To be FED UP of inconsiderate drivers towards horses

[SaltAndVinegarIsTheBest]

I know this thread has been done to death, but I just needed to rant sorry

I’m sick of drivers who just don’t give a shit about horses on the road. Most people are lovely and try their best to give space and drive slowly and it is so much appreciated unfortunately there’s a minority who don’t. I’ve had cars go right up to about a foot away from my horse. I’ve had cars speed past without slowing or giving any space. I’ve been shouted at and called every name under the sun for daring to be out on the road with my horse. I think most riders have experienced similar and try to avoid hacking where possible.

Why can’t people appreciate the dangers involved in horse riding and that if you spook the horse it could have disastrous consequences? My horse is 16.3 and if he rears and I end up crushed, I’d be lucky to even survive.

I’ve been there. I’ve been stuck behind a tractor or cyclist whilst late to work. I know how frustrating it is! But ultimately if a 5 minute delay was enough to make me late, then the problem lies with my timekeeping more than anything else.

And before anyone says anything, horses have every right to be on the road. I avoid it where possible as the risks are too great, but sometimes it is necessary and at the end of the day it is allowed. Blaming horse riders is victim blaming as we should be able to safely hack out without fearing ending up in hospital.

Thanks to everyone who is considerate around horses on the road. To those who aren’t, remember that horse riders want to get themselves and their horse home safely- don’t be the reason that doesn’t happen.

@Polkadotties

I always wear a go pro when I hack out. It would help riders greatly if we were allowed on public footpaths

Jesus. no! It's bad enough when cyclists think they have this right.

It will stop the issue of horse riders being on the roads. I have a bridle way near my yard, to get to it I have to ride on the road. There is a footpath adjoining my yard’s land, the footpath also joins up with the bridle way. If we were allowed to ride on footpaths we wouldn’t have to go on the road

@Cluckingtell

I think you need to brush up on your comprehension skills. I never said they are only on country roads. If they're on a dual carriageway, then surely there's more than enough room to pass them.

I ride my horse on the road regularly and she is 99% of the time a saint! I ride round a semi rural area and to be fair I rarely encounter rude people. I just can't believe how many people over take so fast!! Literally think oh yeah I'll pass wide but still stay at the same speed of 30. Luckily that doesn't bother my horse but it makes me nervous cos she is more likely to spook at a random plastic bag, or a very bright flower which involves her just staring and taking a wider loop round the scary item. I have visions of something jumping out on us at the moment a car overtakes us wide but fast and us being flattened. I am pretty disgusted that 35% think YABU. I am so patient with walkers, runners, cyclists, other riders as a car driver as I know how the vulnerability feels when you're on a road. Everyone has a right to use the road for enjoyment and as you said just slow down for a few seconds. I always always smile and thank people and give them a little acknowledging nod. Sometimes I shout thanks if their window is down. I can see how some people have been stung by rude road users including those on horses who don't let people pass or ride in 2s when it isn't needed. We have no entitlement more than others, everyone needs to enjoy the road safely.

Where I live there are numerous riding trails including a large woodland full of wide bridle ways. The local riders will literally ride down the road when there is a bridle way running parallel to it 50m so yes, it pisses everyone off.

I pass wide and slow but get annoyed with rubbish like "horses have every right to be o the road". That's an archaic freedom dating from horses being an actual legitimately useful form of transport. Today horse riding is an expensive leisure pursuit, largely the preserve of the well off and it's a huge inconvenience to people actually using roads for transport.

Everyone has a right to use the road for enjoyment

This is not true. My children aren't allowed to roller skate along it even though it's the only smooth place, I'm not allowed to play skittles in it.

Like it or lump it, roads are primarily there to facilitate transport.

Are horses just more nervous these days? I watched a Western last night and the cowboys were shooting guns etc. and the horses seemed fine

@junglejane66

Are horses just more nervous these days? I watched a Western last night and the cowboys were shooting guns etc. and the horses seemed fine

I can't tell if you're being serious or not. No, horses aren't more nervous now. Horses in movies are trained to deal with unusual stuff life guns. My lad would have been fine with gunfire (lived next to a farm with bird scarers) but a car zooming up his arse at high speed would have frightened him.

