Cantering on grass verges

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Sandstone1

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Saw a lady recently cantering up a narrow grass verge alongside a road.
It looked a bit dangerous. Do people still do this?
I'd have thought that due to the danger of rubbish in the grass etc and also the danger of passing traffic and spooking out its a little irresponsible.
 
I do occasionally as we have very few places to canter round our yard, and even the places we do have the stretch is very short, so sometimes I just feel like a quick canter up a verge! I only do it on the stretches I know, so I know they are level and I don't do it if the grass is long as I then can't see anything hidden. I also wouldn't even consider it if there was traffic, I make sure I can't hear any cars approaching. And when I say a quick canter, they really are quick - usually only about 5 seconds!
 
As a child I was forbidden from cantering on verges, so I did. Pony put it's foot in a drain, we catapaulted onto the road. I broke my collar bone and the tree of the saddle. Luckily the pony was fine, after my stupidity!
 
I did when I was a child, before I grew up enough to think about the 'what ifs'. Consequently I ended up with a pony who's feet touched grass and wanted to go. She never did manage to trot on grass, it was either walk or canter.
 
I don't no, having had a few spooky ones I am fully aware that if a bird flew up or something we would very quickly be in the middle of the road.
There are plenty of off road canters by me so I have no reason at all to.
On the other side of the coin, we have a lovely wide verge outside our house which O/H keeps mowed and tidy and it's quite annoying when people canter up it!!
 
Round here people do in one place it is a very wide verge. Personally I don't as I worry about the rubbish and rabbit holes. Everyone can make there own choice and for me I choose not too.
 
I did last week and it was wonderful :D We both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Now for the bit that cant be covered by the 'Its dangerous and stupid' comment! We are transitioning to barefoot, it was wonderful because it was our first canter since starting the barefoot process and it was the safest and softest place we have at the moment. The road was a private road, I could see from top to bottom (its a mile long, straight line, single track) the grass verges either side are very wide and they are kept mown. I had hacked down that verge on the way out and I've hacked on it loads of times and I've also walked it with the dog so I know there arent any rabbit holes, rubbish ect .. nothing that I wouldnt have trod in myself, or tripped over whilst riding!

I wont be making a habit of it ... we have some lovely places to canter on our hacks when he can canter over the odd stone and the ground softens up but for this occasion it was right place, right time and neither dangerous or stupid!
 
I've also done it, in places where I know the ground is as safe as I could hope for anywhere, on yards where there was only road hacking.
Perhaps I have a different perspective to other people. My horse managed to find a hole *on the gallops* to mangle a check ligament with. So the risks are everywhere, you have to use your common sense.

I was brought up with the BHS mantra about grass verges being dangerous to ride on, but there are lots of things i disagree with the old BHS teachings on, this is just one of them.
 
I'm sure I did it when I was a kid but I'm lucky enough to have fantastic bridleways to canter along now.

As someone said above, these days I'm just as worried about rabbit holes and concealed rubbish / glass as I am about traffic so I'm not sure it's worth the risk.
 
I've always done it. There is very little off road riding round here. I know my area very well though, and carefully choose the quiet roads and safe verges. I know exactly where any drain covers and other hazards are. I also don't go on any manicured verges near houses, or when its wet and muddy, but as I am out in the sticks this still leaves a good few potential canter spots.

I never do it if there is any traffic about, and it's only a very steady controlled canter on a well behaved horse, not a hoolie of any sort.
 
I did once a long time ago (as a teenager) on a very short stretch of a very quiet road. It was a long walk back alone after falling off head first on to the road after pony spooked and spun around at dog running out of house at us. Luckily no cars coming (although I had checked there were none coming before cantering). Luckily pony arrived safely back alone before me. That being said, we did used to canter along a very wide verge which I thought was fine (no houses). These days I don't go near roads!
 
Another who used to do it as a child and particularly enjoyed when the ponies jumped over the driveways. Like another couple of posters though I did come a cropper when my pony jumped the drive and landed on a metal manpower cover which caused her to leap sideways and I fell off on the road - it did hurt.

I wouldn't do it now though.
 
Definitely not these days but yes as a child/teenager - also cantered across the village greens and jumped the wooden benches, regularly got shouted at from the residents overlooking the green!! We also used to jump some metal railings at the ends of a stretch of grass/footpath in the middle of the village, makes me feel ill when i look at them now thinking about the what ifs - Oh to be young and carefree........
 
