Grrr, some people are unbelievable!!! Two incidents of irresponsibilty in one day!!

My sympathies to you OP, my normaly very saintly pony actually spooked at a running horse two fields away the other day, she span and I came off on the verge. Fortuately I was ok and managed to keep hold of her. She is nearly 12 and this is a very very rare occurance.

Horses are horses and it could happen to anyone at any time

There's some right plonkers on the roads. I remember going out for a two hour hack years ago and meeting one or two drivers, now you meet one or two every minute :(
 
Aprilblossom you are very lucky, I have had a car move over to my side of the road and drive (at speed) straight at me and my horse, this was on a straight flat road at about 8am on a sunday summer morning & we were the only two road users that morning.

I had to hold it together and pray. yes he pulled back over to his side and didnt hit us (thankfully my horse was to lazy to make a fuss but it scared the **** out of me) so yes there are some utter eejits out there.
 
Cobrastyle said:
Me too, have to be up for work in 5 hours! Apologies if none of this makes sense :D

I am the aforementioned jockey that rode Moomin's mare. Her mare is a bit spooky on the road, but safe enough - all talk, no action.
We were approaching a bend in the road, and the mare had taken a dislike to something in the house on said bend. Happens, horses spook at everything! She'd been calm until then.

Landrover was approaching at national speed limit - fair enough, it is a country lane. I spotted it and waved for it to slow down, as did Moomin.
She didn't, until she was right up to us, then came skidding to a halt. She took great offence at being asked to slow down, and basically told us she was entitled to go above 30mph. Clearly the horse having a bit of a spook was nothing to worry about.
She then defended her driving by admitting she had horses and knew what she was doing!
After a slight altercation with Moomin, she then, without looking, proceeded to reverse into us to have another go! She clearly didn't see me on the, now very panicky, mare reversing on the road.

That's the bit that wound us up! She could see me having trouble, I couldn't be missed as was in hi-viz and white top, and Moomin was in hi-viz trousers. She just took some weird great offence at being asked to slow down?!


It's amazing really, as every other car that passed us treated us like the road users we were, and slowed down and gave us a wide berth, as per the highway code.

No exaggerations on mine or Moomin's part, it happened, honest guv! :cool:

Important thing is that we were all ok, but it's frustrating to say the least!

Hope that clears it all up a bit for those who are a bit concerned :) x
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Well I understood the OP and I've no idea why some people are being so unpleasant to her. Must be the time of year ... :rolleyes::p
 
Exactly why I don't hack out any more :-( complete idiots driving round near us using single track lanes as a cut through to avoid main A449 / M54 / A5 roads
 
AngieandBen said:
My sympathies to you OP, my normaly very saintly pony actually spooked at a running horse two fields away the other day, she span and I came off on the verge. Fortuately I was ok and managed to keep hold of her. She is nearly 12 and this is a very very rare occurance.

Horses are horses and it could happen to anyone at any time

There's some right plonkers on the roads. I remember going out for a two hour hack years ago and meeting one or two drivers, now you meet one or two every minute :(
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I took my nearly 29 year old out for a walk and a bite of grass on Sunday morning, her doing her usual slower than slow walk, half asleep and looking like Old Father Time - until a bird scarer went off more than 2 fields away and the she leaped in the air shot right across the road and proceeded to drag me home on my heels. So it can happen to ANYONE. This was on a "country lane" which is also a cut through and you wouldn't believe how many crashes there are on it by morons going like hell and failing to make the corners. For years, there was no fence to the field on one bend because so many people ended up in it. I have also been passed at high speed by a woman driver with one of those slow down for horses stickers in the window.
 
I was simply trying to understand the situation from a horse riders and car drivers view - to which i am both. I myself are entitled to disagree but instantly I am shot down in a aggressive manner and told I can't read!

Having ridden spooky horses myself I do believe not all should be on the roads - fields/country parks/bridle paths would be more suitable.
At the same time friends of mine lost a friend and two horses in Essex not so long ago when a van driver drove into them in a country lane one Sunday morning.

I just don't know any Land Rovers that can go flat out round bends!

I also don't understand if horse was not behaving then why was the cars on the road not asked to stop.

I personally prefer cars to continue to drive past me - even though it's nice and polite of them to wait stationary i prefer them to continue driving.
 
