Who was BU, me driving or man on horse?

[EsmeraldaEllaBella]

Sorry for another car thread! Name changed recently but am a regular poster

So today I was driving in the countryside, road is wide enough for 2 cars, 60mph road, very straight. There were 3 people in a line on horses coming towards me on the opposite side of the road. I was going about 40mph but slowed to 30mph when I saw them. The man on the front horse started waving his arms and looked really angry saying slow down slow down! Wtf? horse people around here piss me off so much. Was I BU?!

I wish I did have a horse tutu!

Hollinghurst- beautiful horse

Late to the party as usual.
This YouTube clip shows some of the applauding driving on the UK roads.
For impatient people around skip to 2.14 in and anything from 3.55
Anyone else especially riders there is over 4 minutes of bum clenching anxiety.

When I was a teen my mare jumpef in front of a lorry. It was a 60 limit road long and straight. I was on a very wide grass verge probably as wide as the road.

The traffic obviously just carried on as normal because I was well out of the way. But something in the bush startled my mare and she literally jump yards sideways then jumped again into the road. We were so lucky because the lorry driver had already started slowing (even with me far back on the verge) so by the time we landed in front of him he already stopped.

I often think of that driver and thank god he had road and horse sense.

Well done OP, every day's a schoolday on MN, as they say!

We get horses and riders on my commute quite often. If you pootle along quietly a way behind, they'll do their best to get into the hedge or into a driveway as soon as a suitable spot appears. If they're not doing it now, it's because it isn't a suitable spot.

I can't believe anyone thinks that taking horses along roads is fun for them or their riders, or that driving closely behind them will do anything but stress the horses.

Some people are just ignorant and unimaginative. And stupid.

That video ive seen it before but it really hits home, especially with the juxtaposed bit with the horses and what could have happened. It's scary. And it makes the mind boggle - would you treat a cyclist like that? Or a pedestrian?? People are so selfish and in a rush, and couldn't give a flying badger's arse if they then cause an accident. Grrrr

Probably did this in case the horse buckled or moved or something, horses can be unpredictable.

As an ex-rider, (medical problems mean I can't any more, sadly) I always thought I was doing the right thing by slowing to a crawl at a safe distance behind a horse and waiting for the rider of the horse to signal me to pass. I used my own judgement as to whether it was safe to overtake at that point, I thought the rider signalling me past was an indication that the horse was under control, and safe to pass, not that the road conditions were necessarily safe for me to pass.

Reading some of the comments here, have I been doing the wrong thing? What should I do?

I really hate idiotic statements like 'roads are for cars' .

Highways existed long before cars, and were used by horses first. They have only been extended and improved to meet the needs of motorists/transport. Vehicle owners pay road tax to cover this but it doesn't mean they take priority over anyone else who wants to use them.

Also, just to add, I live in rural Suffolk where most roads have a 60 limit. On the majority of country roads around here with that limit it's dangerous to do anywhere near 60. We have so many single track roads, and roads with concealed entrances, blind bends, mud on the roads etc. Not to mention suddenly happening upon horses, ramblers, dog walkers, various animals on the road, tractors turning, and whatever else around the next corner.

I would implore anyone unused to country roads to just slow down, remember just because it's national speed limit doesn't mean 60mph is safe and always beware.

It's good to see a poster learn from their mistakes.

I grew up in the country so know how to drive / behave and so would always slow down. As well, I'm a keen cyclist so know what it's like to feel vulnerable on a road because of wanker-drivers; you've made it clear who you are (balletmum, nobody).

I don't think horses should be allowed on roads, although unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done. By riders own admission, they can spook at a crisp packet, a hedge etc. They are unpredictable and therefore dangerous. Cars, motorbikes, bicycles are dangerous too, but it's the drivers who are in control, not some animal.

Can I ask riders a question, out of curiosity?

We were on a 60 road doing 60 and passed some riders who were in field right next to road, walking parallel to road but behind hedge. I said to DH he should still slow down and he disagreed and said it was fine due to hedge.

Who was right?

Excuse my city dweller ignorance, and I can't drive.

This was yesterday, so curious

You should slow down of course. What did you husband think the hedge would do exactly? How would it stop the horses being afraid / going on a rampage / throwing their rider / jumping the hedge? They can still hear the car and, I assume, see it flashing past. Slowing down is to stop the horses (stupid animals) hurting themselves or other poor bystanders.

Having said that, did the hedge obscure the view? I wouldn't screech the tyres to slow from 60 to 'slow' if I saw a horse at the last minute.

I don't think you should have slowed down tbh Fanjo. If they are in a field at the side of a 60mph road seperated by a hedge and possibly a fence, unless something is reacting to something already and heading for the hedge/road.

Riders do have to make judgment calls about their mounts ability to cope with expected situations. Riding along partially obscured by a hedge at the side of a 60mph road they have to expect cars and other vehicles to go past at 60mph. Faster too.

