A HAIRY MOMENT

harveysmom

harveysmom

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A couple of weeks ago i was out riding my youngster,[ he was being nannied by our older mare] when a cyclist came over the horizon towards us i felt that my horse was not happy at the sight of said cyclist, so i politely asked him to slow down as the horse was frightened. The cyclist decided to ignore me, shouting that if the horse wasnt safe i shouldnt be on the road, while by now he had got so close that my horse reared, and this didnt stop are intrepid cyclist he just weaved between both horses and carried on.
cyclists are usually the ones having trouble with other road users , or do you have a different opinion
 
I know it is a massive generalisation, but I generally find Motorcyclists to be observant and considerate and cyclists to be ignorant inconsiderate tossers who think they own the road/bridleway they are on.
 
God I hate cyclists, they think they own the road and are so incosiderate.
They never pull in and dont mind holding up a load of traffic, id be mortified if I ever did that on my horse.
I dont know about the UK but in Ireland people in charge of animals are kind of in charge (i dont know how to phrase that properly)
but like if someone who has an animal tells you to slow down, the rules of the road dictate you have to listen to that person!
 
I met a lovely cyclist out hack my youngster today. We were coming down a steep hill and he was about to head up, he saw my horse looking uneasily at him and he stopped to let us walk past even though it would make it really difficult for him to cycle up the hill. I apologised for him having to stop where he did and he brightly said 'not to worry'. This is not the usual reaction I get from cyclists and I was so touched - it has restored my faith in cyclists. :D
 
How rude!!! If horse riders were as impolite as cyclists we would get a very bad name!!!!

It really annoys me when cyclists don't say thank you when you have waited behind them to safely overtake - when I am on my horse I do my utmost pull over asap so don't hold cars up, but have yet to meet a cyclist with the same attitude!
 
I've only met one complete tw at on a bike before! I was turning right in the village, had my arm out so everyone could see, and the stupid cyclist trying overtaking as I started trotting, then proceeding to shout at me for turning!! and it was a woman, normally I expect woman to be a bit for thoughtful?

Hope you and your baby are okay after that incident and that its not caused a horrible fear of bikes now!
 
I am a fairly keen cyclist(cycle to work 1 or more times a week,approx. 14mile round trip, will also cycle at weekends sometimes) and do come across a few stupid ones who go through red lights and are generally quite ignorant about everything/everyone else around them.

When riding I have fortunately had generally decent cyclists, and some wonderfully nice cyclist and also some complete swines, much like the car drivers. I have to agree that motorcyclists tend to be about the best fellow road user out there. There really needs to be much more awareness amongst road users as to how to behave in various situations IMO, such as meeting horses etc
 
Saw some cyclists while out on saturday luckily there was an anormous piece of grass that i moved onto as his eyes were out on stalks, he is still worried by bikes this may take some time now to sort out and in the meantime im at risk if he meets a bike
any ideas on how to tackle his new bike fobia?
 
Don't get me started on cyclists.

One example of the MANY problems I've had from cyclists is riding down a narrow bridleway horse suddenly shoots forward and runs off with me, once back under control I realise some absolute PLONKER on a bike obviously has no understanding of the word bridleway and is proceeding to ride right up behind my horse and trying to get past (I wouldn't walk alongside him it's that narrow). I politely ask if he wouldn't mind hanging back slightly until I get to the end which is only a few hundred metres ahead, I didn't get an aggressive reply because I got no reply at all.

He proceeded to ride right up behind me as I pranced my way down the path hoping my thoroughbred wouldn't take flight into the road. Once put the otherwise he shot past me and cycled off! I've couldn't believe I'd witnessed it.

