hacking on roads

[throwawayaccount]

i've always loved hacking out and rarely had any issues (years ago obviously!) I can only speak going back the last 15 years, but the roads were not as congested as they are now, OK there were some idiots but... now its terrible. you still come across some lovely folk who give you enough space, and are courteous - but other drivers either don't think or are just arrogant.

on an early morning hack on a sunday, we came across several terrible drivers (all 70s+) including one who nearly took me out. i spend the whole ride only half enjoying it because i'm constantly on the lookout /being hyper aware.

has anyone else stopped hacking because of the roads getting worse? we have police around the area, and it feels like no matter how awareness is raised people are still arrogant and come back with "Well horses shouldn't be on the road."

the BHS have already reported a few horse related deaths this year alone, from the roads. its february!! is this ever going to get better?

 

[poiuytrewq]

I only hack on the roads at the moment.
Roads are almost my safe place! I’m very lucky where I live that the villages are fairly quiet and 90% of the drivers are either very good or at least acknowledge us. There are few times I can honestly say I’ve been scared or thought that wa close, but yes there have been times and I avoid a certain road that’s used as a RAF cut through for that reason!

 

[throwawayaccount]

it definitely makes all the difference with quiet roads. there are a few quiet estates to go around, but getting there not so much.

 

[Julia0803]

I got a head cam. Just a chill one that was recommended on here.

On the rare occasions we’ve had an idiot driver I’ve sent the footage to the local police- they have a webpage where you fill in a form then email them the footage. They said they would take action- either a fine or points.

I’m lucky in that Coblet is pretty bombproof to traffic (except ponies being driven, which he’s genuinely really afraid of!)

I have also got more…. Maybe assertive regarding road placement and our right to be there. Eg if we’re going through the village estate and there’s a section where there are cars parked on the other side, so our right of way, I won’t hug the kerb as it encourages drivers to try and squeeze in the gap with 30cm between my stirrup and the car. I now put us in the middle of the road so they don’t even try it.

Obviously we pull over when we can to let cars past (the above section is maybe 15m so not long for them to wait) but I don’t try and shrink too much or drivers seem to see it as an excuse to try dangerous manoeuvres.

 

[canteron]

I do - but am very aware and will get off if i hear something coming too fast.
I do wear hi-viz and I very very clear with my signals - asking them to slow and letting them know I am turning off soon.
You are right, it’s the oldies who seem to have no awareness / brakes!

 

[Gallop_Away]

Unfortunately while we are surrounded by miles of forestry, mountain routes, and quiet country lanes, we have to ride a short distance on the road to reach off road hacking.
Most drivers are amazing, but it feels like there is always one idiot each time we ride out.
I've invested in a helmet camera and always wear hiviz. Also do not be afraid to ride in the centre of the road to avoid people trying to squeeze past where it is too narrow to pass safely.
I always say thank you and smile at drivers that show patience and courtesy. I'm more than happy to trot on and pull in where possible to let cars pass and will wave cars around me if it is safe to do so. I feel it's give and take. Everyone has just as much right to use the road so should always be polite and courteous to each other.
My horses are amazing in traffic. They don't bat an eyelid at anything we meet on the road and I frequently get asked to escort more nervous horses out on rides from the yard. But that said I never let my guard down on the roads. My horses I trust implicitly, other people, not a jot.

 

[ycbm]

I load up to travel somewhere to hack in order to avoid dangerous roads. My two routes I've tried so far are very quiet lanes.

 

[Abacus]

When facing oncoming traffic I make sure I make eye contact, make it obvious that I've seen the driver and use signals where relevant. That sort of engagement makes them see you as human rather than as an obstacle to their journey.

 

[Peglo]

Last summer was the worst I’ve seen for traffic. My lovely little horse and myself started getting anxious on the roads as every time something happened. Biggest offenders were campervans. They just didn’t slow and were big and so infuriating. Fortunately my horse is very greedy so if I heard a car I started letting her eat the verge. It took 2 cars for her to realise cars meant food and it stopped both of us worrying so much.

It’s just so sad as it used to be so safe here and everyone looked out for each other. The parish we live in is a dead end (only just connected to the mainland by a little bit of road) so not a busy through road. But of course there is lots of lovely drivers who I appreciate so much taking the time to look after us.

ETA I must get a camera. And report incidents to bhs.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I don't hack on roads anymore I literally do a few yards on our lane just to get in the woods now, they drive like maniacs near us and 1 of my horses hates any sort of traffic so I just don't risk it.

 

[Fieldlife]

I am pretty lucky, as I am in racehorse area, so there is a fair amount of awareness of horses, and appropriate driving. The majority of cars are almost too courteous, pulling over and turning engine off on quiet lanes! My horse is car proof!

