To think I shouldn’t have to stop my run to walk past a horse?

[Famousperson2023]

This has happened twice now. Out for a run and the horse riders have asked me to stop running while I go past their horse!!

I’ll put this in context- daughter rides, I used to ride. When passing a horse or pony I’ll go wide and slow, or stop and wait at a passing place on narrow roads (often while the riders amble up at a slow walk deep in conversation with their fellow riders, 3 abreast….and without a hint of thank you). When I’m out with our dog I’ll make sure she is on the lead while we pass. but being asked to stop and walk???

More likely the rider doesn’t want to be thrown, as OP says she gives the horse a wide berth, so too far away to be kicked.

If the rider is scared they should stick to private land.

I'm a runner and I'm as bad as anyone for being focussed on my pace (especially when training intervals/race prep).....

but horses and dogs are the 2 scenarios where I ALWAYS walk by, in the grand scheme of things does it really matter if you slow down for a second or 3??

Humans, dogs and motor vehicles, mostly.

It's not as though horses are wrong about those things being the cause of their injuries and deaths, after all, is it?

It's fine, as long as you are happy with potentially being kicked by the horse

Too far away? So the horse couldn't move whilst being startled? I've witnessed 2 people being kicked into the road, who thought they'd given enough space. One when a mobile phone rang and one where a car beeped whilst going pass

😂😂

I'm sorry, maybe you should explain to horses that now they're domesticated, they can leave thousands of years of evolutionary biology aside and just be sensible. Perhaps you could do them a PowerPoint presentation.

😂

Why would she be kicked by a horse if she’s giving it a wide berth?

How long do you think horse legs are?

If the rider is thrown off their horse that’s their lookout. Not OP’s problem.

It will be her problem if the rider is flung towards her, or the horse bolts and charges straight at her.

I think horse riding is weird

😂

I think I’m now making this point for the third time, but horses are accustomed to predators approaching from semi-behind at an angle (about 5 o’clock). They are frightened by loud noises and sudden appearances - I had a pony who was spooked hugely when I jumped at sudden noises but was otherwise bombproof, she just freaked out when her human did. By the way, humans will often leverage the prey instincts of horses in other ways. For example, a trailing long whip is often used to mimic a snake to encourage a horse to go forward and jockeys will wave their stick alongside a horse’s neck to catch their eye and encourage faster galloping. Bucking broncos are fitted with girths that are tight around the exact area a big cat would grasp onto which is what makes them so explosive and desperate to get the human off their back.
Horses aren’t 100% safe. Neither are cars, nor bikes. That doesn’t mean everyone else is absolved of responsibility for keeping themselves safe.

Hopefully the rider just hurts themselves, not innocent pedestrians if they have such a horse in public.

I think car driving is weird. Are we any further on with this argument?

PLEASE tell me this is sarcasm 😂

Some people say runners and cyclists are selfish.
You are an illustration of this.

[Riders] should respect your [pedestrian] safety but you [pedestrian] should take care not to obstruct or endanger them

I'm confident which side the law would come down on if a rider has taken all reasonable precautions.

OP is taking reasonable precautions. She says “When passing a horse or pony I’ll go wide and slow, or stop and wait at a passing place on narrow roads”

So your confidence is misplaced.

Classic case of “my hobby is more important that yours”! Can we not just be civil to each other?!

Maybe tell that to the riders who don’t even acknowledge OP when she stops to let them pass.

But she's saying she shouldn't have to?

At places where can go wide and low.

Do you genuinely not understand that horses are animals and that therefore they may behave unpredictably?

Car drivers have accidents too, so do cyclists. We don't live in a perfect world where nobody ever makes a mistake.