Horses shouldn't be allowed on the country roads
Discussion
I'm in a very rural area and see horses and riders walking past my home several times a day, I have no issue with them and give them suitable time and space if I meet them on the road.
However, in this modern age where it appears a lot of people can barely drive let alone be considerate of other road users, putting a very expensive animal, which has a propensity for being skittish and easily spooked knowingly into a position where said animal will experience such issues does seem a bit daft.
However, in this modern age where it appears a lot of people can barely drive let alone be considerate of other road users, putting a very expensive animal, which has a propensity for being skittish and easily spooked knowingly into a position where said animal will experience such issues does seem a bit daft.
Amused2death said:
I'm in a very rural area and see horses and riders walking past my home several times a day, I have no issue with them and give them suitable time and space if I meet them on the road.
However, in this modern age where it appears a lot of people can barely drive let alone be considerate of other road users, putting a very expensive animal, which has a propensity for being skittish and easily spooked knowingly into a position where said animal will experience such issues does seem a bit daft.
It can't be that dangerous can it? You don't hear about horsey people dying left, right and centre.However, in this modern age where it appears a lot of people can barely drive let alone be considerate of other road users, putting a very expensive animal, which has a propensity for being skittish and easily spooked knowingly into a position where said animal will experience such issues does seem a bit daft.
Zetec-S said:
I do agree some common sense should be applied by horse-ists, such as avoiding busy or fast roads.
The ones the OP is complaining about were avoiding busy and fast roads! He's objecting to them using quiet narrow single track roads, and says they should only be on roads without blind bends (i.e., faster roads)I met a horse with a young rider on it and (presumably) the rider's mum walking behind it to the offside, as I came round the right-hander at the start of the s-bends in my post here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
This time I was driving, not cycling.
The rider and mum were in hi-vis, the mum was signalling to suggest that drivers slow down, giving thumbs up when they did, encouraging overtakes when sensible - I crawled past on the straight - and giving a cheery wave when drivers went past safely. I flashed my lights at the drivers I saw when I went around the left-hand blind bend to let them know that there was a hazard around the bend let them know that I was there as per the highway code 
.
No arguments, tutting, revving, shouting, waving, whinnying, neighing or reporting anyone to the police: it was rubbish.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
This time I was driving, not cycling.
The rider and mum were in hi-vis, the mum was signalling to suggest that drivers slow down, giving thumbs up when they did, encouraging overtakes when sensible - I crawled past on the straight - and giving a cheery wave when drivers went past safely. I flashed my lights at the drivers I saw when I went around the left-hand blind bend to
.No arguments, tutting, revving, shouting, waving, whinnying, neighing or reporting anyone to the police: it was rubbish.
boyse7en said:
The ones the OP is complaining about were avoiding busy and fast roads! He's objecting to them using quiet narrow single track roads, and says they should only be on roads without blind bends (i.e., faster roads)
My gripe was only about the horse owners that have huge amounts of spare land but still go on the roads for a walk. For horse owners that have not so much land to ride their horses on obviously this can't be helped and walking on the roads between bridleways makes sense to me. Although I guess my title for the post doesn't help 
I am in the country too, and sometimes have to negotiate horses, for the most part i quite like it.
Yesterday though I was coming round a tight bend near my house and a child was coming towards me on 'my side' of the road on a bike (its pretty much a single track road but two cars can pass by using the verges) I quickly took avoiding action, braking and taking to the wrong side of the road to find his buddy about twenty yards behind him on the correct side of the road, so now in my path. Even at 20 to 30mph things can go bad very quickly. I nearly spilled my coffee all over my book..(yes i am joking)
Had i hit either of them i am sure it would have been totally 'my fault' even though i was travelling at about half the speed limit..it was a bit of a wake up call! One bit of mud under the tyres could have changed the outcome quite drastically !
Yesterday though I was coming round a tight bend near my house and a child was coming towards me on 'my side' of the road on a bike (its pretty much a single track road but two cars can pass by using the verges) I quickly took avoiding action, braking and taking to the wrong side of the road to find his buddy about twenty yards behind him on the correct side of the road, so now in my path. Even at 20 to 30mph things can go bad very quickly. I nearly spilled my coffee all over my book..(yes i am joking)
Had i hit either of them i am sure it would have been totally 'my fault' even though i was travelling at about half the speed limit..it was a bit of a wake up call! One bit of mud under the tyres could have changed the outcome quite drastically !
CrutyRammers said:
Lives in house opposite farm, in the country. Complains about farm activities.
Maybe you should move next to a race track and complain about the noise.
I've lived in the countryside for 26 years now and I like lots of the activities that come with living in the area. I respect others on the road, be it bike, cyclist, pedestrian or horse rider. I do pass with care and lots of room. I just find it odd they choose to ride the horses on the road when they have so much spare land to do it in a safer environment. Maybe you should move next to a race track and complain about the noise.
OP would have been apoplectic last month on the A458. Two guys on two quad bikes, and a sheepdog, moving a flock from one field up the road to another. Everyone just crawled or stopped and waited.
I tend to view the countryside as a beautiful place with a few roads going through it, rather than roads with rather annoying countryside along it inhabited by people who are going about their business/leisure.
I tend to view the countryside as a beautiful place with a few roads going through it, rather than roads with rather annoying countryside along it inhabited by people who are going about their business/leisure.
popeyewhite said:
Around my way we generally tolerate other road users, and that includes horses. Makes for a bit of a dull post though 
This, really. Never have I seen so much antipathy toward other road users as on this forum (mainly horse riders and cyclists). I live in a suburban area but close to lots of rural roads where I drive and occasionally cycle, and frequently encounter other drivers, cyclists and horse riders. Rarely is the encounter anything other than amicable. Not quite sure why people are so intolerant of different vehicles being used on the roads.There are horse stables at either end of the village I live in so I'm quite used to seeing them around here. One of the stables does tuition so you'll often have young riders on the road at the south end of the village.
That in itself isn't a problem as they're only on the road a short while moving between fields and bridle paths but some of the horses are clearly unpredictable. On more than one occasion, I've seen horses rearing up, bumbling around in the road with a child on the back whilst the instructor at the front struggles to hold on with just a leather lead from the back of their horse. The instructors tend to react with shouting and gesticulating at passing motorists, as though they seek to bury their own embarrassment by blaming passing motorists. Perhaps the horse is just of a poor temperament but I'm sure this loss of control of the beast is an isolated incident.
I usually just trundle past slowly. However, horse and trap setups are much quicker so a full bore overtake usually better, especially on a motorbike.
That in itself isn't a problem as they're only on the road a short while moving between fields and bridle paths but some of the horses are clearly unpredictable. On more than one occasion, I've seen horses rearing up, bumbling around in the road with a child on the back whilst the instructor at the front struggles to hold on with just a leather lead from the back of their horse. The instructors tend to react with shouting and gesticulating at passing motorists, as though they seek to bury their own embarrassment by blaming passing motorists. Perhaps the horse is just of a poor temperament but I'm sure this loss of control of the beast is an isolated incident.
I usually just trundle past slowly. However, horse and trap setups are much quicker so a full bore overtake usually better, especially on a motorbike.
Shuvi McTupya said:
CrutyRammers said:
Lives in house opposite farm, in the country. Complains about farm activities.
Maybe you should move next to a race track and complain about the noise.
To be fair, riding horses is not a farming activity, things in the country side have moved on a bit..Maybe you should move next to a race track and complain about the noise.
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