And I can't believe how many people are saying "horses shouldn't be on the roads if they'll spook when a car drives past at xx miles an hour!!1!"

I think anyone using the road would startle if someone drove past them closely at high speed.

It's hardly difficult to slow down and move over. Your time isn't more important than two lives.

Excluding short stretches to and from stables, is there any particular reason why a rider chooses to ride on the road rather than the bridle ways, where these are available?

I can't fathom why where I live the riders persist in using the roads when there are so many bridle ways & safer, more pleasant riding routes through woodlands etc

[quote Frightmare]@Cluckingtell

I think you need to brush up on your comprehension skills. I never said they are only on country roads. If they're on a dual carriageway, then surely there's more than enough room to pass them.[/quote]
Sure put them everywhere - motorways, dual carriageways, footpaths, they are unpredictable as horse riders keep telling us on these threads but that's everyone else's problem.😂

@OfstedOffred

Excluding short stretches to and from stables, is there any particular reason why a rider chooses to ride on the road rather than the bridle ways, where these are available?

I can't fathom why where I live the riders persist in using the roads when there are so many bridle ways & safer, more pleasant riding routes through woodlands etc

Time of year. In winter our bridle ways are boggy mud baths.
I also can’t fit under some low hanging trees down one of the bridleways near me

I can't think of a single bridle way in my area. We have limited field access too, and no woodland to ride in. There is a track, but it's used by at least two farms and so is full of tractors and such.

It could also be something like the horse needs firm footing due to rehabilitation and the bridleways are a boggy mess. Or they're being used by dirt bikes and so aren't safe. (used to happen all the time when I lived in Yorkshire!)

'I feel quite strongly that horses shouldn’t be on roads - and I know they were on roads long before cars.'

'My heart is in my mouth every time I see one just waiting for something to go wrong. Surely they are too unpredictable to be on the road? It really doesn’t feel right at all.'

This. I give horses a very wide berth not because I'm considerate rather the whole situation looks incredibly dangerous and I don't fancy the car getting hoofed by a spooked horse. They are too big, too unpredictable and often ridden by what look to be inexperienced riders who don't instil confidence.

If there's a mile from a stable to a bridle path maybe go at 7am when no one is about? Or, ride them in a field even if the horse isn't a fan.

Which field though?

It's not a good idea to do ridden work in a field with loose horses, so that rules out grazing areas. Most farmers don't want riders on their land, so all those nice wide open spaces are strictly off limits.

Where I live the footpaths are very muddy too but pedestrians are still expected to use those rather than walking down the main road.

Barring the rehabilitation example (which surely isn't the majority of horses) surely a boggy bridle way is still safer than a busy road?

Weirdly - I'm referring to my area where there ARE plenty of bridle ways plus 3 areas of woodland with marked and maintained bridle ways.... yet the horses persist in riding on the roads a lot.

YANBU.

Unfortunately it seems there are some people who think riders shouldn't be on the road and are pissed off with the human and fail to understand that there is an innocent animal involved. Not that the rider deserves abuse! That's not what I mean. But driving horribly because they've got some stupid issue with the rider. It's ridiculous.

@bobbiebo

I always make sure to pass horses slow and wide and people shouldn't be deliberately spooking your horse however I have to a agree that they shouldn't be on the road.

If your horse is going to be an unpredictable hazard walking along a road where people are driving the speed limit then quite frankly it shouldn't be there.

+1

EVERYONE needs to be more considerate on the roads, this certainly isn't a 'horse' issue. This video was shared in another thread which sums up how inconsiderate many road users are - twitter.com/anthonytilghman/status/1489814943859986438?s=21

That being said, you say many times horses have a right to use the roads as they 'enjoy' hacking. I would love to know how you can tell? Everything I have ever read on the subject suggests that generally horses 'tolerate' being ridden rather than enjoy. They did not evolve to have humans sitting on them and it is no longer necessary as a form of transport. I personally question the ethics of heavy humans thinking they are entitled to be carried around by horses.