Do get the odd idiot (a few months ago I nearly got taken out by the hay and muck man speeding with muck trailer round a blind bend on single track lane!! He skidded to a stop!!)

My horse is good with dogs / bikes / motor bikes / cars / vans / lorries / trailers etc. I do think we owe it to everyone's safety to make sure our horses are good with these things. [Trickier I appreciate after horse has had a bad experience].

I sometimes meet a couple local horses on a single track lane in my lorry, and they glare at me, like I shouldnt be on the road (I am one of many lorries using lane for access to where horse lives). Their horses make a huge deal about passing my fairly small lorry even when I have stopped, and turned engine off etc.

 

[humblepie]

I choose my times and wear a lot of hi viz. Some of the worst I meet are car and horse trailer drivers going to local show centre . On the whole most fine thought.

 

[Boughtabay]

Unfortunately while we are surrounded by miles of forestry, mountain routes, and quiet country lanes, we have to ride a short distance on the road to reach off road hacking.
Most drivers are amazing, but it feels like there is always one idiot each time we ride out.
I've invested in a helmet camera and always wear hiviz. Also do not be afraid to ride in the centre of the road to avoid people trying to squeeze past where it is too narrow to pass safely.
I always say thank you and smile at drivers that show patience and courtesy. I'm more than happy to trot on and pull in where possible to let cars pass and will wave cars around me if it is safe to do so. I feel it's give and take. Everyone has just as much right to use the road so should always be polite and courteous to each other.
My horses are amazing in traffic. They don't bat an eyelid at anything we meet on the road and I frequently get asked to escort more nervous horses out on rides from the yard. But that said I never let my guard down on the roads. My horses I trust implicitly, other people, not a jot.

same situation & though my horses are and have always been good in traffic the short spots of fast/busy road I have to negotiate at the start of each ride where I live now do put me off and make me quite nervous I’ve hardly ridden over winter due to the worry of going out in not ideal lighting/poor weather as a result. I just don’t trust drivers and have experienced some shocking driving since moving here. It’s not just handling your horse safely anymore, you have to second guess what every vehicle around you is about to do too! Now the days are getting longer I’ll probably go out more either side of peak driving times. Makes me miss my teens riding from home and being able to go for miles only crossing a few back roads!!

 

[AntiPuck]

This was a big factor in me moving yards as my horse was getting anxious about going on to a busy road.

I still use quiet roads, thankfully no busy or fast ones anymore.

I always wear my Techalogic hat cam, and tonnes of mixed-colour hi Viz on me and the horse, including a tabard with a huge speed cam symbol on it, and rarely have any problems these days, fingers crossed it stays that way. I wear all of this even if we're going out in-hand. I do think we have a responsibility to make ourselves as visible as s possible, it's careless how little effort I see some riders putting in, and cyclists for that matter too.

I also report to the police the footage of anyone who drives like a twat, and a fair few have been subsequently actioned.

 

[scruffyponies]

The roads are much quieter than pre-lockdown. Not just less traffic but there are far more bikes, joggers and random folk standing around in the road (rural lanes and villages) than there used to be - our local drivers have learned to be ready for anything. This has reduced average speeds and made riding on the roads more pleasant.

If I hear someone approaching too fast, I make myself visible (on the wrong side of the road if necessary), so that I'm clearly an obstacle. Even the dumbest drivers brake by instinct. Had one the other week; a middle aged bloke in a bright orange Lotus Elise. He was doing 50+ heading into a 30 zone 50 yards from where it becomes a 20. I KNOW he was ready to shoot right past us, but my fat butt in his overtaking lane gave him little choice but to wait until I let him past.
He now thinks that horse riders are crazy and unpredictable... which should make him brake earlier next time.

Thankfully butt-heads like that are few and far between.

 

[scats]

We have the most horrendous main road that the road from our farm leads out on to. I will only hack two road routes from our farm. One involves crossing this road, but takes you to a quiet circular route. The other involves avoiding the road by nipping across a grass verge and then crossing the adjoining lane. About 50 yards along this lane and you reach a residential road that again has a nice circular route.
I prefer to do these either early Sunday morning (winter) or late evening Sunday (summer).
Even doing these routes, you meet the occasional idiot.
Unfortunately my horse can be a bit nappy and silly, so main roads are a no go for her.

Other than that, I box to the shore (1 mile) and then ride some of the quieter residential roads there.

