Do you slow down for people on foot?

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equitum

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Just wondered what people's opinions were really.

Out walking the dog today on public land and nearly got ran over by two racehorses galloping past! No shouting a warning and I didn't even hear them coming. It really made me jump (into a bush!) and had the dog not been so preoccupied in finding bunnies we both could have been hurt.

When on my horse I always slow down when I see people and try to be as courteous as possible, I don't expect everyone to dive out of my way.

Just wondered if most others are the same as me? Or do you feel it's your right of way and people should move for you when on your horse?
 
I always slow down as I figure not everyone is comfortable with a hulking great horse coming towards them at speed. Plus H is rather spooky so I would worry something might scare him and I wouldn't be able to react fast enough to stop him landing on someone, whereas at a walk I'd be a lot more confident that I could prevent an accident if needed.
 
I would generally slow down, but depends on the situation, ie if you were next to some gallops no I would not expect racehorses to slow down for you
 
Yes I always slow down, even more important to if they have a dog in my opinion. As soon as I see someone if I am not already walking I will slow to a walk and wait until I have well passed before speeding up again. If they have a loose dog I will just stay in walk even after passing as I don't want to encourage the dog to chase thinking it's a game and catch me off guard if it does come running up behind. However I have other riders come flying at/passed me when out for a leisurely hack let alone them stopping for a person but to me it is just courteous to slow :-)
 
Yes I do, I always think it might be terrifying for people otherwise, and I worry that if we are cantering I might not be able to stop and wouldn't want to hurt anyone.

Sometimes though it is a bind, my daughter and I got a rare opportunity to ride together recently and we got to a lovely long canter strip on a gorgeous Autumnal afternoon and there in the middle of the track was a family walking their dog. *sigh* It's quite a long track so we trotted til we got closer to them and slowed to walk past them, "lovely day for it" "yes, isn't it" "can we pat the horses" "of course" We ensured dog was under control and everyone happy, then we had a feeble little canter to the end of the track haha :) Still, a small price to pay to have the Ridgeway to hack on every day :)
 
Most defintly slow down and acknowledge im there if coming from behind. Not everyone likes horses some being scared and it is manners to slow and give as wide berth as poss - just like we expect/like car drivers to do for us.
 
I slow down of im close to them or passing them, but if theyre well away from me 200/300m i'll keep my pace but call to let them know im there if coming from behind, i would slow down to trot if they had dogs off the leash as a precaution and to allow them time to call the dogs if they need to
 
skint1 said:
Yes I do, I always think it might be terrifying for people otherwise, and I worry that if we are cantering I might not be able to stop and wouldn't want to hurt anyone.

Sometimes though it is a bind, my daughter and I got a rare opportunity to ride together recently and we got to a lovely long canter strip on a gorgeous Autumnal afternoon and there in the middle of the track was a family walking their dog. *sigh* It's quite a long track so we trotted til we got closer to them and slowed to walk past them, "lovely day for it" "yes, isn't it" "can we pat the horses" "of course" We ensured dog was under control and everyone happy, then we had a feeble little canter to the end of the track haha :) Still, a small price to pay to have the Ridgeway to hack on every day :)
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Isn't that just the worst ? We always slow down for walkers and the time's we've duly hacked a long boring route to get to a great canter spot and then discovered some walkers who prefer using the bridleway instead of the adjacent footpath.
While its totally their right and TBF, they probably haven't any idea that they've ruined the mornings ride- but it's still a bummer.
 
Depends really on the situation. I would most certainly check the horse yes - and always shout a warning. But if they were far enough away - then no I'd just carry on.
 
I do yes & I speak to them as I pass as well, it's just good manners & I think it helps to keep people on our side, so if I meet a dog walker I say something nice about their dog as well, or comment on how muddy they are!
If I'm on a quiet horse I will stop & let children have a pat. If the horse isn't a patient sort I apologise & explain why it isn't a good idea.
I've also noticed that children in passing cars will often wave or smile so I wave & smile back, they are the drivers of the future after all!
 
Depends on the scenario. When trotting on the roads, I don't stop and walk past pedestrians on the pavement - would cause a traffic jam! However in the woods a lot of the tracks are too narrow for two abreast, in which case I always get of the path for the walkers. Not just for politeness - my horse finds it terrifying tryin to pass someone off the track who he can only half see in the bushes... However on say a forestry track, I would always slow to walk and give a greeting when passing.
 
