Are we being driven off the roads?

[stormox]

The law supports riders on the roads, as does the hghway code.
But are we moving away from hacking and roadwork towards riding in schools and arenas?
Years ago everyone hacked. For fun. To get horses fit. For daily excersise. For the horses experience and to 'see things'.
I saw a recent poll that showed a very large percentage of people never hacked out , and I think this must be very detrimental to a horses all round education.
I dont know how to solve this, I hack out but I dont enjoy it like I used to. Before, I expected cars to slow down for me, now Im tense all the time, expecting them to whizz past.
I have hi-vis gear and dont hug the kerb, I trot on if I can, but I wish more people could be persuaded to brave the traffic because I feel the less horses drivers see on the roads the more they will think we should keep off them.
A difficult situation, and one thats going to get worse with drivers getting even more ignorant about horses on the roads.

 

[KrujaaLass]

We don’t ride on roads anymore" far too dangerous. Luckily have access to country park without any roadwork

 

[scruffyponies]

Keeping our end up... we hack all over the local lanes.

The ponies are much better for it. Nothing bothers them. Also great for teaching the children some road sense - road position, observation, indication and of course manners

 

[Leo Walker]

Honestly, yes we are. I'm still driving mine out as shes a young pony and its an important part of her education but increasingly I hate it. People drive like lunatics even on quiet lanes and they seem to have no sense at all.

 

[scats]

I don’t hack on the roads from our yard, off our lane is a main road with another road joining it 20 yards from our junction. It’s chaos. It can take 10-15 minutes to get out in a car, such is the traffic flow. If we had quieter roads, I would hack happily.
We have hacking around the farm though.

 

[HEM]

We have to do a small amount of road work to get to our hacking and I'll be honest it does put me off hacking!

 

[JFTDWS]

I have access to a lot of off-road riding and I could never do more than cross one small road if I wanted to - but it's a rare day when I don't take a horse on the road for a good stretch of roadwork somewhere. The vast majority of traffic is fine - they're used to seeing horses on the road as there are a few yards with hunters which are out fittening all winter. You get some complete prats, but with good horses and a decent amount of awareness you can work around most situations - particularly if you can avoid places where an actual crash is likely (blind bends with no verge / bank / space to get out of the way!).

I won't be bullied off the roads, but I won't choose to put my horses in situations which will end badly either. It's a judgement call, which depends on the roads and traffic you have available to you. Sometimes busier roads are better as they're (often) wider and less windy, rural roads can be worse than town roads despite being quieter.

I don't have an arena so I hack 3 each day (unless I'm short of time, when I pony the other two from Fergus, and I don't go on the roads with 3 because it's too difficult for traffic to pass - though I do pony on the roads with one led horse if I'm introducing a new horse to traffic). In the past, when I've had an arena, everything hacks out 3/4 times a week as far as possible.

 

[Surbie]

We hack out at our yard and the neighbouring one. I try to go out 3x/week. My horse is brilliant about most traffic, but the level crossing we have to go over is a real challenge and I can't hack out alone as he will only follow over at the moment.

We only have about 500m of road to do, but it's a bit of a rat run and because of where the bridleway exits, we cross on a blind corner. It can be fairly nerve wracking. I have the 'pass wide & slow' tabard, but it doesn't make that much difference - if they are idiots they will speed past far too close or try to overtake in the face of oncoming traffic. And there are some right wallies in 4x4s.

 

[JoannaC]

I rarely hack now because of the traffic on our road although to be fair I would brave the cars even thought they whizz as use our lane as a cut through but we get huge tractors pulling huge trailers and I really don't want to meet one of them as they fly along. Where we used to live we hacked for miles and miles as whilst we were blessed with lots of bridlepaths you had to use the roads to get to them.

 

[Mum4b]

When I was younger, I absolutely loved hacking. We spent hours exploring & it was wonderful. I then had a 27 year break from horses & was shocked at the change of attitude & how unsafe it felt when I got back in the saddle.

We are stabled very close to a beautiful forest with lots of bridleways. The problem for me is the road we have to cross to access them 😕
It's literally 30 metres at the most, but it's a 60mph road, we turn onto it on a bend, and it's slightly undulating. The cars seem to be travelling so fast when they reach us. 9 times out of 10 they whizz by even though I'm a good distance out from the kerb, high vized to the hilt and signalling that I'm going to turn! My horse is rock steady, but it makes me so tense and worried before I set off.

On Sat I went out for the first time in 3 months with a friend. Had 4 cars waiting patiently behind us and one coming towards us. He stopped to seemingly let us turn off the road & just as we moved across, he shot forward past us! Luckily no damage done, but for heavens sake! 🙄

Also had an incident of road rage recently when leading our horse back down the lane from his field. Turned out the driver was a livery from one of the yards at the top of the lane! If horse owners themselves are not educated, or just don't care, I feel we are fighting a losing battle with those drivers who have no experience, or knowledge of horses.

With all this in mind, I don't want my teenage daughter on the road, and we are now in negotiations with hubby to get some transport which we will use for the 3 min drive round to the horsebox car park!