 

[JFTDWS]

I'm currently spending more time on the roads, because all the bridleways are chaos with out of control dogs. Mine are all good with dogs and used to hacking out with my own, but it's a bloody nightmare when they're constantly popping out of hedges, hurtling at you across fields, hanging off tails and snapping at legs... I'd rather do battle with the traffic - although not by much

 

[scats]

I'm currently spending more time on the roads, because all the bridleways are chaos with out of control dogs. Mine are all good with dogs and used to hacking out with my own, but it's a bloody nightmare when they're constantly popping out of hedges, hurtling at you across fields, hanging off tails and snapping at legs... I'd rather do battle with the traffic - although not by much

Dogs are becoming a real problem for riders. The amount of incidents that happen around here due to dogs is shocking.

 

[smolmaus]

We only have on road hacking. Mare was only backed last summer and at that point there were only 2 others on the yard even being ridden for company so we didn't get out a lot and every single time there was an idiot speeding past, including one that we had to report to the police as he was 6 inches from hitting me. Police got an apology off him and I bought a headcam but still haven't been out since. Pony is still fine with traffic, but I'm not.

Trying to find somewhere within 30mins of me where you aren't on a rat-run road is proving very difficult.

 

[Fieldlife]

The roads are much quieter than pre-lockdown. Not just less traffic but there are far more bikes, joggers and random folk standing around in the road (rural lanes and villages) than there used to be - our local drivers have learned to be ready for anything. This has reduced average speeds and made riding on the roads more pleasant.

If I hear someone approaching too fast, I make myself visible (on the wrong side of the road if necessary), so that I'm clearly an obstacle. Even the dumbest drivers brake by instinct. Had one the other week; a middle aged bloke in a bright orange Lotus Elise. He was doing 50+ heading into a 30 zone 50 yards from where it becomes a 20. I KNOW he was ready to shoot right past us, but my fat butt in his overtaking lane gave him little choice but to wait until I let him past.
He now thinks that horse riders are crazy and unpredictable... which should make him brake earlier next time.

Thankfully butt-heads like that are few and far between.

that’s brave! I’d be scared are looking at phone not road snd would plough into us!

 

[Annagain]

All my horses have been brilliant in traffic, it's the one thing I won't compromise on. Because of this, I do still hack on roads but I certainly don't hack during rush hour as our lanes are a rat run to avoid traffic jams on the main roads. I have a hat cam (a cheap one my OH bought me and I can't understand how to make it work but just having it makes drivers drive more carefully, particularly those driving towards us). When there was all the publicity about changes to the Highway Code a few months back, I really noticed a difference but people seem to be slipping back to their old way now.

I had two bad ones on Sunday - one a d1ck in a bright blue Audi with a personalised plate and huge exhuasts etc. He slowed down when he saw us only to floor it, complete with wheel spin when he was level with my friend's horse's back legs (they were behind us). The second was an ancient woman who clearly had no spacial awareness. She was driving towards us and slowed down a bit but was still doing about 15-20mph and despite the fact that the lane is wide enough for two cars, she was driving straight down the middle of the road so passed us (we should have been on the opposite side of the road to her) so closely I could have kicked her wing mirror. She seemed totally oblivious to the fact that she was half way on the wrong side of the road. Of the two, I think she was worse because at least the d1ck knew what he should be doing.

 

[SEL]

I think its got a lot worse in recent years. Volume of traffic but also people who have no idea how to drive on country roads. I got side swiped in my car the other day by someone who was going round a bend right over the white lines. I had nowhere to go, his wing mirror caught my car and of course he drove off at speed.

I'm very assertive riding on the roads and will ride in the middle of the lane until its safe to pull over. The ponies have a pink and yellow quarter sheet in all weathers and I have an orange jacket. I got camera money for my birthday and once I've sorted that I'm getting a new orange tabard with the camera sign on it. Even the old blokes who drive up my backside give more room if they think they might get reported to the police and I would have loved to upload footage from Sunday of the lady coming round the bend too fast with her phone on her shoulder.

When baby cob turned up he was used to hacking around farmland on his own but not on the roads. We went out in hand a lot in those first few months and we'd go to the side of the road, stop and have a treat every time a car or bike came past (he was terrified of cyclists). He now knows to pull over and wait for the car to pass under saddle and he's had some shocking drivers go past him. I have a young horse in training tabard on and it means absolutely nothing to most drivers. I make sure I put my brave pants on at least weekly because the more he does on the roads the better he gets.

We have a lovely route crossing two main roads and I'll only do those on the microcob on Sunday mornings. She's pretty unflappable but last time out we had a car revving up her backside while we were waiting to cross a stream of traffic. Thankfully another driver brought the traffic to a halt and let us cross but I was furious with the guy behind. He had small kids in the car too.

