are there law's against horses?

[wehatepalace]

I can relate to this thread. A couple of months ago, I was driving to my sister's for sunday lunch, when I encountered a little girl on horseback, in the middle of the road, accompanied by two adults on either side of her. I pulled up behind them, allowing some distance so as not to disturb the horse, and waited patiently for them to move aside so that I could pass. So I waited... and waited ....and waited! They all turned around and saw me there, then just turned back around and carried on strolling along at snail pace. In a moment of anger, I put the car in reverse, and went to turn around so that I could go up the next road which runs parallel. I didn't see the low wall behind me as I did a 3 point turn .... BANG .... £100 worth of damage thank you very much! I happened to glance up to see the little girl and two adults all looking back to see what the loud bang was.

After inspecting the damage, I got back in the car and headed for the adjacent road. By the time I reached it and turned in, guess who I should see coming back down that road? Yep, the little girl on the horse accompanied by the two adults. By this time I was seething as I performed another 3 point turn to go back to the road I was originally on. Horses shouldn't be on the road, there are plenty of pathways elsewhere for them to use. I repaired most of the damage to my car, but the whole rear corner is bent inwards now, creating a huge gap between the boot and the main body - probably halved the value of the car now. grrrrrr

Should of just calmed down and been patient, horses were around long before cars. I bet you were glowing red with anger !

 

[Indurain's Lungs]

Of course horses should be allowed to ride socially on bridleways and a polite 'excuse me' is appropriate if you want to pass, and a 'thank you' after. Bell ringing is just rude (I didn't even realise people still have bells on their bikes!)

Interesting the crap cyclists get for riding 2 abreast on quiet rural roads but people don't do the same to horse riders.

 

[jackanada]

Brilliant.

My wife always says to me that I should try horse riding. I don't fancy it. She says that I ride a motorbike and thus much more dangerous.

My stock reply is that my motorbike will never spook when it sees a drain cover and throw me off. Also it speeds up and stops when I tell it too, not when it feels like.

She normally leaves the argument there.

She is also wrong. I can't be bothered to look them up but I'm 99%certain the statistics show horse-riding to be more dangerous in terms of % of participants injured each year.

EDIT: Taken from bbc so pretty reliable, havent found link to source data.

While you can expect to have a serious motorbike accident once in every 7,000 hours, a serious riding accident happens once in every 350 hours.

 

[wakeytom]

To be honest I feel the same about cyclist that I get stuck behind on country lanes, but that is life and unfortunately people will continue to cycle slowly down dangerous roads

 

[the wanderbus]

Horses add nothing to this world, tthe horses

Stable girls?

 

[the wanderbus]

Should of just calmed down and been patient, horses were around long before cars. I bet you were glowing red with anger !

A) They are supposed to be in single file on narrow or busy roads

B) The roads they are on are (supposedly) paid for by the road fund licence to which motorist contribute and horse riders dont.

 

[wehatepalace]

A) They are supposed to be in single file on narrow or busy roads

B) The roads they are on are (supposedly) paid for by the road fund licence to which motorist contribute and horse riders dont.

At least most horses are insured which is a lot more than I can say for most cyclists.

 

[Indurain's Lungs]

A) They are supposed to be in single file on narrow or busy roads

B) The roads they are on are (supposedly) paid for by the road fund licence to which motorist contribute and horse riders dont.

Not this again -

There is no such thing as road tax or road fund licence!

It is vehicle excise duty based on pollution.

 

[maltaseagull]

I'm guessing it was a bridle-path.

Just as motorists should chill out and slow down when stuck behind a cyclist you should just sit up and enjoy the view if stuck behind some horses.

Some view!

 

[junior]

yesterday i went out for a bike ride along the down's link between Cranleigh and Guildford about 5 miles through i encountered 6 horses walking 4 and 2 abreast taking up the WHOLE of the relatively thin path plodding along at 5mph, we had to stay behind them for over 1/2 a mile before we could get past (they knew we were there) and about 15 over cyclist's as well, safe to say they weren't (cyclists) happy and i think almost everyone exchange words or (hooted there bells) at them, so are there any rules against horses?

Obviously I wasn't there so don't know the exact circumstances, however your description makes me think it could have been a group from a riding school or even complete non-riders getting led. I'm not saying you were wrong to be frustrated at getting stuck behind them but if my theory was in fact the case, please just have a little understanding.

There would have been someone designated to 'lead' the group, and riding school horses tend to just follow the one in front and not really think for themselves. That's no excuse for them not doing thier best to let you pass, but the the group leader (knowing that each horse would blindly follow the one in front) MAY have been waiting for asuitable place to let you pass.

