Do people jog or ride bikes across your field footpaths?

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Patches

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I was pooh picking last night when the horses suddenly had a "funny five". Very unlike them to run up and down the field snorting in such fashion.

When the came to a standstill, they were clearly looking at something in the distance.....a jogger running along the footpath. I assume this is what set them off.

Are they allowed to do this? How can you even stop them? From what I can see on the net they should only walk on footpaths and cycles are not allowed....even though we've had people on mountain bikes riding through the fields with stock in them in the past.

Now, the footpath doesn't run through my horse paddocks, but even so, they were clearly still upset by her (I assume it was a her as the top was pink).

This was towards the end of their funny five, when I decided to get my phone out and video them. I don't think I've EVER seen Dinker move this fast!
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Because surely common sense should tell them they are going to upset livestock by running?

Also, if they turn their ankle over in the field by stepping in a rabbit hole, etc etc....they hadn't better try and sue us for it!
 
i dont think your allowed to cycle on them... but jogging yes....
i dont think ive ever done it though as its far too much effort lol
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Okie dokie.....but can you put a polite notice up asking people to refrain from jogging if livestock are in the field, or that they do so at their own risk, in the case of starting a stampede?

When I was just looking on a Council site, it clearly says dog walkers should clean up the mess their dogs make and dogs shouldn't stray off the footpath! Most people take their dogs over our fields just so they can have a pooh because they don't need to clean it up.....unlike on the pavements!

Gah......they have no idea it causes stillbirth and spontaneous abortions in cows.

Arrgggh.....another rant, separate issue.
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Crikey have never seen a shetland move so fast! He was right up at the front the whole way! You cant ride bikes or horses on footpaths but would admit to jogging down footpaths and bridleways when i go out for a run.
 
Through the field, along the fence and hedge lines...depending on which field they are in. Not that most of them even stick to the path.


Can you tell I have issues with walkers....I'm a miserable farmer's wife. I have been known to use a loud speaker thingy to request they get back on the footpath!
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I wouldnt think so, but then I'm no expert on these things.

I do remember going to check on my son's old pony once only to find the horses hooleying round the field like nutters. The field was on a hill and all of a sudden I spotted this guy freewheeling down the hill on his racing bike (full lycra jobbie).
I stood, gobsmacked as the slightly nutty welsh cob (who has a secret desire to kill someone before he reaches the age of 30, and a skinny guy wearing lycra looked like a prime victim) galloped past him kicking out followed by an old hunter and a shetland who almost mowed him down. The guy never stopped, just kept freewheeling.
he got to me and innocently said "do you know the way to x town? I've lost my way..."

Bearing in mind that town is the other direction and that these fields back onto literally nothing, I still (to this day) cannot fathom how he managed to lose himself off a road, through crop fields, fields full of cattle and then down that hill...

AND it wasnt a footpath.


so in answer to your question, I don't know, but there's an idiot born every minute and I've come to the conclusion that alot of them take up cycling.


ETA: I can fully believe a shetland can move that fast, my shetlands have always come up front in hooleying round the field races
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. They move even faster when there's food on offer
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And do not get me started on dog poo on footpaths and bridleways.... have you ever tried picking dog poo out of hooves???
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I know.....I am awful, although I do start politely.

"EXCUSE ME!!!!!!!!!" (and wait for them to look up)

"CAN YOU PLEASE GET BACK ON THE FOOTPATH, YOU'RE WALKING OVER PRIVATE LAND.....THANK YOU!"

See, I have manners, even when I am irate.

I did once run down the field at breakneck speed when I saw someone walking over to the horse paddocks. There is no footpath anywhere near their actual paddocks, although they (horses) can view walkers across the path that tracks through the farm.

He said he was trying to get back on the footpath. Yeah right! He then asked me to fill up his water bottle because he was thirsty. Erm......do I look like a walking tap?

I sent him packing back to the nearest footpath and watched him leave the farm.
 
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Personally I think a BB gun would be more effective
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Oh yes, but highly illegal. I'm not that irate.
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It's dog walkers who really wind me up. They don't seem to think their dogs need to stick to the footpath, even when they themselves do. Throwing frizbees and "dummies" for their dogs is not walking them in close control along a footpath.
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Of course people are able to jog , what would happen if their dog got too far in front for example or a horse chased a walker are you suggesting they are only allowed a brisk walk !
That said a lot of people in the country do not have any common sense or are unaware of what is going on around them
 
Not much you can do about jogging. I expect it's just the sight of something unusual that sets the horses off and I had a similar rant at the weekend about my neighbour's helper having a jolly on his quad! You could just try a polite notice asking not to upset livestock and would deff' mention the dog pooh.

