How much consideration for horses?

[Anthony]

I was riding a trail yesterday that runs across the middle of a grazing field. In front of me was a group of horses going in the same direction, ridden by smallish children, led by an adult instructor and with a teenage rider at the back. They were going slowly, so obviously I was catching them and as I got to about c30 metres behind them I left the trail so as to make a semicircle around them and give them maybe 10 metres clearance. There was a strong wind dead against, into my face.

At that point, with me c30 metres behind them, the teenage rider’s horse spooked, and after a few seconds that set off the last of the children’s horses alongside it. They were both rearing up a bit and giving their riders a hard time, although they were just about bringing them under control by the time I was alongside, by now about 20 metres to the right of them, having taken further evasive action just in case.

At this point, the leader started shouting at me that I had caused the horse to spook and nearly caused an accident, that she had seen me and shouted at me to get off the trail. I hadn’t heard her shout and I pointed out that I was downwind from the horses so there was no way they could have heard me. If anybody had spooked the horse, it was most likely her with her shouting.

I think she was just embarrassed and hoping that if she blamed me then her little charges wouldn’t go home and tell their parents that the instructor lady had made the horses spook. Nevertheless, her line was that cyclists should give horses at least 50 metres clearance, otherwise there are bound to be accidents.

If so, it’s the first I’ve heard of it and in most situations it would be completely impractical. If she is right, it would seem that riding a horse is too dangerous if we’re concerned for the safety of our little ones, as there aren’t many bikers who would give them that much clearance.

Or am I wrong?

 

[cchris2lou]

nothing wrong with what you have done .

 

[perry]

theres a rag and bone guy around here that uses a horse and cart , on the roads . he never has a problem with the noise of traffic and general town noise . didnt way back when horses were working animals and not the reserve of people trying to be posh they had to deal with the sounds of gunshots and the like , thats what westerns have led me to believe

if a horse is scared by the ticking of a hub then it hasnt been trained properly

 

[Russell]

The law merely states that cyclists must 'give way' to horses and walkers, there's no statutory distance that we 'must' keep clear.

In fact one might suggest that as the leader of a group of children on horses, the prudent and safest course of action may have been for the horsey woman to bring the group to a halt and allow you to pass. Of course, this would rely on her being aware of your presence in the first place and her not being so arrogant as to assume that because she has the right of way she had to enforce it, safest option or not.

 

[tintin40]

don't see you did any thing wrong. women :roll:

 

[FSR-Si]

You did everything right, I'm petrified off horses anything that weighs nearly a ton and passes me in an unpredictable manner scares the crap out of me, 20 metres or even 10 is ample, and if the rider cant deal with that then they shouldn't be riding and imo if they blame you and talk down to you, you should give them some shit back!!!

 

[FluffyChicken]

I would give them far less room than that, I would pass within 1 or 2 meters, just slowing down to a crawl as I would for walkers.

Why, well that's how wide a bridleway is, also when on the road they are never bothered with that sort of distance, be it walker, bikers, cars, buses, lorries.


The reaction is probably more of panic and worry for the children though and finding something to blame.

 

[drystonepaul]

if a horse is scared by the ticking of a hub then it hasnt been trained properly

True. I often ride on cyclepaths which are shared with horse riders, and as long as you can give a friendly warning of your prescence then there usually isn't a problem. A calm, confident and self-assured horse rider will have no problem dealing with a passing cyclist as long as you slow down and are prepared to stop if necessary. ie 'give way'
The problem is that you can't always tell who is a good horse rider and who isn't, just like cyclists I suppose.

Anthony, you did more than enough to limit any 'trail user conflict' (as it's known), and the adult 'instructor' sounds to have been a little bit too nervous to me and was talking out of her arse about a compulsory 50 metre clearance zone.

 

[velomaniac]

Thing I do not get about horses is why they are still allowed on the road. In times past horses were conditioned to cope with road noise but now they are not. You need a licence for a 1 or so horse power moped but a 1 horse power horse needs no licence. Also frequently I meet horses in the dark winter nights without lights or reflective kit for the riders, this can really cause problems. Finally horses are sentient beings, they can think for themselves unlike cars, bikes etc, the rider does not have 100% control no matter what they claim.

I however am a gentleman, I stop to let oncoming horses pass and get riders attention before passing with as wide a berth as possible. A horse can easily squish me

 

[Easy_Rider]

Horses :roll:

Isn't the order of right of way, walker, cyclist, horse?

I was in the garden last summer, grinding the cill of my MG, when i heard a shouting, can you stop that please.... :shock: :shock: horse rider going past, didn't want to spook the horse.....i think most horsy people think they are better than everyone else :evil: