Please tell us why shouldn't horses use the roads ? Most times you come across horses and riders they are on country lanes , where you'll also come across people out walking , sometimes with their children , cyclists , tractors and various obstacles which if you crash into them you'll get hurt . Horse riders aren't idiots , they are people just like you are , out doing something they enjoy just like you are when you are out on the Ducati . The oft spouted excuse that they don't pay road tax , like cyclists ( don't you go cycling Bradders ? ) or they are unpredictable , maybe even dangerous sounds suspiciously like the arguments used against motorcyclists , who if we believe the prejudices mostly don't have road tax either . If you really want to see your ideal of local economies flourishing then you might even see horse drawn beer deliveries . Maybe that would change your opinion .
I always slow down for horses. Riders appreciate it. And it makes sense to me not having a two ton animal marauding around the countryside, out of control, with a shit scared rider on the back. That's if they've not been thrown off.
As above, I always try and make sure I ride past as quietly as possible giving a wide berth, last thing I want to do is upset some fit bird on a horse that might be my next ride. and i don't mean the horse ;-)
You do raise some good points but to be fair horses are far more unpredictable than motor vehicles of any sort, cars or motorbikes. Every car or bike rider 'should be' trained before being allowed on the public highway, each vehicle they own 'should be' road worthy and in fully working condition (MOT), therefore if the driver is trained and the vehicle working as it should then any unpredictable occurrences are likely kept to a bare minimum. you simply can't say that for a horse, whilst I appreciate there are some very very skilled riders out there it matters not if a horse gets spooked with any on coming traffic, you cannot guarantee what it will do. im not against horses on the roads or horse riding, I just don't agree that its safe. my main opposition against horses on the roads is the horse shit they leave behind them and don't clean it up. Some people may do, but a lot do not, and when you're barrelling round a bend on two wheels and you hit a freshly laid horse cake it doesn't make for a nice experience.
Roads are now too busy and dangerous for horses. Often those country lanes are not walked on at all, as most drive or cycle, and a horse is far wider and kore unpredictable than a bike or a person and cant react as quick if not seen by passing traffic til the last minute. These lanes are nearly always only just two cars wide. there are plenty of bridleways.
I also slow down and am respectful. I live in a horsey area. The girls (usually girls anyway) appreciate it and give a nice wave. I also like riding jodhpurs and boots but its a pain trying to get them in size 12's.:tongue: I have been dragged on my back with a foot stuck in a stirrup across a cow pat filled field by a horse and it was not pleasant lol. There is no need to terrorise horse riders unless the b*"stards are riding two abreast so you cannot pass.
Bradders hits a point, there are several stables within a mile of my home and an empty bridleway that cost tens of thousands to construct. I have only ever seen horses on the bridleway once, they are always on the busy main roads in town. 95% of the horses are simply pets, big fat things that don't get enough exercise. My mate has around 40 stables on his farm and only 1 horse ever really gets any exercise as the girl enters show jumping competitions. Its like having a big dog that's not allowed in the house for the vast majority.
I give them the same respect I would expect, despite the fact they pay no road tax. However this respect completely evaporates when the tossers bimble along two abreast, same with bicyclists, deserve all they get if they're going to be that daft/arrogant!
The horse riders ride two abreast on purpose to slow the traffic down. I don't have a problem with two abreast cyclists its the large groups who are 3 and 4 abreast thinking they are in the TDF
Horses are great. I love them. I would go so far as to stop and push my bike past if I had too. I have no issues with them or the riders. Wish I could own and ride them. Fantastic beasts.
Two weeks ago whilst riding the Isle of Wight on my bicycle in single file and getting along nicely on the Military Road thinking to myself it would be good on a sunny day to ride the Ducati down here. In the distance I could hear motor bikes making a good pace coming toward me, mins later they arrived, a GSX R and Fireblade both taking full use of the road and riding fast. They were so close to me it was a little frightening, the bikers were fast and they both looked like they could ride. It's the noise and speed when they are so close when you're on the pusher that shits you. Both could have given me more space BUT it would have ruined their corner entry and that would never do.