We used to have a footpath through our field and caught my old Arab mare up to all sorts of mischief with hapless walkers. Like the old couple picking blackberries and as fast as they could pick them she was scoffing them out of the tupperware box, or the local runing club who she thought were great fun, jogging across the field in the middle of a 20 strong pack with her nose 2" off the back of someone's neck, poor bloke looked scared stiff!
 
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Of course people are able to jog , what would happen if their dog got too far in front for example or a horse chased a walker are you suggesting they are only allowed a brisk walk !
That said a lot of people in the country do not have any common sense or are unaware of what is going on around them

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Don't be silly. Of course I don't mean that. That's totally different. Miserable farmer's wife that I am, even I'm not that pedantic.
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I am more concerned that people will intentionally jog/run through the fields when the cows go out shortly. Cows, being cows, will run after anyone who is running and I'm worried of the legal implications should they stampede and injure someone.

Most joggers, doing so alone, go out with an ipod in their ears blaring away and might not be aware of approaching stock.

Seeing the runner last night, and the horses reaction, just got me thinking.

I want to know, in all honesty, where the liability lies should they start cows stampeding or if they fall and hurt themselves in any rutted areas of land which naturally form in wet weather on grazing land.
 
I see no problem whatsoever with someone joggin down a footpath.....and i think it would be unreasonable to leave a sign out sayign please do not jog. Obesity/inactivity is a massive problem in this country, and if someone wnat to lead a healthy lifestyle i would support them in doing that.
 
Your horses will get used joggers. They seem to have got used to the incredibly heavy traffic they have running nearby. A wee bit spontaneous exercise does no harm anyway. I am delighted when scary things go past my ponies field (including full pipe band on gala day)- all helps to bombproof them.
Lovely fields and horses.
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I see no problem whatsoever with someone joggin down a footpath.....and i think it would be unreasonable to leave a sign out sayign please do not jog. Obesity/inactivity is a massive problem in this country, and if someone wnat to lead a healthy lifestyle i would support them in doing that.

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You're missing the point though. I applaud the woman's pace on the ground as it's so hard at the moment, due to the lovely weather, and the fact she kept running through the field we'd been muckspreading during the day (heck...even I'd run through that to get out of the smell).

My point is what happens when there are 200 cows in the field the person runs through? Can you not ask them to not jog/run through a field full of livestock? Commonsense would tell me not to do it, but what's to say others would think the same? A field of dairy cows all quietly lying down and chewing the cud may look safe to run through, but I have seen them get up and stampede in a split second.

I want to know, seriously, where the legal liability lies in such an instance.
 
Do you know, this seemed like such a daft question that I looked to make sure it wasn't April 1st. Of course people can jog - it is a FOOTpath and last time I looked, joggers still used their feet.

Bikes are diferent, not sure on that ruling but I'd not think it damages the ground much so personally I'd let them go.
 
Luckily most people round here are pretty sensible and if they leave the footpath they keep dogs on leashes.


I did hear of someone who posted a sign onto a footpath stating something along the lines of "Pick up your dog mess or I will find out where you live and post it through your letterbox"

Not very PC but I imagine it worked
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Having had people go into fields and remove a pony's grazing muzzle and turn off the electric fencing (I did find out who it was in the end and did politely tell their mother that such behaviour could kill the pony) I've become pretty used to idiots.... and maintain that the majority of them ride bicycles. Be it racing bikes, mountain bikes or BMX's with stabilisers...
 
That's the M6. It runs through our farm. Used to be VERY quiet here until that opened in 1967 (so I am told, I'm not that old).

It's not actually that close to their fields, probably a good 1500m away. The camera doesn't really show the undulation in the ground between here and the motorway.

They do, however, merrily hack along the hard shoulder (almost literally)
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Easy solution is don't roll the area of the footpath. A jogger or cyclist would break their ankle if they tried to jog or ride on my footpath hence I leave it as rough as possible. People would be silly to try jogging tbh.

Not very charitable I guess but I don't want to encourage people down there as I have had problems in the past ie my post n rail taken down and burnt .
 
As far as I'm aware patches, (now don't quote me on this) if there is a footpath on YOUR land then it's YOUR responsibility to ensure that no 'dangerous' animals are in that field.

ie cows that might stampede. As far as I know you are responsible for this.