 

[Hallo2012]

i live on a really busy rural rat run road............I am lucky to have the horses I have now as prev 3 would not have coped.

the farm traffic is GREAT, they slow down and will wait if asked (if ive got the kids with me) but the cars fly along and many don't slow down even if asked politely.

i'm *only* mid thirties but agree its a much less pleasant experience (hacking on roads) than when i was a child.

 

[Tihamandturkey]

We hack out on mainly rural roads & tbf most people are very obliging especially farm traffic.

There is a stretch of busy road to navigate however and despite keeping well to the left & being decked out in hi viz most cars & buses still pass us far too close & far too fast despite the fact that there is plenty of visibility either way & they could easily slow down & move over.

We also have the usual issues with cyclists 🙄

 

[Peter7917]

Maybe its just where I live but I rarely have any problems with cars. I find 99% of people will slow down and give us space.

 

[Leandy]

Completely agree with you. I also rarely have problems with traffic though in practice. It helps to ride assertively and use the space on the road so traffic is forced to slow and also to think ahead yourself, if traffic is building up behind you, or you hear something large/fast coming, be proactive and if possible get off the road, up a drive if need be, and let it past with a cheery wave before you carry on. I agree however that some driving on country lanes is plain dangerous. I've met vehicles on blind bends going so fast or taking up so much road that if they met someone driving similarly coming the other way there would be a nasty smash, never mind not anticipating horses, kids on bikes etc etc. Too many drivers just seem oblivious to road conditions around them. I think we do have increasingly nervous riders too though, too many can't cope with the unexpected on a horse either. Of course hacking, on all terrains, in all weathers, helps with that too.

 

[eggs]

I used to love hacking and would go out for hours at a time either on my own or in company on a number of different horses but now I only 'hack' around the 10 acre field at home as our lane has become quite frightening and in the past I've had a couple of very near misses with cars going too fast. Unfortunately it is wide enough for two cars to pass but has high hedges and blind bends and is a 60 mph road. The main 'A' road that runs parallel is 50 mph to more and more traffic is using the lane.

 

[mariew]

I used to be really gung-ho hacking on the roads with my girl, she was awesome on the roads. However i'm not sure i would do it again unless I had access to more residential areas, or you were pretty much guaranteed no traffic. I've had enough of idiots flying around, i'm worried that they won't see you in time, regardless of hi viz or not. Roads have got very fast and very busy. So i don't think there are any rules pushing me off the roads, it's more people's driving behaviour and maybe me getting older.

 

[Meredith]

Shouted to me some years ago when I asked a driver to slow down please.
“If it’s not safe in traffic, don’t ride on the road”
How does a horse become road safe if never ridden on a road?

I went on a fun ride yesterday. The riders were mostly adults. Were the children too busy competing or not safe nor used to open country and lanes because most work is done in a school?

I am lucky as I ride on lanes and in the forestry but our main roads which are only B roads are not safe.
There is far more traffic now and drivers seem too impatient. Their business is always the most important so many are ignorant of horse behaviour. I understand why so many ride only in ‘safe’ places now.

 

[TWMD]

I won't hack unless on single track roads where I can position my horse in the middle which forces the drivers to slow down before they pass. I have ok hacking around the farm, but regularly box up somewhere for a change of scenery.

I hate riding on the roads now, I get so anxious and tense that drivers will be idiots that it makes my horse worry and is a generally unpleasant experience, so I don't really do it

 

[Berpisc]

When I was younger there was heavy and agricultural traffic on the roads and you needed a horse with good traffic skills, it was much pleasanter to hack out for miles and I used to enjoy taking my old pony for a drive out. There is just more traffic about, most of which are good around horses in my experience, it is just that people don't seem to expect to see you out there. Anything that isn't a metal box seems to be a bit unexpected, which makes hacking or driving out a far less pleasant experience.
I also agree with you Meredith about the youngster thing; you can prepare a youngster and take sensible measures to introduce them to the outside world, but at the end of the day, they need to get out there and most roads are public rights of way...

 

[Chippers1]

I've just started taking mine out to further afield hacks - local country park and local woods but both require a stretch on a 60mph road. I've found that most people slow down but they are a lot less tolerant than when I used to take my old pony the same routes.
It doesn't help that the farmer has now decided that no horses can use the edge of his field as a short cut (one of those used for 50 years kind of routes!) so now we have to stay on the 60mph for much longer.
I will say though, yesterday when I went to the woods I met a child/young teenager on a motorcross bike who stopped as soon as he spotted me (a fair way away!) and didn't move off until I had got far enough away. He was great and I thanked him a lot! Glad that the younger generation are learning.

 

[Mum4b]

I had to educate my eldest son about how to pass horses on the road. He just thought that as long as he gave space, he could pass at the speed limit! I didn't realise this or that he even passed any horses on his commute, until he mentioned to me that he had been shouted at by a couple of riders in a village he drives through to get to work. He was shocked and genuinely didn't know about slowing down. Needless to say I have spoken at length to him about it. He is now aware and very careful around horses, and is conscious that there may be horses on the road wherever he is driving. Educating young drivers is the way forward.

