Horses on the road - rant !

[Itsabeautifuldayoutside]

Sorry just needed a bit of a rant. I know not everyone is like this, and to everyone who drives respectfully around horses- thank you so much, it’s so appreciated.

Unfortunately some people are completely selfish (and stupid!) and drive carelessly around horses and my post is directed towards them. It’s the law now- drive at less than 10mph, give at least 2 metres of space and don’t make unnecessary noise (engine reving, beeping horn). Why is this so difficult to understand? Going out hacking is so, so stressful because of other people’s selfishness. If you can’t follow the Highway Code then you shouldn’t have a driving license.

My stables has fields and off road areas for riding, but the destruction of bridle paths meant that to get to the off-road areas you have to hack on a country road. Also, sometimes horses need to be out hacking or on the roads for training, working or health reasons. It’s not just for leisure. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been sworn at, tailgated, hassled, overtaken at insane speeds, overtaken with no space.

Last week I was overtaken by someone at easily 40mph+ who was so busy hassling me and beeping their horn that they didn’t check for the oncoming traffic. After pulling out, they had to speed up even more and pull back in to our side of the road- nearly knocking my horse over. Luckily my boy is fantastic on the roads and is the most bombproof hacker, but this could have been so, so dangerous for everyone involved and unfortunately isn’t unusual.

side note- my horse weighs around 600kg. Even if you’re selfish and don’t care about me, or him, or other road users- why would you want to risk him landing on top of your car in an accident?!

This is actually allowed within the highway code and recommend for young horses being ridden on the roads.
You sandwich the young horse between the curb and the 2nd horse. The 2nd horse acts as a barrier between horse and car if the young horse spooks sideways into the road.

It's usually to pin a more nervous horse in, and also to act as a physical barrier
Riding two abreast means people treat you as an obstacle and don't whizz past you, same reason as cyclists don't ride in the gutter

People aren't taught this stuff is the issue. It needs to be part of the driving test.

I agree OP.

Ive had horses all of my life and have always ridden on roads or bridleways.
Over the past 10 years I’ve noticed a huge increase in the amount of dangerous arseholes on the road with no consideration for anyone else.
I used to ride a lovely route on very quiet country lanes near the farm. I never had an issue but in the past 3 years my horse was nearly injured twice, not including the countless times people were just rude or dangerous. The second time a car grazed her hocks despite both of us being decked in hi viz and on a single track lane. She was always perfectly behaved even after this!
I bought a horsebox to try and get her out to places where we wouldn’t encounter any traffic but encountered abuse driving that instead.

Ive now sold my horse to a lady who has her own off road hacking. I didn’t feel it was safe to ride her on the road and would never forgive myself if she were killed because I put her there and I felt no enjoyment in riding any more, just stress.

I hope something can be done but I’m not sure how!

I live in a city so don’t meet many horses, plus we tend to walk and cycle (granny bike with basket not racing in Lycra!) as I hate the stress of queuing traffic making me late for work/stuff and the inevitable parking issues once you get where you are going. If i do meet a horse I pass slow and wide when safe.

Actually joining this thread to ask about bridlepaths - I didn’t realise they are going/gone. Surely it makes sense on a uk wide scale to have designated bridle ways? What has happened to them?

I agree with you that it should be emphasised when learning to drive. But, as part of having their license, drivers have a personal and legal responsibility to keep up to date with changes to the highway code and if they can’t do this then they shouldn’t have a license. It became law this year to pass at <10mph and with at least 2 metres of space. Drivers who can’t keep up to date with driving laws shouldn’t have a licence

YANBU.

I’ve all but given up hacking anywhere that involves any road work.

We’re really lucky at our yard in that we have a bridleway directly off it and we can hack for miles without too much roadwork.

We do have to cross roads, and a couple of spots where we have to use the road for a couple of hundred yards where bridleways don’t quite line up, and there’s always some driver acting like a prick.

For their own sake, they don’t want half a ton of horse on their bonnet

But equally, I get annoyed at the riders who insist on taking up half the road or more by riding abreast so that they can gossip whilst riding, and prevent people from passing easily. There's selfish people everywhere.

There could be any number of reasons why riders are two abreast other than just gossiping. A young, inexperienced horse learning roadwork, a young inexperienced rider out learning roadwork. It’s far safer for riders to be 2 abreast as it forces drivers to slow right down and give plenty of room as they have to wait for the opposite side of the road to be clear - rather than squeezing past at stupid speeds, far too close.

I get so fed up with people justifying their appalling driving with “I don’t think horses should be on roads”. It’s irrelevant what you think. Horses have every right to be there. The Highway Code is very clear. Behave.

@Lockheart I agree about the privilege of a driving licence, if only the law and those who enforce it saw it that way.

Probably many of those who drive and are inconsiderate about horses are also the same with cyclists, and want tractors (farming not Chelsea ones) off the road.

Arseholes are arseholes regardless of what they're driving.

