Cyclists!

Goodness me. What attitude in this thread! I get the general feeling that you're average joe has more grief with horses on the road than cyclists. At least bikes don't leave poo for them to complain about.

I think perhaps those who are that het up about cyclists probably aren't confident enough to be riding on the roads.
 
I can't be the only one to actually be looking out for other traffic *from all directions* whilst out riding, can I?

The horse is looking to you, the rider, to look after them and keep safe from hazards? They are trusting you.

If a bike has come up behind me I'm well aware they are coming and shout a cheery Hello or Come On Past if they seem a bit hesitant.

We've had groups of 20 or more cyclists come past, she'll have a good look, but carry on, with a 'It's OKaaaay' or a calm 'GerrrrOn'. Had four motorbikes at once come past too, no bother.

Now if only Sustrans would buck up their ideas and make their network fully open to equestrians we'd all have miles of off road hacking to play on together.
 
Hannah12 it isn't your pony's fault he doesn't like cyclists. It is your fault.

I ride in the middle of the cycling capital of the UK. We have had the British team cycling round here and the tour of Britain passing through.

So I make sure my horse is safe with bikes.

From her first hack as a 3yr old she learnt to be safe with bikes as it is an important skill.

She never spooks at a bike. Occasionally she might be surprised if one passes quickly and quietly but she jumps (and I) jumps a bit then realises it is a bike and ignores it. Most of the time she totally ignores them. If I see cyclists I call out good morning and exchange pleasantries, no need for snooty comments. Cyclists invariably reciprocate meaning the horses know where they are and what they are. This also means they are more likely to speak next time.

Cyclists are one of the easiest things to desensitise your horse to so there is no excuse to have a horse that is not reasonably well behaved with bikes.

All you need is a friend or relative with a bike and a packet of polos.

My horse hacks out with a bike, and the only problem we have is persuading her to keep a sensible distance and not offer the cyclist a push up the hills!
 
Polldark no need for bells unless the cyclist happens to be mute! Far better a cheery hello or excuse me.

Many serious cyclists don't want to have to have bells they are trying to shave ounces off the weight of their kit, they want to be as aerodynamic as possible so don't want to be obliged yo carry a bell. Plus cyclists are concerned about public perception just like us and many feel that ringing a bell sends the wrong message to the public so they use their voice.

Cyclists actually worry about how best to pass horses (and hikers) as they are aware that they are very quiet and can make people jump.

BTW whoever mentioned insurance, most cyclists are insured. The serious ones as part of their club membership or as an add on to the policy that protects their bike against theft or accidental damage. The casual cyclist is probably covered on their home insurance.
 
hannah12 said:
Oh also, to the point 'where did you get the idea horses top cyclists' on this particular path cyclists are meant to give way to horses! I'm sorry but the pony I ride hasn't had the best breaking in by people and it isn't his fault if he doesn't like cyclists! I was calm and after a while he calmed back down, but he nearly got hit in the face why would he stay calm after that?!
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Hannah12 it is not your ponys fault he's afraid but managing it by expecting others to control their behaviour is not a training method you need to get experianced help to teach you how to train this pony.
My horse would be calm if nearly hit in the face because he is trained to accept things I say he must ,think about police horses now they are extreme examples of what can be achieved but almost all horse can achieve good levels of acceptance of things ,those who can't should not be on the road.
 
If you're going to ride on roads, you have to take responsibility for your mounts training, behaviour and tolerance on the roads.

There is no point moaning about other users of the highway. That won't help you.

If bikes are a problem for you when out on the roads then, bike taming your horse should be part of your training programme.

Ask friends to cycle with you when riding.
Park a bike near the horse. With bells or not.
Hang out on a verge where there are loads of cyclists and traffic.

A horse can be desensitised to pretty much anything. I mean, they used to ride through battles once upon a time.

If your horse spooks at bikes, hedges, cars, lorries, tractors... that's YOUR fault for not getting them used to life with these hazards. YOUR responsibility is to make them tolerate the environment in which YOU wish to ride in.

My yearling was exposed to Bath traffic, shows, bridges, school children, cars, tractors, lorries, trailers, bikes... why??? Because I need her to be able to cope with ALL of these things when I come to ride her in a few years time and it would be UNFAIR to expect her to accept all of it at once when the time comes. It is MY responsibility to make her as safe as possible out on the roads.

NO-ONE ELSE's.
 
While I agree it is up to the rider to ensure that the horse/pony does not over react to hazards, I do think thatthe OP has every right to be annoyed that the cyclist behaved so badly. A bit of road sense from all vulerable road users goes a long way!
 
Sounded like an accident to be honest. Like the back guy didn't see her before starting his overtake.

