharp bend AND that perhaps a ‘beware of horses’ sign also be placed there? They tend to only change things where there have been actual accidents, but if you explain that one was very narrowly avoided they may take notice.

I’m not sure what your angle is - perhaps you are anti- horses being ridden or existing altogether. But I can say with confidence that the majority of horses would much prefer to be taken out on a nice hack than going around in endless circles inside a small boring school. Accidents are thankfully very rare.

I don't even like driving on 60mph country roads

If I’m approaching a corner on a rural road, I always slow down no matter what the speed limit. You never know what’s round there. I was taught to always drive defensively. You were lucky this time and maybe a bit of a shakeup is a valuable lesson.

As a rider, it can be terrifying hearing someone coming really fast behind you and realising there is nowhere for you to tuck in.

This is the trouble where we live. Ridiculous being a 60 limit. So dangerous.

I moved to a similar area last year, and I see this all the time. People familiar with lanes that have lots of twisty bends going far too fast for the conditions, taking bends wide because of their speed, hanging on my bumper because they want to go faster, etc. I also see lots of cars in the ditches, some upside down. The bottom line is that if you can't see around a corner, assume there's an idiot lorry at 50mph in the centre of the road. It concentrates the mind on the correct speed to be doing.

BTW, if you are one of the drivers on my bumper, that doesn't make me speed up, it makes me slow down. If you won't observe stopping distances then I am always happy to help you out.

I can see it would be more stressful
for you. I just cringe regularly for the horses. They’ve no choice where they’re ridden.

Yes like others have said, we do it because we have no choice - I don't know any rider that finds being on the roads relaxing, between speedy drivers, hoardes of cyclists suddenly zooming up silently behind you, kids on scooters darting out into your path, loose aggressive dogs chasing you, it's not much fun out there. If we all had the option to ride exclusively on bridlepaths or on private land I suspect we'd all take it and you'd never see another horse on the roads again! But sadly outside very fancy private estates and a few lucky souls who live inside national parks or with extensive bridlepaths on their doorstep, pretty much everyone has to do at least a stretch of road to get to somewhere safe to ride...

Glad this has been helpful for you and an important lesson learnt with no harm done :)
I live in the suburbs and there is a blind bend in the road near my house that always has a car parked on it (tbh this is the main problem and they really shouldn't park there) and people always take the bend really fast, I am certain one day there will be a nasty accident

Well done @Redstorm2807 .

You came, you asked if you were being unreasonable, posters confirmed (nicely!) that you were, supplied supporting evidence as to why and you accepted it graciously so you and plenty others that read the post will learn from it!

And, all within the first page!

I'm a rider and hate being on the road as I'm always imagining this scenario.

A rider from a stables I rode at long ago was killed, and so was her horse. It was slightly different in that they were negotiating a turn across a fast road, but still.

Lesson learned. I'm not going to pile on. You were thoroughly shaken by this, and of course, so was the rider. Luckily the horse was sensible about it! Mine would not have been. That's why I moved him to a stable where no road work was needed, even though it added a half hour to my commute. It's just terrifying what can happen on the roads.

If you were doing 40 out of a village on a blind corner sounds like you could have hit the animal and rider or anyone else in your way and you are at fault. Just slow down. It’s perfectly acceptable to do less than 30 in a village and when leaving one. Most people would thank you for being sensible. Im sure the rider and horse are more shaken up than you

Lack of places to ride, have to use roads to reach bridleways.. etc. We aren’t allowed on footpaths, pavements or in random fields (as everyone thinks!)
I am fortunate to have a farm to ride around. I rarely use the roads nowadays as they terrify me. If I do I go out early on quiet roads. My horses are my whole world, I hate putting them in danger.

A lot of rural roads have 60mph limits, the stables that I use is in beautiful countryside but the road outside it, although pretty much single track, is a 60mph road, so riders don’t have a choice.

@Redstorm2807 - "... Thinking about it I'm not sure there was anything else I could have done differently apart from drive at slowly all the time which obviously isn't a sensible option..."

Well of course that is a sensible - and legally correct - option!

You sound like a really dangerous driver if the moment you leave a 30mph limit you are looking to accelerate up to the permitted maximum despite not knowing what is around the corner ahead. You and the driver behind you should not have needed to make emergency stops to avoid hitting the horse and rider.

The rider was 100% justified in displaying their anger