DP almost got knocked off his bike the other day by another cyclist (DP had indicated a right hand turn, turned into the street, other cyclist was on the path and flew across the road clipping his front wheel).

I was walking DD in her pram a few weeks ago. Pushed button to cross road, red light and green man, car just decided it wasn't going to wait at the red and crossed and almost hit her pram. I did report that one to the police.

Keep a note of reg numbers and report.

I always pass horses wide & slow (used to ride years ago) but recently got shouted at by a rider.

They'd decided to 'pull over' into the entrance of my drive to allow me to pass. I stopped a few meters away, indicating that I wanted to drive into my drive, but they motioned me to pass. They didn't look at me at all- they'd have seen my indicator if so. So I waited. And then she turned her horse around and shouted 'for Fucks sake go past me you stupid cow'.
So I clearly showed I wanted to go into my drive- which they were blocking.

At which point she called me a stupid C*nt and they rode away. If they had bothered to look at me they would've seen I was trying to turn into my drive- but they were too busy chatting.

I still pass them wide and slow. But a little give and take goes a long way.

There's also the issue now that in some lanes there simply isn't 2m to get past horses.

Some riders round here stop and motion people to pass. It would be illegal to do so, but they get cross if you don't.

But, as part of having their license, drivers have a personal and legal responsibility to keep up to date with changes to the highway code and if they can’t do this then they shouldn’t have a license.
This is why I think EVERYONE should have to retake their test every 5/10 years.

I think when riders wave cars on it isn't always an aggressive 'hurry up' type gesture, I've always taken it as a reassurance that I can pass safely and they are ok with it (since in some instances they can see oncoming traffic better than I can).

We have a stables nearby and there are a lot of horses on the road and I rarely witness anyone behaving selfishly, but I think perhaps most people using this road have now become accustomed to the horses and developed a mutual respect.

I feel for you though, I'm not a horse rider but can imagine the worry as there are some idiotic selfish people/drivers about.

I hope you mean theory test? Wouldn't fancy doing the practical that often 😱

Bingo! that didn’t take long for the first RIDICULOUS comment of the thread of this vein 🙌🏼 You win the idiot prize 🏆

so you’re saying only the very wealthy should be allowed to own horses then? As land is at a super premium everywhere in the UK. What happens to allllll the hundreds of thousands of horses owned by average everyday working folk then?? Do they all get culled? What about the people whose mental health they support, a friend of mine is an undertaker (a vital key job which someone HAS to do to support society!) and his horse is his support mechanism to help zone out from the truly awful things he has to see and deal with at work (like traumatic deaths and babies and children who have died) and to help him de compress before his horse he was drinking WAY too much to cope. He earns just above minimum wage and lives in a terraced house should his horse be culled then as there aren’t enough land owning gentry to take in the horses owned by normal folk. Do you realise truly how ridiculous and out of touch with the real world you’re comment makes you look

Or alternatively we could just all share the public space sensibly eh? Would that not make more sense 🤔

YANBU... but my sympathy would be much higher if I did not believe that there is a massive overlap between people who ride horses and people who drive round is large, polluting vehicles, giving cyclists no space and moaning about having to wait behind them.

on most roads, the 2 metre rule would require overtaking using the side of the road for the opposite direction. Of course, this is only possible if nobody is travelling in the opposite direction and it’s safe to overtake and sometimes drivers have to wait a short until it’s safe, unfortunately lots of drivers are incapable of this! It’s unbelievably selfish and stupid.

Yeah I agree with you that some riders can be ridiculous too! I never wave people on or get cross if they don’t go

I encounter horse riders on the country lanes here every day. I must be lucky because they are the most considerate people. I like seeing horses out (ex rider).
The car drivers around here treat them with respect, overtake them as wide and slowly as possible and I have never not been thanked.
I have never seen any arsehole drivers thankfully.

im presuming you mean tractors? Honestly your post is confusing

You sound a bit like the motorist who told me off for not cycling on the cycle path in my town. When I pointed out that it wasn't going where I needed to go, she said it didn't matter! The roads are for everyone and cars should be at the bottom of the pecking order imho.

It's actually better for you that they do that, otherwise it's two car lengths you have to over take, not one. So it will take you longer. Same with cyclists.

YANBU and people should absolutely drive safely around horses, but plenty of people also don't drive safely around cyclists, pedestrians or other cars either, so sadly I think it's just a case of people being shit drivers rather than being specifically shit round horses.

There are some roads where either the horse rider or the driver should reverse (/turn around) to the nearest passing place, just as they would if they met another car. Most car drivers seem to think it's the rider's responsibility, even if they are 2m from a wide point, and the rider 200m. Sometimes the most practical solution is to stop and allow the driver to pass within 2m, because the alternatives are impractical.

Horses on the road make me smile, especially the kind with really hairy ankles, and I’m happy to go slow but I imagine that some might think it’s selfish to have a hobby which inconveniences others. Some people are grumpy, horse or no horse.