No cyclist is going to deliberately get close enough to a strange horse to nearly hit them. It would be stupid as they are far more likely to get hurt and to damage their very expensive bike.

They were on a track not a road too.

I totally agree that everyone should help each other out and be considerate to each other.

I just don't believe that a cyclist would deliberately nearly collide with a horse. More likely that he scared himself and that is why he didn't speak, or that there was more room than the OP's account suggests.
 
YorksG said:
While I agree it is up to the rider to ensure that the horse/pony does not over react to hazards, I do think thatthe OP has every right to be annoyed that the cyclist behaved so badly. A bit of road sense from all vulerable road users goes a long way!
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Ok, yes, you do have a right to be annoyed, OP, we all get annoyed with traffic in general. However, you can't guarantee people will behave as you expect them to out on roads. Most people haven't the foggiest about horses and if they pass a few good ones then they expect all horses to be good on the roads.

Control what you can and in this situation, the only thing you CAN control or have control of is the horse and that ultimately comes down to it's training.

It's really sad that we are losing so much of our off-road hacking in this country so that we can all ride away from hazards. As riders, we do need to campaign to keep bridleways open so we can stay away from the roads and the dangers that it poses.
 
All I require from cyclists is that they ride single file as the law requires (I was told that was the case by a Police officer) and that they make some sort of noise to let me know they're there before they pass my horse. When I get a chance I explain that something swishing past silently will scare the majority of horses and that just shouting out to say they're coming up helps no end. The vast majority of cyclists don't know this and are very happy to comply once they are made aware of it.
 
I cycle (road bike) and also have a horse so can see both sides of the argument. We cycle with a club on the weekend and there can be between 20 and 50 cyclist out at any one time as one group. We like cycling on rural roads as much as everyone likes riding on rural roads, and often come across horses. Everyone always makes their presence known, and passes slowly, but often such a large number of bikes is going to make a horse nervous.

It's in the cyclist best interest to pass carefully, as they and the bike would come off far worse if something did go wrong!

At the end of the day it's about mutual respect, which i think the majority have. There is obviously the odd exception to every rule. That being said if a horse is spooky enough to react badly (other than a little spook) to a bike, it probably shouldn't be on the road, there are always a number of unexpected things that can jump out hedges etc.
 
pansymouse said:
All I require from cyclists is that they ride single file as the law requires (I was told that was the case by a Police officer) and that they make some sort of noise to let me know they're there before they pass my horse. When I get a chance I explain that something swishing past silently will scare the majority of horses and that just shouting out to say they're coming up helps no end. The vast majority of cyclists don't know this and are very happy to comply once they are made aware of it.
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It is allowed to ride 2 abreast at times (and is often safer when car past fast and close!):
https://www.gov.uk/rules-for-cyclists-59-to-82
 
We achieve so much more by working together. I'm a timetrialling/commuting cyclist as well as a horserider...

Working together (riders, cyclists, walkers), we achieved the 18km St Ives-Cambridge Busway Bridleway. it took TEN years but has been well worthwhile.

It provides a much-needed link between the linear villages along the A14 corridor so we no longer have to use rat run 60mph roads to get from village to village. Its purpose to the bus companies is as a maintenance track for vehicles to reach broken-down buses or repair the busway, so it was always going to have a hard vehicle-proof surface, originally chippings but now lovely smooth tarmac. Ideal for cycling on. Better than chippings for riding on as no stones-in-hooves. Lots of grass verges so lots of places where you can avoid the tarmac altogether too. Width varies 3-5m so plenty of overtaking room. The local bridleway group checks and removes any horsepoo from sensitive areas (busway stations/cycleparking) each week.

Great for hacking horses too - cyclists, walkers, recumbent cyclists, inline skaters, dog walkers, runners.
 
Kat said:
No cyclist is going to deliberately get close enough to a strange horse to nearly hit them. It would be stupid as they are far more likely to get hurt and to damage their very expensive bike.



I just don't believe that a cyclist would deliberately nearly collide with a horse. More likely that he scared himself and that is why he didn't speak, or that there was more room than the OP's account suggests.
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don't you believe it. I have said so many times to cyclists passing me on a narrow track or road "if your pedal hits the hind leg of this horse he will probably kick you". that is how close they have come. :(

we have more problems with mountain bikers on bridlepaths who will not under any circumstances slow down or give any warning. Our horses however are getting very experienced at stopping and "laughing'" as bikers who cannot stop go flying over the handlebars as they attempt to pull up.