Sorry to hear about your incident it's really awful when hinges go wrong because of some arrogant, impatient road users.
 
harveysmom said:
Saw some cyclists while out on saturday luckily there was an anormous piece of grass that i moved onto as his eyes were out on stalks, he is still worried by bikes this may take some time now to sort out and in the meantime im at risk if he meets a bike
any ideas on how to tackle his new bike fobia?
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Oh bless him. Try your absolute best not to take any notice of him worrying if you know what I mean, he will get over it I am sure, perhaps take out some polos so you can reward him for being brave when faced with cyclists etc Good luck
 
Hi, to answer your question on how the cyclist managed to weave between us, we were riding single file on the left hand side of the road when my horse reared he turned towards home and was thinking about bolting he sort of hopped forward on his hind legs, the cyclist then rode behind me and infront of the mare then returning to the correct side of the road
does that make sence?
 
Runners are actually the worst especially when there are 30 or 40 of them at once. I was riding my ex racehorse and we came across them he was fine until the runners started throwing paper cups all over the place. It was a little breezy and one cup started chasing my horse down the road he started jumping about and rearing and the runners would just not stop until they were surrounding him. Awful ignorant people by the time i got back to the yard he was all lathered up he was so stressed x
 
Years ago, when my boy was a youngster, he didn't like cyclist. One day, out hacking, a cyclist came up behind me fast causing my horse to gallop down the road. The cyclist kept up with me and I was shouting at him to stop. His reply was "You should have control of your horse" My response was "Well it's up to you, but if my horse slips on the road, or spooks to the right, you will be underneath him - and that may hurt". He did eventually stop and I managed to get the boy under control. Pony is now foot perfect with cycles but I have never trusted a cyclist since.
 
We have a mixed bag here in Wiltshire. About half of the "serious" cyclists coming up behind shout "Cyclist coming past!" or some such, and pass wide. Considerate and sensible:)
The rest zoom past regardless. My lads are both OK with bikes, but still jump out of their skins when one shoots past unexpectedly:mad:
 
Cyclists tend to be ignorant of all road etiquette in general I think. Shame he didnt vanish into a pothole.
 
After a rather hair raising incident with a whole fleet (if that is right collective noun for an entire cycle club of cyclists!) coming past my horse at speed down a hill poor guy literally stood and shook after they had all gone past we did manage to get him over it by the judicial use of my OH on his bike in the school working up to accompanying us on hacks. Took a bit of time though

Good Luck
 
Well I met a lovely cyclist the other day, he came up behind my "should know better 25 year old cob" & just as he started to shout ok to pass, my stupid horse shied violently. Cyclist stopped & patiently waited, only passing when I'd turned to face him & wave him on.
 
Met a cyclist the other day and got chatting. He said that Bob was so much better behaved than the horse he met earlier ,which reared up. I asked him if he had cycled up from behind and if he had given any warning .He said yes and no he hadnt shouted as he didnt want to scare the horse:confused:I explained about horses being prey animals and a fast silent "predator" rushing up from behind. He thought for a moment and said OH F++++ I caused that didnt I. Its nice to meet a thinking cyclist and at least this one now realises.
 
harveysmom said:
any ideas on how to tackle his new bike fobia?
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Have you got a friend/partner who could accompany you on a bike?
Start somewhere safe at home until your horse will accept a bike nearby and then go for a hack together?
Keep it relaxed and chat away to the bike rider, he'll soon realise they're not out to eat him!
 
Mike007 said:
Met a cyclist the other day and got chatting. He said that Bob was so much better behaved than the horse he met earlier ,which reared up. I asked him if he had cycled up from behind and if he had given any warning .He said yes and no he hadnt shouted as he didnt want to scare the horse:confused:I explained about horses being prey animals and a fast silent "predator" rushing up from behind. He thought for a moment and said OH F++++ I caused that didnt I. Its nice to meet a thinking cyclist and at least this one now realises.
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Superb explanation to give. I'll borrow that if I may. :D
 
My mare used to follow hubby on has bike cyclists really don't bother her... I do find she speeds up to follow them! I've only met one or two irresponsible ones, I'm not so worried about myself, I wish they'd realise that 750kgs on
Their bike Oscar going to hurt!
 
