Gobsmacked

[Emma86]

This has been playing on my mind since it happened so feel I need to share...

On Saturday I was on my way to the yard and passed a Land Rover with horse trailer and horse inside with its hazards on. As I got round the corner there was a lady at the entrance to my yard frantically trying to slow the traffic down as they had broken down on a nasty bend on the A404. I asked the lady if I could help, she said the clutch had gone on the car and could I see if I could help her husband.
I got back to the husband who was on the phone to the RAC but their wait time was 4 hours and to call the police.
As he was on the phone a police car drove past, which we waved down. By this point the traffic has built up and cars that are trying to overtake the trailer cannot see the oncoming traffic. Also cars coming round the bend cannot see the traffic waiting to overtake until the last minute. Hence the lady trying to slow people down before the corner. There was a petrol station about 100 yards infront of the car which ideally we wanted to get the trailer to until they could arrange rescue etc.

The police got out the car and asked what the problem was. I let the man explain, as if it wasnt obvious enough and I said I had just stopped to help. He turned to me and said "well you look horsey, cant you take the horse out on the road and hold it?"
I explained that could be possibly the most dangerous option we had (plus, correct me if I am wrong, but illegal??), and why didnt they first of all put some police slow signs to slow the traffic.
The also suggested the man to unhitch the trailer (with horse inside) and for me to tow the trailer away, and also that perhaps we all try to push the car and trailer with horse in. When they realised my yard was around the bend they suggested that we walk the horse back along the A404 to my yard. I thought all of these suggestions were ridiculous! Did they want to cause an even bigger accident?

While they put signs out to slow the traffic I realised my original plan of towing them to the petrol station wouldnt work as my car wouldnt tow the car and the trailer so I phoned my brother who has a large truck and he came to the rescue. I had to ask the police to stop the traffic while he towed them as people were trying to overtake while he was towing, and oncoming traffic was still approaching. All was ok in the end and the lovely couple dropped a couple of bottles of wine at my yard the next day for me and my brother.

That is not a rant about the police as a whole (I think we should be proud of our police force), but about those two particular police who arrived at a dangerous situation on a busy road and didnt have a clue! People like this give our police a bad name. Surely they should have arrived and took charge? The situation was explained to them and surely they should have immediately tried to make it safer. Am I wrong? I feel it shouldnt have taken a girl in her 20s to tell them what they needed to do.
Maybe I am overreacting but the couple were extremely worried and the two police men did nothing but make ridiculous suggestions that would have probably made the situation more dangerous.
Perhaps I am wrong and it isnt their responsibility to sort this situation, but then who's is it? If I had broken down I would hope people would stop to help me, but who should you contact in this kind of situation if the breakdown company cant get to you and you have a horse in the trailer?
Mince pies with squirty cream if u got to the end of that!

 

[unbalanced]

My friends who tow have a special equestrian breakdown service and when I have rented a horsebox I have always been told that if it breaks down I must call the equestrian breakdown not my normal RAC (which I have with my bank account for any vehicle I am driving). The equestrian breakdown apparently (we have never had cause to use it) calls the police for you and they close the road so you can unload the horses and load them onto alternative transportation which they arrange as well as towing your broken down rig. Crossing my fingers it doesn't happen though because it still sounds like a right nightmare, even if it all goes to plan, and especially if it doesn't!

 

[Emma86]

My friends who tow have a special equestrian breakdown service and when I have rented a horsebox I have always been told that if it breaks down I must call the equestrian breakdown not my normal RAC (which I have with my bank account for any vehicle I am driving). The equestrian breakdown apparently (we have never had cause to use it) calls the police for you and they close the road so you can unload the horses and load them onto alternative transportation which they arrange as well as towing your broken down rig. Crossing my fingers it doesn't happen though because it still sounds like a right nightmare, even if it all goes to plan, and especially if it doesn't!

Thats really good to know, as I wil be towing now too. Yes, fingers crossed they dont have to be used often but good to know they are there!
I just felt though, that the second they (the police) got there they should have done something about the traffic, any recovery could have taken a while to get there.
Be good to know the names of some equestrian breakdown companies if people have them.