We were accosted by one group of bikers going flat out on a narrow twisty bridlepath. Fortunately we were walking and they managed to pull up. I asked them to slow down on that path and they told me they had the right to do what they wanted. I told them I had the right to gallop on it but I wouldn't be so bloody stupid as I may hit a child, walker etc going round a steep corner. As they were telling me they could stop the remainer of the goup arrived flat out downhill and demonstated the point perfectly when they all landed on the ground in a heap. Did the horse and I laugh? we nearly wet ourselves!!

Similar thing happened a few weeks later on a downhill bridlepath stretch. This time the National Park warden warned them there was a horse coming up and they needed to slow down. He must have been aprehensive as he decided to follow them down to make sure it was OK. He arrived to find the bikes in a heap. Still at least they only hit the ground not one of my horses.

Our theory is the lycra shorts are the problem as most are males and that is obviously where they keep their brains.

As for the road ones then they cannot hear anything with their headphones in. If you cannot use a mobile when driving a car why are you allowed to have headphones in when cycling as that seems to shut out all reality.
 
I'd love to know where all these cyclists are that warn you they are coming...certainly not round here! I got such a shock the first time it happened with me and I was only walking him out!
Unfortunately I don't have eyes in the back of my head so Malaga has to warn me when the silent cheetahs are approaching or I don't get to know about it till they've whizzed by with their heads down and no acknowledgement. Luckily trainer number two desensitized him to them



But it would be nice if they would show the same courtesy I'm supposed to show them...give me a motorbike anyday!!!!
 
Cyclists around here are extremely polite. Always slow down and wait for us to pass or tell them it's safe. Even had a lovely couple get off their bikes and hide them because Pips eyes were on stalks :)
 
The attitude of some posters on this thread smacks of 'The whole world must come to a halt because I HAVE A PONY!' And that attitude is part of the reason why many non-horsey people dislike seeing horses on the road, I'm afraid.

From a cyclist and driver who doesn't behave badly, and most certainly won't be putting a number plate on her bike until the stupid girls who ride two abreast on the lanes around us with no hi-viz on, and who refuse to either trot on to a passing place, move into single file as you sit behind them, or indeed even acknowledge the presence of another road user as you fume, unable to pass without going far too close and risking the safety of the horse, have to as well. Perhaps I should start a thread on that?
 
How is a cyclist to know to warn you if they have never been asked NICELY!

We are fortunate enough to ride quiet lanes which are also a haven for walkers, cyclists, motorbikes and the odd traction engine. Thus all my horses are used to pretty much everything. If we are approached by a 'stealth bike' or two, I request they speak to us as they approach so that if the horse were young, everyone would be safer. Similarly for those who do (~75%) I always thank them.

Education, not aggro.

The traction engines are less of a problem - we tend to hear them coming...
 
PS I hope all the horseriders realise that Sheila Hardy is not only a well-known British Horse Society figure but she is also chairman of the Road Time Trials Council so is well-known in the racing cycle world.

To her credit, Sheila has got a whole page of the timetrial book (an annul must-purchase if you time trial) devoted to how cyclists should behave when approaching/overtaking horseriders/horses on the road.
 
I don't like cyclists - they hold me up in the car, get in the way, the ones who cycle at night without reflective gear drive me nuts, and I find their lycra clad bodies unsavoury...

However, I generally find them to be exceptionally polite when I'm out on the horses, and I consider it my responsibility to ensure that the horses are well mannered enough to be out on the road in the first place. If cyclists sneak up quietly behind us, the most the beasts do is jump then settle.

FWIW, I feel equally stabby at walkers and riders out without lights / refective gear in the dark, and indeed, anyone else who holds me up when I'm driving. And, for that matter, I imagine most of the population (cyclist, rider, car driver) finds the sight of me in jodhs equally unsavoury :D

So really, man up, train your horse and stop whining :D
 
I agree education is important. I meet a mixture ie ones that shout "cyclists" others ring a bell. And then others just appear up your horses rear without warning.

I dont believe cyclists should be give more rights on the road to any other road user. They jump the lights, cycle on pavements, and ride 2 or 3 abreast in big gangs and dont move over when you are in a car to let you pass safely.

If they want safety they should get onto the council/MP and government for more cycle lanes.

Sick of cyclists whingeing when they cause half their own problems. I am a cyclist too by the way. Most annoying road user around.
 
l_i_z_z_i_e said:
I cycle (road bike) and also have a horse so can see both sides of the argument. We cycle with a club on the weekend and there can be between 20 and 50 cyclist out at any one time as one group. We like cycling on rural roads as much as everyone likes riding on rural roads, and often come across horses. Everyone always makes their presence known, and passes slowly, but often such a large number of bikes is going to make a horse nervous.

It's in the cyclist best interest to pass carefully, as they and the bike would come off far worse if something did go wrong!

