Horses - what a pain in the backside!

[Ben]

Various annoying things share our road space, in 3rd place are caravans, in 2nd are horse boxes and in 1st place are horses.

I know its not the horses fault, its the lack of forethought from those who choose to want to annoy other road users. yes you, the rider!!!

Its beggers belief why, when there is all this countryside, horse riders choose to take their horse on the most dangerous narrow strip of tarmac they can find thus causing road users inconvenience having to slow down, swerve and traffic queues. What about the narrow country lanes where there are all those blind corners? Should an accident occur i'd be blaming the rider, especially with all those safe car free fields either side of the road. After all, tarmac was intended for use as a road for cars not horses. Horses can use mud, grass, bridal paths etc.

When was the last time you saw show jumping or the grand national run on tarmac?

[a8 tech]

What about the massive tommy **** they leave in the road.I tryed to increase your rep power but they wont let me,so it looks like iam still at the top for now

[stuart]

I think I read that you will find that an ancient law, that still stands, gives horses the right of way over any vehicle.... If you hit a horse.... you are in trouble, even if it jumped out of a field in front of you....

Think this is still valid

[dessimpson]

I was driving along a few years ago when a huge fox hunt leapt the fence, crossed the road and went into the field opposite. I nearly **** myself.
I didn't see the fox though!! (Hope he got away )

[Eshrules]

first of all, i will disagree with anybody who tries to say horses do not have a place on our roads.

secondly, i will mention the fact that i have been heavily involved in horses since the age of 9. my last one being a £2500 TB/Dutch warmblood chestnut mare.

now....

Stu makes a very valid point in that, ancient law dictates (which still stands) that horses come BEFORE anything else.

remember the old industries? horse drawn carts, canal barges, trucks and trailers? those 'annoyances' made our country, developed various industries and without 'workhorses' we would not be the Britain we are today.

Its beggers belief why, when there is all this countryside, horse riders choose to take their horse on the most dangerous narrow strip of tarmac they can find thus causing road users inconvenience having to slow down, swerve and traffic queues

first point, there is a decreasing amount of countryside to ride in... why? yup, you guessed it! because they keep building chuffing roads for your chuffing cars!

second, to get to most bridal ways (a legally apointed right of way for horses to travel on) you have to use quite a few roads, its not as simple as taking your horse out of the stable and into the field

thirdly and most concerning to me.... inconvenience? would you regard an OAP crossing the road slowly as an inconvenience? would you regard a mother and child steadily making their way across a crossing as an inconvenience? horses have a right of way and you should not be 'swerving' around any obstruction, let alone a very heavy, powerful and unpredicatble one!

Should an accident occur i'd be blaming the rider

and my final point.... should an accident occur and YOU live, the HORSE lives and the RIDER lives, if you have failed to observe the highway code in regards to passing a horse, YOU will be at fault and YOU will be prosecuted. i can only hope you are not one of those inconsiderate toe rags who insists on their music blaring, engine revving and getting too close to a horses rear end. it is people like THAT who should not be on the road.

a few quotes from the official highway code government website

190: Animals. When passing animals, drive slowly. Give them plenty of room and be ready to stop. Do not scare animals by sounding your horn or revving your engine. Look out for animals being led or ridden on the road and take extra care and keep your speed down at left-hand bends and on narrow country roads. If a road is blocked by a herd of animals, stop and switch off your engine until they have left the road. Watch out for animals on unfenced roads

191: Horse riders. Be particularly careful of horses and riders, especially when overtaking. Always pass wide and slow. Horse riders are often children, so take extra care and remember riders may ride in double file when escorting a young or inexperienced horse rider. Look out for horse riders' signals and heed a request to slow down or stop. Treat all horses as a potential hazard and take great care.

When you come near a horse, slow down to maximum 10mph, stay well back and keep your music down, wait until it is clearly safe for you to pass, or the rider gives a hand signal to signify a safe point of passing. pass WIDE and SLOW with your music still low. DO NOT rev your way up to their back end, keeping your music blaring and then 'cut' past them closely. follow this procedure as i do for each end every single horse rider and i can guarantee you will never have a horse related accident on the road

[Freshup]

Ouch! Take that.

There is only one good thing about horses. That's some of the birds that ride them. Mind you bicycles are a bigger pain in the proverbial over here. Takes half a mile to safely pass one, only to have them sneek up the inside at the next stop. Red lights mean nothing to these idiots.

[Eshrules]

Ouch! Take that.

There is only one good thing about horses. That's some of the birds that ride them. Mind you bicycles are a bigger pain in the proverbial over here. Takes half a mile to safely pass one, only to have them sneek up the inside at the next stop. Red lights mean nothing to these idiots.

another sweeping generalization..... i used to ride my bike to work every single day and that opened my eyes too. you've got to remember, you dont OWN the road, you have very little rights compared to everyone else and the above quotes apply to cyclists too

[Ben]

Yes of course i slow down. I do what your supposed to. I just give a disapproving look and an unimpressed shake of the head and a scowl or mouth some words. Unless of course as was said the are good looking. i have toerags playing football in the street and occasionally the ball hits the car, they are all under 10. I am 29 thus not a toerag. I wondered if my post would cause debate, not knowing if there were any horsey types on here. Still, live in england, freedom of speech and all that. Also, why do they insist on riding next to each other, it makes passing even harder. Cars have in travel single file.

[Eshrules]

Yes of course i slow down. I do what your supposed to. I just give a disapproving look and an unimpressed shake of the head and a scowl or mouth some words. Unless of course as was said the are good looking. i have toerags playing football in the street and occasionally the ball hits the car, they are all under 10. I am 29 thus not a toerag. I wondered if my post would cause debate, not knowing if there were any horsey types on here. Still, live in england, freedom of speech and all that. Also, why do they insist on riding next to each other, it makes passing even harder. Cars have in travel single file.

being a toe rag is not age specific remember you can be 50 and still be a toe rag....

and whats with the dirty looks/scowling anyway? they're not actually doing anything wrong, which is what you appear to be insinuating? can i just clarify, horses and alike do actually have MORE of a right to be on the road than you? hence you HAVE to give way, whether you like it or not

Horse riders are often children

they often ride two abreast, as the more experienced rider will be on the outside(nearest to the centre of the road), in order to help the less experienced rider out. cyclists often ride two abreast.

another reason for it is that this forces the car behind to slow down and overtake properly, instead of cutting too close to the horse.

'tis all common sense really

[Ben]

Ok then, a new take on this. If you are a horse owner or rider then it is to be assumed that you care for the animal. This would mean looking after it's needs, not getting it stressed and not putting it at risk or in harms way. Surely taking a horse out on the road is putting it at risk, increasing its chance of injury and stress levels. If this is not the case, why slow down if its not stressed. Wherever the horse lives, there has to be enough area to exercise it, so why the need to take it out. I'd still like to the a horse race on tarmac tho. Further more, i'd like to see a horse rider get off the horse, clear up its mess and dispose of it properly. Dog owners do. After all, poo is poo, regardless of the bottom it came out of.