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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Who was BU, me driving or man on horse?

399 replies

EsmeraldaEllaBella · 20/03/2016 18:42

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? Angry horse people around here piss me off so much. Was I BU?!

OP posts:
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6
RB68 · 20/03/2016 20:07

horses were on the roads a while before the car was. Frankly if you can't control your car you shouldn't be on a road.

AthelstaneTheUnready · 20/03/2016 20:11

Yes, it was mentioned earlier, but to say it again... don't suddenly accelerate off once you're past the horse. They can still hear, but not see, you and want to whip round to see what's going on.

I was the second car and fortunately had stopped or would have had horse all over my bonnet.

mrsjskelton · 20/03/2016 20:13

Woah 30mph is insane past a horse. What the hell were you thinking?

CatchIt · 20/03/2016 20:13

Yes, sorry purple and apologies OP.

Thank you OP for taking the time to accept the advice on here and thank you Mumsnetters for being so reasonable. With the exception of a few. I'm a bit disappointed that road tax wasn't mentioned though...Grin

SauvignonBlanche · 20/03/2016 20:16

Roads are for cars. Entitled behavior on the part of the horse rider. 30 is fine

WTF? Shock
OP was BU but they've acknowledged that unlike the PP above.

WellErrr · 20/03/2016 20:16

Yes OP well done for taking it on board

DirectorFury · 20/03/2016 20:19

I assume then, Noddy, that you're part of your local PROW group campaigning for better bridleway provision and multi-user paths? Y'know, as you hate horses on the road so much.

Thank you for taking comments on board Esmeralda Smile.

Junosmum · 20/03/2016 20:19

Yes YABU, slow down.

I had one horse I could have ridden down a motorway without issue but another who was terrified of cars- I barely rode her on rads, but sometimes it is unavoidable. When I did I would always signal for cars on both sides to slow down- if she'd have spooked and ended up throwing me off she'd have caused a major accident- cars passing slowly didn't bother her.

Feawen · 20/03/2016 20:20

Turdfairy, that was really brave, and you probably prevented a nasty accident on the dual carriageway.

My old horse is fantastic on the roads and certainly has more road sense than some of the drivers I meet. However, he was once stung by an insect on his willy and went completely bonkers, understandably! After if picked myself up from the nearest hedge and dashed up the road after him, I found him stood on the verge with a lady hanging onto him by one stirrup. She was absolutely terrified of horses, shaking, and had grabbed the nearest strap. I was so shaken up I've no idea what I said to her and really hope I thanked her properly. An absolute freak accident and the only time I've had a moments trouble on the roads with this horse in 15 years.

zoemaguire · 20/03/2016 20:26

I'm amazed reading how volatile horses are that you'd trust them on the road at all. Op can't be the only one not to know - I wouldn't have either Blush(disclaimer: I live in the centre of a city and have never knowingly driven past a horse either fast or slowly) Its common sense to not go really fast, clearly, but I'd have thought that 20mph was slow enough. It obviously isn't. I'm definitely not saying roads are all for cars. But equally you must all be taking your lives into your hands every single time you go out!! Seems a terrible risk to take.

imonaplane · 20/03/2016 20:29

I am so glad that OP has realised how dangerous it is to drive past horses without slowing down sufficiently. For everyone else who thinks that horses shouldn't be allowed on the road and that they require no consideration ( I know that is a very small minority ), I was riding my beautiful horse along a country road and was hit from behind by a car. My horse was not spooking or doing anything wrong. My horse lost his life and I lost my mobility. We did not deserve that. Sad

YakTriangle · 20/03/2016 20:33

You do the in-car equivalent of whispering and tiptoeing when you drive past horses.

IJustLostTheGame · 20/03/2016 20:35

Imonaplane that is so sad I'm so sorry.
My old pony had a speeding twat mow into him from behind once. My pony bucked and put the windshield out.
If he hadn't bucked he'd have been a goner, if the driver had been going a couple of miles faster we'd both have been dead, and if the car had have had a shorter bonnet the driver could well have been killed too.

