Running directly behind a Horse 😱😱!

[StephieSlade]

AIBU to think that even non horsey people should know not to run up directly behind a horse? I came off on Sunday after my mare spooked and stumbled after a small child, and her dog ran up behind her. Child's parents were slightly further back along the bridle path. Thankfully my horse doesn't kick, and I'm not blaming the child for my fall, as I'd have sat the scuttle forward, if she hadn't tripped. However, I'm cringing at the thought of that, or another child running up behind another horse on the street that possibly might kick😣😣😣.

Crikey. That’s just asking to be kicked!

YANBU. I’m not a horsey person at all but we have horses in our village. I always make sure the kids give them a very wide berth

That is insane. Yanbu!

I'm a city gal but I've known from a very young age not to go anywhere near the rear of a horse!

Unfortunately some non-horsey people really are clueless. Did you point out to the child's parents that she could have been severely injured? I've had several run-ins with dog walkers on bridle paths who seem unable to keep their dogs from jumping up and barking. Fortunately my horse is pretty dog proof (ex hunter) but a stern "Better watch your dog as she kicks" tends to get said owners to get their dogs on leads smartish!

My mare did kick a young teen at a show, he was a cadet or something and was lugging a huge canteen of water, which was what had spooked my pony in the first place. Thankfully she hit the water holder (plastic) rather than him, but the reaction of the the (horsey) people around was that we were in the wrong? Still baffled by this - I was dismounted by a ring watching what was going on in front of me, as was the pony, and the lad walked straight behind her making sloshing noises. Mare never normally kicks (still with us 20 years after this event, and never done it again) so no red ribbon, although tbf the boy clearly had no idea about horses so any ribbons would have been pointless anyway. We made sure he was OK obviously, but although I take it for granted that children learn from a young age not to go near horses' back legs, it clearly isn't as common knowledge as I like to think.

YANBU but if a child gets injured by your horse you are going to be the one who ends up in trouble, regardless of the circumstances.

A bit like if your dog bites a child that tried to pat it - the owner is the one liable.

That's quite worrying! Even the best horse in the world can kick out if spooked which your mare had just been!
I used to be an instructor and it dawned on me one day that I told all my students to not walk behind the horses, and then did presicely that myself..... But, I have a life time of experience and can read a horse's body language better than a humans, and know if they've seen me, how and where to approach and more importantly, when not to! I wouldn't approach a recently spooked horse from the back.
I think people just don't think, and they don't realise. Most non horsey types I speak to think they're some sort of 4 legged, breathing bike that does only what the rider says.
And children get really excited to see horses, but I really wish there were a rule about keeping dogs on leads on a designated bridleway, my old lad might have kicked out at the dog, but only because we'd been chased and he'd been bitten by dogs off lead on bridleways or even roads a couple of times, and he got nervous with a dog around his legs.

But be prepared to be told that your horse should have the attributes of a rocking horse if you take it out in public........

YANBU There are some complete idiots out there.

I was on a very big horse and little tiny child can't even have been 4 years old was desperate to stoke my horse the parents said very loudly you have to ask the lady, (I was feeling in a good mood) so I stopped and said ok, they then stayed stood back about 6 metres from me and sent the child on it's own! the little boy wasn't much taller then the knee of my horse. I had to tell them not to allowed their son near unless they accompany him. idiots.

My horse could easily have trodden on him or knocked him flying.

@Iquitit
Most non horsey types I speak to think they're some sort of 4 legged, breathing bike that does only what the rider says.
I think you're right unfortunately. A lot of people are also unaware of how easily they're frightened by anything unfamiliar.

I think this really depends on where you live (and where the child lives). I can't imagine having made sure to tell my 5 year that you don't walk behind a horse if he was never up close to one, and I can easily imagine a city based life where this wouldn't ever have arisen.

But the parents should have called the child & dog back when they saw you ahead of them.

YANBU.

A spooked horse could easily kill a dog and severely injure a child. Did the parents at least apologise to you?

The majority of people are as wise about horses as they are dogs - which is why we see so many badly trained dogs around. Very few owners have any common sense at all.

I grew up in a city, and even I know to give the back legs of a horse a wide berth.

If I had DDog with me, I'm avoiding that horse as much as is humanly possible. Mainly because I know DDog is a twat around any four-legged non-dog animal (rescue, also had a London puppyhood) and I wouldn't want to freak the horse out.

