Horses

mbhuw

I do the majority of my riding on small, rural back roads. I therefore meet a lot of horse riders.
No matter how much i slow down or try to keep my bike quiet, the horses always spook which a few times, has left to the rider nearly being thrown off.
What should i do other than slow down?

andrewjoseph

If coming up behind, call out to the rider when within earshot, come up slow. shout something like 'coming up behind!'. Ask the rider if it is safe to pass.

If coming towards them, stop. Ask the rider if it is safe to pass. If they say ok, go past slowly with no sudden moves.

Horses don't recognise people on bikes as 'people'.

Bobbinogs

I always shout something like "coming up on the right" when in earshot. Basically, I consider that I am shouting to the horse to let it know, but most riders appreciate it too and give me a cheery "hello" or "thank you". Makes the ride all the more pleasureable.

themekon

I have a bell and give it a ring a good while before reaching the horse and rider. Then a shout before passing.

cougie

They must be very skittish if they spook every time ?

I pass plenty and can't remember the last time a horse spooked.

If you're behind them - pass wide and call before you do.

yeachan153

What should you do when they throw their rider off and charge? My friend and I were cycling at 10mph in an open field (horses could see us) then suddenly it stood up on its hind legs, throwing its rider and charging at my friend at 40mph. Majority of advice seems to be 'stand your ground' and jump while shouting - but this seems slightly high risk against a half tonne steed

cougie

Horses are scared of their own shadows. They won't be charging you - they'll jut be running. I can't imagine a scenario where they would charge into you rather than just away.

HiCadence

The reason they spook is because a person on a cycle remsembles a small fast predator i've had horses spook regularly on rides just shout out and let them both know your there and pass them slowly.

knownothingbozo

Are you wearing your wolfskin cycling outfit? It may think you are a wolf. Try wearing a donkey jacket, it will recognise you as a friend.

smidsy

knownothingbozo wrote:

Are you wearing your wolfskin cycling outfit? It may think you are a wolf. Try wearing a donkey jacket, it will recognise you as a friend.

Thanks - I now have coffee all over my keyboard - funny as FCUK

Pross

yeachan153 wrote:

What should you do when they throw their rider off and charge? My friend and I were cycling at 10mph in an open field (horses could see us) then suddenly it stood up on its hind legs, throwing its rider and charging at my friend at 40mph. Majority of advice seems to be 'stand your ground' and jump while shouting - but this seems slightly high risk against a half tonne steed

You should have stolen it and used it as a racehorse - you'd be rich by now!

giant_man

andrewjoseph wrote:

If coming up behind, call out to the rider when within earshot, come up slow. shout something like 'coming up behind!'. Ask the rider if it is safe to pass.

If coming towards them, stop. Ask the rider if it is safe to pass. If they say ok, go past slowly with no sudden moves.

Horses don't recognise people on bikes as 'people'.

This is what I do every time. A simple 'just passing' shouted out alerts both rider and horse, so they know what to expect when passing ...... no horse has ever bolted or got spooked yet ...

rake

i grew up with two horses in the family, i havent got a clue. if its jumpy there isnt a lot you can do about it, its the riders fault for not having blinkers and training the horse properly. whatever you do it will be wrong with some riders. i ring from a distance and pass wide.

racingcondor

I've had it once. Horse spooked while we were still 50+ feet down the road. The problem is apparently that since we're quiet and fast (and horses not very bright) that we're potential predators.

I slow a long way back, call to the rider if the horse starts trying to look over its shoulder (or walking at an angle) and pass as far away as possible. If you approach slowly you can generally see the signs.

nferrar

Most of my weekend rides involve passing several horses on the roads, only time I've seen one spook is when it trod on a plastic pint glass just as I passed it, even then though it didn't exactly go berserk.

keef66

cougie wrote:

They must be very skittish if they spook every time ?

I pass plenty and can't remember the last time a horse spooked.

If you're behind them - pass wide and call before you do.

Well nearly all the horses round here are highly strung thoroughbreds, so they can be pretty mental. The pass wide and shout out advice is sound.

Muffintop

I ding my bell as soon as I see them, then speak loudly when in ear shot. It could be the sneak attack.

Mx

giant_man

rake wrote:

i grew up with two horses in the family, i havent got a clue. if its jumpy there isnt a lot you can do about it, its the riders fault for not having blinkers and training the horse properly. whatever you do it will be wrong with some riders. i ring from a distance and pass wide.

I totally agree, I don't know a lot about horses admittedly but surely if this is the case, the rider shouldn't bring that horse onto the road .....

Cleat Eastwood

Maybe you should read this tells you all you need to know.

rpd_steve

http://www.essexroadscyclingclub.com/pd ... horses.pdf

slowondefy2

Is there still the acrimony between mountain bikers and horse riders? I've not really detected any in the road bike community, but when I used to read MBUK in the 90s I remember it containing letters almost every month moaning about horses.

markos1963

We never get any problems on our club ride with up to 16 riders in a group. We just single out, slow down and pass as wide as possible after giving a call out to the rider. As others have said if a horse is that bad then perhaps they best avoid the roads.

ddraver

slowondefy2 wrote:

Is there still the acrimony between mountain bikers and horse riders? I've not really detected any in the road bike community, but when I used to read MBUK in the 90s I remember it containing letters almost every month moaning about horses.

That's more about the mess they make of bridlepaths when the ground is soft. The path can be almost unrideable afterwards...plus they were commonly obstructive to problems with access when the two groups would have benefited from working together. As MTBs have got better we can now go places horses can't/dont and have.trail centres and such so it has dimmed a bit now.

nickel

We pass horses all the time on the club run with no problems usually, we just shout 'good morning' when in earshot so the rider knows we're coming.

MattC59

They shouldn't be on the f*cking road !
(there, that should wind one or two people up !)

rpd_steve

I dont mind horses to much - we expect cars to be respectfull of us and I dont mind one bit doing the same for a horse rider. That said their piles of poo do p**s me off! Ypu wouldnt let your dog crap on the road and cary on would you!? Not nice to notice it at the last minute because the guy in front of you went through it and sprayed it into your face! lol

t.m.h.n.e.t

They should pay tax and insurance

mattshrops

cant remember where i've stolen this from. Inside a horses head.... tum te tum,lovely day,tum te tum oh nice green grass over there, tum te tumAAAAGGH A SNAKE I'M GOING TO DIE OH MY GOD SOMEONE HELP ME. oh my mistake its a stick ,tum te tum,lovely day...

Bozman

I had a couple of near misses last year, on one occasion we came round a bend on a country road and we were faced with two horses/riders in the middle of the road, god knows how we missed them but we did and then we got a torrent of abuse from the riders...."This isn't a race track, slow down! blah blah blah". If only i'd been in a car!

The issue is - Why the f**k do they insist on riding two abreast in the middle of a country lane, get the bloody things in a field, on a race track of on a french dinner table!

ShutUpLegs

Bozman wrote:

Why the f**k do they insist on riding two abreast in the middle of a country lane

Ooh the irony

Monty Dog

Plenty of horses in these parts and experience tells me to be prepared for all eventualities - a clubmate got kicked by a horse on a clubrun once - broke a few ribs and he wasn't laughing (for months). Usually call-out well in advance so the horse knows it's a person and not a sneaky predator and the rider can calm the horse. I still feel that there should be some form of 'roadworthiness' test for horses before they're allowed on the road.