The little fucker gave me the most horrendous abuse and tried to sue me.

NataliaOsipova · 20/03/2016 20:36

Sorry to risk the wrath of everyone here...but I get mightily pissed off with entitled horse riders on country roads. The OP mentioned three horses in a line - round here you often get three abreast, blocking the entire road and making it impossible for anyone to get round them. Overtaking slowly on a windy country road is actually bloody dangerous - you run the risk of someone coming and hitting you head on the other way as you are actually driving on the WRONG side of the road to get round these people all in a line chatting to each other. If you can't control your animal, you should ride on a bridleway. If your animal is skittish in traffic, you shouldn't ride it on a road. I wouldn't let my DCs out on their bikes on the road for exactly that reason - I wouldn't expect the entire county to crawl at 5mph for half an hour behind them and I wouldn't be confident that they could behave safely in traffic. Oh - and if you're going to ride a horse on the road, I think you should have to have insurance, like car drivers have to have, in case you cause/are involved in an accident. Funnily enough, in the "proper" countryside (rather than the greenbelt outside London) I've always found horse riders to be much more sensible - they only ever ride in single file and pull over where they can to let traffic go past them safely.

honeyroar · 20/03/2016 20:38

Well done OP on learning from this thread.

I have horses. I try not to ride on roads nowadays as a lot of drivers scare the life out of me. I'm lucky to live in an area where there is limitless riding on bridle ways, tracks and rarely used lanes. I wouldn't keep horses somewhere there wasn't good safe hacking, I don't think it's the right place to keep a horse, personally.

And I will go against the grain and say that some horses and riders shouldn't be on the roads, they're not safe and aren't polite to drivers that do slow down. But it's really nice to read a thread where so many people are sensitive to horses and would slow down.

Osmiornica · 20/03/2016 20:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RustyPaperclip · 20/03/2016 20:41

I agree with Redhound, the op has certainly acted with good grace. Unfortunately I feel her thread has been overtaken with those who clearly have a problem with other road users. We all have a right to be on the road, we just need to show a bit of compassion and consideration Smile

SpringHasNearlySprung · 20/03/2016 20:41

Oh - and if you're going to ride a horse on the road, I think you should have to have insurance

I don't know any riders who ride on roads without insurance Confused

honeyroar · 20/03/2016 20:41

NataliaO most people will have third party insurance for their horses. You'd be mad not to in this day and age.

NataliaOsipova · 20/03/2016 20:43

imonaplane I am really sorry that that happened to you and I would never say that horses deserve no consideration. I have had the reverse experience though, - someone nearly hit me head on (with my children in the car) coming round a corner entirely on the wrong side of the road while they were overtaking two horse riders riding two abreast chatting away and completely oblivious to the enormous line of rush hour traffic behind them.

Micah · 20/03/2016 20:43

Natalia, have you ever ridden (or walked) exclusively on bridleways?

Nice, safe, connected bridleway routes don't exist. Do you really think people ride on the road for fun? Same as cyclists, is safe paths existed we'd all be on them and leave the motorists to each other.

Newes · 20/03/2016 20:45

That's not the reverse experience. That's another twat of a car driver who doesn't know how to drive safely on country roads.

NataliaOsipova · 20/03/2016 20:45

honeyroar I agree you'd be mad not to - but I know people who don't and (happy to be corrected on this if I'm incorrect) I don't think it's a legal requirement as it is for driving a car?

fluffiphlox · 20/03/2016 20:47

Far too fast - do you get into the countryside much? I'm not a horsey type by any means but I know to slow to a crawl. You could have really giving the horses the screaming abdabs, putting the riders, horses and you at risk.

MadSprocker · 20/03/2016 20:47

You can be riding the most ploddy, bombproof horse that suddenly spooks at a random crisp packet in a hedge, into a road. I ride and live in the countryside, and those tiny roads are often the national speed limit. Just because you can go 60mph, doesn't mean you should.

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