How's this for too close for comfort?

The lorry driver was at fault and the white car driver should not have stopped, when riding o the road though you have to 'Occupy' your side of the road, walking your horse along in the gutter does encourage drivers to squeeze past but if you dominate your space they are less inclined to.

I would have taken up my side of the road stopping the lorry from squeezing past and trotted up the hill to get to a safe passing place as quickly as I could without holding up the traffic any longer than needed.
 
I know that they have commented on their own facebook page to links of the video " Good morning we will investigate this incident and take apriopate action. In the meantime we just can apologize for this unacceptable behaviour our driver has caused."
 
The rider also is in part responsible. She moved over to allow the driver through. One might imagine that he accepted the invitation and continued. Had she or any of us who take horses on to the public highway positioned herself so that there was no room, then he would have had no choice but wait.

I'm NOT defending the driver, I'm just saying that he accepted an invitation to overtake. The driver was patient and hung back, until the rider made room for him. A lesson for all riders, perhaps. No, I wouldn't have made use of the space which was made available, but then I keep horses. Perhaps the driver doesn't.

Alec.
 
I honestly belive that alot of drivers aren;t educated enough in how to treat horses and other livestock on the roads.

I hope the company realise what could have happened and implement some kind of training.

I too would have positioned my self in the middle of my lane to prevent the driver from passing and proceeded at trot. Infact I did this on Saturday when hacking 200m down the road to my lesson. I put my hand back and asked the driver to slow then trotted on and idicated I was turning left. I thanksed him and he thanksed me as he passed. IME some drivers appreciate some direction from riders on how to proceed.

My horse would ahve gone ape in that scenario and I've no doubt we'd have ended up under the wheels of that lorry.
 
Stockers said:
…….. . Infact I did this on Saturday when hacking 200m down the road to my lesson. I put my hand back and asked the driver to slow then trotted on and idicated I was turning left. I thanksed him and he thanksed me as he passed. IME some drivers appreciate some direction from riders on how to proceed.

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There yer go, …….. simple common sense and courtesy! Well done Stockers. Far too many who take horses on the public highway forget that were they driving a car, they'd advise others of their intentions. We have to accept a certain responsibility for ourselves and our safety, it really shouldn't be that difficult.

Alec.
 
AmberThePony said:
For most people it would have been ok to just trot on, but my mare would be scared and we would most likely end up bolting up the road.
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Well in that case you really shouldn't have it on the road! Fair is fair. As horse riders we want respect but how can we get respect if we have horses that can't trot on past a car and into a better situation for the lorry to pass?
 
FfionWinnie said:
Well in that case you really shouldn't have it on the road! Fair is fair. As horse riders we want respect but how can we get respect if we have horses that can't trot on past a car and into a better situation for the lorry to pass?
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She is generally very safe and I can trot her past a car but with a huge lorry on her bum if I start pushing her on she's going to think we're running away from it. You have to remember horses are flight animals.
 
When I watched the video I was thinking I'd have stopped as soon as the white car did to let the lorry through, but I can't decide whether there's room or not. I would probably also have needed to dismount as we're lacking confidence a bit from not hacking for several years.

I always try and stop to let vehicles/other road users pass us but sometimes it's difficult because you have to get to the safe passing point first. As the country roads around us get busier it's becoming more of an issue as the cars are never small!
 
AmberThePony said:
She is generally very safe and I can trot her past a car but with a huge lorry on her bum if I start pushing her on she's going to think we're running away from it. You have to remember horses are flight animals.
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Horses are flight animals, but trotting away from a lorry shouldn't activate 'run away' mode if rider is in control.
 
AmberThePony said:
She is generally very safe and I can trot her past a car but with a huge lorry on her bum if I start pushing her on she's going to think we're running away from it. You have to remember horses are flight animals.
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It wasn't "on her bum" had she taken action straight away to block the road and trot past this would have sent a clear message to the lorry that it couldn't pass.

Now yes it may still have sat right behind her but frankly the horse has to stand that because the lorry IS going to be right behind it probably using its air brakes when passing along side it, even if the driver had not forced past the horse.

Yes the driver in this instance was wrong or ignorant but you are also wrong with your scenario.

This horse clearly is safe in traffic and that is the only reason this rider is still in one piece.