I'm with Bradders and Nelson on this. I don't believe cyclist and horse folk shouldn't use the road as such, but I do agree that certain, and I'm not saying all will use the fact there isn't any formal 'training' as such to basically behave like idiots. And this is from Belinda and Jemima on cobbles riding two abreast and then wondering why the que of traffic gets irate through to the gaggle of lycra wearing donkeys who don't know how to ride their bikes, but can balance enough to have a conversation three abrest. On the other side of this, I've seen some complete tools helping horse riders and cyclists come closer to rethinking their mortality. One example that springs to mind was a jag driven by some gentrified cock who was obviously far too busy and important to accept that the horserider and her horse (which were clearly labelled on their reflective jackets as novice road users in training or some such) should be given a wide berth and a bit of patience exercised. He proceeded to throttle past her and her instructor, and unnerved the horse, cue one scared girl on 18 hands of nervous horse. On a similar vein, I saw some pointless waste of a good skin surrey oriental woman in her 70k+ rangerover disco -daahhhling, down a tight country road harassing a pair of cyclist, who to their credit, were on road bikes and definitely not hanging around. She done that thing where she sat so close to their arses that when a decent passing place came, she had to swerve wide in order to get past, nearly knocking them off. Now here's the good bit - there were some road works several hundred yards up, and pointless woman was stuck in traffic, cyclists filtered past and knocked her wing mirror on purpose. When lights changed she sped up and tried to ram them into the hedge. next roadworks they caught up with her. I at this point wound my window down and I could hear her screaming at them about no road tax and she had every right to run them over and she had rights over them on the road. Fucking incredible. One of the cyclists took her keys out of the ignition, and punted them into a nearby pond. - Personally I think she totally desrerved that. Walking indignant stink bladder that she was. However, that said, I do agree that many horses are 'a dog too big to bring into the house' and a few lessons do not a rider make. Be it cyclist or horserider there isn't a place for moral highground when it comes to road use, and riding like an arse is riding like an arse irrespective of what you're on, and there's a certain amount of responsibility that needs to be taken. Like many of us, If I'm riding I'll pull the clutch in and coast, but if I can see the horse is particularly nervous I'm happy to kill the engine until its gone by. If the twat in the 4x4 behind doesn't like it, tough. If he can afford the car, he can afford the wait. I do feel as well, that perhaps horses themselves should be trained to be confortable on a road, if nothing else to be used to the sounds and environment. I'm not saying they should all go to the household cavalry and be taught not to flinch under cannon fire but you know what I mean. As bradders pointed out, we as road users have to go through a licencing process to ensure we're competent. Horse and cycle riders have the privilege of not having to do that, and also the privilege of not having to be liable for any damage they cause. Now this is a personal beef of mine as I was forced to brake defensively at box hill many years ago when a cyclist came out of nowhere from a trail onto the main road. Just shot out, and then the scrawny little shit insisted I paid for his buckled front wheel. I'd just passed my test not three months before and I handed over twenty quid - I was mortified that I'd been responsible for knocking someone off. Looking back twenty years on, I should have wrapped the fucking thing round his head and shoved his seatpost up his arsehole. What does concern me though is that a young rider can get on a horse which might never have been on the road and the only restriction as far as the law is concerned is if they're under 14, a helmet must be worn and must be saddled and bridled. Oh and wear bright clothing and don't ride on a pavement! I don't think that the not paying road tax argument is a valid one, but I do believe that on their part just 'because they're horses / cyclists' it gives any right to not understand or disregard or be responsible for their own road craft. If I come steaming round a bend and take a horse out or injure its rider there'd be hell to pay. When a nervous horse ridden by a nervous fourteen year old kicks the side of a car door in, or a cyclist fires out of a trail in front of you, something tells me we can go whistle. and that's wrong as well.
First of all, to clear up the 'Road tax' issue....there's no such thing. You pay 'Vehicle Excise Duty' which is a licence for motor vehicles. The money goes into the general tax pot and isn't linked directly with road use/maintenance at all. So nobody has more right to use the road than another, walkers, motorists, cyclers, tractorists, space hopper drivers, etc. So why shouldn't horses be on the road? Yes, OK, they're mainly used as a hobby (much like most bikes), they are much slower than motor vehicles (just like many other things you'll find on the road) but you can usually see them a mile away, they're the massive 4 legged thing! And don't give me this bollox about coming around a corner and 'there's a horse in the road'...ride within your limits! Ride at a speed that will allow you to stop within the distance you CAN see. Let's face facts, most road users don't want motorbikes on the road either, so, let's not give anyone even more reason to marginalise us. Treat horse riders as you would expect motorists to treat you. Yes, you could go screaming past 'because they're slower' but likewise, a car driver can (and quite often do) pull out in front of you just because they don't like 'hooligan' bikers.
Its not that they are slower Kenior, its that you cannot predict 100% what it will do and its a much larger obstacle than walkers or cyclists (in the main). Added to that its often youngish girls, either with another walking in front, and in the road normally, of the horse leading it or another two abreast. Personally, its not about speed. Its about size, unpredictability and the amount of space etc needed to be given to be safe. Add to that the sun being low in the sky, blind corners and impatient drivers, I'm amazed more aren't wiped out
The road is there for ALL users. As soon as you start excluding one group, before you know it the group you belong to is excluded too. Just share the damn roads and shut the fuck up about cyclists and horses. Its bad enough you dont see kids playing out anymore because of effin traffic. No more games of kerbie. Soon the roads will be a no go zone because of intolerant plonkers who think they own the fucking road. They dont. I do, now get outta my way. Its fucking 30mph not 25! FFS!!!
