Cantering past others

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daines

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Just checking whether I’m being overly sensitive or not. I was out on a hack yesterday morning. I’ve had a confidence knock outdoors so had been sticking to arena only since June. Decided to put on my big girl pants and start to hack out again. Plan was 10 mins out and 10 mins back at walk only with husband on foot beside me. Hacking is through countryside forest no cars just walkers and other horses.

5 mins in on a narrow pass a group of 8 riders on a hack from a nearby stables come cantering towards me. I pull in and the owner starts shouting at us to stay out of the way I’m as far over as I can with my stirrup in a hedge. They zoom past and my horses turns and canters after them. A few minutes later they slow to trot I get control back turn around and walk back to where I was.

I’ll know she wanted to keep the canter for her paid customers but surely it’s good practice to come back to at least a trot as they passed me? They do know me and are aware that I’m still building up confidence with my girl.
 
daines said:
Just checking whether I’m being overly sensitive or not. I was out on a hack yesterday morning. I’ve had a confidence knock outdoors so had been sticking to arena only since June. Decided to put on my big girl pants and start to hack out again. Plan was 10 mins out and 10 mins back at walk only with husband on foot beside me. Hacking is through countryside forest no cars just walkers and other horses.

5 mins in on a narrow pass a group of 8 riders on a hack from a nearby stables come cantering towards me. I pull in and the owner starts shouting at us to stay out of the way I’m as far over as I can with my stirrup in a hedge. They zoom past and my horses turns and canters after them. A few minutes later they slow to trot I get control back turn around and walk back to where I was.

I’ll know she wanted to keep the canter for her paid customers but surely it’s good practice to come back to at least a trot as they passed me? They do know me and are aware that I’m still building up confidence with my girl.
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It is extremely discourteous, could even be dangerous, and be interesting to know what they’d have done approaching a group of pedestrians - who have priority even on bridleways.
 
It doesn't really matter that you're building confidence - it's rude regardless, even if you were the most confident of riders. You could be Ros Canter and it would still be rude!

I would raise it with her if I were you. I wouldn't even acknowledge the confidence issue because it's not relevant and it could open up a route for her to say that she isn't responsible for your confidence or that you shouldn't be out if you're not, if she's feeling defensive.

I'd simply say that it's completely inappropriate for a group of riders to canter past other riders and the courteous thing to do is to slow to pass - usually it's an unwritten "walk past" rule unless someone indicates it's ok to trot. If the rider being passed fell because their horse spooked, the rider could be seriously injured. Equally, a loose horse could cause the group to bolt which could cause further issues. With insurance premiums being what they are at the moment, I shouldn't think it worth the risk of being found liable for an accident merely to satisfy clients' wishes to canter.
 
That is so damn rude and so dangerous. We seem to be hearing more and more of this sort of bad riding etiquette lately. I suspect a lot of riding schools are either inexperienced and ignorant themselves, or just can't be bothered to pass on good hacking manners to their clients, probably just want the money and thats it. No wonder horse riders and horse riding is being increasingly criticised by the non riding general public, what a load of entitled and rude tosspots are galloping about the countryside ignoring the rights and safety of other countryside users. :mad:
 
The fact that she shouted to move over as well to me would indicate that she knew she shouldn't be passing at that speed. A large group as well I think most horses would think about joining then you've got a strange horse with a group of paying customers ... Absolute madness.

You sometimes just don't get to have your canter when you want. I was out today and we didn't canter in our usual spot because there was a small child collecting sticks... I suppose I could have just shouted and then mown him down some I could have a canter.
 
That is plain rude and dangerous, you’re not being silly or sensitive.

Mrs. Jingle said:
I suspect a lot of riding schools are either inexperienced and ignorant themselves, or just can't be bothered to pass on good hacking manners to their clients, probably just want the money and thats it.
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Absolutely, the riding schools that are law-abiding and responsible are often so weighed down by insurance costs, due to being legitimate, that they can’t afford to take people on hacks because the premiums for going out and about are too high. So people are forced to learn from total knobs like these. I could rant for millennia about this subject!
 
Cloball said:
The fact that she shouted to move over as well to me would indicate that she knew she shouldn't be passing at that speed. A large group as well I think most horses would think about joining then you've got a strange horse with a group of paying customers ... Absolute madness.

You sometimes just don't get to have your canter when you want. I was out today and we didn't canter in our usual spot because there was a small child collecting sticks... I suppose I could have just shouted and then mown him down some I could have a canter.
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^^^ This. If we want to hack up to our local common it's at least a couple of hours to get up there; and then another couple hours to get back.

Myself and friend had set off in good spirits on a fine Spring morning a few years ago now (both horses we had now gone sadly), with the intention of having a little canter around once we'd got up there. There's a particularly nice spot where the grass is nice & soft - and you can just Go Go Go!!

Unfortunately every other Tom Dick & Harry had also had the same idea; it was a school holiday and the place was heaving up there - kids, dogs, mums with pushchairs, people sitting out in chairs, you name it. And particularly lots of kids on their ponies just chilling out. Every darn thing. We were unable to have our canter, couldn't even trot it was so crazily busy. Returned home somewhat deflated.

We wouldn't have dreamt of cantering past everyone up there! You just don't. Not just exceedingly bad manners but dangerous too. Especially other riders, we need to look after each other.
 
Utterly dickish behaviour.

One of our neighbouring yards has no f&))king sense, and I have stood my very brave and good horse in the middle of the trail to stop those idiots from cantering past. Only recommended if you know your horse and are confident/stupid enough to play chicken.

I don’t even canter past walkers. If there are people on the canterable sections of trail, I just accept that we’re not running that day.
 
Awful behaviour. I'd not have moved off the track, so they would've had to slow down. I have shouted to people approaching in canter before, to slow down please, in a polite way, and dominated the track so they would have to listen.

I would report them TBH, to the licencing bod in the council, and also to the BHS if they are approved. It is dangerous behaviour and approval and licences should not be given to people perpetuating that.
 
Red-1 said:
Awful behaviour. I'd not have moved off the track, so they would've had to slow down. I have shouted to people approaching in canter before, to slow down please, in a polite way, and dominated the track so they would have to listen.

I would report them TBH, to the licencing bod in the council, and also to the BHS if they are approved. It is dangerous behaviour and approval and licences should not be given to people perpetuating that.
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Yes, I stand in the middle of the trail and yell “horse! Stop!” What are they gonna do? Crash into me?

My favourite excuse? The ever-popular “oh, sorry, we didn’t see you.” You’re either blind ‘cause I’m in more hi viz than a construction site, or you’re cantering on a blind bit of trail, which is really stupid on popular walking trails.
 
I sympathise, my friend and I were walking with our dogs on the beach when I saw horses approaching at gallop , although our dogs are usually ok with horses we quickly put them on leads and stood still as there was the whole beach for them to avoid us. Instead they galloped flat out and my friend shouted ‘how ignorant’. One of the riders came back and I assumed (silly me) that she was going to apologise , instead she swore and shouted that we should have got out of the way as they had as much right as us to be on the beach…
We were quite shocked at her attitude and felt we had done the sensible thing
 
I would have gone absolutely mental - it's wrong on so many levels!

It doesn't matter if you're the most confident person to ever sit on a horse, or are having a slight confidence knock - bog standard etiquette is that you slow down approaching other horses, wait for a safe distance and then go back to what you were doing once both parties are safely away from each other x
 
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