Horses on the road in the 21st century

singist · 20 Jul 2011 at 07:13

I was just wondering how people feel about horses and horse drawn vehicles on the roads ....

I have encounterd a fair number of horses and horse drawn vehicles in recent years and found myself thinking that todays roads and traffic are far more unsuitable than they were years ago and that maybe it's time to ban the horse from our highways.

My encounters range from solo riders (some look very young) to trotting rigs being driven by some ***** sitting on the chassis; On nearly every occasion, both the horse and driver/rider seemed either very wary/frightened or totally arrogant.

I can't help thinking that, if you want to own, ride/drive horses, you should do it off road and transport them in boxes to where the event or show might be, rather than using the highways.

I always slow down and give adequate consideration to horses but I have seen instances of people who don't; it's also quite a problem if you are driving on a dual carriageway at a reasonable speed and spot a horse drawn vehicle in the distance ..... slowing down to a reasonable passing speed causes lots of flashing lights and gestures from following vehicles.

Ok, enough rambling, what thoughts do you guys/gals have on this one?

Jono · 20 Jul 2011 at 07:34

Horses belong in fields. They certainly don't belong on main roads or country roads where cars are likely to have nowhere to go if they encounter some clown on a horse.

That said I do always slow down, turn the stereo down and give them as much space/least stress as possible. And I DO appreciate it if I get a wave/nod of thanks/acknowledgement for the gesture.

However half the time I get a rude sneer and just want to turn round and run over the ****ers.

Wynthorpe · 20 Jul 2011 at 07:38

Yeah im pretty much the same as Jono, ive ridden (sic) horses all my life but not very often have i been on the roads, tend to stick to trails and such, but when on the road will always give a thanks to anyone who slows and gives space etc.

Cosimo · 20 Jul 2011 at 07:38

I see them so rarely that it doesn’t bother me at all. In fact it’s nice to see a horse once in a while.

neil3k · 20 Jul 2011 at 07:56

a horse tried to eat my head once

billyboyd · 20 Jul 2011 at 08:01

They are a pain in the rear sometimes. I often see them as i live in a rural area and it is not uncommon to get halfway round a corner and see the back end of a horse. I always give them space and nine times out of ten get a gesture of thanks, but i always think to myself that they should stick to trails and fields, of which are plentiful round here.

Biggest pain in the rear round here for me are cycle clubs riding three and four abreast and not budging an inch when motorists are trying to get past. Horses i can live with but those gits i just want to shoot.

Sirrel Squirrel · 20 Jul 2011 at 08:08

Only really tend to get it near livery yards round here where the riders have no choice but to go onto the road to get to a trail. I always slow down and give plenty of distance but some people are utter idiots and sit a few feet back from the horse and then blitz past it when they get an opening.

deuse · 20 Jul 2011 at 08:19

simulatorman said:
I see them so rarely that it doesn’t bother me at all. In fact it’s nice to see a horse once in a while.

THIS

scorza · 20 Jul 2011 at 08:19

They're better to share the road with than cyclists tbh.

The funny thing is there's a militant cyclist at work, always complaining about how he had to bang his fist on the roof of a car because it came within a metre of him as he was cycling at 40mph down the middle of a 30 mph road (I exaggerate slightly). When he does drive, he really hates horses on the road though - even confessed that he beeped his horn when he overtook one once. I was like :eek:

and pointed out that he could have caused the horse to bolt and caused a serious injury to the rider. You'd think he'd be a bit more courteous to non-car traffic since he spends so much time on his bike.

Sirrel Squirrel · 20 Jul 2011 at 08:21

scorza said:
They're better to share the road with than cyclists tbh.

The funny thing is there's a militant cyclist at work, always complaining about how he had to bang his fist on the roof of a car because it came within a metre of him as he was cycling at 40mph down the middle of a 30 mph road (I exaggerate slightly). When he does drive, he really hates horses on the road though - even confessed that he beeped his horn when he overtook one once. I was like and pointed out that he could have caused the horse to bolt and caused a serious injury to the rider. You'd think he'd be a bit more courteous to non-car traffic since he spends so much time on his bike.

Typical cyclist ****, see them every day in London.

ScarySquirrel · 20 Jul 2011 at 08:32

I live out in the country at the moment so see a fair few of them. Pretty much every time they say thanks to me for slowing down.