I have one horse that would not be able to tolerate a lorry passing even correctly, on a road that narrow, so I do not put her in a situation where she would have to. This means if I am on the road with her, I take the action I already mentioned, to prevent the vehicle passing and get into a layby or opening. I only ride her on a road which has sufficient passing places to do this reasonably without holding up another road user and if I was for some unforeseen circumstance, going to hold up another road user I would dismount immediately and allow them past.
 
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I will trot on if I see a larger vehicle coming along the road until I find somewhere to turn in, but my mare is on restricted turnout at the moment and is full of beans which ended up with me having to put a lot of force into stopping her cantering along a lane the other day when I let a tractor pass. In the summer she is a saint and on 24/7 turnout so I can control her easier in trot out hacking and she won't even look at larger vehicles. I'm sorry my horse isn't a robot, but I won't be commenting further as I need to go and tend to my `real life` animals.
 
AmberThePony said:
I will trot on if I see a larger vehicle coming along the road until I find somewhere to turn in, but my mare is on restricted turnout at the moment and is full of beans which ended up with me having to put a lot of force into stopping her cantering along a lane the other day when I let a tractor pass. In the summer she is a saint and on 24/7 turnout so I can control her easier in trot out hacking and she won't even look at larger vehicles. I'm sorry my horse isn't a robot, but I won't be commenting further as I need to go and tend to my `real life` animals.
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So not a "flight response" at all then, but a lack of training and appropriate exercise.
 
The white car has stopped to let the rider pass - there is no reason I can see for the truck to squeeze past.
This is why I never ride on roads anymore - you can't predict an idiot driving along.
 
Stockers said:
I too would have positioned my self in the middle of my lane to prevent the driver from passing and proceeded at trot. Infact I did this on Saturday when hacking 200m down the road to my lesson. I put my hand back and asked the driver to slow then trotted on and idicated I was turning left. I thanksed him and he thanksed me as he passed. IME some drivers appreciate some direction from riders on how to proceed.

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If they understand what you mean - some drivers don't understand hand signals.

Recently I was on a blind bend and a car came up behind me, not safe for them to pull out and overtake as you can't see what is coming. As I was close to a bridlepath I trotted and then signalled I was turning right into the bridlepath, made what I thought was a very clear signal - outstretched right arm, no movement just held out to indicate I am turning right. The driver interpreted this as a signal to overtake me on the blind bend. Luckily nothing was coming. The van driver behind her did understand it and waited till I had turned. He even slowed down to comment on the other driver and said my signal had been clear.

I too might have positioned myself to block the driver but I wouldn't have assumed they know the signals.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Well in that case you really shouldn't have it on the road! Fair is fair. As horse riders we want respect but how can we get respect if we have horses that can't trot on past a car and into a better situation for the lorry to pass?
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With all due respect I dont understand this logic. Surely in order to get a horse comfortable with roads and traffic it needs to actually get out and see it? :/
My mare is 4 and hasnt done much road work. In the summer I intend to start going out with her in the evenings when the roads are quiet. I anticipate we may have some spooky moments but its the only way to get her used to being on the road in the first place.
 
The driver should be ashamed. He could have caused a serious accident and its more by luck than judgement that no one was hurt. No the white car shouldn't have stopped but logic should say it was still a very small gap to sqeeze through.
 
Equine_Dream said:
With all due respect I dont understand this logic. Surely in order to get a horse comfortable with roads and traffic it needs to actually get out and see it? :/
My mare is 4 and hasnt done much road work. In the summer I intend to start going out with her in the evenings when the roads are quiet. I anticipate we may have some spooky moments but its the only way to get her used to being on the road in the first place.
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There is a difference between a young horse you very carefully introduce to traffic with good experiences, and a horse which will do what is described below. If the rider quoted below cannot trot on to allow the lorry past, why on earth would you risk your life or anyone else's, by taking it into a situation where it will "bolt off". What is a horse that is bolting, going to learn from being passed (or killed) by large traffic on the road?


AmberThePony said:
For most people it would have been ok to just trot on, but my mare would be scared and we would most likely end up bolting up the road.
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' blocking the road 'is all well and good if the driver is actually paying attention and has seen you.I personally have experienced someone driving at me as though they had seen me then suddenly went blind. so unless im 100% sure they have acknowledged my exsistance i would always try to avoid using my horse to block vehicles passing. I try to get out the way asap. Drivers get blinded by the sun,they don't pay attention are on their phone etc i was taught always assume people will do something stupid and i work to that!
 
huskydamage said:
' blocking the road 'is all well and good if the driver is actually paying attention and has seen you.I personally have experienced someone driving at me as though they had seen me then suddenly went blind. so unless im 100% sure they have acknowledged my exsistance i would always try to avoid using my horse to block vehicles passing. I try to get out the way asap. Drivers get blinded by the sun,they don't pay attention are on their phone etc i was taught always assume people will do something stupid and i work to that!
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I agree! I can see the logic of moving more centrally into the road, but it could also make you even more vulnerable. I also think some people are being unfair to those who say their horses would not happily trot on in this situation. At the end of the day, the driver is in the wrong and I'm not sure why some people are suggesting rider handled incorrectly.
 