 

[Dizzydancer]

they soiund pretty daft BUT if they have no idea about horses and towing then they would probably just try and figure ideas out like they did. Not correct for the situation.
However i would have expected them to take control of traffic management straight away to prevent further incidents while people over take.
I would probably write a letter to head of local police and just advise them to maybe look into this kind of training scenario?

 

[Kokopelli]

Similar think happened to me we broke down on the A417 one of the main routes to london on a national speed limit road with 2 horses.

We got the police out to close the road as our car could pull the trailer up the rest of the hill empty to a pull in place and we got horses out and led them. My friend then hitched our trailer up with her car loaded horses up and carried on our way and we got the AA out for our broken car.

The police were excellent, very helpful and even stopped the idiots trying to have a good at me and beeping their horn at my rather highly strung chap.

I suppose there's good and bad ones around. Never heard of equestrian break down before. Hope we won't have to use them though

 

[Emma86]

Kokopelli: Glad you have a positive similar story. Good to know that hopefully this was a one off.

Dizzy Christmas Pud: I had wondered if I was being a little harsh at the fact non horsey people cannot always see the potential dangers we can involving our horses, however, as you say the main hazards were the cars crashing into other cars or the back of the trailer, so yes they definately should have taken charge.

If a letter would help to try and encourage them with this kind of training then I will definately send one. However I have a feeling it will fall on deaf ears. Like I said this wasnt a rant about the police, they just obviously didnt have a clue, or know how to manage the situation.

 

[mcnaughty]

Wait for the backlash on that one ... I posted something similar a couple of years ago and got hung out to dry!

I turned up to my old yard early one Sunday morning to find the road outside (50mph) covered in black ice. Two cars in a ditch after rounding a sharp bend 200 yards further up and a lone policeman taking down details and breathalising drivers. Went into yard, did my bits, came out an hour later to find same policemen still writing and 4 more cars in the ditch (6 total). I was livid and tried to ask the policeman why he had not called for backup and put out his warning triangle/police warning sign up round the corner. He told me to bug off as he had to breathalise everyone and take down details. Duty of care came to my mind.

Anyway, I got absolutely crucified on here for criticising a policeman who was only doing his job - yea right!

 

[AmyMay]

Actually the idea of walking the horse to the yard was a pretty sensible one - and easily managed.

Glad the situation was resolved though.

 

[Emma86]

Actually the idea of walking the horse to the yard was a pretty sensible one - and easily managed.

Glad the situation was resolved though.

I would agree in another situation, however it was quite a walk on an extremely busy and fast road with 2 sharp bends under a railway bridge. The suggestion wasnt that they close the road and do this either! It was that we should just walk quickly and the police would wave people past as the horse was being walked.
But as I said if they had suggested closing the road etc it definately would have been a more sensible option.

 

[Holly Hocks]

Actually the idea of walking the horse to the yard was a pretty sensible one - and easily managed.

That's what I thought....OP said it was only round the corner.

 

[FionaM12]

Actually the idea of walking the horse to the yard was a pretty sensible one - and easily managed.

Glad the situation was resolved though.

That seemed sensible to me, too. Surely the police could have controlled the traffic long enough to unload the horses and get them to safety?

 

[Emma86]

Wait for the backlash on that one ... I posted something similar a couple of years ago and got hung out to dry!

I turned up to my old yard early one Sunday morning to find the road outside (50mph) covered in black ice. Two cars in a ditch after rounding a sharp bend 200 yards further up and a lone policeman taking down details and breathalising drivers. Went into yard, did my bits, came out an hour later to find same policemen still writing and 4 more cars in the ditch (6 total). I was livid and tried to ask the policeman why he had not called for backup and put out his warning triangle/police warning sign up round the corner. He told me to bug off as he had to breathalise everyone and take down details. Duty of care came to my mind.

Anyway, I got absolutely crucified on here for criticising a policeman who was only doing his job - yea right!

I had wondered if that might happen! But I cant stress enough Im not refferring to our police force as a whole, I am only talking about 2 officers that seemed not to have the knowledge of what to do, or for the urgency of making the situation safer.
Im sure people will have many suggestions of what should have been done (remember I only stopped to help!) which will be really interesting to hear incase anything like this ever happens to anyone else.
Please dont hang me out to dry!!

