More city people use horses as transport than country people.

[Davidsdaughter]

My biggest surprise moving to a city, was to find how many people use horses as a method of transport instead of cars. I would have expected it to be none, but in fact it is significantly more than in the countryside.

Am I in the only UK city where this is the case? Is this an increasing trend?

YANBU - horses are a valid and common city transport method
YABU- you live in the only place where this happens

I would like the tethering of horses banned in this country. Horses are far too easy to buy and own but their welfare comes low on the list of priorities. So no I don't like to see a horse tethered on a roundabout, or a bit of scrap land. I also hate to see them raced along a tarmac road.

I fear we are being Balonz-ed.

None of this has anything to do with your (frankly mad) assertion that more city than country people use horses for transportation 🤷🏻‍♀️

I have noticed when reading Mumsnet in the past, that people who have not had a specific experience in their lives assume that no one else has either.

I live in south London. I am seeing horses used as transport on a daily basis. I have started a thread to ask how widespread this is, and whether it is an increasing trend. I am glad to see contributions from people who have seen city horses around in London and other cities. But I don't understand posters who join a thread to be insulting or mock. City horses are around, whether you have seen them or not.

If the thread is about something you can contribute to, thank you for contributing.

If the thread is about something you can't contribute to, because it is outside your experience, surely the reasonable thing to do is either express and interest if you are interested, or move on, if you are not interested.

What sort of person joins a thread to mock and insult something they don't know anything about?

Personally, I don't understand the mind set, I am very glad I am not like that, and very glad people I know in real life are not either.

I agree. Tilbury came to mind because if this. Tethered horses along main road, stray horses, horses breeding in random fields alone

I'm really surprised and my initial thoughts were that is really isn't people using horses for transport, they're simply going for a ride, but you seem adamant. Are you saying that they're using horses 'instead of a car'? Is their primary reason for riding their horse as a means of travelling from A to B rather than exercising the horse or stopping off part way through a longer trip?
I'm certainly not saying you're wrong it just sounds so odd. Never heard of it at all, from anyone ever!

I'm not going to post any photos of other people's property without their permission

You don’t need their permission their property is in a public place.

yes, owning and using horses instead of cars

I live in south London.

As do I and apart from the very infrequent "pub ride" I don't see anyone using horses as a regular mode of transport. It isn't that I don't see horses, or that I don't see them used in carts or outside of pubs, it's just that these aren't regular occurrences and definitely don't replace cars.

Newmarket in Suffolk - a horse racing town - has special paths for horses all over the town, special road crossing places for horses and cars have to give way to horses. It's quite amazing to see.

I don't need their permission, but still not going to do it. It wouldn't be morally ok.

but you do see them being used?

Yes, but not as a means of regular transport which is what you're suggesting. I own one. We do occasionally ride them to the pub on a nice day. That's not how we normally travel.

I'm trying to imagine people pivoting to horses to avoid cost of living and the low emission zones in London. I can't make sense of this otherwise.

Anyway here's a charming video of "Friends arriving in Hampstead Village, London, 1896" - a few turn up on horseback
https://twitter.com/bo66ie29/status/1685401418176385024

Jo

Tends to be people riding Buffalo where I am.

Sorry Bison!

Years ago when that particular section of road was opened/upgraded, a certain section of the community used to race their sulkies along it late at night/in the early hours of the morning causing problems/headaches for the police etc so a sign was erected kindly asking them not to! It seemed to work🤷‍♀️

op could you just tell us where in London you live as we can’t know what you mean unless you do. Topography changes things. Plus I’d love to get a horse as a mode of transport so would like to get some tips

I just can't imagine too many horses being that happy or content in the middle of a busy roundabout.

Or being tied up outside tesco or any other shop.

It's really not morally wrong to take a photo of a horse 😆

if it’s this common op is there a horse tied up on Google Street View? Could you link to the street view, that way it’s something that’s already in the public domain.

When I was growing up in London - I left in 1990 - Young's Brewery in Wandsworth delivered their beer by horse and cart.

That's by my house! We have an enormous amd very old traveller community here amd that stretch of the A27 used to be used a lot for sulky racing.* *

I teach in Bradford and a colleague kept a kid behind in detention.
The kid kept saying "I've got to go, I've got to feed me oss"
Trying to bond with the biy, my friend asked "what is your horse called?"

The reply... "it's not got a fucking name sir, it's an oss!"