FfionWinnie said:
There is a difference between a young horse you very carefully introduce to traffic with good experiences, and a horse which will do what is described below. If the rider quoted below cannot trot on to allow the lorry past, why on earth would you risk your life or anyone else's, by taking it into a situation where it will "bolt off". What is a horse that is bolting, going to learn from being passed (or killed) by large traffic on the road?
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But the only way to get the horse used to seeing large vehicles like lorries is to take it on the road. There is always a risk any horse could spook and do something silly. Even with a competent rider and bombproof pony something could go wrong. Also some people have no choice but to ride on the roads. Im very lucky that I have access to miles of offroad hacking straight off the yard but not everyone is so lucky
 
All horses that are ridden on the road need to be traffic proof, but that needs to be done safely, so allowing it to see traffic beside a road initially is a good idea and getting it used to being around large vehicles and revving engines in a safe envionment should be bvog standard training before venturing out IMO.

My family drive horses, and if they had one liable to bolt because a lorry was up its backside then they'd be doing a lot more work and desensitising with it rather than hoping you were never in that situation. You can never prepare enough and there will always be idiot drivers, you've got to make sure that you ride with that in mind for you and your horses protection, if that means riding defensively and trotting on to be able to get out of tricky situations I would expect any well schooled horse to be capable of doing so.
 
touchstone said:
All horses that are ridden on the road need to be traffic proof, but that needs to be done safely, so allowing it to see traffic beside a road initially is a good idea and getting it used to being around large vehicles and revving engines in a safe envionment should be bvog standard training before venturing out IMO.

My family drive horses, and if they had one liable to bolt because a lorry was up its backside then they'd be doing a lot more work and desensitising with it rather than hoping you were never in that situation. You can never prepare enough and there will always be idiot drivers, you've got to make sure that you ride with that in mind for you and your horses protection, if that means riding defensively and trotting on to be able to get out of tricky situations I would expect any well schooled horse to be capable of doing so.
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But it isn't always possible to do that. Not everyone has the facilities to put a horse next to a road. I dont have any fields that my lot would be able to see traffic from and there aren't any bridle paths that run along side roads.
My point is you can prepare as much as you want but no horse is 100% bombproof and so no horse is 100% predictable. The reality is the only way to really get them used to traffic is to get them out and about meeting it.
 
I didn't intend to start an argument initially, what I mean is my horse is amazing in traffic generally but when she is feeling sensitive and on edge me pushing her into trot isn't the best idea. By bolting I don't mean mad gallop throw herself onto a windscreen I mean I lose her a bit and she will try to go into canter sometimes because she gets too het up. It is unfair to say it's lack of exercise and training because nothing you can do in the area can simulate a lorry on the road, I try my best with her but we are currently easing back into hacking after not doing much in winter due to light.
 
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Equine_Dream said:
But it isn't always possible to do that. Not everyone has the facilities to put a horse next to a road. I dont have any fields that my lot would be able to see traffic from and there aren't any bridle paths that run along side roads.
My point is you can prepare as much as you want but no horse is 100% bombproof and so no horse is 100% predictable. The reality is the only way to really get them used to traffic is to get them out and about meeting it.
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As I said in my previous post., then that is when you need to ride defensively and get yourself out of the situations that other road users create.
 
OMG! Disgraceful. The horse and rider could have been killed or seriously injured, for the sake of what? Proving a point? In a hurry? Bad mood? Driver should have the book thrown at them for his/her lack of brains, clearly they haven't the mental capacity or sufficient respect of others to conduct themselves safely on the roads, therefore shouldn't be allowed. Utter madness!
Ps. Well done horse.
 
touchstone said:
As I said in my previous post., then that is when you need to ride defensively and get yourself out of the situations that other road users create.
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Fair point but with a spooky horse its not always appropriate as amber has explained. You dont want to make the horse feel traffic is something to "run away" from.
 
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