AprilBlossom said:
My two pence worth;

I don't wear hi viz, nor do I proceed to make a big fuss about asking cars to slow down if heaven forbid, I SEE one using the same area of road as me at the same time, I trust my horse and I trust the driver has enough basic intelligence (probably in 90% of cases) to not want to have an accident, clearing splattered horse or rider off their car would be a huge inconvenience, so continue as normal...almost as if I were on a bicycle using the road. Not too far out to be a pain in the ass, not shrinking into the kerb because I'm frightened.

I have never had a real issue with sharing road space, and have ridden in a number of counties on various roads. I attribute that to my attitude whilst on the road - I'm not rude, I'm not nervous, I'm not frightened, I'm just another road user and seem to be respected as that.

I also don't have the energy to get my knickers in a twist if a driver dares proceed past me at a speed higher than I would ideally choose, there's no point. I do thank all drivers who display courteous driving however. It's not rocket science.

I also acknowledge sometimes accidents happen, and sadly, we will never be able to stop every road accident, be it with another car, a horse, a motorbike, a cyclist etc. Getting shirty about every encounter you preciously describe as a 'near miss' (it's probably more accurately described as a 'far miss'...) is only going to irk drivers further. I know as a rider and driver there is nothing more infuriating than a sanctimonious bright yellow goon crying about my driving skills!!
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I wanted to leave this alone but seems I can't stop myself :(

While I agree with points about not overreacting where appropriate, there is the point to be made that you may well have been quite lucky never to have had a noteworthy issue on the road, whether in 'many counties' or one. Obviously they do occur very regularly, as proven in stats, and should be taken seriously when they happen.

But more so I'm just always plain puzzled when people consciously don't wear hi-vis and particularly when in this case, liken choosing to wear it to perceived overreactions and sanctimony :confused: It's a genuine pondering but honestly, it takes a few quid and what, ten seconds to put on a tabard and tail band? It's just if you're going to be calm and realistic about the risks of riding on the road and acknowledge such risks, why on earth wouldn't you take a small step towards reducing some of that and on the flip side, helping out other road users who also want to avert accidents by making yourself more visible? I'm a rider and driver same as you and think dealing with vulnerable road users is a two way street, like you infer. Frankly as a rider, I just see it as a consideration of other road users (not just drivers).

I don't want to get into the age-old stalemate debate again, particularly atm if people are worried about the HHO hysteria level running a little high :rolleyes: I just find your apparent dismissal of hi-vis in sharp contrast to an otherwise quite considered post.
 
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Really feel for you OP. At my old yard we had to go down two main roads before we could get to off-road hacking and most of the time the traffic was just fast and drove a bit close but now and again we got a nut job like the one you mentioned. I remember one 4x4 coming flying round a bend further up the road, so bad that he lost control of his vehicle and came on our side. I asked him to slow down with my arm and so he then drove straight at us. We had to leap onto the pavement to avoid him. Later on the hack (back on main road after off road stuff) we were trotting and a boy racer steered close to us and beeped his horn. We hadn't even asked him to slow or anything. These things do happen and can't understand why you got labelled a troll. I hope you have better luck next time when you hack, don't let it put you off.
 
amymay said:
**Whispers** I very rarely wear high viz.
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I was just surprised by what I saw as a juxtaposition in AB's post - I'm sure it can't have been meant to sound almost unconsidered at that point (because that would fox me even more and I don't like being confused :rolleyes:) but that's how it could have been read.

Getting off my soapbox for a sec, I used to hack friends' horses a handful of times on lanes without any. Shocker, I'm not perfect :D but am not blooming proud of having done so and certainly wouldn't ever again bc frankly it just doesn't add up for me. I'm trying not to be sanctimonious here :rolleyes: as I don't rule the world (yet) but while we're swapping views, there's my own two penneth.
 
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DosyMare said:
Having ridden spooky horses myself I do believe not all should be on the roads - fields/country parks/bridle paths would be more suitable.
At the same time friends of mine lost a friend and two horses in Essex not so long ago when a van driver drove into them in a country lane one Sunday morning.
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gosh where do you live to have access to all of these fields, country parks and bridle paths :eek:

sorry to hear you had a rubbish hack op, it's not nice to be unnerved like that. I am frequently pleased to be on my very traffic proof (but spooky :rolleyes:) pony. Even if despite being a paragon of virtue down the A38 and back he then proceeded to have a paddy about that darn donkey braying again on the local lane ;). By Dosymares theory I don't think anyone could ever hack on the road, given that odd things do happen which can make even the most sedate animal have a wobble.

