to expect horse (and rider) to reverse for me!

[AliBingo]

Genuinely puzzled here- I live down a single-track lane which is very narrow and windy so you have to drive slowly, anyway I met a horse-rider when I went out earlier.

Where we met, the rider was just past a field gateway passing place - the horse was about halfway past it, so its back legs and the saddle, and the rider herself, were still alongside the passing place. I stopped in plenty of time (couple of car lengths away) and waited for them to get into the passing place.

I waited and after about 30 seconds, rider did a hand gesture to indicate that I was to reverse! I duly reversed about 200 feet back down the lane and then sat waiting for about a minute while the rider proceeded to the passing place alongside me.

She looked a bit grumpy and didn't thank me, presumably because I hadn't reversed straightaway. But I had expected her to go into passing place!

So I am now wondering if it's not even possible to get a horse to back up/turn around/reverse etc - can you tell that I know nothing about horses!

WIBU to expect them to go into the passing place practically next to them, or does car etiquette not apply when the other vehicle is a horse!

Thanks!

fair enough if she is inexperienced (although why is she riding alone on a public highway if incapable of controlling her horse?) but she could have at least said thankyou and maybe given an apologetic explanation for her inability as a rider.

Horses can move backwards, but it is a movement many are not completely confident with.

Even with a confident horse I would never, ever, ever do a reverse movement back-up of a horse on a narrow public road. We had one die doing just that, when being ridden by a family friend. One hoof accidentally into the long grass of the verge, except the the verge wasn't there. The grass hid a deep ditch. An unlucky fall, a fracture and our old boy was put to sleep by the side of the road nearly an hour later.

If there was plenty of room AliBingo, and if the horse really was within a few feet of the passing place, and if the vehicle was a reasonable distance away, and if there was no other approaching traffic or pedestrians, and if the horse and rider were suitably confident, etc etc etc, then they could have turned right round in a right hand half circle (if riding on the left) moved forward a few paces, turned right round in a right hand half circle again, to bring them into the passing place.

Sounds an awful palaver, I know, but (even quiet) horses are unpredictable and can weigh half a ton!

Otherwise the correct thing to do, is exactly what you did AliBingo. (When in doubt, drivers, give way to the horse !) The rider should have thanked you nicely for it. I am so sorry she didn't ... considerate drivers should be valued by horse owners everywhere!
So ... as a horse owner ... may I thank you for your consideration to that horse? Thank you.

Surely horses can turn?! Who pays road tax here?

I pay road tax on the car I use to get to the stables.

Jeez!

Road tax?! I don't drive so I don't pay road tax, does that mean drivers don't have to be considerate when I walk somewhere?

Unfortunately I think there are a lot of inconsiderate horse riders ,just like there are lots of inconsiderate cyclists and car drivers . I've owned horses for over 30 yrs and at the weekend I was mightily pissed off when following 2 horses on a country lane ,riding right out in the road and apparently unable to look around the large bend to wave me past .it's when people do that that the next time drivers feel less sympathetic and don't want to wait . I do see where sleeton was coming from about reversing on a grass verge but TBH it sounds like she could have just done a small circle to get into the gateway and if she can't do that she shouldn't have a horse on a public road .

I have been riding on and off for 35 years and class myself as a competent novice , in that in most situations i can hang on by the skin of my teeth , but look like a sack of spuds doing it .
The rider you encountered was just plain rude , regardless of her abilities or the horses neurotic tendencies , if someone gives way for you , you always acknowledge them and thank them . Its the rules , or it should be !

Horses do have a reverse gear- its called a rein back. That said, young horses may not have been taught this. The youngster I am currently sharing gets very confused when given clear aids to rein back.

In an ideal world, the rider should have gone back into the space, but there may well be a very valid reason why they didn't- some are given above.

Either that or they were just very entititled! There are lots or road users out there on all forms of transport that are.

Do horses pay road tax? If so, where do they display their tax disk?

road tax isn't a thing!

as a novice rider I may have circled back if I felt it was safe but I would also suggest it's safer for you to reverse

I would have thanked you though

meant to add - the upkeep of roads (not motorways) is paid for through Council Tax is it not? Not Car Tax

Mitchy1nge the paddock behind has a few sheep in it, grass is quite long in the gateway if that makes a difference to the horse.

Sad to hear about the poor horse that died slipping in a hidden ditch sleeton :( and thanks for your thanks! :)

Thanks for all the replies, not a big deal but I was a bit flummoxed by it, most riders round here are very nice.

