For balance: stupid horseriders

[Ranyhyn]

We hear all too often about how bad dog walkers are and how they do x y and z wrong, well here for balance is what happened this morning. Trivial but it just goes to show..

I was walking my two JRTs on the village green. The village green leads down to a beach so its not unheard of to have horses going over it. Bearing in mind this is a village green with a road running in between it, flanked by pubs all round and its sunday, so the village church is in the middle of something.

I hear hoofbeats on the road, so I call my dogs, who duly come and try to whack their leads on (they are completely used to horses but my horse is a hunter who is completely used to them too - so they think its normal behaviour to run along next to horses) Anyway just as Im reaching for the bitches lead the horse meets the grass and its off. The rider is cantering the horse over the village green. Now not only is this stupid because there's people on it but its stupid because there's me on it. The person hadn't even seen me I assume (because otherwise you'd have to be pretty damn thick to canter past someone who is clearly putting their dogs on a lead for some reason...)

As it was my dogs do as they are told and waited. Had I been a different person or had they been different dogs it could well have ended up my dogs chasing the horse, the horse spooking onto the road and being totalled by a car.

So HHOer remember, its not just dog walkers who have the monopoly on idiocy.

Kitty

 

[Three]

My favourite stupid rider is a girl who wears a dark jacket and hacks her dark bay horse late in the evenings.

I actively look for horses on the roads but even I've failed to see her under the trees on occasion.

No wonder car drivers get cross!!

 

[Ranyhyn]

I have seen someone like that - walked her maxi cob on the pavement, in dark clothes along a 60mph road, all it takes is two steps and she'd be on the road. Its so sad because all you need to do is pick up a horse mag to see how many horses and riders are hurt or killed by RTAs every year

I guess sometimes its so easy to stick together and blame the drivers, the dog walkers but I know we've all seen incidents with our fellow horse riders that make our toes curl!

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

I'd agree with both of you!!

Riders wearing dark clothes and no hi viz on the roads (country lanes round here with no street lighting) and on at the phone at the same time - the worst culprits are the hunt grooms.

Riding on any road with no hat - one rider near here regularly crosses the A47 with lorries etc riding youngsters and eventers.

The list goes on............

 

[aregona]

i dont get it, riding on any roads without a hat??? they seem to think they are invinsible. I do have to ride in the dark occasionally but do so with HV comprising of - brushing boots, breastplate, sheet, waist coat for me with lights etc etc... basically i look like a xmas tree.

i never really thought too much about hv until i saw a bhs advert with 2 horses on it, one with HV and the second without, i didn't see the second until i read the caption - how long did it take you to see the second horse??? the answer, i didn't.

as for the riders on the common, stupid! i could be wrong but i dont understand why they couldn't wait an extra 5 mins until they were somewhere safer. not only for you / your dogs safety but there own too.

 

[MrsMozart]

People can be and are ignorant and scarily stupid - simples

 

[Spudlet]

Me and my colleague nearly took out two eejits on horses a few weeks ago, hacking along the road with no high viz - we just coming to the end of the driveway at work and since they were under trees and we were in bright sunlight they were invisible. Bay horses, dark clothese - what saved them was the fact that one had a hat silk with a bright coloured pattern

Totally oblivious the pair of them, wandering along on a loose rein!

Me and my dog almost got squahed flat last winter, we were walking round a bit of Forestry Commission land and unbeknown to me, there was some kind of endurance ride going on - people were cantering straight at us and gave me no time to catch the dog at all, we had to dive for cover!

Then someone came off, so I ended up catching her horse as she was winded and had been kicked I think, and had cut her head, the poor lady - was standing with the dog tied to a tree, her two companions standing about, her horse fidgetting, and all the time people barging on through, no consideration at all

Where's Pedantic, this thread needs his catchphrase!