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???

If you're too close and/or fast and the horse spins there's a high risk you're going to get squashed or kicked, either in the moment or by the loose horse, if the rider has come off and it panics. If a loose horse then gets onto a highway and causes an accident there's a risk to others not involved in the original incident!

If you shout and slow down a bit, it shouldn’t be a problem.

I wish runners would shout when approaching people or dogs from behind too. It can startle when you appear from nowhere at speed.

Shouting is not great around horses. 😂

Just take a moment to say hello and walk past. It's a minor inconvenience.

@backinthebox
“Pass Wide & Slow”
It’s a group dedicated to raising awareness for all road users of the Highway Code legislation stating that horses should only be passed (when it is safe to do so) at a width of no less than 2 metres & no more than 10mph.
Also refers to off road, bridleways & country tracks with cyclists, runners, dog walkers etc., passing horses & riders.
They encourage riders to wear hi-viz & cameras to record bad behaviour especially from drivers & report to their local police force.

It's a training run not a race and the rider knows their horse. I'd walk for a few seconds.

I disagree. A shouted ‘hello, just passing’ is much better than running up quickly and quietly in the horse’s blind spot and then popping into view at the very last minute, triggering the bit of the horse’s brain (even a well trained one’s) that stores the genetic memory of mountain lions jumping out on them. If they hear a human voice behind, even if they cannot see it, they are aware there is a human there and nothing to be afraid of. This applies particularly to cyclists, but also to runners.

My horses, most horses for that matter, are kept in fields and large barns where the standard form of human communication is to bellow at each other in order to hear each other over a distance. The fact that humans are noisy creatures is not scary to them. Horses are not afraid of a shouted greeting or informative shout that a runner or cyclist is passing them.

A shout is perfectly fine. (A scream, a shout accompanied by flapping arms, etc, less so, but those are completely different to a quick polite shout.)

Couldn't you dismount and stand still with them for a moment?

@Tomasinabombadil I do know that group, I am not in it. I am already quite busy with various horse access groups, but often the PWAS posts are shared in the access group pages. I think there is a range of levels of evangelism in some groups that I don’t always align myself with.

@napody do you think that if you dismount and stand with the horse that will stop it bolting if it gets spooked?

I don't know, that was why I was asking!

It just seems like such a risk to rely on being able to control your environment (and everyone in it) to such an extent. If I were running, I'd do as requested, but be irritated at the sense of entitlement.

Couldn't you dismount and stand still with them for a moment?

Its a hundred times easier to control a frightened horse when you are sat on top, it really is. Plus remounting again has its own issues such as the horse wheeling around in the road and bouncing about whilst you've got only one foot in a stirrup so you're hopping.

You could, but it would be a lot more dangerous.

You have much more control over a horse while you're on it than you do if you're standing next to it. Horses can weigh up to a ton in weight (if not more) - a human on the ground would have absolutely no chance of controlling one if it decided to rear or bolt. They would also be at serious risk of injury. A kick to the head from a horse can kill you.

There's also the issue of getting back on again safely if there's nothing nearby to use as a mounting block.

Also, why should runners who can easily walk for ten or fifteen seconds take priority over riders, who as just discussed will have a LOT more inconvenience from having to dismount.

Because clearly it's so much easier for a rider to dismount and stand there then have to remount to facilitate a runner, which might happen countless times, than the runner to just walk for ten seconds. And you talk about entitlement. 🙄

I've seen horses being walked along the roads in Croydon, where I grew up. There was a stables near my old school, which has probably closed now to make way for housing, but my niece used to ride out from a stables near her home on the outskirts of the borough.

I live in Sussex now, a few miles from Brighton, and it's not uncommon to see horses being ridden along the high street.

People are so removed from horses now, hardly ever encounter one and don’t know how to behave around them as a result plus an increasing sense of entitlement in people these days.

Horses used to be everywhere even 50 years ago, lots a riding schools about, people learning to ride as a life skill etc but now they have all closed down due to housing demands and liability risks etc. Horses are very good for mental health and there is a theory that the further society moves away from horses, the more mental health issues - as Winston Churchill said “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man”.

The world was built on a horse’s back.

Whatever you think of the person riding the horse, please give the horse the respect it deserves.

If I were running, I'd do as requested, but be irritated at the sense of entitlement.

God alive. " Entitlement " You're being asked to slow down for literally seconds.

For everyone's safety.

How entitled are people crossing the road expecting you to slow down ? The Entitlement!

I've heard it all now.

We all share our environment. It's give and take. Please grow up.

@napody a rider has far more influence and control while on the horse rather than on the ground.

@MissingMoominMamma

'If you shout and slow down a bit, it shouldn’t be a problem''

Absolutely not!

One of the first things you learn when you start interacting with horses is that you should not shout/make a lot of random noise or aggressive gestures around them and instead to stay calm.

I think if this thread shows anything is that a lot of people don't know much about horses, which is fine, but also that too many insist on not listening to what people who do have riding experience are telling them...

I think if this thread shows anything is that a lot of people don't know much about horses, which is fine, but also that too many insist on not listening to what people who do have riding experience are telling them...

And I think that's one of the things that makes hacking out in public so dangerous. You're so reliant on other people doing the right thing and listening to you all the time.

@napody

''Couldn't you dismount and stand still with them for a moment?''

Nope, because the rider can control the horse better while still on its back.

Also most riders use mounting blocks to get on (also easier on the horse back)
and when hacking they might need to find something like a bench/rock/fence to help them get back on if they dismount, especially if they are alone and don't have someone who can give them a little push or hold the horse if needed...

I am 5.4 and would struggle to get back on some of the really tall horses I have ridden just from the ground...it certainly would be less pleasant for the horse to have me fumble around...

That’s odd because I was told off by a rider for not letting her know I was coming up behind her (off to the right- not directly behind her).

I wasn’t talking about making a commotion- just a ‘hello’ loud enough for the rider to hear.

Oh for crying out loud. A lot of people
being deliberately obtuse on here. You rely
on all road users to be considerate and careful whether you’re a jogger, a rider or a driver of a defender (someone in a mini could end up planting themselves in your way and you’d be dead anyway). I wonder how you were all brought up to be able to consider something a problem just because it requires good manners and a few seconds of inconvenience. I’m a fast walker and internally find it a little frustrating when I’m stuck behind some slow people on the pavement. Does it get close to annoyance or resentment? Do I think slow walkers should be banned? No to both.

Totally agree with you, if op has riden etc she must be aware that certain things spook certain horses. Better safe than sorry.

Highway code is clear. Give horse and rider a break. And I've never rode.