Jogging is perfectly legal, and I don't think any signs would absolve you of the responsibility if your animals reacted to a walker / jogger in such a manner.

You would need to check that with the local council though.

Now, cyclists are a different matter I think.


In my opinion they deserve to get stampeded....
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Do you know, this seemed like such a daft question that I looked to make sure it wasn't April 1st. Of course people can jog - it is a FOOTpath and last time I looked, joggers still used their feet.

Bikes are diferent, not sure on that ruling but I'd not think it damages the ground much so personally I'd let them go.

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Ok....so the initial question was clearly made by an idiot. However, can you tell me what the legal implications are should a jogger cause a herd of 200 cows to stampede in their direction?

This is what concerns me. Our cows will be out very shortly and the footpath the jogger was running on is in their fields. I am worried about injury to a runner caused by livestock being upset if they run through the fields whilst they are grazing.

I can guarantee that their dairy herd's reaction will be far worse than my horses. Like someone else said, the horses had a bit of loose schooling.
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As for bikes....it doesn't damage the road to drive down it at 100mph but you're not supposed to are you because it's against the law? Same as you're not supposed to ride bikes through farm land footpaths. It's the law. Cycles one week, motorcross the next. You have to draw a line. They may use their feet to pedal the bike, but it definitely doesn't come under "footpath". It is not a byway...it is a public footpath.
 
I am sure you could stop anyone cycling, not sure about jogging. There is a footpath running through the field my horses are in. Its not used much but last summer a little group were marching across it, rucksacks on their back. I watched to make sure they stayed on the path, which runs alongside the fence, and had a bit of a giggle when nosy pony decided to follow them and they walked progressively faster until they reached the stile
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She only wanted to say hello!
 
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As far as I'm aware patches, (now don't quote me on this) if there is a footpath on YOUR land then it's YOUR responsibility to ensure that no 'dangerous' animals are in that field.

ie cows that might stampede. As far as I know you are responsible for this.



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I agree with this. We'd all kick off if a bridleway running through a field were unusable due to livestock. Your animals shouldn't restrict use of the footpath to people on foot.
 
okay, done some digging for you



I might be tempted to type these out and post them near the footpath...

Strictly speaking, a right of way is not the path itself but your legal right to cross land along a certain route: in some cases a right exists although no path is visible.

There are several different categories of rights of way.

Public Footpaths are open only to walkers, and may be waymarked with yellow arrows.
Public Bridleways are open to walkers, horse riders and cyclists (although cyclists should give way to other users) and may be waymarked with blue arrows.
Restricted Byways are open to all non-motorised users including vehicles such as horse-drawn carts. They may be waymarked with plum-coloured arrows.
Byways Open to All Traffic can be used legally even by motorists. Although most of them are inaccessible to ordinary motor vehicles, you may encounter off-road vehicles like 4x4s and trials bikes.


and then :





If a dog makes a mess on a road or footpath, recreation ground or public area, the mess must be cleared up.

It is an offence, under the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996, for an owner not to clear up after allowing their dog to foul in undesignated areas such as a public footpath. The maximum fine for failing to clear up after a dog is £1000.



and then :

Public Footpaths and other Public Rights of Way in the United Kingdom are the Queen's Highway in Law. The landowner must ensure that the route of the Public Footpath is walkable; for example, where a right-of-way crosses a ploughed field, the route of the footpath must be flattened back to a walkable surface after ploughing.

It is not permitted to ride or push a bicycle along a Public Footpath. The public has the right of passage on foot along the footpath only; no right of access to surrounding land is implied. Walkers and their dogs must stay on the line of the footpath, and dogs should therefore be kept on a lead whether or not livestock is present.



and finally (livestock)


20. Can a farmer keep a bull in a field crossed by a public path? A bull of up to ten months old, yes. Bulls over ten months of a recognized dairy breed (Ayrshire, British Friesian, British Holstein, Dairy Shorthorn, Guernsey, Jersey and Kerry) are banned from fields crossed by public paths under all circumstances. All other bulls over ten months are banned unless accompanied by cows or heifers. If any bulls act in a way which endangers the public, an offence may be committed under health and safety legislation.


hope that helps.
 
oh, and i also found out that if you lived i australia you wouldnt be able to keep bears, ostritches or crocodiles on footpaths either.

Like you would anyway....
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oh, and i also found out that if you lived i australia you wouldnt be able to keep bears, ostritches or crocodiles on footpaths either.

Like you would anyway....
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I want me a crocodile!!
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