I am sorry to hear of your problems and glad that you are both ok. But I just wanted to say, please H&H users, do not tar us all with the same brush. I too am a lycra clad cyclist on the roads aswell as being a happy lycra clad horse rider.
It is not that cyclists are inconsiderate '*****' at all, it is just that the 'person' you came across was an inconsiderate **** and probably is to work with and on the road in his/her car too. Sadly in life there are these people but I hate it when the groups all get that name, just because of the activity that we do... we are not all the same.
 
I hate cyclists on the roads, in all honesty they drive me insane when I'm driving along and they get in the way!

But I have to say where I used to ride in a small village they were pretty decent. They often slowed and asked if it was okay to pass.
 
As a little add on to my last post..

Cyclist are nothing compared to people in electric wheel chairs who for god knows what reason think they should be in the road :eek: I see it to often!! They're mad!!
 
I find this post really disheartening!

The majority of horse riders near me never say thank you, don't think twice about beckoning and gesturing at me wildly when I pull back and refuse to pass them on blind bends and quite often take up the road so it's impossible to pass! I imagine as a forum we'd take offence if I said all riders were rude, inconsiderate etc?!

I have met some fantastic bike riders, both roadies and mountain bikers, including a group who stashed their bikes in a hedge when my normally bombproof mare turned herself inside out!

My OH is a keen bike rider and completely clued up where horses are concerned, he however got met by a barrage of abuse from a horse rider despite stopping and moving out the way long before they passed each other! Apparently he wound her horse up and had no right to be on a bridlepath!

There is good and bad on both sides!
 
harveysmom said:
The cyclist decided to ignore me, shouting that if the horse wasnt safe i shouldnt be on the road.
cyclists are usually the ones having trouble with other road users , or do you have a different opinion
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well the cyclist has a point, personally I think if you are riding out on a road you should educate your horses on what they might meet beforehand.

I have never had any problems with cyclists, I have always found them to be ok, my worst nightmare is running into an ignorant horse rider, a plethora of them around here.
 
RunToEarth said:
well the cyclist has a point, personally I think if you are riding out on a road you should educate your horses on what they might meet beforehand.

I have never had any problems with cyclists, I have always found them to be ok, my worst nightmare is running into an ignorant horse rider, a plethora of them around here.
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Hi RunToEarth, im not new to riding so i know that you cant train a horse for everything before you go on the road. Each horse has different fears this horse hasnt been shut in a field all his life, he has been to county shows and dealt with all the sights and sounds there. He has been hacking on the road for a while with no problems at all, this was the first. I only realised the problem when faced with it,if there was a side lane or somewhere i could have moved him to a safe distance for him to see there was nothing to fear i would have. If i had time i would have trotted on as there was a very large open space ahead but i couldnt make it so why does it make it wrong for me to ask the cyclist to "slow down please". Does it make it right for the cyclist to ignore my request and nearly cause an accident?
This is a first for me most cyclists are ok about slowing down when asked.
 
loopyloop said:
I find this post really disheartening!

The majority of horse riders near me never say thank you, don't think twice about beckoning and gesturing at me wildly when I pull back and refuse to pass them on blind bends and quite often take up the road so it's impossible to pass! I imagine as a forum we'd take offence if I said all riders were rude, inconsiderate etc?!

I have met some fantastic bike riders, both roadies and mountain bikers, including a group who stashed their bikes in a hedge when my normally bombproof mare turned herself inside out!

My OH is a keen bike rider and completely clued up where horses are concerned, he however got met by a barrage of abuse from a horse rider despite stopping and moving out the way long before they passed each other! Apparently he wound her horse up and had no right to be on a bridlepath!
Hi loopyloop, would it interest you that this incident happened in leicestershire?
I to have never had a problem with a cyclist before EVER.
I agree that horse riders generally have no manners any more, but i am old school and always thank other road users. On this occassion i didnt get the chance he would have quite happily of run me off the road or seen my horse bolt.He wasnt coming from behind he was coming straight at me.
You have a "normally bombproof mare" turn herself inside out, just imagine if the cyclists you met didnt stop.
I havent started this thread to criticise all cyclists, just the one i met that day.
Also it seems that others are having some problems as well and not just with cyclists by the sound of it.
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