I like horses but don't enjoy seeing them on the road and I am very nervous encountering them when I am out running - I end up having to call to the rider to ask what they want me to do as they never look at me or engage with me. I don't like to come up from behind and startle the horse by overtaking without warning, I also am nervous about running towards the horse when going in the opposite direction due to previous bad experiences. When in the car I come to a complete stop if safe to do so to let the horse pass me, or I crawl by if I need to overtake it (the road I often encounter horses on is very very narrow), and don't increase my speed until I am a good bit past. I rarely get a wave of thanks, but I do it anyway because I like to be considerate to all road users but also because I feel a bit sorry for horses as it is.

@OfstedOffred

Weirdly - I'm referring to my area where there ARE plenty of bridle ways plus 3 areas of woodland with marked and maintained bridle ways.... yet the horses persist in riding on the roads a lot.

I am sure there is a reason to be fair, maybe lots of dogs off leads on the bridle paths or something? Generally if people aren't using an area designated for the, there is a reason. Eg people get annoyed locally when cyclists go on the main road when there is a brilliant and well maintained rural path that runs the same route - loose dogs, inconsiderate pedestrians walking in a row taking up the path and lots of dog poo are why it is easier for cyclists to use the road.

Generally if people aren't using an area designated for the, there is a reason.

Yes but the reason could be "it's a faff to clean a muddy horse" and the question is whether that's a good enough reason for horses causing traffic delays on roads when fundamentally horse riding is a leisure pursuit.

I don't ride, but have seen a horse lose the plot on a road because of a car and it was a terrifying sight.

Even before that I'd slow right down, turn my music down and move over as far as possible because they are big creatures and it is best for all involved to get past safely

@OfstedOffred

Everyone has a right to use the road for enjoyment

This is not true. My children aren't allowed to roller skate along it even though it's the only smooth place, I'm not allowed to play skittles in it.

Like it or lump it, roads are primarily there to facilitate transport.

But you are allowed to use the road to get to somewhere you can roller skate or play skittles, whether your transport be a car, bike or on foot, or indeed on a horse ('parking' one can be a problem there though 🤣)

The majority of horse riders are using the roads to get to a bridleway or other area that they're permitted to ride, so transportation to an area used for leisure, as unfortunately due to expansion of infrastructure, bridleways and paths horses are permitted on are in decline, disjointed by roads/buildings and the majority start off of a road of some description (where I live anyway). Traveling one to that type of place will still lead to horses on the roads as very few bridleways have parking areas, less still parking areas big enough for horseboxes and loading/unloading, meaning a need to park away from the bridleway and ride to the start of it - on the road. Doing that at the side of the road is obstruction and dangerous.

If I had had the facilities described above of miles of off road bridleways to use, then I'd have used them if safe to do so, so if they have accessible gates for horses, don't have obstacles that are dangerous (like low branches and deep ditches) or aren't used by motor bikes and quads that have no respect or consideration for horses on a bridleway.

If it's muddy on the tracks, it's muddy in the grazing fields, so there's no reason for someone to avoid riding on bridleways simply because they don't want to clean mud off their horse when they get home - they'll be doing that anyway.

Loose dogs, bonkers mountain bikers, dangerous footing, essential conditioning or rehab (which is depressingly common for soft tissue damage, largely because so many riders get pushed off the road and into arenas by bad drivers) are far more common reasons.

But of course, that doesn't fit with the convenient "entitled posh twats" rhetoric some people like to peddle to justify their own crap behaviour on the roads.

@OfstedOffred

Generally if people aren't using an area designated for the, there is a reason.

Yes but the reason could be "it's a faff to clean a muddy horse" and the question is whether that's a good enough reason for horses causing traffic delays on roads when fundamentally horse riding is a leisure pursuit.

So the roads can't be used for anything that isn't strictly necessary? No going on holidays or to hobbies then!