And now I know whether horses have a reverse gear or not! :P

Given your description, I fail to see why the rider couldn't have simply turned round into the passing place. Although some horses are hard to back up, they should all be able to turn within their own length.

Was this on a hill? The rule is that the road user going uphill has right of way (rule 155 of the highway code if I remember correctly.

butterflyroom - what's 'road tax' (which doesn't exist - it's called VED) got to do with it? There are plenty of car drivers who don't pay VED either - should they be classed as second class road users?

Horses most definately have reverse gear...and even go sideways. !

My horse does not do dressage or any fancy high school stuff but from early on the two things taught for safety on the roqd was back up and side pass... side pass excellent for getting into short gateways lol. We back up even in a carriage so really its not that hard.

Imo all horses should be able to do that and move bum round so that one can more safely manouvre on the road.... of course conditions such as visibility permitting. I think a lot of riders do not prepare horses well enough for roads. ... a big bugbear of mine.

Sorry about your horse sleeton

I do think the rider was rude not to thank you...reversing e en a car is not always easy on narrow roads.

Do you have a cat or a dog? If so, have a little try at getting them to walk backwards!

Kind of pointless really. I've not put a saddle on my cat or dog and ridden them but it seems a horse os perfectly capable of that.

I am surprised that, given they were mostly "in" the gateway/passing place they should just have turned about and gone into it. OTOH, given she did not thank you it would seem the rider is bad mannered and rude so perhaps it isn't surprising..

Admitting firstly that I know very little about horses, however given as some other posters have said above it is apparently safer for a moving horse to pass a motionless car than vice versa could the lady on the horse not have circled round and gone 40 feet down to road to allow the OP to move into the passing place and then gone past the vehicle in safety?

No reversing required!

Horses can reverse, but maybe hers was young and still getting used to the road.

If you'd met me on my horse (10 years ago when I was a regular rider) I'd've reversed...
provided he was not twitchy or spooking and therefore was less likely to behave well enough.
It could well be that her horse was having a bit of a tizz and so it was just easier to request that you reverse as your car wouldn't object! That might explain the lack of thanks afterwards; I've had times when my horse was being a bit of a swine so I've been preoccupied with keeping him steady and passed loads of vehicles without saying thanks. Its only later when I've thought "hmm, that was rude".

Or she could have got off her horse and led it back the 2 metres.

It's not necessarily the reversing that's the problem , but also the standing still whilst the car comes past .

I have two horses I ride out on the roads . V rural Norfolk roads , but with a very high percentage of seriously big agricultural traffic about , and fifteen foot ditches on either side of the road , so no room to escape to either . One of them , which is my dressage horse , would have happily backed up and stood there ( unless there was a dangerous horse eating plastic bag in the hedge ) , but the other one , whilst she is completely bombproof and would have backed up , absolutely loathes standing still for any reason , and ends up faffing on the spot with the additional possibility of swinging her back end out into the path of the car , which is why I try to keep her going forward as soon as the nose of the car passes in these situations .

As for 'vehicle excise duty '. - well there's a clue there . Plus all my animals are fully insured in the event of an accident , including third party and public liability insurance . Costs more each than the horsebox I also pay excise duty and insurance for .

I always make a point of thanking people ( other than the one that took my stirrup leather with him and broke my foot ) , but I tend to do that with excessive nodding and smiling , as taking a hand off the reins can be a bit of a risk . But I do agree , some horse riders can be damn rude .

Maddening , it's all very well getting off , but then you can't always get back on . If its a big horse , there isn't always a fence or something helpful to stand on , and if I'm honest , I'm 42 . Springing lightly onto their back was ok when I was 19 , but ain't happening anytime soon now . And besides , it's a bigger danger faffing about trying to get back on on a road , when you don't know what else might be coming . No thanks .

You only have boring kitchen photos Plo. I was expecting horse porn :(

'then as I was going around, the horse and rider in front started galloping along the road'

How FAST were you going? You should pass horses very slowly with lots and lots of room. The reason so many of you think horse riders are rude is because you're passing too close and too fast.

OP I think you're being a bit crap about this. You had a car which does exactly what you tell it too. Not her fault you can't reverse straight She was on a horse. You don't know why she didn't go back a few yards but seeing as she was clear you needed to go back I think we can assume she had a good reason.

Oh, and I'm with Plo on the getting off = last resort. I'm too old to be clambering about now, and I have far more control on top.