And yes, on the road anyone age 14 and under must wear a hat.
 
ester said:
gosh where do you live to have access to all of these fields, country parks and bridle paths :eek:
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Essex! Brentwood.

I don't have a theory....

I just think riders can be irresponsible at the same time. Having seen a horse spook and rider full off - said horse galloped down the road 1 mile home
 
DosyMare said:
Essex! Brentwood.

I don't have a theory....

I just think riders can be irresponsible at the same time. Having seen a horse spook and rider fall off - said horse galloped down the road 1 mile home
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I completely agree with you. Riders can be irresponsible. As can car drivers, van drivers, cyclists, motorcyclists, even pedestrians......
 
excellent I shall head east! I had a friend who was near watford for some time and she always had much better access to offroad riding than we in the country ever did! :D

opinion maybe? theory might have been the wrong term?

It is responsible to do everything you can to stop you being a hazard to other road users, it just doesn't always work. Like everything it is weighing up the balance of risk and minimising it as much as poss.
 
In most cases if you cause an accident and you are not wearing hi viz or clothing that you can easily be seen in, you're insurance will be invalid. The driver can easily argue that he did't see you.

I forget whose avatar has a two horses, one with hi viz the other without. tbh I didn't even notice there was another horse in the picture!
 
DosyMare said:
Essex! Brentwood.

I don't have a theory....
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Blimey where are you hacking :eek:

I hack in the Brentwood direction often and whilst some of it is nice, it all involves lots of roadwork. FWIW, I'm not bothered by speeding cars etc provided they don't actually hit my horses :mad: so roadwork's not a problem, but if there's better hacking out there, I want to know :p :D

eta - OP, that's about the third post of mine on this thread which is entirely unhelpful to you... My apologies. Please don't feel persecuted or intimidated by the clearly "cliquey" conversations going on around you or feel that in some way I have it in for you.

I might have to put that in my sig :rolleyes: :D
 
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Some drivers reactions don't fail to amaze me any more, several years ago when I was a Traffic Warden :o:o back before we became an extinct species (don't ever associate me with the Civil Enforcement Parking Officers we have now) and it was amazing the change in some drivers if you dared to criticise their parking/driving they became screaming banshees. Am sure they wouldn't have reacted so badly if I had called them a paedophile or a rapist!! :eek::eek:
 
AngieandBen said:
In most cases if you cause an accident and you are not wearing hi viz or clothing that you can easily be seen in, you're insurance will be invalid. The driver can easily argue that he did't see you.
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As far as I'm aware this has yet to be tested in court...... And is always the subject of some hysteria and discussion on here.:rolleyes:
 
AngieandBen said:
In most cases if you cause an accident and you are not wearing hi viz or clothing that you can easily be seen in, you're insurance will be invalid. The driver can easily argue that he did't see you.

I forget whose avatar has a two horses, one with hi viz the other without. tbh I didn't even notice there was another horse in the picture!
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In the county I live in, it seems a snobbery thing. Happy hackers on cobs and natives tend to ride in Hi Viz, while competitive riders who look rather wonderful on smart, well muscled TB and warmblood types do not. They tend to favour dark bays and wear similarly dark colours.
I'm often amazed to see staff from local competition yards riding clients (expensive) horses on busy country roads in poor visibility with no hi viz.
I wonder if the owners mind ?
 
I'm always amazed that 'staff' are ever permitted off yard without any hi viz on, imagine it could be a HSE nightmare re the correct attire not being provided if something happened, and think this why most race yards now use hi vis?
 
Misschaos, I have no intentions of starting an argument or anything - simply, I have no reason I don't wear hi viz if I'm honest, I just don't have anything on yard that is hi viz.
I appreciate I'm probably at one end of the scale by wearing no hi viz, and the 'santcimonious' types I refer to are those who must be at completely the other end of the scale with their head to toe hi viz at quite an extreme. The middle ground people I have a lot of respect for.
Fully appreciate being pulled up on my wording :) Not intended with any tone, just stating my position (and as I've said I can't and won't try justify why I don't wear hi viz!)
 
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