Do you by law have to slow down for horses?

[Sam the Mut]

I always slow down for horses but when driving today, in the distance there was a group of people riding. so I slowed down to 5mph, turned the music off etc. They started waving their hands at me to stop so I oblige and ask what the prolem is. The snobby old woman says "They have a really nervous horses what doesn't like cars going past at any speed or with it's engine on." She then gets the hump at me and gives all the bullst about horses were around before cars ect, because I said Its not cleverest of idea have a horse like that on the road.


So do you have to slow down for horses by law?

Edited by Sam the Mut on Friday 1st July 16:27

[FlashmanChop]

Top marks for doing what you did, in all honesty, and having horses ourselves, well mrs fwchop, she would never venture near a road with a nervous horse.

think there is something in the highway code

[trickywoo]

No idea but our 75 year old neighbour was called on by the police to give her a talking to after horse riders complained about her driving.

To be fair she is a menace.

[E30M3SE]

Highway Code said:

215

Horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles. Be particularly careful of horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles especially when overtaking. Always pass wide and slowly. Horse riders are often children, so take extra care and remember riders may ride in double file when escorting a young or inexperienced horse or rider. Look out for horse riders’ and horse drivers’ signals and heed a request to slow down or stop. Take great care and treat all horses as a potential hazard; they can be unpredictable, despite the efforts of their rider/driver.

Think the woman is foolish for having such a horse on the road.

[RobM77]

Sam the Mut said:

I always slow down for horses but when driving today, in the distance there was a group of people riding. so I slowed down to 5mph, turned the music off etc. They started waving their hands at me to stop so I oblige and ask what the prolem is. The snobby old woman says "They have a really nervous horses what doesn't like cars going past at any speed or with it's engine on." She then gets the hump at me and gives all the bullst about horses were around before cars ect, because I said Its not cleverest of idea have a horse like that on the road.


So do you have to slow down for horses by law?

Edited by Sam the Mut on Friday 1st July 16:27

5mph and music off is what I do too, and as a former horse rider I'd say that's fine. This lady sounds like she's endangering herself and others taking such a nervous horse on the road to be honest - very stupid.

[Sam the Mut]

I know one of group she was in the same class as me at school. Always going on about the bloody things, stunk of them to. we never really got on after I told her to add a bit of antifreeze to her horses water bowl to stop it freezing. The school tried to make me pay the vets bill, I refused. she added the bluestar without reading the lable.

[Riley Blue]

I always slow down, those hooves can make a nasty dent in your door - and the horses can be fking dangerous too...

[AKACrimson]

I'm not sure, I hate them though! We get a lot of horse riders on the b roads near where I live and they and cyclists who ride two abreast are my biggest fear, it's allways really disapointing that on a sunny day when I go out for a "spirited" drive I meet nothing but cyclists and horse riders.

I understand that we should all share the road, but I still fking hate it.

Incedently, has anyone ever hit a horse? (with car, not fists) I would imagine it would be really nasty for all involved.

[Sam the Mut]

AKACrimson said:

I'm not sure, I hate them though! We get a lot of horse riders on the b roads near where I live and they and cyclists who ride two abreast are my biggest fear, it's allways really disapointing that on a sunny day when I go out for a "spirited" drive I meet nothing but cyclists and horse riders.

I understand that we should all share the road, but I still fking hate it.

Incedently, has anyone ever hit a horse? (with car, not fists) I would imagine it would be really nasty for all involved.

I have seen pic's of a golf what hit a cow side on, the cow survived but the golf was a write off.

[Deva Link]

RobM77 said:

5mph and music off is what I do too, and as a former horse rider I'd say that's fine. This lady sounds like she's endangering herself and others taking such a nervous horse on the road to be honest - very stupid.

5MPH is the same speed as the horse is going, surely?

I live in a rural area and see a lot of horses but I just pass them at a reasonable speed and distance and never had any probs.

[felga]

"Horses are bad people"

I slow down if i can, sometimes they crawl around the blind bend and you have no time to slow.

[vixen1700]

Used to ride myself and always slow down for horses, nothing worse than being on a freaked out horse in the road.

It really pisses me off if I see people not slowing down, driving too close and generally being a tt.

[P2 DJX]

I know a man who hit a cow in a mini van . The cow went skywards and landed on the vans roof crushing the driver. He was 24 at the time - hes now 63 and hasnt worked since the accident due to his injuries ;-(

[Rovinghawk]

If the horse or rider aren't safe then they shouldn't be on the road; if it applies to me & my transport then it should apply equally to them.

I give courtesy to horses but expect the same from their owners; if they don't give it then they deserve none.

RH

btw- To those who claim that roads were built for horses, I can confirm that all the roads I've helped build were for wheeled vehicles.

[Carfiend]

Don't they have courses for horses? Keep them off the road.

Maybe there are some that help build confidence so the horse won't be nervous?

[vixen1700]

Christ's sake, it isn't too much to ask to slow down for a few fking seconds does it.

Christ.

[Sam the Mut]

Carfiend said:

Don't they have courses for horses? Keep them off the road.

Maybe there are some that help build confidence so the horse won't be nervous?

but why should I have to stop and turn my engine off? if you were to do that kind of thing you would do it on private land.

[Mastodon2]

Riley Blue said:

I always slow down, those hooves can make a nasty dent in your door - and the horses can be fking dangerous too...

This is the reason I don't go too slow, I don't want a horse kicking my car. Unfortunately as I have a sports exhaust on my car it's quite loud, and there really is no way of making it quiet. It will drone in higher gears and pop and bang in lower ones, unfortunately sometimes you just have the hurt the horses feelings and execute a swift and decisive overtake.

[TheLurker]

Sam the Mut said:

I know one of group she was in the same class as me at school. Always going on about the bloody things, stunk of them to. we never really got on after I told her to add a bit of antifreeze to her horses water bowl to stop it freezing. The school tried to make me pay the vets bill, I refused. she added the bluestar without reading the lable.

I shouldn't, but

[Zwoelf]

I slow down and pass wide for horses & riders and encounter quite a few every week, never had a problem. I don't know if I have to by law, but it's just driving to the current conditions rather than the posted limit isn't it?

Sam the Mut said:

"They have a really nervous horses what doesn't like cars going past at any speed or with it's engine on." She then gets the hump at me and gives all the bullst about horses were around before cars etc.

However, I'd have had a loss of composure if she'd said that to me. Along the lines of "Yes horses were around before cars, but cars have been around a lot longer than you or that horse that evidently shouldn't be anywhere near a road if it's not safe to be within earshot of a running engine or sight of a large moving object - that has every right to be there doing so. Please remove it for its own, yours and other road users' safety".

FFS.