Do u trot past other horses?

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countrybumpkin

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Just wondering, I always thought it was hacking etiquette to walk past other horses coming from the other direction? Had a nightmare moment this morning out hacking when 5 horses trotted towards and past me, completely winding up my horse. Had met 2 other horses before these who walked past and my horse was fine, and I think it was really rude of the 5 to trot past without even asking if it was ok. What do u guys think?
 
Even though I can't trot mine on roads, I would still expect someone to check if it was ok before trotting past mine as it's just polite, and as a horsey person, you would know the potential risks of not doing so.
Problem is, some people just don'e engage brain.....
 
It would have been polite for them to have slowed down to walk as they approached you, then asked if it was okay for them to trot past. (Or that's what I would have done anyway). Agree it's bad manners for them not to have done that - especially as you could have been on a young or nervous horse.
 
No I always walk and nod or say hello :D can be very annoying when people trot past although mines doesn't really react
 
I always walk or let someone know if I am passing them as my OH had an awful experience when a big group galloped past us in the other direction even when we had flagged them down and asked them to pass slowly. His normally level headed horse went loopy and almost jumped the hedge next to us trying to follow them :( These people were all experienced and had no concern for anyone else on the track and I thought it was very rude!
 
I have trotted past others and have never had a problem as have others trotted past us but we are never in a big group and if i noticed i was winding up someone elses horse i would walk and apologise. We do meet the same people most of the time, if it was someone i didn't know i would go back to walk.

If i was coming up behind another horse and wanted to pass i would ask if it was ok to pass, in walk or trot.
 
We always fall back into walk if we meet other horses out riding and would expect others to do the same. We very rarely meet anyone, not an overly horsey area, so meeting other horses is very exciting. :D
 
I think for a group of horse riders to trot past one rider without slowing down back into walk, unless the other riders know your horse that is, yes I think it is rude, I wouldn't do it myself put it that way.

Thing is people just don't think, you could be riding a stallion out, or a youngster etc, therefore a group of strange horses coming towards you on a narrow road could quite easily excite or upset a horse on it's own.
 
I would agree it is bad form to be doing a pace faster than walk when coming towards or past other riders. I would always ask other riders f it was o.k. to trot past them.
 
I always walk if approaching or passing other horses. There is a rider on the neighbouring yard however who is known for galloping past our horses in their fields and also for taking off and ignoring other riders when hacking out on the tracks. He left my friend and I on madly leaping, rearing ponies when he took off at full gallop. You know who you are, bearded man on grey horse in Norfolk and if you ever do that to me again YOU WILL PAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Agree it's bad manners.


When I was kid had a group do this to me and my pony, they had to put up with the pair of us and escort us back to our yard though as pony decided to join them and I couldn't stop it.
To this day I refuse to feel remotley bad about it, if they'd walked past there wouldn't have been a problem.

So I always figure if someone passes me and my horse in a rude manner (eg canter or trotting) then if I accidently end up joing them, well it's their fault so tough. ;)
 
More polite to walk/ask abt passing at trot. I always do.

I *think* some of the Royal Parks have by-laws which say trotting is OK for passing on bridleways but you have to walk past arenas though. Cantering only allowed in designated places. Those could be 'unwritten rules' though.

TBH though most of the trouble I've had there has been with huge groups of cavalry clanking about the place (they have to, but whether walking or trotting some horses just don't cope with seeing it the first few times) or small groups of beginner riders who have no hope of keeping the animals out of canter/even staying on if the horses decide against ;-)
 
Is it me?:confused: Whenever I meet anyone out hacking I always stop for a chat :p regardless of who they are!! We've always got loads in common - we're on them :D Unfortunately I rarely meet anyone.........:( perhaps they are avoiding me........:rolleyes:
 
Very very bad manners, they would have got a peice of my mind, personally I would have been livid if some one had done that to me, mainly because although my mare is 24 she would have acted like a 2 year old, which just proves the point that however old or young looking a horse unless you know it or are riding it you have no idea what it is going to do.
 
agree is very rude and dangerous, my boy frequently goes loopy if he so much as hears /sees other horses out hacking especially in groups , to the extent he gets wildly excited if he hears the echo of his own feet - duh ! I have real problems if they trot past or even worse trot up from behind - cue much leaping spinning bouncing etc. this is despite him going past anything traffic based road work based etc . he just cant handle it and I get really freaked out and cross. so in answer to the question - no I dont !
 