On one occassion though, I came around a corner at about 50 down a country road (national speed limit, and it was perfectly safe to be doing 50). There was a woman on a horse just around the corner, I had to brake fairly hard but I was in complete control. I slowed down and passed her as I normally would pass a horse, and the silly **** was having a go at me and waving for me to slow down, even though I had! I couldn't believe it! I slowed to about 10mph in plenty of time, and passed safely, and she still had a go.

Moral of the story, burn them all.

int · 20 Jul 2011 at 08:37

ScarySquirrel said:
I live out in the country at the moment so see a fair few of them. Pretty much every time they say thanks to me for slowing down.

On one occassion though, I came around a corner at about 50 down a country road (national speed limit, and it was perfectly safe to be doing 50). There was a woman on a horse just around the corner, I had to brake fairly hard but I was in complete control. I slowed down and passed her as I normally would pass a horse, and the silly **** was having a go at me and waving for me to slow down, even though I had! I couldn't believe it! I slowed to about 10mph in plenty of time, and passed safely, and she still had a go.

Moral of the story, burn them all.

Surely flying around a blind corner at 50mph in a country lane is a bit too fast? If she'd been closer you'd have horse in your grill...

Bumhug · 20 Jul 2011 at 08:38

ScarySquirrel said:
I came around a corner at about 50 down a country road (national speed limit, and it was perfectly safe to be doing 50).

National speed limit is 60, horses I can live with, people who stick to just under 50 drives me mad, especialy when i need a pee

Clav · 20 Jul 2011 at 08:43

Why just horses? You could replace the word horse in pretty much all the above posts with tractor, lorry, caravan, cyclist, mobility scooter, slow car? They can all be annoying to be stuck behind.

Greebo · 20 Jul 2011 at 08:53

ScarySquirrel said:
I live out in the country at the moment so see a fair few of them. Pretty much every time they say thanks to me for slowing down.

On one occassion though, I came around a corner at about 50 down a country road (national speed limit, and it was perfectly safe to be doing 50). There was a woman on a horse just around the corner, I had to brake fairly hard but I was in complete control. I slowed down and passed her as I normally would pass a horse, and the silly **** was having a go at me and waving for me to slow down, even though I had! I couldn't believe it! I slowed to about 10mph in plenty of time, and passed safely, and she still had a go.

Moral of the story, burn them all.

Bumhug said:
National speed limit is 60, horses I can live with, people who stick to just under 50 drives me mad, especialy when i need a pee

The point is that 60mph is a MAXIMUM. You should always drive at speeds suiting the road conditions:

Highway code says:

The speed limit is the absolute maximum and does not mean it is safe to drive at that speed irrespective of conditions. Driving at speeds too fast for the road and traffic conditions is dangerous. You should always reduce your speed when:

•the road layout or condition presents hazards, such as bends
•sharing the road with pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders, particularly children, and motorcyclists
•weather conditions make it safer to do so
•driving at night as it is more difficult to see other road users

I live in a rural area and there are many single lane roads which technically have a 60mph speed limit. However, these roads have lots of blind bends, some at 90 degrees, and you would be mad to take them at 60 mph even if your car could. You don't know that when you go round the corner the road may be blocked. Hence you should always drive a speed that you can stop in time.

MeEsH BaKkA · 20 Jul 2011 at 08:58

Where I live there are lots of country lanes and it is quite a regular occurrence that I come across horse riders, now usually this is not a problem and I just give them a wide berth and keep the revs low (loud exhaust). My issue is when the silly ***** ride 2 abrest.

My other hate on country roads is people doing 30-35mph when it is perfectly safe to go faster (NSL limit), then flash their lights and generally get bent out of shape when I boot it past them at the first bit of straight clear road.

craptakular · 20 Jul 2011 at 09:16

simulatorman said:
I see them so rarely that it doesn’t bother me at all. In fact it’s nice to see a horse once in a while.

bam0 · 20 Jul 2011 at 09:20

Car drivers seem to forget/be unaware that horses, pedestrians, bicycles have an absolute right to use the roads. Cars do not.

DBT85 · 20 Jul 2011 at 09:20

I see them occasionally on a couple of the smaller roads around my house and its fine. At least with a horse I know its not going to come up my inside unexpectedly or whizz past me like a lunatic like a bike would.

Marky · 20 Jul 2011 at 09:22

Just like Cyclists... They shouldn't be on the road