If it's a track then i will always slow to a walk, a lot our tracks are in woods and so there is often only space for 2 people walking abreast, i think it is SO rude to come flying past people in that situation. In wider areas, we have a space called the old gallops which is a long section running along the bottom of a hill where you can see everyone for several hundred metres all around you, i will usually carry on, but make sure i have given people or dogs plenty of space and a shouted warning that i am coming past on their right/left,the same on s sandy hill we have which has wider tracks, but still limits to how much space there is, i'll usually slow a bit but as long as i can see people have seen me and i have several metres clearance between me and the people i'll carry on. I just think it is considerate, most of us would be screaming blue murder if a bunch of cyclists came flying past while we were hacking, so i just think it is polite to afford everyone else the same courtesy i would expect from others
 
In an open field, no I'd re-route so I could canter past a safe distance away. On a narrow bridleway, always come back to walk (or, wth F a bouncy, on the spot trot :rolleyes3: ) and say thanks for them keeping dog out of the way. If they were on gallops or similar, I wouldn't expect them to and I wouldn't intend to if I were on gallops (though knowing F, we probably would slam the anchor down at speed!).
 
I certainly do! I like to think that we are ambassadors for all horses and riders - my mare is very distinctive and often gets compliments and comments from passersby.
In your situation OP, I would ring the nearest trainer and tell them how disappointed you were by the manners of their riders, as you want all other countryside users to be sympathetic towards horses locally.
 
I am aware of which training yard these guys are from and it's a pointless exercise to complain, a neighbour was walking in the same place a few months back with her new dog, she shouted to them to slow down for a moment so she could get the dog on the lead and was told to "eff off!" - dog scarpered, terrified, as they flew past and took ages to find.

The same reply came from the trainer when she called him up.......
 
turkana said:
I do yes & I speak to them as I pass as well, it's just good manners & I think it helps to keep people on our side, so if I meet a dog walker I say something nice about their dog as well, or comment on how muddy they are!
If I'm on a quiet horse I will stop & let children have a pat. If the horse isn't a patient sort I apologise & explain why it isn't a good idea.
I've also noticed that children in passing cars will often wave or smile so I wave & smile back, they are the drivers of the future after all!
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Yes, I do all of these too :) I actually quite enjoy it now, something about a nice interaction with a dog walker, cyclist or passing car makes you feel good about the world :)

I have a range of "nice things to say" all prepared at this point too, even if it's just "nice day" or "glad the rain has stayed off", and I will gush about cute puppies and ask if the owner would like me to stop so that they can walk past me and the dog can have a nice first experience of horses.
 
I ride and cycle and pedestrians are generally oblivious to the approach of anything speedy and usually get a fright when it goes bombing past :) It's even worse when they've got earphones in, which is a lot of people these days. I generally to to avoid giving anybody a shock because they can react in some funny ways, like the two women who reacted to me gently ringing my bell by nearly throwing the buggy they were pushing into the hedge.

Unleashed dogs also have a funny habit of waiting until my mare is close before trying to dart under her hooves, and plenty of leashed dogs try to drag their owners over we trot or canter by. So yeah, I slow down as a necessity unless there's a ton of room.
 
When along the dirt tracks near my house, I'll always walk as there's not really enough room to trot. There is biddulph valley way though (if anyone knows there) which is very wide and you can get away with a trot. On regular roads a trot is fine, but if there is another horse or bike I will always slow down as wellie is scared of bikes, and either if mine would try to turn around and follow another horse. :)
 
Is the land publicly owned or just in use by the public ?

I am not advocating their bad language or rudeness as they shoudl have remained polite, however it sounds as though you know this land is in regular use as a training gallop so you would have been aware that there was a strong likelihood of racehorses coming along.

Racehorses are normally out mornings so walkers can quite happily share by using it in the afternoon.
 
I don't think the attitude of "walkers can share it by using it later" is very acceptable, myself. If it's a PROW, they have a right to walk there whenever, and not be flattened by racehorses. People do have other commitments - y'know, jobs and such - which may prevent them from walking at off peak times ;)
 
Yes I tend to slow down, as well as making them jump if they haven't seen/ heard us approaching there is also the chance that they may have a dog off lead rooting around in the bushes and as one of my dogs has a high prey drive moving pass a dog like her at speed isn't a good idea!
Having said that many years ago I was galloping...being tanked off with :o....along a local bridleway, the bridleway was at the bottom of the hills and you could see if anyone was on it as you rode down, anyway I was just letting my boy run we went round a bend and their was a policeman standing in the middle of the path looking up to the top of the hills. I just shouted 'incoming' and he jumped out of the way, I did say 'sorry' as we sped by and he just laughed and as his colleague, who was at the top of the hills, wasn't waiting for me at the end of the bridleway I assumed he wasn't overly bothered.
 
It is a public right of way, there isn't a constant stream of racehorses galloping about there but there isn't a set time either, could be any time of the day. Them using it isn't a problem but I do expect them to keep their distance and warn people when passing at least.
 
I always slow down to a walk whenever I see anyone, it's just good manners! I would never dream of cantering past someone as not everyone is comfortable around horses and those who haven't got much experience with them would probably be absolutely terrified of a bouncing snorting beast careering past them. I also make sure to always walk around dogs so as not to encourage them to bark or chase. I also always say hello - we have some very miserable walkers around us so I usually don't get a response but at least I've tried...!
 
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