 

[AmyMay]

I would agree in another situation, however it was quite a walk

Ah, thought it was 'around the bend', so not far.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

I think as horse owners we forget that generally people do not have any idea about how unpredictable horses can be. If your only experience of horses is watching horse racing and the Trooping of the Colour, then you might be forgiven for thinking horses are well trained machines.
If you said,' there's a bull in the trailer', the police might see the situation in a different way and be appreciative of the risks involved.

Police need to deal with all sorts of incidents, I think they can be forgiven for thinking on their feet and making, what seems to us, daft suggestions. The important thing is that they listen and support those who know what they're talking about but also bearing in mind that not every horse owner is sensible either.

Anyway, glad you stopped to offer help OP. It was nice of you and does highlight the need to have equestrian breakdown cover.

 

[Emma86]

Ah, thought it was 'around the bend', so not far.

Sorry I say round the bend, because in a car it is literally round the bend, but on foot it would be a few minutes walk. Especially with a stressed horse!

Thinking about it if my brother hadnt come to the rescue perhaps if they had agreed to close the road this may have been the next best option. Or to get my trailer from my yard and have to unload and re-load in the road. Good to think of these things incase it ever happens with your own horse. But again I am sure the couple involved would have felt alot better if the two men had taken better charge of the traffice etc.

 

[el_Snowflakes]

Pretty incompetant police officers if you ask me..........

I agree with amy may that walking the horse probably was quite a good idea. I understand that it is not legal/ethical to offload a horse on the roadside but under these circumstances I would have personally suggested that the police close the road so the horse could be walked along the road to safety. However, I would not unload the horse if traffic was not stopped.

Sounds like a nightmare situation tho & good job you were there to help

 

[Holly Hocks]

Sorry I say round the bend, because in a car it is literally round the bend, but on foot it would be a few minutes walk. Especially with a stressed horse!

Thinking about it if my brother hadnt come to the rescue perhaps if they had agreed to close the road this may have been the next best option. Or to get my trailer from my yard and have to unload and re-load in the road. Good to think of these things incase it ever happens with your own horse. But again I am sure the couple involved would have felt alot better if the two men had taken better charge of the traffice etc.

You get numpties in every profession - the Police included (I'm allowed to say that as OH is recently retired Police Sergeant!) and I think in your situation it depends on whether they were Roads Policing officers (Traffic Police) or not. Sounds like in your case they weren't.

 

[Emma86]

I think as horse owners we forget that generally people do not have any idea about how unpredictable horses can be. If your only experience of horses is watching horse racing and the Trooping of the Colour, then you might be forgiven for thinking horses are well trained machines.
If you said,' there's a bull in the trailer', the police might see the situation in a different way and be appreciative of the risks involved.

Police need to deal with all sorts of incidents, I think they can be forgiven for thinking on their feet and making, what seems to us, daft suggestions. The important thing is that they listen and support those who know what they're talking about but also bearing in mind that not every horse owner is sensible either.

Anyway, glad you stopped to offer help OP. It was nice of you and does highlight the need to have equestrian breakdown cover.

So true. And I couldn't agree more actually.

I think in this circumstance when a situation like that happens people like to feel as though it is being delt with and taken charge of, and they didnt. I guess sometimes it is easy to forget what you say about other peoples knowledge of horses etc. So I may have been a bit harsh in saying their suggestions were ridiculous!

 

[Dizzydancer]

Even to walk a short way on unknown roads with rail way bridges is quite dangerous. Unless i had my boy in a very controllable manner eg Chifney i wouldn't be keen on this. When he unloads he is a handful- Im tryin to improve but its from a racing and hunting life, travelling means fun! I would have to tack up and ride him or give a calmer.

Obviously every horse is different. So this one may have been fine. But i agree the police should have handled the traffic better before making suggestions. That is what they are trained to do-
good point about a bull- maybe no one would notice my boy is not a bull!

 

[Pinkvboots]

I think some police are just not aware of how horses can be, I wouldnt be happy getting my horses off and leading them down a busy road, one of mine would be fine but the other would freak he is not even ridden on the road.

A friend of mine got a phone call one morning saying the horses at her yard had got out of there field, when she got there one of the liveries horses had been hit by a police car, she later found out that the police had herded the horses out of a caravan park onto the road, totally stupid as they were much safer in the caravan park and the horse had panicked and run straight into the car unfortunately he had to be pts very sad.