I'm another who used to do it years ago. I was out riding in a group. Came to a nice big grass verge and leading riders asked if OK to canter. Off we went, all nice and calm. Then my horse just disappeared from in front of me. Thought for a nano second she had stumbled, but she kept going down. We both crashed to the ground, with her falling so close to me I could feel the warmth of her body. Both of us got up unharmed luckily. The riders behind me were as white as a sheet. Couldn't figure out what had happened. Went back to inspect the ground and found a hole about the size of a fence post, about a foot deep, and just the right diameter to get a horses leg in. Needless to say we warned everyone local about the hole, and stuck a big stick in it. Haven't ridden on a grass verge since. Not even in walk.
 
I do it regularly.

On very quiet country roads, On nice wide verges, usually a couple meters wide.
The ground is good and the grass is mown regularly. We have some really long uphill stretches that are great for fitness. I actually do not know how I would get my horses fit enough with out them.

But key to it is assessing the risk, keeping control not blasting around willy nilly
 
All the time, only on verges I know well, the same that I would only canter on any ground I knew well and not in thick long grass and I pull up if a car comes along. In wilts in the middle of winter one particular stretch often has the best ground of any off road riding in the area and in somerset we had roads only.
I don't see why that is stupid and dangerous?
 
All the time. We have no bridleways or places to go so its all roads and verges here. Horses get used to it and it always amazes me I can canter on a verge a couple of feet wide no problem, but cant go straight up a centre line!
 
I'm intrigued why people won't canter on grass verges because of rabbit holes but will canter on a bridleway....don't rabbits dig holes on bridleways? 😆

Not really any verges suitable for a canter around me, they are mostly cross crossed with drainage ditches.
As a kid did it all the time.
 
I do it, we have lovely wide (wider than the lane itself!) verges on part of our hack. Just a steady canter, done it on the same stretched since i was a child.
 
glamourpuss said:
I'm intrigued why people won't canter on grass verges because of rabbit holes but will canter on a bridleway....don't rabbits dig holes on bridleways? ��
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yep, and in arenas and all over the place! You just have to keep your eyes peeled and know your local area. I have had access to some nice wide mown verges in the past (not mown as in lawns outside people's houses before anyone starts, but mown by the council with a tractor :lol:) and they were the best going around.
 
I did when I was young - a really wide verge off a main road, where there were three canter strides between each drainage ditch. However, there was a LOT less traffic then, I had no fear, and being young, didn't really appreciate risks. You just did stuff. I won't even ride on the roads where I am now - too busy, too fast (just walking by myself can be terrifying on some of our roads).
 
Well it depends on the verge for me. Some of them are terribly rutted, steep ditches against a narrow verge, litter, long grass/weeds/brambles etc etc. If there is a lovely wide mown verge against a quiet lane then yes we have a little canter if there is no traffic. I would never canter down a verge when traffic is about.
 
Round us, there aren't really any grass verges. There are a few that look ok, but they're actually disguising the edge of a big ditch so I don't bother, we've never been able to canter in a straight line so I think it's tempting fate :D
 
No objection to people cantering on verges on private roads etc, what happens though if you canter along side a road your horse spooks and a car comes past? There may be no traffic when you start off but your unlikely to be able to hear it coming up behind you.
 
IMO it's no different to if a horse spooks while we're trotting along on the road, except I've got a bit more lee-way before I am in the traffic :) The verges I've used are a good 8-10m wide, not little strips like a pavement. I don't think anyone is advocating hooleying along out of control. Doing anything with a horse requires a brief mental risk assessment, the what-ifs are endless!
 
Sandstone1 said:
No objection to people cantering on verges on private roads etc, what happens though if you canter along side a road your horse spooks and a car comes past? There may be no traffic when you start off but your unlikely to be able to hear it coming up behind you.
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why are you unlikely to hear it coming up behind you? How much noise does your horse make :p. Mine is a high blower and I still hear most vehicles coming!

The verges I canter on are straight roads for a good half mile or so, I listen and look over my shoulder every few strides to be sure.

And yes def not hooleying along out of control, just a nice collected 'hand' canter, I can stop out of that as quick as I can a trot and it is no faster than a trot really so I don't see how a spook at a canter on a verge puts you at any more risk than a spook from trotting on the road itself?
 
ester said:
why are you unlikely to hear it coming up behind you? How much noise does your horse make :p. Mine is a high blower and I still hear most vehicles coming!

The verges I canter on are straight roads for a good half mile or so, I listen and look over my shoulder every few strides to be sure.

And yes def not hooleying along out of control, just a nice collected 'hand' canter, I can stop out of that as quick as I can a trot and it is no faster than a trot really so I don't see how a spook at a canter on a verge puts you at any more risk than a spook from trotting on the road itself?
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Well where this lady was cantering is a fairly busy road with quite fast traffic, I always get the wind in my ears when I'm cantering so don't think I would hear traffic coming up behind.

She was fairly motoring along too. Not worth the risk I don't think obviously it depends on the road etc.
 
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