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!

doobie - A rider was killed locally a few years ago when her horse spooked at a fire engine (on blue lights and sirens, attending a genuine fire) - she was thrown from the horse.

Agree that whoever is nearest the passing place should give way if they are able to. I often lead a small pony when we're out which makes it a bit trickier to pull over but I have taught her to fairly reliably stand up on the verge when a car passes to give the big horse room to tuck in. To be honest the presence of a tiny cute hairy pony being led off a matching much bigger one usually results in drivers slowing right down to goggle at us and consequently passing with care.

There are rude horse riders just as there are rude humans of any description. For my part I wear hi-viz and thank those who take care around us.

I like riding on the road. (I like driving cars on it too.) we are lucky to have such a lot of bridleways and fields that there is no need to ever use the roads unless you want to for a bit of variety or are trying to get somewhere in particular.

Think roadwork is quite good for horses, am sure my old vet told me to do at least two miles a day.

Thanks for answering :)

Toboldlygo, that is so so sad :(

AliBingo uanbu ..... some riders give other riders a bad name .
My gripe is when you meet horses and they have pet dogs running loose with them, it may be nice to exercise your dog and horse together but you can, t control your dog if your on a horse . We get it all the time in our village and I often meet them when walking my dog . Makes me nervous as our dog is very friendly but often their dog is not .

Most experienced horses can rein back [reverse] and most riders know the aids to get the to do it but if the lane was narrow,the horse young or the rider inexperienced it was better for you to do the reversing.However she should have thanked you.

YABU unless the passing place was huge. Horses aren't always very good at standing still close to a road. If they get scared they have the unfortunate tendency to jump in front of the car.

I had a very bad fall of my horse when a motorcyclist revved and rode straight at me & horse on a small road! I lost my nerve completely , horse took a year for toren muscles to heal.... That's from galloping down a road, no rider chooses to do that.

I look at all those think cyclist/ motorbike ads and think nasty thoughts!!

No rider chooses to ride on roads, the traffic is so dangerous now.

As for road tax, you pay an emissions tax based on your pollution for upkeep of roads.. Horse riders also pay emissions tax for their cars, and would be quite happy for roads to have more potholes to slow traffic down.

Horses can be daft indeed. My daughter used to ride one who was mortally afraid of daffodils, and wasn't safe to be ridden on the roads in spring for fear of spooking badly at said terrifying yellow flower A horse i used to ride was afraid of stationary tractors. Fine if they were moving - not fine if they were still and lurking menacingly ....

On a very sad note there was an awful incident recently in one of the lanes in the village when a woman drove her sports car round a bend at a ridiculous speed and literally ploughed into the legs of the lead pony of a children's hack. The rider broke her pelvis in the fall, and the pony had to be put to sleep at the roadside. The driver's main concern through all this was who was going to pay for her missing wing mirror :(:(:(

Horses have a mind and personality of their own - a car does not.
Horses can be terrified of traffic - a car has no feelings.

I feel sorry for the horses having to walk on the roads.
When I went on a hack in the 60s we used bridle ways. Where have they all gone?

Well, I've been Googling and rifling through the Highway Code and I can't see where it gives Horses any right of way, in the country, on single lane roads or anywhere else.

There are some campaigny horsey sites that assert this right, but it isn't in law anywhere I can see.

If a horse is terrified of traffic, it shouldn't be out on the roads - the rider should be desensitising it in a safer environment where other road users are not put at risk.

Horses can "reverse" and any remotely polite rider would have manouevred back into the passing place (heck they could've turned around and walked back into it!). Some riders give the rest of the riding community a bad name.

At the end of the day,

Its an animal and a human being...and do you want to be the person who put their lives & yours in danger.

1/2 ton of horse through a car windscreen wont do much for the occupants.

YANBU - It is fairly easy to have an experienced horse/rider combination 'back-up'. It takes longer, but is possible for a novice horse/experienced rider to 'back-up'. Even a novice horse/rider combination (pretty sub-ideal but does happen) would have been able to turn in the road and thus end up back in the passing place, particularly if you'd left them two car lengths to do so.

She was also rude not to thank you for reversing. Sometimes with a lively beastie it's best not to take hands off reins for too long (or at all!) but it's always possible to nod and smile.

I once met some tanks whilst on an endurance ride. They stopped, turned off the engine and held on to the wavy flag thing whilst my mare danced passed sideways

I suspect you are mistaken in interpreting the hand gesture. She was probably thanking you for paying attention or beckoning you to come on. Theres no reason on a horse which is good in traffic to faff around going backwards into gateways when you can continue going forwards along the side of the road.

I rode for 2 hours today and about 40 cars passed me. Do you really think I "reversed" or turned round each and every time a car came towards me?

You should have just continued on forwards, slowly, at a speed slow enough to stop if any emergency occurred.

Study your Highway Code if in doubt. If you live in the countryside, you really should know these things.

Just how does someone give a signal to you to reverse a car?

Exit many armoured units in the British Army are actually cavalry regiments and have a very strong tradition of riding, I'm sure that the squadron commander will have known exactly what to do around horses :)

horses shouldnt be on roads there are enough fields to ride in ! ive never seen a happy horserider or a polite one .

They were lovely. Made me feel a bit teary.

shellbu

LazyJaney Yes, I was confused by people asserting that earlier. Horses should obey the normal right of way rules like any other road traffic. However, there is a general presumption of a duty of care to more vulnerable road users: lorry drivers have a duty of care to car drivers, car drivers to motorbikes, motorbikes to cyclists etc. See rules 204-225 "Road users requiring extra care"

lazyjaney try rules:

214

Animals. When passing animals, drive slowly. Give them plenty of room and be ready to stop. Do not scare animals by sounding your horn, revving your engine or accelerating rapidly once you have passed them. Look out for animals being led, driven or ridden on the road and take extra care. Keep your speed down at bends and on narrow country roads. If a road is blocked by a herd of animals, stop and switch off your engine until they have left the road. Watch out for animals on unfenced roads.

215

Horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles. Be particularly careful of horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles especially when overtaking. Always pass wide and slowly. Horse riders are often children, so take extra care and remember riders may ride in double file when escorting a young or inexperienced horse or rider. Look out for horse riders? and horse drivers? signals and heed a request to slow down or stop. Take great care and treat all horses as a potential hazard.

If I was the rider I would have circled round.

You lot who wonder if horses can reverse watch dressage sometime

exit, that is pretty awesome I'd have stopped to ask for a pic alongside them!