Horses

redddraggon

Most of my commute journey is through countryside, so I don't have to fight with that much traffic.

But I have found that horses (and riders) cause a far greater amount of inconvience to other road users than any one else on the roads - even tractors.

They often ride double abreast filling the road, move at little more than walking pace and leave crap all over the road. Does anybody else find horses on the road a little annoying? Cyclists cause far less chaos than these beasts to other drivers.

peejay78

what's a horse?

dondare

Cyclists and horse-riders have been antagonizing eachother since before cars were invented.

overmars

Horses are the reason I got high powered lights while riding through Hyde Park (London ) at night! Oh they can drop a load! :shock:

mazcp

What's wrong with you people?! I love meeting horses/riders on my commute...just let them know you're there well in advance with a friendly 'hello'. They help slow down the traffic and make the ride more pleasant, in my experience.

alfablue

First came walkers, then horses, then bikes, and finally cars - in my view that represents a useful heirarchy for priority on the road. The car has just got above it's station!

Gilbs

Hey, lay off horse riders, if it weren't for them us mountain bikers would have almost nowhere to ride!

jam1ec

i prefer horses to cars.

CarKiller

Horses are better than cars. What's wrong with slowing down a little.? The more slow traffic on the roads, the better I say!

BentMikey

I'm pro horses and horse riders too. Although if you're on a recumbent, the horses can freak out tremendously, so that means stopping, standing up, and talking to the horse sometimes. They don't like something that's low and fast, and has the funny leg movements that a recumbent has, too much like a predator. Most of the horses in Hyde Park are used to my bike now, luckily. The funniest thing is that the horse riders often assume I'm talking to them, when I'm actually talking to the horse, LOL!

Eat My Dust

I've nothing against horses on the roads, but I have noticed that a Lot of cycists don't slow down when approaching them. You have to be careful, bikes can really freak them out. I always imagine they're like "WTF is that?" when they see a bike.

CarKiller

I give a friendly whistle from about 100 yards back which horses can easily hear. If they know you're approaching, they won't get so freaked out.

john holiday

Apart from the odd rider who didn't seem to have too much contol over their horse, have generally found riders friendly particularly if you slow down & give a ring on the bell beforehand, even on a recumbent.
I use a 'ding/dong' two tone Dutch bell which proves effective with pedestrians at a good range too!
So much more polite than shouting!
It's interesting that the horse riders "pass wide & slow" message seems to have worked with motorists.Perhaps the cycle fraternity should adopt something similar.
(I have the 'Give cyclists room' sticker in the rear window of my other vehicle,the car!)

CarKiller

They just don't want half a ton of horsemeat on their preciousssssss car.

Cyclists on the other hand can just die.

ds2005

I treat horses like I wish cars would treat cyclists.

mazcp

john holiday wrote:

...(I have the 'Give cyclists room' sticker in the rear window of my other vehicle,the car!)

Same here. I also wear the hi-viz POLITE vest when I'm out on the bike...the extra room that drivers allow me has to be seen to be believed.

peejay78

i find horse and rider respond well to a friendly "toot" on the airzound.

mtb.boy

I'm always scared when passing a horse (or three) from behind that it will get scared and jump on my head. Therefore I always overtake on the otherside of the road (right next to the other pavemant) really slowly.

adifiddler

I grew up with horses and rode them before i could ride a bike. Horses can be very unpredictable, even well trained ones with lots of experience in heavy traffic. If they are spooked they will take some time to calm down, if they are scared they might refuse to move or may take off. If the rider is thrown the horse will be very hard to control if the rider is not thrown he/she will grip the horse tighter to stay on which restricts the horse so it might react to that.

The biggest problem with horses is sudden movement or noise from behind, there eyes and ears do not cover the flank so this is there venerable side. If you approach a horse you must slow down and give it plenty of room. If the horse is jittery listen for and follow the instructions of the rider and speak calmly and softly to the horse. If approaching a horse from behind softly sing to yourself or something to make the horse and rider aware that you are there. Stay some distance behind until you can clearly see the road ahead and then slowly pass. If you are mountain biking and you meet a horse coming in your direction it is often best to stop and move of the path and wait for the horse to pass.

Never make any sudden loud sounds, if you do dont be surprised if the horse turns and charges at you!

I owned two horses as a child, i lived on Exmoor and we often had fighter jets low flying over the moors, my horses were very used to this and i often had jets flying fast and low overhead when i was riding, it was never a problem but a cyclist that shot past me down a hill spooked my horse and throw me, the horse bolted and i had a two hour walk home with a broken arm and broken ribs. Which leads me to the last point i want to make, be extra careful if you need to pass a horse that is going down hill, a horse is front heavy and finds going down hill difficult so they concentrate more on the ground and where they are placing there feet. They are often not very aware of what is happening around then so are more likely to be spooked.

Flycatcher

I was riding to work on Wednesday around a large oval road with houses either side when I came across a horse and rider coming in the opposite direction. To say it was spooked in an understatement but the lady rider handled it very well and it calmed down quickly. I slowed, apologised and got a lovely cheery Good morning.

