Horses

cje

mamba80 wrote:

No they dont, we ve just had a local permissive walk closed 'cause the amount of dog xxxx left, its abnormal to see anyone pick it up.
You may be that rare breed who is a responsible "pet" owner but the majority see no harm in fido emtying its bowels where ever it sees fit.

I guess things might be different in Majorca. I live in England. I genuinely can't recall the last time I saw someone leave dog muck behind, but I see people bagging it up several times a day.

I haven't got a pet by the way - I'm just saying what I see, like on Catchphrase.

RideOnTime

mbhuw wrote:

What should i do other than slow down?

They like folk to blow air up their noses...

Blonde Cyclist

Briefly back on topic! I used to ride a lot and yes, have been on the other end of the horse bolting when spooked by a bike, although never came off. My horse was pretty sound, certainly not dangerously skittish. He had no issue with cars passing (although cars passing at speed spooked ME). The problem with bikes is how small they are - because of a horse's vision (see previous comment) they can sort of make out a shape coming towards them but not really place it, add to that it's quietness and the horse cannot comprehend what is going on and spooks. Ironically bigger, wider groups are therefore often a lot easier for a horse to deal with. The recommendations I would make are:

1) Call out in a loud but not shouting, calm voice, mostly for the horse but it will help the rider notice too and settle themselves to be more in control if they need to be
2) Do not ring a bell - I know this is well meaning, but it's the equivalent of someone shouting behind you and can easily make the horse jump
3) Pass wide and slow, at the end of the day, a horse is an animal with a mind of its own, and we get upset when cars don't give us enough room, a horse also needs room (think about how far it could pivot round)

cje

Yup. I pass anything slower than I am (pedestrians, horse-riders, slower cyclists) with the courtesy I'd like to receive from those overtaking me. Simple rule of thumb.