 

[Annagain]

It's also quite scary how few drivers realise that the rules are different for horses and that we approach things in different ways. We have a few roundabouts to navigate on a couple of routes. We turn right (2nd exit) at them. Technically, we should stay to the outside (left) of the roundabout all the way round (while indicating right) but if we stay to the left we get so many cars either pulling out in front of us as we come past the first exit (not awful as we usually see it in plenty of time to stop) or worse, we get drivers taking the first exit thinking we are doing the same and try to overtake us on the roundabout so nearly take us out as we continue on past the first exit. We now approach the roundabout as a car does (putting ourselves in danger of becoming the meat in a car sandwich as we have them on both sides of us), in the right hand lane and take the inside lane round the roundabout as it's what cars expect, even if it's wrong.

Same with turning right, technically we should stay on the left until the road is clear to turn across but the number of cars that pass us on the right as we're waiting (or even as we're turning, despite us signalling) is terrifying. We now go to the middle of the road to stop the cars behind us and make it clear we're turning right. Again, putting ourselves in danger but it's the lesser of two evils.

 

[Glitterandrainbows]

I have to go on a extremely busy road to get to any hacking so I haven’t been put on my own as there’s just too much risk with my mare been young

 

[Cortez]

You couldn't pay me to hack on the road, and I live in rural Ireland, not in a built up, busy urban area! It's more than 20 years since I last had a horse out on the roads, the traffic is not ever going to get better, only worse, and it's just too dangerous.

 

[Hallo2012]

rarely hack up and down my own (rat run) road, but do box up to quieter lanes and to off road hacking.

its worse year on year....

 

[FitzyFitz]

I always found the roads I hated the most were the twisty single track back roads that are usually quiet, until some idiot comes belting along it going wide on the blind bends because they don't expect to see anyone.
Mine are all very traffic proof so odd as it sounds I prefer busier roads where the drivers may not be expecting to see a horse but they'll be expecting to see SOMETHING be it walker, cyclist, schoolkids, other cars etc

Luckily where I am now is very quiet and rural, had one prat come bombing along a back street a few months back but to my shock he anchored up then rolled down his window and apologised for going so fast. Did also have one squeeze between me and a parked flatbed lorry unloading machinery recently with inches to spare but luckily I was on my extra bombproof steed that day. The big lorries and farm machinery can make it a bit interesting getting past but I don't miss the crazy taxi drivers and cyclists zooming by with inches to spare where I used to live!

Tons of hi-vis, always, and I ride in the middle of the lane not by the kerb so people can see me better and have to pass me like any other vehicle. Too many idiots who'll try and squeeze by when someones in the other lane.

 

[Barton Bounty]

I hack on road and im damn sure idiotic drivers will not push me off! Always wear tons of hi viz.
Get a head cam and always wear it. ANY issues go straight to the police who are more than happy to call on them.

 

[Birker2020]

i've always loved hacking out and rarely had any issues (years ago obviously!) I can only speak going back the last 15 years, but the roads were not as congested as they are now, OK there were some idiots but... now its terrible. you still come across some lovely folk who give you enough space, and are courteous - but other drivers either don't think or are just arrogant.

on an early morning hack on a sunday, we came across several terrible drivers (all 70s+) including one who nearly took me out. i spend the whole ride only half enjoying it because i'm constantly on the lookout /being hyper aware.

has anyone else stopped hacking because of the roads getting worse? we have police around the area, and it feels like no matter how awareness is raised people are still arrogant and come back with "Well horses shouldn't be on the road."

the BHS have already reported a few horse related deaths this year alone, from the roads. its february!! is this ever going to get better?

Its like that by us, we have two National Trust places, one half a mile away that use our road as a cut through and another about a mile and a half away. They are mainly frequented by what I call 'Sunday morning drivers' those elderly folk that don't get out much during the week and only dither about driving annoyingly and haven't much clue how to pass a horse.

 

[SOS]

Having hacked on lots of different roads (worked for various yards and had horses at a variety of yards) I have found that within a county alone the safety of the roads can vary greatly!

I try not to hack on roads with no verges and always trot around sharp/blinder bends. Roads used for commutes and school runs always seem to have worse drivers - in a rush?? - so we avoid them, particularly during rush hours.

I used to be quite assertive and put my horse in the road to slow people down. However seeing how some people drive when I am driving or riding or walking, I realise now that many people have no concern for their own safety, let alone mine or a horses. I wear hi-viz and will give signals but with several horses hit in this county in the last year I will not rely on someone slowing down now.

My wonder is always, you may not care about horses or livestock or dogs in the road, you may not even care about children or people around that blind bend you are going around too fast, however it gets to a point where you are going so fast even the expected (other cars, a large farm vehicles, tractors) would be impossible to avoid. And that’s when other people driving scares me - as they would likely come off worse and still drive dangerously.

Interesting you say it’s older drivers, who were likely driving in days past when it was perceived safer for horses to be on the road. What’s changed to make them worse? Does there need to be a second driving test?