Bridleway Blues

RunToEarth said:
I fail to understand how you find a tarmac bridleway slippery and unridable when the surface of roads which a lot of horse riders use are made of the same stuff...

We received complaints that our bridleway gates were impossible to use due to them being weighted. They were weighted about ten years ago because people never shut them and it meant livestock getting out. I have used them since being very small and have never had a problem, it seems that a lot of riders around us just do not know how to use bridlegates from their horse, which is dangerous in itself.
Click to expand...

The tarmac on the bridleway has a big camber so horses did struggle to grip. Has got better over the years but the point I was making is that the householders were told to reinstate back to original surface by The Council, haven't done so and Council haven't done anything about it.

Yes as a landowner myself I can understand the frustration with people (not just horse riders) who do not close gates behind them. The gates which were reported to the Council weren't hung properly ( no hangers just bale twine holding gate on hinge side,so needed a dismount to drag said heavy gate open and then drag back again to close. A bit further up the same bridleway there was a second gate very much the same. As a rider with a spinal disability this route is not passable and I know many riders who don't ride the route any longer.
 
If you hear of a safe horse that will keep all its feet on the ground, and reasonable in traffic please do let me know as mine are all between 20-30 and creaking like me.

Don't bounce like I used to but miss the exercise. Light hacking required.:)
 
MaudieMo said:
If you hear of a safe horse that will keep all its feet on the ground, and reasonable in traffic please do let me know as mine are all between 20-30 and creaking like me.

Don't bounce like I used to but miss the exercise. Light hacking required.:)
Click to expand...

Good luck in your search. I was lucky enough to find both myself and my daughter new mares last summer (daughter's to replace her pony and mine to replace bolshy homebred youngster). Both mares brill in traffic, forward going happy rides in snaffles but do have brakes. Neither has done anything naughty with us and are a pleasure to handle and deal with. They are out there if you look, suggest avoid youngsters, you sound like me. I just wanted something I could get on and enjoy after persevering with my nappy youngster for 2yrs.
 
Its the same where I am in Hampshire. The farmer decided to fence off a huge field and half the bridleway but the council said he was allowed as he needed to fence his cows in.
And the other small bit we have is all over grown, I had to duck down under branches a dozen times the other day. We have an increasing amount of horses in the area but no where to ride. Now they've opened another road up and the road by my yard is being used as a rat run. Think il be moving yards once my youngsters broken in.
 
fatpiggy said:
It can be true about tarmac. I went on a an organised bike ride which included a long, mostly gravelly track (it was also a bridleway) . The lower end had been tarmaced at the the request of the houseowners there and despite it being brand new, it was absolutely deadly - I was on my mountain bike. Lord knows how shod hooves coped with it.
Click to expand...

I think it depends on the type of tarmac they use and whether they dress the top of it. A couple of years ago contractors had a bit of tarmac left over from doing a road so thought it would be helpful to spread it over the nearest section of bridleway rather than waste it but they didn't put the top dressing on it. Consequently the horses without road nails were doing Bambi on ice impressions! The contractors were sent back to roughen the surface and after that it was OK.
 
RunToEarth said:
I fail to understand how you find a tarmac bridleway slippery and unridable when the surface of roads which a lot of horse riders use are made of the same stuff...

We received complaints that our bridleway gates were impossible to use due to them being weighted. They were weighted about ten years ago because people never shut them and it meant livestock getting out. I have used them since being very small and have never had a problem, it seems that a lot of riders around us just do not know how to use bridlegates from their horse, which is dangerous in itself.
Click to expand...

The reason some of us don't know how to use them is because we don't have any, we don't have farmland to ride on. I can ride out for 2-3 hours on public commons or in the forest without coming across any gates. The only gated bridleway in this part of north Hampshire leads to a lethal 60mph road so the incentive to learn 'heels to hinge' isn't there. To see the hazards we do handle please check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/46309585@N04/sets/72157627720119837/
 
I haven't had a major issues with bridleways, but the times I have called the council here to report overgrown bushes and giant rabbit/fox holes, they have sorted the problem within a week and called me to let me know....
 
When our bridleway group was formed about 10 years ago, we wrote to the County Council and offered to take officers on a ride down a local bridlepath. The Chairman had 3 or 4 REALLY quiet horses, and there were two leaders to each horse.

The offer was accepted, although some of them were a bit snooty (don't know why this is necessary - but we thought afterwards that it was probably nerves). The bridlepath was overgrown, had a barbed wire fence down one side and led to a bridge over a stream with a gate at each end and a very large step up onto the bridge and down again at both ends, and the bridge was too narrow to turn on.

Well, all survived the experience and following numerous cups of coffee and large amounts of chocolate biscuits, we have been on good terms with the Council officers ever since.

We always thank them for any work that gets done, and try to invite them to things if we think it would be of interest/use.
 
Like to know how rabbit holes were sorted , every time I fill one in they chuck it all back at me.
 
Maesfam - Regarding the slippery tarmac surface this is probably because the route was surfaced with Stone Mastric Asphalt (SMA) which is a dense bitumen with a high stone content that gives it a smooth and thus slippery surface. It has caused problems to horse riders and motor cyclists nationwide in recent years, however many highway authorities have now stopped using it so I would suggest you ask for the route to be re-surfaced.

RunToEarth - Please be aware that there is a Briitish Standard which Bridleway gates should comply with and that legislation states that bridleway gates must be easily opened and closed. Advice on the design of bridleway gates is given in the BHS publication Bridleway Gates. A Guide to Good Practice.

As regards problems with rights of way (bridleways, byways etc.) nearly every county has a local BHS bridleway officer who will be only to pleased to assist you with any local problems that you have. If you would like their contact details then simply contact the BHS Access Department on Tel: 02476 840515 Web site: www.bhs.org.uk

Peter Natt BHS Bridleway/Access Officer North Hertfordshire
 
OP - If you have tried everything, including going through the complaints department, I would sy your next move is to call the Local Authority Ombudsman next - http://www.lgo.org.uk/making-a-complaint/
They will advise you on what course of action and what the council should be doing. If it doesn't comply with the regulations, the LAO can force them to comply.
 
muff747 said:
OP - If you have tried everything, including going through the complaints department, I would sy your next move is to call the Local Authority Ombudsman next - http://www.lgo.org.uk/making-a-complaint/
They will advise you on what course of action and what the council should be doing. If it doesn't comply with the regulations, the LAO can force them to comply.
Click to expand...

Having worked in Local Gov myself for over 20yrs, I can tell you from personal experience that Councils do not like being reported to the Ombudsman. Agree if they won't deal with you then 'threaten' them with taking your case further.
 
If I were you I would ring for advice first because, being the local BHS Access officer, I was making a complaint to my council about a ban on riding on some land in my area. When I called the LAO for advice, they said I had to ask other riders who were directly affected by the ban to make the complaint to the council first, but to name me as their representative as I do not ride anymore.
They advised me of the next process to complete before they could even look at the case - so you may be wasting your time initially.
Call them - they are very helpful on their help line.
O and a little correction, they cannot force the council to comply, but in most cases, they do.
Good luck and please pm me if you want to chat.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top