Black Keith

having been a mountain biker, I've always given horses a wide berth and kept very slow or even dismounted if on a narrow track.

riding to richmond park the other day, there was a man on horseback standing across the road and blocking one lane (yes, proper road with cars and everything) he was talking to an elderly woman on the pavement. as we approached he didn't move so we asked if it was ok to go round (in case it was a young horse, or easily spooked) and he just totally ignored us and carried on gossiping. So we went round anyway, on my way past I called him a damned ignorant chap (well, not damned or chap but you get the idea) that stopped the conversation dead.

it's further to fall from a horse than a bike, one tosser hasn't stopped me giving horses space on the road. (they usually have coppers on top of them round here anyway!)

BentMikey

Yes, I quite regularly see horses throwing riders in Hyde Park. Can't say I totally blame them, there are enough scary goings on to do a horses head in.

formerlyknownasbonj

BentMikey wrote:

I'm pro horses and horse riders too. Although if you're on a recumbent, the horses can freak out tremendously

Can't you just ride it under the horse?

BentMikey wrote:

... and talking to the horse sometimes. ... The funniest thing is that the horse riders often assume I'm talking to them, when I'm actually talking to the horse, LOL!

You shouldn't talk to horses any more than you should talk to plants.

formerlyknownasbonj

My opinion of horses is that they are selfish, inconsiderate twats, but above all VERY dangerous.
The only safe place to be relative to a horse is FAR AWAY from it. If you're on it, it can throw you off. If you're behind it, it can kick you, TO DEATH. In front of it, it can bite you, probably also to death. If you're at the side of it, it can buck its arse knocking you over, probably at least winding you, possibly breaking a few bones. If you're lying down, it can trample on you.
I recall only this week in the news a gran was suffering severe injuries after being kicked by a horse. Just look at Christopher Reeve.
Horses are animals with a mind of their own, and therefore shouldn't be allowed to be an item of traffic on the road. they're scared by engine noise? well that should mean they shouldn't be on the road, not that there shouldn't be engine noise. Roads do have engine noise, that's a fact of life. But horse riders think they should be made an exception for.
Horses are a way for upper-class people to show off to their upper-class mates, and for middle class people to try to prove how upper-class they are. Horse people are arrogant, just look at the 'safety around horses' TV advert of a while back, where the car's lights get smashed, effectively giving out the message 'watch out, give us room, or we'll smash your car up'. See my other thread called 'parking on "private" land' (the "private" land in question which I fully intend to park on again when/if I want to, by the way) - the arrogance is shown by the fact the horse bint only decided to stick her nose in when she saw i had a bike.
Horse riders think they own the countryside, and don't want mountain-bikers going down 'their' paths.
Horses and their riders can f**k off, quite frankly - I haven't got time for any of them.

You might have guessed I'm not that fond of horses. :twisted:

Cunobelin

Horses - no problem
Riders - can be a real problem!

Horses are "prey animals". In the animal world a slow sleek, fast shape is a predator, and in the cycling world low, sleek and fast is a recumbent....

I know this, and take great care - even a stationary recumbent can cause problems.However there are a lot of condescending riders who tell me (not always politely) not to be so silly as their horse is trained!

Surprising how many have to learn the lesson the hard way!

Even had one horse bolt from the Trice parked in a layby!

Bonno

I always slow down for horses, let the riders know i'm coming, and then give them a wide berth.
I'd only wish the horsebox drivers would do the same for me !!!

HJ1976

Having grown up on the edge of town, and one of my friends being head stable girl at a stable in Thornton Le Dale (near Dalby Forest) I as aware of Horses when on my MTB as I am in my Clio or parents disco(very). Hoses like cyclists need be aware that you are approaching them so that they can prepare, they then also need plenty of space when you pass avoid injury etc.
I will always slow or even stop when I see child on a horse as even if they are experienced they will NEVER be strong enough to control a freaked horse properly.
As with the booby trapping of trails and bridleways -
WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN SAFETY AND THAT OF THOSE AROUND US.

formerlyknownasbonj

Another thing I can't bloody stand about horse riders. The way they claim riding a horse is exercise. IT'S NOT. You just sit there. The energy comes from the horse, unlike cycling. It probably takes more energy to ride a motorbike than it does a horse.

georgeupstairs

formerlyknownasbonj wrote:

Another thing I can't bloody stand about horse riders. The way they claim riding a horse is exercise. IT'S NOT. You just sit there.

You want to try it for half an hour then mate. Then tell me what you legs feel like.

formerlyknownasbonj

georgeupstairs wrote:

formerlyknownasbonj wrote:

Another thing I can't bloody stand about horse riders. The way they claim riding a horse is exercise. IT'S NOT. You just sit there.

You want to try it for half an hour then mate. Then tell me what you legs feel like.

You'll not get me riding a horse any more than you'll get me riding a crocodile. (They're dangerous, I've explained this.)
It might cause fatigue, and tiredness in the legs, that doesn't mean it's giving your legs a workout. There's a saying "no pain, no gain" - but it doesn't mean ALL pain = gain.
If your legs ache when you've been riding a horse it's probably more to do with the fact that you're constantly being jolted up and down while your legs are in a splayed out position than that your muscles are actually doing work.
Where does the energy go? The human riding the horse is not providing any energy input whatsoever. The horse itself provides the energy input that is converted into motion.

Oleg177

Honestly you really should try riding a horse. It might give you a more rounded opinion.....and it's fun!

Horses are no more dangerous than your average bike, i.e. if you act like an idiot you'll get hurt!