Woops - spooked a horse

ttaskmaster said:
Well, the horses were there first. :p
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They were indeed. And then the combustion engine was invented and proper roads build to allow vehicles to get from A to B more quickly, safely and with greater comfort.

The majority of vehicle owners (not all) use roads as a necessity. They pay towards their upkeep.

Riding a horse is a primarily a leisure activity. I don't have the stats but they don't appear to be a common method of commuting. There are better places to ride them than on a road surrounded by motor vehicles.

Things have moved on. I'm sure the horses and riders would prefer to be somewhere else too.
 
Coming from a horsey family, it really does make a difference. A lot of people thing it's the loud noises. It's not, it's the sudden arrival of a foreign object in the horses field of view. They are nervous creatures and easily spooked. So it's often best to slow right down.

I always give a wide birth and just slow down as much as possible.

I've seen people blast past and riders fall off (once). It's just not needed.
 
wazza300 said:
What if its Clint Eastwood on his horse,n he blows your head clean off with his magnum 44
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Chances of that happening, versus me lasering him and his horse to pieces because I'm riding Streethawk, are exceptionally low... even if I do feel lucky!

The_Abyss said:
They were indeed. And then the combustion engine was invented and proper roads build to allow vehicles to get from A to B more quickly, safely and with greater comfort.
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So all those old "vintage" cars that are slow, uncomfortable and lacking in modern safety features... We gonna ban them, too? Restricted to Goodwood as leisure-only vehicles?

The_Abyss said:
The majority of vehicle owners (not all) use roads as a necessity. They pay towards their upkeep.
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Who does?
Who pays for the upkeep of the roads?
Not talking about that mythical "Road Tax" stuff, are you? :p

The_Abyss said:
Riding a horse is a primarily a leisure activity.
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In many government reports and statistics, so is motorcycling...

The_Abyss said:
I don't have the stats but they don't appear to be a common method of commuting.
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Neither are tractors, yet they're just as entitled to use the roads...

The_Abyss said:
There are better places to ride them than on a road surrounded by motor vehicles.
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Aside from the occasional bridlepath... where?
Anywhere they go, there's always someone who will complain about it.

The_Abyss said:
Things have moved on. I'm sure the horses and riders would prefer to be somewhere else too.
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I'm sure they'd just prefer people got off their high horses (ha ha, see what I did there?) and stopped being ***** when blazing past them.

Personally, I don't give a ****. If a biker wants to risk spooking a horse and gets a hoof in the head, that's the rider's own stupid fault.
I don't see how it's any different to hooning round a blind corner and hitting a cow/sheep/badger/tractor/dog walker/rambler/disability buggy/tree/whatever other possible hazard you're supposed to be watching out for on country roads...
 
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just remember to wear your helmet !!:D
 
ttaskmaster said:
As far as riding goes, they're no different to any other hazard on the road, really.
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They are somewhat of a special case of hazard IMO.

Although many car drivers have a similar IQ to horses they don't usually leave enormous steaming piles of crap all over the road and cars don't get frightened and bolt in random directions when a stray crisp packet gets blown in front of them.

I also don't think the stuff about them being more entitled to roads is particularly valid. If that were the case, roads wouldn't be made from tarmac or concrete, neither of which is a good surface for horses to walk on.
 
agnes said:
Coming from a horsey family, it really does make a difference. A lot of people thing it's the loud noises. It's not, it's the sudden arrival of a foreign object in the horses field of view. They are nervous creatures and easily spooked.
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I think that's what spooked the horse, it was fine until the girl yanked it sideways and it suddenly saw me behind it. When I used to ride I was always told not to sneak up on them as they are very easily startled.
 
Dogbreath said:
Although many car drivers have a similar IQ to horses they don't usually leave enormous steaming piles of crap all over the road and cars don't get frightened and bolt in random directions when a stray crisp packet gets blown in front of them.
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No, they just leave large puddles of slippery diesel, and either get all panicky when a bike is coming past or purposely try and be a **** by blocking and swerving, all while failing to look properly, messing on their mobile, scoffing pies and doing their makeup... :rolleyes:

Besides, how is a steaming pile of crap any different to mud, rain, frost, leaves, gravel or any of the other things you seem quite happy riding around already? At least the crap is usually steaming off to one side of the road...!

Dogbreath said:
I also don't think the stuff about them being more entitled to roads is particularly valid. If that were the case, roads wouldn't be made from tarmac or concrete, neither of which is a good surface for horses to walk on.
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AS entitled, not more.
But in that case, motorcycles aren't really entitled to use the roads either... otherwise the roads wouldn't have stupid-ass big potholes right in the centre of the lane, slippery utility covers and white paint, loose gravel on the edges of our riding lines, seams that half-bump you off the bike, etc etc... :p
 
As much as I dislike horses on the road and think it's plain dangerous, to all those who don't bother slowing right down or taking the widest possible route around them, you're stupid.

All it takes is a spooked horse to buck/kick and you have a nice dropped/scratched/dented/damaged bike, and a potentially injured horse.
 
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