Hacking, using/crossing main roads/dual carriageways or motorways, do you?

[Kat]

Yes, luckily don't need to at the moment but have in the past crossed over and under the A50 dual carriageway. Have also used canal, river and rail bridges, a level crossing, a ford, and a causeway. The horses get used to it, the tiny ford on a quiet lane causes most issues!

 

[Captain Bridget]

Oh gosh, that reminds me of when I used to do very long mad hacks on my old girl (in my brave days when I hacked for hours on my own!!). There was a railway line we needed to cross when using a certain bridle path and it was one of those crossings where I had to use the phone at the crossing to ask if there was a train coming or not. Many a time we would be stood in a field one side of the line waiting for a train to come before we could manually open the gates before walking across the track and phoning again to say we were clear. My worry was always that one of us would get stuck in the tracks while we were crossing. I'm not sure if that type of crossing is still around these days.

Those crossings still exist in some places. I had to cross one once with our walking group of 60/70 people, we had to cross in small groups and phone before and after each group crossed. This was crossing the East coast main line, which is SO fast! It scared me on foot, let alone on a horse!

The busiest road I ride on is probably the road I live on, it's a 30 limit but most people go much faster, at least 50 usually. I presume it's a B road but it cuts between two main A roads and gets big trucks and lots of farm traffic too.

 

[Willeeckers]

I used to hack my old boy over the M5 and the M50. The yard was based near strensham services so you didn't have much choice. The M5 crossing had about 10 lanes to cross as it was over the point where the M50 and services traffic merged. Despite being really rather a spooky monster the traffic never bothered him - he'd make more of a fuss over the metal strip across the tarmac joining the bridge to the road (Yes all 2 inches wide of it )

 

[Jingleballs]

I've hacked over and under the M8 motor way several times - pony was a bit unsure first time but doesn't bat an eyelid now.

 

[Hutchlou]

We have a river, a railway track & crossing & the A1 near to our yard, so any hack involves crossing one or more of these! Bit unnerving some days, but mostly ok!

 

[_MizElz_]

I used to live right on the M4 (and I mean RIGHT on it - the slip road fence was our field fence). My hacking consisted of riding over the motorway bridge on almost a daily basis...the bridge (which has since been demolished) having very unsecure three feet high walls

My friend and I used to regularly ride up the A road leading to the motorway, and, on one particularly mad occasion, we actually rode half way round Junction 16 so that we could get up onto the Downs

I look back now and think that we were actually mad....especially considering we were only 11/12 years old (albeit fairly sensible) .

 

[ThreeTB's]

Mine used to cross over the M6 with his previous owner, and is fab in heavy traffic, but was a little perturbed at a canal bridge when a boat went underneath us! I was very aware that the top of the bridge was level with my feet so if he spooked sideways I'd be going for a swim!

 

[YorksG]

Our riding club organised a ride, with all riders wearing decorated bra's (it was for the breast cancer charity), which crossed over the M62 twice the second time included a bridge which incorperated an 'off' slip road and a roundabout. All horses managed just fine, but a few of the riders had the wobbles We have ridden on many an A road and often ride under railway bridges with trains going over and down the side of the railway line. We also cross canal and river bridges, puddles do sometimes cause my mare to spook, but none of the other things do

 

[Pedantic]

Aside from my obvious hacking, I go under a few different bridges, most of the time no problem, I don't like going under a couple of railway bridges with trains going over though, can be a bit noisy.

 

[Shooting Star]

We used to have to cross the junction of the m25 & m3 on a bridge and the prize on the other side was meeting the rubbish trucks going into the tip (and access to the bridleway!) - bit hairy if you met the lorries on the bridge at times but the horses did get used to it.

no bridges now but we do have a 60mph road outside the yard with buses and a fairly constant stream of traffic going past to make up for the missed excitement and the boy deals with it just fine... even managed a high speed bus in one direction and two shires being driven the other way, I was holding my breath for that one but he didn't flinch and gave me a chance to admire the heavies

 

[Surreydeb]

Have to cross motorway bridges across M25. Horses don't bat an eyelid even when police cars with sirens go shooting underneath us!

 

[Lucyad]

I am quite happy to cross our dual carriageway on the bridges that are wide enough for cars, as you aren;t too close to the edge due to theere also being a footpath zone. I am also quite happy to cross the railway bridge, apart from when there is a goods train runing below (as they are long, fast and very noisy, so I wait until they have passed) Passenger trains are OK.

What makes me nervous is crossing the narrow footpath bridges over the dual cariageway, as the railings are shorter than my horse, so I feel like I am suspended in space with cars rushing below! It makes me rather dizzy, though my horese is not remotely bothered. I only do it when my 7 year old daughter insists, and I make her go in front on her pony and shut my eyes! (that is a very embarrassing confession!).

 

[LaurenBay]

I used to cross over the M25 at my old RS. All of the Horses were fine!

However I did have an accident on the bridge over the M11. I was on my first share Horse, she was a spooky thing and I was no where near enough experienced to ride her (I was young) and she spooked over the brigde, she shot sidewides and I lost my stirrups, she crushed my leg against the railing. I though I was gonna fall! The other Horse tried to kick her and thats what made her bolt off the other side. I am glad she did go forwards though instead of sideways as was very scary.

 

[Suechoccy]

Yep, my hacks have involved all of these, usually with trains and traffic passing as we're using them:

bridges over motorways (M11) and dual carriageways (A14, A11)

underpasses on the same motorways and dual carriageways

underpasses under London-Cambridge mainline railway line

level crossing on same line

a bridleway that runs parallel with London-highspeed-train route (Abbotts Ripton, Cambridge)

crossing the Epping Forest road in Essex, the A10 and A604 in Cambridge at grade (ie wait for a gap in the traffic). Drivers in all cases very good and slow down and wave us across.

cantering along gallops by Newmarket racecourse (it was the annual Macmillan pleasure ride) towards the windsock and having a small plane taxi up behind me and take off about 100yds to my right

100000000s of different sorts of gates, everything from easy to open from horseback to pieces of broken fence held togethr with knotted baler twine hinges and closing loop which you dismount and handle carefully!

various motorcycle stiles (boxes, planks, v-shapes, u-shapes, bollards...)

bird scarers (the ones that go BANG as you go past, the ones that look like metallic windmills, the ones that look like giant birds of prey, CDs on strings...)

cattle, sheep, llamas, donkeys, pigs, chickens, geese, ducks. I don't live near Marwell or Lympne but if I did I could add giraffes, zebras and elephants to the local what-you-can-see-from-your-local-bridleway list!

all good stuff and makes life interesting!