 

[Kat]

I find young drivers are normally the best for passing horses safely. Most of the boy racer types pull over and stop or crawl past as slowly as possible if I stop for them. They are the only ones who thank me when I get off the road to let them pass.


The worst are school run mums - terrifying! And my horse is brilliant in traffic

 

[Quadro]

Middle aged ladies are by far the worst. Also I live on a National cycle route, and cyclists are hell!

 

[SEL]

I've spent 40 odd years being a very happy hacker, but find myself dreading road work so much now it puts me off going out.

Yesterday I accompanied a friend on her very green but sensible horse. He spooked and stepped sideways into the road. Quiet lane, good visibility and the car coming was a fair distance away. Did she stop and give a worried horse some space? Nope. She drove right up his bottom and nearly got 600kg of cob on her bonnet. I wish I could say that was a one-off but it feels like every ride I meet someone behind the wheel who has no tolerance around horses.

 

[teddypops]

I hack several times everyday and I have to do road work to get to the woods and bridleways. Most traffic I meet if fine and will slow down but it can be a bit stressful at times!

 

[Orangehorse]

There is a very big campaign going on at the moment, supported by several police forces too, call Pass Wide and Slow with the aim of educating drivers how to pass horses. There was a nationwide Ride Out Sunday on 14th April when there were mass rides (but not huge numbers to disrupt traffic) and there were several items on local radios in in local newspapers - you missed it? Several riders reported back on the Facebook page that they had noticed a large improvement in driver behaviour following this publicity.

The advice is

a. Wear a hat-cam and report any abusive/dangerous driver behaviour to the Police, even if they don't do anything much (and a surprising number DO follow it up) at least it will be on record should there be another incident.

b. If you get good behaviour from a commercial vehicle and you can record the name, make a point of contacting the firm and thanking the driver. Firms love this and hopefully will pass it on to their drivers.

Two local riders were persued down a narrow lane with the driver shouting abuse at them. He ended up with his car crushed and 6 months in gaol, so there is precedent and the police do take action.

 

[NinjaPony]

I’ve become increasingly reluctant to hack on the roads. The cars just give you no margin for error, coming too fast, passing too close, and if you do have a spook it quickly gets dangerous. In order to get to our country park I have to go up the countrylane that all the golfers use and they drive so fast that it’s really off putting. If you go midweek in the middle of the day then you are ok, but for those of us with full time jobs you end up trying to hack either after work or at a weekend, when the roads are busiest. My pony is very good on roads but I’m starting not to want to put him in what is becoming a dangerous situation. I’m moving in September to a yard with direct off road hacking on an estate and I can’t wait.

 

[Orangehorse]

Why not write a letter to the Golf Club and ask their members to Pass Wide and Slow when they see a horse. Lots of people are simply ignorant and don't realise that horses can shy and spook and should be given space. Ask to put a notice on their Members Notice Board.

 

[WandaMare]

I only hack out very early, I find the traffic too fast and people get much more angry at having to wait than they used to. I agree that there are less horses on the roads which does perhaps make some people forget that we do have a right to be there. We have a lot of cyclists which use our lanes locally, doing virtual road racing and they get furious if you hold them up even for a few seconds. I have had many mouthfuls from them and although I know they are in the wrong, it just puts me off going out especially on weekend mornings. Also, there are more of the huge tractors on the lanes now, who hurtle along with the silage trailers on the back and there is hardly any room to pass them. In previous years, I found the tractor drivers to be some of the most patient of drivers but unfortunately that seems to have changed. I guess its all time is money and everyone is rushing but it doesn't work well for horses. My horse is good in traffic and at 15hh she is small and agile enough to push into the hedges if necessary, but in the summer evenings, taking her out when the hay / silage is being bought back from the fields is not a pleasant experience.

Some horse riders don't help our case either if they are on their phones or don't even say thank you after holding everyone up, which I guess just gets peoples backs up even more.

 

[L&M]

I could have written the opening post sadly.

We live in rural mid wales and amidst some stunning countryside. But the lanes are quickly becoming rat runs to avoid the congestion in the nearby town, and virtually every time we hack out have a 'near miss'. Tbh It is eroding my confidence, and every time some 'w*anker' risks my horses life, the less I want to take him out. You take your life in your own hands if try to ride on them in 'rush hour'........and really limits the window when it feels safe to ride.

We are fortunate to have numerous fun rides to keep us occupied in the summer, but still need to keep the horses fit on a daily basis and have no menage, and sloping fields so no good for schooling.

I actually feel safer hacking into town, as the roads are wide and clear, and do have 30 mph limits. However you lack the views and relaxation, but as horses are seen as a 'novelty', drivers are far more respectful than on the lanes.

I can see us boxing up the horses to quieter areas to hack soon, but when you are juggling jobs, children and family comtiments, a quick whizz around the block is fast becoming a thing of the past, and will make hacking/horse ownership less appealing.

Sadly a sign of the times, and can only see things getting worse.