Horse riding etiquette

[Purpleandping]

I've just been for a run in the woods, nice and shady.

I came across two horse riders, two abreast on the path. So I slowed right down and moved to the far left handside of the path, expecting them to go to single file to enable us all to pass comfortably. I thought I'd done the right thing.

One of the riders put her hand out for me to stop, which I did and they continued on their way.

I realise it's not the biggest issue in the world and I wasn't planning to push hard in the heat anyway. I appreciate it's in no one's interest to spook a horse, but shouldn't they have stopped and/or moved aside if their horses equire that kind of care, rather than expecting it of others? What if I had been a dog or a child and less compliant?

I also thought the requirement was that the slower more vulnerable user , i.e. me! had priority. Pedestrians, horses then cyclists. As a runner I always give way for walkers and as a cyclist for everyone.

Not really sure here. The etiquette while cycling and coming up behind a horse is to to shout out “hi horse” or similar so that the horse knows you are coming. So did come up from behind or meet them head on?

I’m not really sure there is an etiquette as such. People (riders, cyclists, walkers, runners, dog walkers, etc) in my experience all seem to behave in completely random ways when sharing space together. My thought process is that you just try and be polite and accommodating in whichever way you can. If you are on a narrow section of path, whoever has the best opportunity to squeeze off the path to let the other user pass safely should do so.

As someone who fits into all of the above categories to some degree except for dog walker, I’ve come across polite and rude examples of all of them. However, I am usually in the horse rider category. Most riders are aware their horse can be a large and potentially intimidating animal to other path users, and will ride in a way which will cause the least amount of alarm to others. Some horses are spooky, some are not. You don’t say whether you were approaching the riders head on or not, but runners suddenly appearing from a horse’s blind spot can spook them in ways runners don’t understand. Without knowing the horses in question of the layout of the path you were both on, it’s impossible to say whether the riders were being impolite or not in taking up the space. As with cyclists on narrow bits of road where it would endanger them to ride in single file, there can be situations where it is safer for horse riders to ride 2 abreast too.

And well intentioned actions can easily be misinterpreted. For example, I often know when a dog walker is using a high frequency whistle to call their dog back, because it can really upset some horses. Horses have much more sensitivity to sounds in the higher frequency range, and dog whistles can be very upsetting to them. The majority of dog walkers I come across blow frantically on their dog whistles as though it is a magic tool which will instantly call their dog back, with many of them not understanding that you actually have to train the dog to recognise a specific whistle blow as a command to recall. The dog walker believes they are doing the best they can though, so their intention is good if misplaced. And often we get cyclists who try to creep up behind a horse as quietly as possible, in the belief that bikes making a noise is what scares horses, completely unaware of the fact that it is the sudden popping up in their peripheral vision that scares the horse, precisely what they have been doing. Their intention is good though.

Lots of people intend to share spaces politely, and even if their actions in doing so are a bit baffling, 99% of people out on these tracks are there for leisure activities, not for essential reasons. So I would just not get too upset about it if you had to stop and pull over. It’s no big deal. I’ve seen some runners justifying why they shouldn’t have to stop by saying they are timing their runs and in training. I am always in training when out on my horse, but can still find a few seconds to slow down and pull over to be polite.

Final comment - sometimes one of my horses simply does not want to stop. We are working on this, it is a necessary skill she needs to learn. But in the meantime, trying to stand her still on a narrow track so someone else can run past them would potentially put the runner at risk. It is far safer for everyone for us just to keep moving steadily forward. Who knows if this was the case though? They could just be entitled dicks on horses. I doubt we will ever know.

They may have been riding two abreast because the one on the inside was inexperienced (either horse or rider). Very common to do that.

Anyway, it is far easier for a pedestrian to step to one side for a moment to let two large animals past than it is for the riders to get their horses to move out of the way of a pedestrian.

I expect it's a bit trickier with horses than bikes to suddenly get them in single file.

There could be all kinds of reasons why that might not have worked or might have taken longer than them just carrying on past you as they were

One of them was probably a young horse. If you try to stop or pull aside an upset horse, it may spin in circles to try to get moving ( and knock you over in the process).

It's always best to let an insecure or worried horse approach or pass the thing that is worrying it, rather than have the thing approach the horse. It scares the horse far less.

Yes exactly, as a horse rider I'd say it's of course unacceptable for anyone to block the whole path so people can't get by, however for everyone's safety we might just need a bit of patience while we form ourselves into single file and move to the side to give you a wide berth /space to pass, particularly when I'm riding my young horse who while very good does have a habit of swinging his bum towards the middle of the path/road when asked to halt, particularly if he feels squashed into a bush or something, obviously again I prevent or correct this swiftly every time as it's not safe for him or passers-by (he's not looking to kick or anything but I can see it would be alarming as people on the ground don't know that) - it's not particularly helpful if someone's trying to rush by at close quarters. Sounds like you did the right thing OP by being patient, I do try as a rider to communicate a bit better for pedestrians (obviously harder with cars) and shout 'give us a sec please' if I see someone's waiting so maybe the riders could have done that rather just hand gestures, although maybe their horses were scared of raised voices too?

And yes, even if you are the thing that the horse is scared of, they may still knock you over trying to get away.

You’re right that the weaker and more vulnerable is generally given priority: steam gives way to sail. But here both were vulnerable in different ways.

I think the real problem is the way this was done. You were directed to stop and did so. I think that if they’d smiled and said “thank you”, you probably wouldn’t be feeling the way you do. You can’t know why they continued riding abreast and though you’ve been given possible explanations, it’s also possible that it just didn’t occur to the riders.

Around here, I’m glad to say that my experience is that there’s mutual respect between runners, dog walkers and riders, invariably including a friendly acknowledgment.

I say nothing about cyclists…

Technically on a shared path a pedestrian has the right of way. However, horses are unpredictable and can get spooked for a variety of reasons. In this case you were correct to stand to the side, and they warned you by putting their hand up to not move. This may be for many reasons. So while by the letter if the law (or Highway Code), they should have made room for you, surely it wasn’t much for you to stop for a few seconds to let these horses walk by as safely as their riders deemed possible?
If you have a dog you are responsible for keeping it under control. Should it spook or bite the horse you might be held liable for any damage (if the rider subsequently fell off for example). If you have your dog under a short lead and it’s a one off bark that’s different than a dog snarling and lunging repeatedly.
A child is never liable. And you aren’t either. However, would you risk a child running in front of a horse? You either pick the child up or put yourself between the horse and your child.
Common sense should prevail.

Not everyone can move to the side that quickly. I have a young horse who is still learning and sometimes I just need to get past you safely. It’s a bit like a toddler learning to ride a bike. Ideally they shouldn’t veer towards you, but they still don’t really know how to ride and they might! Horses are big unpredictable animals and because of herd dynamics, sometimes they can’t move in front of or behind the other horse without it all kicking off. It sounds like she was trying to keep you and her safe. I hope she said thank you though.