You also maentioned that the path was quite narrow. Horses can be unpredictable animals no matter how much we think we know our own beasts, and riders take that into account when thinking of passer-by's safety. If the group leader or each individual rider thought that you would be within reach of the horses back legs (they can reach a good distance when they kick) if they had stopped where they were, then they would have wanted to stop somewhere that there was space to get all 6 horses far enough away from anybody passing.

Taking all this into account, there is a possibility that they were just being out of order and should have and could have let you pass straight away. I guess they had a right just like you to be there. I've been stuck behind many cyclists riding 2 or 4 abreast on the country lanes in my area, even more so since the olympics has brought more of them out of the woodwork. I just acept that they have as much right to be there as me and occasionally there will be a few that behave like arseholes.

don't get me started on f***ing motorbikes though!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Nothing on this earth quite so self-righteous as a cyclist who thinks they they are in someway being wronged

 

[Seagull on the wing]

Horses, like Cyclists have to keep in single file when meeting any other traffic......

 

[Sussax]

Obviously I wasn't there so don't know the exact circumstances, however your description makes me think it could have been a group from a riding school or even complete non-riders getting led. I'm not saying you were wrong to be frustrated at getting stuck behind them but if my theory was in fact the case, please just have a little understanding.

There would have been someone designated to 'lead' the group, and riding school horses tend to just follow the one in front and not really think for themselves. That's no excuse for them not doing thier best to let you pass, but the the group leader (knowing that each horse would blindly follow the one in front) MAY have been waiting for asuitable place to let you pass.

You also maentioned that the path was quite narrow. Horses can be unpredictable animals no matter how much we think we know our own beasts, and riders take that into account when thinking of passer-by's safety. If the group leader or each individual rider thought that you would be within reach of the horses back legs (they can reach a good distance when they kick) if they had stopped where they were, then they would have wanted to stop somewhere that there was space to get all 6 horses far enough away from anybody passing.

Taking all this into account, there is a possibility that they were just being out of order and should have and could have let you pass straight away. I guess they had a right just like you to be there. I've been stuck behind many cyclists riding 2 or 4 abreast on the country lanes in my area, even more so since the olympics has brought more of them out of the woodwork. I just acept that they have as much right to be there as me and occasionally there will be a few that behave like arseholes.

don't get me started on f***ing motorbikes though!

yeah, atleast i didn't kick the horses back side in...

 

[tiberious]

the only mode of transport you can use when drunk is a donkey because it is a beast of burdon and does onot need to be driven as it will always walk home. Horses are like push bikes they need to be direscted so you can be done for drunk in charge.

 

[drew]

Not this again -

There is no such thing as road tax or road fund licence!

It is vehicle excise duty based on pollution.

Is it worth getting upset over? It is a tax on owning a particular vehicle. Some pay a lot and some pay nothing but it is still a tax.

Horses, like Cyclists have to keep in single file when meeting any other traffic......

And where is this 'law' written then?

 

[Birdie Boy]

I rode my bicycle over a small bridge once, had to go up a small hill to get to it, so didn't know what was on the other side. Got onto the bridge and saw a startled horse with a young girl struggling to control it. The bridge is only wide enough for a bike either way, so not big enough for a horse and a bike, so I stopped. The girl said to me to carry on past, bloody shit myself going past this huge beast that she was struggling to control and as I got side on to it, the horses head moved away from me and he brought his rear round to my side! I thought he was going to kick me straight in the head! Luckily we got past ok!

It does seem wrong to me that some horses are huge and there are young girls/boys riding them. I suspect an experienced adult rider would struggle to control a horse let a lone a young girl/boy if it really wanted to go!

 

[Worthingite]

Also worth remembering that while motorists and cyclists could be said to have full control of their transportation a horse-rider is trying to con 2 tonnes of mental into thinking they are in charge.

Love it!!!

 

[Worthingite]

Not this again -

There is no such thing as road tax or road fund licence!

It is vehicle excise duty based on pollution.

I might be being a bit dumb but isn't that what the tax on petrol is for? If that is the case, we're paying twice surely?

 

[Mackenzie]

A) They are supposed to be in single file on narrow or busy roads

B) The roads they are on are (supposedly) paid for by the road fund licence to which motorist contribute and horse riders dont.

I'd imagine most horse riders can afford a car too.

 

[El Presidente]

If you want to ride a horse, do it in the privacy of your own home.

If you want to see the pictures, I have a DVD featuring two German girls doing just that!