I've got limited sympathy for the local gypsies, however, who have recently started driving trotting horses and carts around our local very urban park at high speed on paths and with absolutely no warning or consideration for others. We've had a couple of near misses, and I even saw them drive straight through a wedding party at full speed, with guests leaping out their way. If DDog fucks off after them and nips a horse, I'll feel zero guilt.

But be prepared to be told that your horse should have the attributes of a rocking horse if you take it out in public.

No, but you do have to accept responsibility for your horse when you're out with it. It's no different to driving a car - if a child does something stupid like running out in front of you and you injure the child then it is your responsibility. You can't absolve yourself of the responsibility to ride your horse in a way that is safe for all people by expecting people to read your horse's body language.

If, like @NewYearNewTwatName described above, that means having to tell people to accompany their child, or if that means riding somewhere less convenient for you that is just the way it has to be. You have the right to ride your horse everywhere it is allowed to be, but you have the responsibility to do it safely.

It’s tricky because on a bridlepath the parents should have been alert for horses and kept child and dog under control.

In other places it’s a grey area. Horses can easily kill with a kick. I wouldn’t ride a horse that kicks or spooks on a path used by walkers, cyclists, dog walkers etc. So many people don’t realise the danger of horses.

it's a fucking bridle path. clue's in the name.

I've never been on a horse and somehow I know to never get within kicking distance, make sudden loud noises or drive at speed around one. It wouldn't be common sense to a child but the parents should have known better.

@ClaudiaWankleman

But be prepared to be told that your horse should have the attributes of a rocking horse if you take it out in public.

No, but you do have to accept responsibility for your horse when you're out with it. It's no different to driving a car - if a child does something stupid like running out in front of you and you injure the child then it is your responsibility. You can't absolve yourself of the responsibility to ride your horse in a way that is safe for all people by expecting people to read your horse's body language.

If, like @NewYearNewTwatName described above, that means having to tell people to accompany their child, or if that means riding somewhere less convenient for you that is just the way it has to be. You have the right to ride your horse everywhere it is allowed to be, but you have the responsibility to do it safely.

It's a bridleway, and therefore horses are to be expected, and if you run up behind a horse then you run the risk of being kicked. That's not absolving the rider of responsibility, the parents had a responsibility to ensure that the child didn't get too close to any horse they encountered for their own safety, not the rider who can take all precautions like training for both, using a designated area like a bridleway, but can't stop someone else's child and dog running up behind them, or have an invisible forcefield around them to prevent people being too close.

It's a bridleway, and therefore horses are to be expected, and if you run up behind a horse then you run the risk of being kicked.

Yes, and if it's a road then cars are to be expected. If you step onto the road without looking you run the risk of being run over. That doesn't mean the driver shouldn't be alert and in control enough to avoid the collision.

Horses are quite unpredictable, especially for someone who doesn't interact with them, and can be really dangerous. If you choose to ride you have to accept that you're meant to be in control of something potentially dangerous.

It’s not the same as a car driver accidentally hitting a child because a) this was behind the OP and b) a horse has its own mind.

@StephieSlade

AIBU to think that even non horsey people should know not to run up directly behind a horse? I came off on Sunday after my mare spooked and stumbled after a small child, and her dog ran up behind her. Child's parents were slightly further back along the bridle path. Thankfully my horse doesn't kick, and I'm not blaming the child for my fall, as I'd have sat the scuttle forward, if she hadn't tripped. However, I'm cringing at the thought of that, or another child running up behind another horse on the street that possibly might kick😣😣😣.

I’ve had horses all my life.

It makes me just furious how little people know. I once had a guy who impatient to get by me as I walked round a corner. His car hit my stirrup. My horse was bomb proof. How he didn’t hit her.

So after that incident I carried a hunting whip. So if anyone got too close. And I mean like that. I would tap the roof of the car in a warning. Because of the side. It didn’t damage the car at all. But did make a sound. It worked like a dream.

People who don’t know horses. Don’t know the damage a horse kick can do. Lady down our yard died after being kicked in the temple. Rare. But happens. Also know someone who broke their back after walking behind a horse who kicked.

Just wow.

I had someone let their puppy run up and sit on my horses hoof (on the front of her back hoof)
Shouted and shouted for the owners but they took about 5 mins to come over. Flies everywhere and I was petrified this puppy would get kicked
Good horse stood like a rock while they wandered over to get the (tiny) puppy. If that was kicked I would have been devastated but in no way would it have been my fault

a horse has its own mind.

So does a dog, but owners have to keep them under control. The front/ back thing is completely irrelevant as it's still an animal you are supposed to be keeping under control.

a horse has its own mind

We put down dogs who bite people simply because they "spook them", why is different with a horse?