At the end of the day it's about mutual respect, which i think the majority have. There is obviously the odd exception to every rule. That being said if a horse is spooky enough to react badly (other than a little spook) to a bike, it probably shouldn't be on the road, there are always a number of unexpected things that can jump out hedges etc.
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Agree re the 1 bike, but the best horse is going to spook at 15-20 hollering cyclists bunched up on a single track road who choose not to slow down regardless of what the rider in requesting, 20 cyclists shouldnt be " jumping out of a bush at anything"
 
cattysmith said:
Goodness me. What attitude in this thread! I get the general feeling that you're average joe has more grief with horses on the road than cyclists. At least bikes don't leave poo for them to complain about.

I think perhaps those who are that het up about cyclists probably aren't confident enough to be riding on the roads.
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Absolute horsecrap !
 
madmav said:
They're all mostly very good round my way, Herts, give you a warning 'hello'. I am always ridiculously grateful and polite in return - also to motorists - in the hope this fosters a good-will exchange for another rider and another day.
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this - I always do ask them to ring their bell (dont they still legally have to have a bell or hooter?) as they approach next time if they have made up spook and am very smiley when they do, or call etc etc.
 
Sorry spudlet i disagree, for one it boils down to respect from ALL road users towards others, sadly lacking in this day and age, and also cars, tractors, bicycles do not have a brain, when the controller takes their foot off the wheel/pedal the object stops, not the case with a flight/fright animal. Same goes for the poor unfortunate rabbits, hedgehogs, pheasants that are lying dead on the roads, they didnt need to be run over for the fact the driver was damn well speeding.
 
JFTD said:
I don't like cyclists - they hold me up in the car, get in the way, the ones who cycle at night without reflective gear drive me nuts, and I find their lycra clad bodies unsavoury...

However, I generally find them to be exceptionally polite when I'm out on the horses, and I consider it my responsibility to ensure that the horses are well mannered enough to be out on the road in the first place. If cyclists sneak up quietly behind us, the most the beasts do is jump then settle.

FWIW, I feel equally stabby at walkers and riders out without lights / refective gear in the dark, and indeed, anyone else who holds me up when I'm driving. And, for that matter, I imagine most of the population (cyclist, rider, car driver) finds the sight of me in jodhs equally unsavoury :D

So really, man up, train your horse and stop whining :D
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haha my a.....e looks a lot better in jods than those tight lycra things and at least my saddle is a big flat pancake for my large derriere than being cut in half........by painfully thin saddle? is that what its called in cyclist land? Do they have saddle fitters too?
 
indie999 said:
haha my a.....e looks a lot better in jods than those tight lycra things and at least my saddle is a big flat pancake for my large derriere than being cut in half........by painfully thin saddle? is that what its called in cyclist land? Do they have saddle fitters too?
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'scuse me sir, you seem to have a bike saddle wedged up your ass?

Bike wedgie... Attractive :D Horses for courses, though... Maybe some folk like the lycra-look? :confused:
 
Suechoccy said:
PS I hope all the horseriders realise that Sheila Hardy is not only a well-known British Horse Society figure but she is also chairman of the Road Time Trials Council so is well-known in the racing cycle world.

To her credit, Sheila has got a whole page of the timetrial book (an annul must-purchase if you time trial) devoted to how cyclists should behave when approaching/overtaking horseriders/horses on the road.
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Its high time they read and paid attention to it then, my encounters with leisure cyclist even in a biggish group have been fine, we have a smile, a wave, sometimes stop for a chat without any hassles, i have huge lorries that share the road, horse has no issues with them.
The lycra clad, get outta my way im coming through at speed in group and many even as individuals ignore your requests to slow down, absolute pains in the ar$e
 
JFTD said:
So really, man up, train your horse and stop whining :D
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This, oh this.

So many issues for the people of HHO are caused by them not getting their horse used to things and not being able to cope with a horse that isn't perfect 100% of the time. No horse is perfect 100% of the time, they are flight animals. Yes my horse will occasionally jump at things, but thats my issue for 95% of the time and not because some other person out on a public road/path has done something to deliberately upset him. If he jumps forward at the sound of a bike that neither of us heard, so what? I can cope with it, he can cope with it, yes its a shame that all cyclists don't know a warning is a good idea, but thats life. I don't control all other road/path users.
 
Reasonably, if you are riding on a road, the chances are you are going to meet a cyclist, same as you might me a car, or a bus, or a tractor or a lorry.

If you horse is not used to a cyclist/car/bus/tractor/lorry and you don't have the time/inclination/facilities to train your horse to get used to that other road user, do not put yourself in the situation where you might meet one, it really is that simple. Public highways are dangerous enough without horsey people not applying any real amount of common sense to the job in hand.

Some people in this thread need to get over themselves, you have a horse - big deal.
 
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