Horses going over a motorway bridge

[marooncat]

Not sure if I want to confess this or not..

I am so conditioned to slow down when I am driving and see a horse being ridden near the road that I slowed down at the weekend when on the motorway and there was a few people riding over one of the bridges over the motorway. Opps...

 

[Shantara]

Haha! I slowed down on my driving lesson today...so the car wouldn't spook at the bin with the flappy bag. Woopsie!

 

[Oberon]

I went over a motorway bridge as part of a charity ride in 2007.

I don't like bridges at the best of times.

The Tank was 5 at the time and it was a new experience for him.

He did really well, nervous but brave, until I let him down by completely freaking out.

Halfway across it dawned on me that if he spooked and I fell over the side I WOULD DIE.

I got off and walked him across - of course he was terrified by this time because I was terrified, so he danced sideways...freaking me out even more.

On the way back was the same. I walked him across straight away and he flinched each time a car wizzed underneath him.

It was the worst freaking experience of my life and I still get flashbacks of terror from it.

Never again

 

[nikicb]

I often have to ride across a motorway bridge and my pony doesn't mind. But I ALWAYS get off and remount the other side. Would rather be safe than sorry.

 

[Lintel]

Haha! I slowed down on my driving lesson today...so the car wouldn't spook at the bin with the flappy bag. Woopsie!

Priceless!
I do the same thing- thankfully I don't have too spooky a boy but I slow down for bikes and dogs on leads- because they might spook!
Good Luck with the lessons and(test soon?) passed mine last month, the best thing I have ever done.. other than buying the Pudding

 

[ivandenisovich10]

I Have to go over at least one motorway bridge if not two every time we hack out, our hacking is rubbish. First few times I was more nervous than mr laid back tb, I can feel him looking at things but now I just sing to him and I think it makes both of us feel better.(Well me anyway) they are on good visibility from the lanes so mostly I ride in the middle of the road to cross them. Can't say I like them but unfortunately they are part of our daily routine!

 

[Pedantic]

We have no problems to date

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvUL7NpxOWw

in case you haven't seen it

 

[gocharliego]

On most hacks we go on we have to cross flyovers/motorway bridges, which is annoying, but C doesn't care about the traffic as everytime he spooks at the metal strip in the middle and does a stupidly big walk over it bcos It's so scary!!

I do find it amusing when you look down to see people pointing and waving, not so amusing though when people honk their horns.

 

[PoniesRock]

We go over the motorway bridge most times we hack out, our hackings a bit rubbish, but if u cross the bridge u can get to the woods I've been riding over it for 5 years or so and it still scares me!!

 

[touchstone]

I also have to cross at least one on my hacks, never had a problem with it.

 

[Bionic Boy]

We have a motorway bridge on one of our hacks and whilst I would say my boy doesn’t particularly like it he doesn’t do anything apart from tense up a little bit.

He can’t seem to get his head around the vehicles going underneath him

 

[Supertrooper]

Pedantic - I love your video, your boy is so chilled and you are so good too. That's how to be when hacking out xx

 

[ester]

lol, nothing like slowing for a good nosey .

We have a few to do sometimes.. the bridges are never an issue the big bag of grit the other side however .. Terrifying! .

The only issue we have with one is that it isn't very wide (single track road plus a bit!) and given that they aren't high sided I prefer to not be on the far left (but on the horse, he is easier than when off), most people are very good at waiting.. others well I wonder if they saw me .

We did have fun with the railway bridge the other day, got caught out by a high speed and long train, Mum's mare is not the bravest with big traffic and I thought I might see her high tailing it down the road.. but no apparently trains are fine .

When I am old I am going to live on a hill in the middle of nowhere .

 

[xxMozlarxx]

We have no problems to date

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvUL7NpxOWw

in case you haven't seen it

Wow! brave

 

[nomad]

i have rubbish hacking all roadwork.2 ways to go over the m62 or under through a tunnel.all my tbs will go although they are tenser going under rather than over

 

[MrsMozart]

The only time Dizz has bucked was on a motorway bridge over the M1. It was interesting.

We go over them quite a lot and so long as we're chilled the horses are too

OP I know what you mean . I'm always tempted to slow as well lol.

 

[BeckyMason97]

I have to cross the M6 on one of my hacks, horses are fine! Took my 3yo over on her 3rd ever hack, she wouldn't go in the woods but walked straight over the bridge! I wouldn't like to ride my 6yo over though, she likes to buck a bit too much!

 

[Ruth_Cymru]

I once rode over a narrow, railed pedestrian bridge that went over the M4 when I was about 14- one of the stupidest things I've done on horseback- luckily the horse I was riding was a saint. I shudder to think what would have happened if my horse had decided to spook or panic, there wasn't even enough room to turn a horse around on it.

 

[Jesstickle]

We cross the bridge over the dual carriage way every time we hack. It's got a busy roundabout on it too. The horses don't bat an eyelid. It's quite astounding really. None of them has ever been bothered, even the first time they were asked to do it. Show BH a leaf the wrong way up on the other hand...

 

[Dubsie]

To get to the only half decent bit of hacking for miles, we have to cross the main Paddington line, first on a blind road bridge that's been kindly supplied with lights to control cars - not horses you have to chance your luck and jump the red lights or cross behind cars and meet cars coming the other way as the lights change back, then double back down a lane back over the railway, the cutting is probably 100ft deep at that point and the sides of the bridge no more than 2ft 6 - the bridge is probably 12ft wide fortunately so they aim for the middle and don't look down. As the ponies have already ridden 45mins from home and they know it's a decent gallop the other side so they can't wait to get across and don't look down either, but I'm not keen on that bridge!

 

[Bernster]

I know that feeling! I hack over the A1 and sometimes alongside the M25 on a bridle path. Lovely to be out in the countryside eh...

Even more entertaining when we get the local bus go past us as we're going over the bridge! Fortunately my boy is 100% in traffic so it's just me peering over the side, thinking about all those cars whizzing by underneath me and what would happen if we had a moment!

 

[EquiGal92]

Haha! I slowed down on my driving lesson today...so the car wouldn't spook at the bin with the flappy bag. Woopsie!

I shout "WOAH WOAH" to the car should I need to slow down and its not stopping LOL

 

[Lexie81]

I'm lucky I don't have to cross any bridges but it always frightens me seeing people doing it! I'm rubbish with heights though which probably explains it. Think I would definitely get off and lead if I had to cross one.
Last summer while on hols at my mums house in France we all went on a bike ride. She and her partner were absolutely ripping it out of me for 'clicking' at my bike to encourage it. Totally forgot I wasn't on my horse! Its like when I go to the yard after work and start signing at my horses as I'm still in work mode (work with children with special needs) strangely the horses don't understand me!

 

[Mythical]

I sometimes catch myself giving my bike or my car a pat for "good boy/girl" when it's overtaken something, or got to the top of a hill and coming down a hill on my bike, I'll keep trying to half halt with the outside rein and wonder why it's not slowing down - I'm also in the habit of "talking down the reins" through the brakes on my bike, but that's just because that's been drilled into my head recently.

Sort of related - my little fingers will never join in with the rest of them - for example if I pick my backpack/handbag up by the strap - it automatically goes behind the strap and as far as I can remember, always has - anyone else get this?
Is it a horsey thing, or is it just natural and all humans do it??

 

[Shantara]

Haha, i do the little finger thing too sometimes when im at work and theres a quiet spell, i find myself holding the shopping bags like reins!

my friend and i had to cross an extremely high bridge the other day, it was so scary! Horse didn't care though! She got off to lead it across, the railing came to knee height when mounted, so she would have been over if the horse had done something!