Horse Riding on Major Roads

[milly143]

On my way home last night I was following one of these big trucks that carries scaffolding. It's pretty much all country side round here but most of the roads are wide with a 50 or 60 mph limit. Driving along what is one of the busiest roads connecting two towns, two horse riders suddenly appeared from a side road to join the main road we were on. The sound and speed (probably only about 40mph at that point) of the truck in front of me spooked the larger horse who began spinning round and stepping into other parts of the road. All vehicles came to a stop until the rider eventually managed to get the horse under control but it was very unnerving for a while. The other rider was just a child on a smaller horse and would have had no hope if something more had happened.

Do you think horse riders should be limited to where and when they take their horses out on public roads?

[tamborine]

triggs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S151r97q3-0&feature=related

[jules77]

Well, I thought my horse was bomb proof, he wasnt frightened of anything.........until one day a group of cows appeared in a field that was usually empty, and one poked his head over the fence. Horse went one way and I went the other, fortunately, it was a country lane with no traffic. Yes, I think horses should be limited to where they can go.

[Euphemia]

Experienced riders and horses that are bomb-proof in traffic should be allowed on country roads. Drivers should slow down on approaching and overtaking.
Novice riders and badly mannered horses should keep off the road.

[tinpotLizzie]

Roads were made for horses who were responsible for ALL transportation in days gone by. They have every right to use them & should be given right of way by drivers.
Distinctive clothing on horse & rider plus courtesy, consideration & respect by drivers & riders for each other, should be the norm. Sadly that is'nt always the case, so vehicles come too fast, too close too often, thus spooking some horses & causing chaos for all concerned.
Most well trained & confident horses have a lot of road sense but there are always exceptions, just as some drivers!! No-one EVER has 100% control over a horse, but those who do venture on today's roads are largely responsible folk who just ask for a little tolerance - after all, horses were there first!

[campbellking]

Difficult to say what any animal will spook at. I used to go hacking somewhere where to get to the woods you had to go about half a mile up the road. All the horses were totally traffic proof in terms of lorries etc. However, we did have 2 horses bolting in the woods one day because they were terrified by 2 guys coming down a path on mountain bikes (far more scary than big lorries!)
Have also ridden in Costa Rica, where the horses were incredibly used to all the locals in trucks beeping their horns to say hello to the riders, and every farm you rode past had a pack of dogs rush out and run round the horses' legs barking away. these horses did not bat an eyelid at anything.

[LoftyLottie]

I agree TinpotLizzie. And pedestrians came before horses. Too much impatience and rudeness on the roads these days. We should all respect other road users, whether they be on foot, on horses, on bikes................................... everything.

[LoftyLottie]

Euphemia. Perhaps novice drivers and badly mannered drivers should be kept off roads as well ;o).

[Barmaid]

Horses may be sold as "bomb proof", but there is no such thing. Horses can get spooked by anything - just like any other animal (I had one who would be fine with horns blaring, ramped up engines and speed, but would Sugar a brick at a bit of binder twine blowing in the wind). But ultimately the roads are there for all. I would not take a horse on any public road unless I was confident in my own ability to control it - even so, horses (like any animal) are unpredictable. Having said that, there is a lack of tolerance by motorists in general with doddery drivers, cyclists, slow moving vehicles, cattle, etc etc. Mind you, I was brought up in a very rural area and all those things are second nature to me.

[Barmaid]

And as for them pooping on the roads, it is inherently dangerous for a rider to dismount, attempt to control the animal, clear up the poop and remount. You are in much better control "onboard". Ridiculous idea.

[Euphemia]

Definitely, LL - unfortunately they are numerous!

[LoftyLottie]

Just keep those drivers that aren't used to country roads (even the main ones) out of the country and restrict them to town driving.

We see so many idiots on our country roads and most deaths and serious accidents are on country roads, caused by the speed of people who just aren't used to them.

In return I promise never to drive in London (not a hard promise to keep)

Barmaid how is the cat?

[Barmaid]

He's still a poorly boy Lofty, thanks for asking. I updated the A&N thread.

[LoftyLottie]

Nothing wrong with horse manure, it's not dangerous like dog poo!!

[LoftyLottie]

I'll go and have a look Barmaid and leave a message on there for you.

[Euphemia]

In my youth, when I used to ride along the road there were always many at the ready to come out with shovels to pick up the droppings for the rose bushes

[Frank97]

"Nothing wrong with horse manure, it's not dangerous like dog poo!!"
It is when it's sitting in the middle of the road on a bend.

[whiskeryron]

We always used to put horse manure on our rhubarb & then we discovered custard.

Ron

[horselady]

Lol at Barmaid and the bit of baler twine. I had a beautiful black bombproof horse a few years back, could take him anywhere, I thought, until the day someone was doing the verge outside their house and had left a wheelbarrow out there, now this daft animal had seen many a wheelbarrow round the stable yard but this one had no right being where it was, it wasn't normally there when he was out on his hack. I've never gone down that lane so fast in my entire life, in fact I think my entire life flashed before my eyes.

[rsvp]

have had horses for over 60 years - there is no such thing as a completely bombproof one - a lot are very, very reliable but no horse is bombproof. The ones that have never spooked are the ones that haven't met anything that scares them yet.

[Bambiagain]

Riding in England, as I did for many years, I was all too often forced to ride on the roads as in many areas there are few bridle paths and landowners don't take kindly to strange riders on their land. It is an unfortunate fact that a lot of riders have no choice. Having said which, I would be very wary of taking a horse I wasn't sure of on a main road. I now have the extreme good fortune of being able to ride for hours barely going near any roads, just crossing the odd one now and then, yet strangely enough the horses I ride are more bomb-proof than most of those I rode back in England. Being both a rider and a driver, I can see both sides of the argument, but I think that unless riders are fortunate enough to be able to ride exclusively off-road, drivers should exercise tolerance and a measure of sense, while riders should use their own common sense (if they possess it) and limit themselves to riding where they feel safe with their own horses.