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!

Lots of twats around this thread!
The rider was a TWAT and gives riders a bad name. There are very few reasons why a single rider couldnt have steered their horse into the gateway. There was no need to reverse, a simple turn would have sufficed.
Anyone who brings up road tax as an excuse for being inconsiderate to any ather road user is a TWAT.
Anyone who suggests that sounding their horn near a horse is in any way acceptable is a TWAT.
EVERYONE using the roads has a right to be there and should be treated with the respect you would expect to receive, whether you are a rider OR a driver.
Remember that that horse isnt just an animal that is in your way. It is being ridden by someones mother/daughter/son/husband. Do you really want to be responsible for that persons injury? Even if you do somehow think that the horse itself being put at risk is acceptable?

FYI, we often ride 2 abreast. Its not being inconsiderate, it is self preservation. ride in single file and cars take risks. You will get someone overtaking from behind whilst a car is coming towards you. Highly dangerous. It is not uncommon to be hit by a passing wing mirror in such circumstances. It has happened to DD14 twice in recent times. Ride 2 abreast and cars HAVE to wait to overtake until the way ahead is clear and there is more room.
Horse riders are not generally entitled. They are just trying to use the roads like everyone else. It is not always easy to acknowledge consideration when you are riding a youngster or a spooky horse. Riding takes all your concentration and not all horses are 100% traffic proof. This only comes with miles on the road and practice. Its nice to be thanked, but at the end of the day its not the be all.

OP YANBU. With time to spot you coming and a large gateway, she could have got out of the way. You would have been past in seconds.

Booboostoo -

shellbu - to be blunt, perhaps you should re-visit your Rules of the Road? Horses are considered legitimate road users and should be treated with the same courtesy as any other road user. (They should also treat other road users with courtesy, which didn't happen in this case, but does occur in my case and with all the other riders who have posted on this thread)

According to the OP, the rider was sufficiently in control of her horse to take her hand off the rein long enough to indicate Ali should reverse, so it does, unfortunately sound like sheer rudeness, rather than necessity.

Shellbu. We ride the roads. It is not always possible or safe to use fields. Our paddocks have been gopping wet since last june. Its impossible to ride on them, its just too slippery, the mud sucks at the horses feet and could well cause an injury, and we desperately need to save any grass that we can for grazing. We do not have a sand school to use. Farmers are generally lovely, but round here dont often give permission to ride on their land. We are mainly arable, which means the fields are full of crops anyway.
Which leaves bridle paths. There are 2!! in our range. Both are accessed via several miles of roads. Both have been bisected by dangerous major roads. Its often road work or nothing.

boring me now its like a kids play ground here lmao :) night trolls /

1. Horse riders (and pedestrians, and cyclists and anyone else) do not have right of way over motorised vehicles - no idea where that has came from but its not true.

1. Rule 52 of the highway code states that the rider should be able to control their horse.

In the above example the rider is absolutely at fault - it is in no way acceptable to expect another road user to reverse 200 feet when the other road user is within a few feet of one.

If the rider is unable to control their horse such that they are unable to either reverse or turn the animal in to the passing place then they should not be on a public road.

Simple as that.

Vulnerable road users have right of way I believe.

And why do you think we are trolls shellbu? You sound very odd

Sorry haven't read the thread but I live in a massively horsey tiny narrow lane area. On the whole, with a few laudable exceptions, I find horse riders exceptionally arrogant, self-important and rude. The horses look quite nice, shame they don't get much say.

I need to add another entry to my list of twats...

yellowtip how can you tell all those things just by driving or cycling past?

"Vulnerable road users have right of way I believe."

Not true. Rules 214 through 218 make mention that car users should take great care around horse riders etc but there is no specific "right of way".

And it generally good driving to acknowledge and allow for the vulnerable nature of riders but to reverse 200 feet when the rider is virtually in an existing passing place? No chance.

I was wondering that too mitchy

I'm not arrogant . Or rude . I work in a profession where being rude even off duty could lose me my job . In fact I'm positively unassuming until forced not to be . People see horse riders and think rich , snobby , and posh . The fact that that horse rider keeps the horse on DIY livery , rarely goes out , buys primark trainers while the horse has new shoes every 6 weeks at £60 a set , and drives a really really (full of ) crap car , totally passes them by .

pmsl at being given feedback on leg yielding by a passing motorist.

I'm not sure if this has been bought up, but do horse riders need to clear up the shite their horses have deposited on the roads?

Dog owners are often threatened with fines, does the same apply to horse riders too?

there are some slight differences between horses and dogs and their poo why not think about it for a minute?

Compos they don't as horse poo doesn't represent the same threat to human health as dog or cat poo would.

Thank you. Moonlight

Fair enough. I that because they don't eat meat?

Sorry, was that rude?

I think it would be quite difficult to scoop up large quantities of horse poo whilst maintaining control of your horse on a road and transport it with you all the way round. Horse poo doesn't pose the same sort of risks to health or the environment as dog poo.

yes dogs are omnivorous and horses are herbivores

Yup, exactly - seems the herbivores don't carry so many toxins.

It is still unpleasant on a stinky level if you don't like horses mind you, so I can see where you're coming from. Still, on the plus side - free mulch for the veg once it's rotted down! (The poo, not the veg obvs.).

Yes it was...fuckitty bye.

oh, so much for my obsessive compulsive people pleasing disorder - I'm cured!

I thought if you just imagined yourself on the public highways shovelling poo into a bin bag then (assuming horse hasn't fucked off) re-mounting (with shovel and bin bag) and repeating possibly four or five times that you might find the answers within

I'm wondering what form the shovel would take and how heavy or light it would be. And how or where you would carry it, whilst still enabling one hand free to wave at pleasant drivers.

I'm also thinking horse poo is disposed of in the same way as wild animal poo, eventually.

I'm thinking it does not go the same way as nappies full of baby poo that get thrown out on the layby near my house, or indeed all the other rubbish that gets thrown out on the roadside.

To elaborate, horse poo tends to be dryish when the horse is fed on hay, and wettish and possibly greener when the horse is fed on grass. Neither is harmful, and similar stuff (but usually produced industrially, not organically) is sprayed on fields to help grow the crops we eat. Some farmers do spread horse muck directly onto fields as well, which I'm thinking is more environmentally friendly than the Haber Process in a chemical plant.

Its a fascinating subject...

although I think technically dogs are carnivorans