Cyclists & Carriage Driving

[Lovethebeach]

Following on from the cycling thread, OH has been having problems this summer when out driving, only one in 10 bother to let him know they are there before whizzing past, old cob not too bothered but new pony getting quite upset as they silently hove into sight next to his nose. Have had this sign made up and hoping it will do the trick

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[Exploding Chestnuts]

look at the barry hook youtube to see how to desensitise

 

[pennyturner]

Good idea.

Mine are thoroughly bike-ready, (despite one hurtling around a corner and actually hitting a pony at speed earlier this year - he's just written it off as 'one of those things'). However, on single track lanes, we get the odd cyclist who expect to hurtle past with barely enough room, and if we don't know they're there, there is a real chance of a horse drifting slightly over and pinching the cyclist into the hedge, or worse.

If we know they're there, it's actually quite a good exercise to ask them to squeeze the carriage as far over as possible to make a bit of room. I'm glad to report that most of our local cyclists are great, and we rarely have problems... even though there are hundreds of them!

 

[Lovethebeach]

Thank you Penny all our lanes are single track and in holiday area too so lots of cyclists not used to horses, this is an attempt to make everyone safer, especially the small ones, not cyclist bashing at all.

 

[Leo Walker]

ooh fab idea!!

Bonkers, having watched pretty much every video Barry Hook has on Youtube in the last couple of weeks, he doesn't actually tell you how he does anything, possibly because it would be impossible to teach people to do what he does that way. Still definitely worth watching, but they arent a step by step guide to desensitisation or anything like that

 

[merlin100]

The YM I know has some signs made up for her cart which says "PASS SLOWLY". She's had some ar$Ehle cycle past her and shout "get that ******ing ***** making animal off the road!"

 

[pennyturner]

ooh fab idea!!

Bonkers, having watched pretty much every video Barry Hook has on Youtube in the last couple of weeks, he doesn't actually tell you how he does anything, possibly because it would be impossible to teach people to do what he does that way. Still definitely worth watching, but they arent a step by step guide to desensitisation or anything like that

The thing with Barry is that he just deals with the horse in front of him... he'd change his 'normal' methods in a heartbeat if you walked in with a horse that needed something different. What you can learn from his videos (and I wish everyone would try) is his attitude. He challenges the horse with every conceivable problem, whilst telling them that it's totally normal. If there's something new and different he sees it as a training opportunity, which looks really scary, but of course he's done the basics on steadiness, voice commands and trust as groundwork, so the horse sees the new thing, doesn't panic and looks to him for instruction... it's lovely to watch.

 

[Leo Walker]

I've bought a big tarpaulin, balloons, and metallic banners and all sorts of nonsense to use with mine while hes long reining after seeing his school set up

 

[stencilface]

The Leeds triathlon came near our stables the other day. I took my 4yo with a nanny and lots of treats and stood by the road for 20 mins whilst they came past. I'm hoping next time we go out he'll be more relaxed. He saw lots of different bikes, snazzy ones with solid wheels that make different noises, although the scariest thing was one guys flappy number lol.

 

[hollyandivy123]

just wait until you find a recumbent bike with flag........................that was fun

 

[smja]

just wait until you find a recumbent bike with flag........................that was fun

Good grief, yes!

The sign should be helpful - sis' horse used to be scared of bikes, and though we worked on desensitising him (successfully) it was nice not to be taken unawares.
Got passed by a great cyclist the other night, called out to check if he could pass and then chatted away to the horses, "hello horses, just coming by, please don't jump...". Not needed for our two, but made us smile

 

[merlin100]

Here's some photos of the YM's cart with the custom made warning signs...

 

[Lovethebeach]

Yeah, we've had an ordinary 'please pass slowly, thank you' and the Polite, carriage version, to which cars, lorries, tractors etc have all responded well and we always thank them for it but for some reason many (not all) cyclists seem to think it doesn't apply to them because they don't have a noisy engine. This is an experiment to target them really for a change.

 

[merlin100]

I think it is the born-again cyclists that may be the problem. What do you think?

 

[Spilletta]

I think it is the born-again cyclists that may be the problem. What do you think?

Possibly (although wouldn't like to tar everyone with the same brush) - today we had several go by. The ones I would consider serious cyclists all called out and slowed down, whereas the non-serious did a stealth pass and then look surprised at three horses spooking at them! I used to be in a cycle club and did time trialling, and club members were pretty switched on about how to pass horses.

I'm sure it's mostly down to not having been told how to pass rather than malice. Wonder if the cycling magazines ever cover it...

ETA my definition of serious cyclists meant racers and time trialists, as opposed to sportif-type riders. A bit of a generalisation, I know.

 

[merlin100]

My dad taught me over 40 years ago. God, I feel old.