On a road they have right of way over the road. They weren't on the road so no right of way. You expect some consideration so no bleeping horns as you go past. And drivers to be alert enough to see any potential problems like a horse misbehaving. But in that situation as a rider I would expect traffic to carry on as normal.

Agree bim.

The difference is, when you're in s field the horse has room to spook and won't be endangering other road users by doing so.

Also, in an open field, the rider can choose to ride further away from the traffic, a choice you don't have on the road itself.

It could well be that the rider was doing this to help desensitise the horse to traffic.

I wouldn't expect traffic to slow down if I were riding in a field bordering the road - nor has it ever done.

Question for you horsey lot.
On my drive to work I frequently pass what I think are race horses out on the road and they're often rode 2 or 3 abreast. The lanes are narrow & windy and everyone slows down but it strikes me as dangerous as oncoming vehicles might not see them until very late.
I'm surprised there isn't a protocol about riding together.

Thanks..it's obviously a tricky one!

don't think horses should be allowed on roads, although unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done. By riders own admission, they can spook at a crisp packet, a hedge etc. They are unpredictable and therefore dangerous. Cars, motorbikes, bicycles are dangerous too, but it's the drivers who are in control, not some animal.

This thread is making me think the same tbh herecomethepotatoes. I've always been very aware I'm driving over a ton of metal at a speed that can cause injury/death, and always very careful of more vulnerable road users. But horse riders seem to be saying horses can spook at anything, even things completely out of the control of the rider and nearby drivers, and that nearby drivers/pedestrians/cyclists are at risk from spooking horses as well as of course the rider. It's a scary thought, that I could be being perfectly sensible and slow near a horse and it could spook at a dog/crisp packet/whatever and kill/injure myself and my family.

Bold fail.

Those of you who won't / don't slow down, think horses shouldn't be two abreast or even on the road at all, where are you going and what are you doing that makes slowing down for a moment such a massive inconvenience? Really? And do you really not care if you kill a horse and / or rider or cause serious and expensive damage to your car? Wouldn't that be inconvenient?

They ride like that to force drivers to take care passing. If they were riding single file then drivers might sneak around in a bend and meet an oncoming car. Riders can usually see what is over hedges and will move iver if they think it's necessary.

Also a younger or more unpredictable horse will be squashed over by a more sensible horse on the outside making it safer for everyone.

Horse riders are like drivers. Most are sensible and considerate. You get the idd idiot that shouldn't be on the road but generally speaking most of us don't take unnecessary risks or cause unnecessary inconvenience.

We just ask for a bit more space and time when passing us. In return we sometimes let your children pat us, I will always wave to kids waving and we make your tantruming toddler stop when you go 'look horsey'.

The R&RS test teaches you to be wherever on the road you are most easily seen.

If I'm on a windy lane I'll often round a corner in the middle or on the "wrong" side of the road - wherever I feel it is safest. I'd rather be visible and risk coming face to face with a car which then at least has some time to stop (depending how fast they are going) than completely invisible, which gives me no chance at all.

I really wonder why there is no section of the driving test which deals with the rights of vulnerable road users.

I don't suppose the OP is likely to come back, but thank you for taking the comments on board. What I would say though as a rider is that if you are driving and do slow down etc and the rider doesn't acknowledge it by either a big smile, a nod, or a wave then if you can safely, ask them to say thank you.

It drives me nuts when I slow down and they go merrily on their way - I know you can't always take your hands off the reins but it's not difficult to pass on your appreciation to the driver. I know you shouldn't have to, I know cyclists usually don't but it costs nothing and does a lot to improve relations with drivers.

I say thanks if I can - always.

Sometimes though it's a toss up between being impolite or being polite and therefore giving my horse the micro chance it is looking for to whizz round on its back legs and fuck off down the road.

I think in that situation drivers would rather I concentrated on my horse

This thread is reminding about the time one of my horses attempted to climb into the mobile library as it whizzed past. That was exciting!

The point is, if you don't slow down and the horse is alarmed it is likely to rear and damage your car, and possibly you, as most horse riders do not have the strength to control their animals if distressed in a busy traffic environment.
Saw a very unpleasant accident some years ago when a horse ridden by a schoolgirl plunged through the windscreen of a volvo; the driver was safe but if she had been driving her normal mini she would have been killed.(and she was not driving fast).
Do not understand why riders will not pull into safe gateways, grass verges, road sides when they are holding up traffic; the lanes I walk and drive through are used by walkers, joggers, dog walkers and families with buggies and small children, all of whom stand still to allow cars to pass safely; cyclists and horses, never.

No you shouldn't be driving in the middle of the road round corners either. This causes no end of accidents, but as you know, you'll be ok, it will the poor sod who swerved to miss you who ended up in a dug out full of water and might bloody drown ffs
Can't you all just think about what you are doing?
You adjust your speed to your conditions. Just because it's a 60 it doesn't mean you need to go 60. If it's high hedged and you can't see round the corner, you go slower and make sure you could stop (emergency if necessary)