Very bad form to trot past another horse, particulary if the situation is likely to spook a horse, as in your case, i.e. several riders trotting towards and past a single horse. They must have been very ignorant numptys!

The worst I had was at christmas time, and I was out alone hacking on my ex-racehorse, and the local riding school was out, ponies and staff all dressed up in tinsel and capes, etc. I was walking my horse, and all was fine, until the RS who were coming towards me started trotting, with the girls leading the ponies running on the ground, capes and tinsel bouncing everywhere! My horse reared up, twisted, spun and bronked off in the opposite direction. I didnt fall off, but I did really hurt my back, and then after my horse had freaked I had to get him past them to continue on my way home! grrrrrr
 
I hope they at least had the manners to apologies, If that had been the RS where I lernt to ride we would have been severly bolocked if they had heard we had done something like that whilst out on a hack with Clients.
 
Was a bit rude yes. Having said that, I think if one horse is going past a group of horses, its ok for the lone rider to trot past.

I used to ride a horse that was a pain to hack somedays - worst when someone was ahead and he was desperate to catch up - we'd get rearing, leaping and cantering all over the road. Thats not their fault that I was riding an idiot though ;)

Current horse - I wouldn't care what they did - he should have manners enough to do what I want :)
 
that's just plain dammed rude. and dangerous. mine always gets het up if we see other horses out, as it doesnt happen very often. and when we do see them its usually on the Downs rather than road. they come up from the direction we are going, so once we hit one of our canter tracks we hve to keep our eyes open. once i had an eventful experience and that was when a funeral carriage came thundering up behind me. 4 beautiful horses all perfectly behaved, trotting pretty fast, but the driver made no attempt to slow down although he could see me up ahead. anyway it ended up with me cantering along the road without much control, until a while after the carriage had turned off. luckily the road was quiet, but it made me a bit mad at the time.
 
Thanks everyone, want sure if it was just me being grumpy!! And no they didnt apologise, just said morning as they went by in flat out trot. And the worst bit was they were coming up a steep hill as I was coming down it, which was pretty hairy when my horse started leaping and plunging about!! Will be having words if they do it again!
 
Two points firstly I just don't accept horses mucking about on the road. This is my life you are farting about with and if you do not do as you are told there will be hell to pay! And if this mean I enlist somone to trot past me a million times on the drive until you are not such a tw*t about it then so be it. I expect my horses to be steady whether it is a trotter on the road or a whole herd of horses out hunting going past them they do not move until I say. (not that I'm a horse nazi or anything :rolleyes:)

However, I understand there must be a point in a horses life when following the beautiful people coming the otherway is definately worth sitting in a ditch/hedge for. And as a result I will walk.
The times I don't walk is if the other person is also trotting, it is a big group (usually taking up half the road) or I know the horse is sane and the rider competent, (my mates!). (even then keep eyes out for barmy elements)

Ps. Had plenty of embarressing youngsters put me in ditches :D
 
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Bloody bad manners.Riding past an unknown horse, it just makes sense to keep everyone safe and stress free and keep to a walk or trot on if asked to do so.
Riding out recently on my horse who was supposed to be walking only after time off for lameness,my companion and I found ourselves behind two small children on ponies with adults walking beside. There was a wide grass verge on the 50 mile an hour country road and the two littley's bombed off along the verge at breath taking speed.
My horse was most put out and frustrated as she was up for fun too. yes,she did walk, but the rest of the way home behind these kids, she was tense and fed up. Our nice relaxing, back-in-work hack, spoilt.
Also,stupidity personified for the adults to allow the children, probably about 6 or 7 years old to gallop on a grass verge with traffic zooming by.
 
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