Is it legal?

I *thought horses had to be bitted on a public road but then I must be wrong because obviously people ride bitless and im sure that’s not illegal but you need some form of control
What If a car comes tearing round a corner or even not on a road you meet other riders or dog walkers.
Someone needs to be in control of the foal.
Insurance would be a huge issue.
 
poiuytrewq said:
I *thought horses had to be bitted on a public road but then I must be wrong because obviously people ride bitless and im sure that’s not illegal but you need some form of control
What If a car comes tearing round a corner or even not on a road you meet other riders or dog walkers.
Someone needs to be in control of the foal.
Insurance would be a huge issue.
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My thoughts exactly.

I could see it not being specifically illegal simply because you wouldn't expect to need a law against such irresponsible behaviour, but surely there's a law saying there must be some form of control. It's not just themself and their horses they put in danger, it's anyone they come across.
 
A local stud regularly moves mares and foals from grazing to home along a road by leading the mare and letting the foal follow with a person walking with the foal and tbh if they do that, I wouldn't be surprised if it is a legal requirement as they are not known for their risk mansgement
 
I'm not aware of any legislation on point, but in common law negligence you have a general duty of care towards all road users. The Highway Code requires you to ensure you can control the horse and keep any horses being led on the left. This is all to try to ensure you're complying with that duty of care.

There doesn't need to be a specific law. It's pretty obvious. Animals need to be kept under control to try to ensure the safety of others.
 
MuddyMonster said:
The Highway Code seems to say that herded animals needs to be under control. So I guess one could argue the foal was being herded and under control by following it's Mum ...

I certainly wouldn't risk it if it was my foal though!
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If people are moving even a small herd of sheep or cattle on the road they have more people than that to hand to warn other road users and keep the group together.
 
MuddyMonster said:
The Highway Code seems to say that herded animals needs to be under control. So I guess one could argue the foal was being herded and under control by following it's Mum ...

I certainly wouldn't risk it if it was my foal though!
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It wouldn't be much of an argument though. The mum can only control the foal so much, and an accident could happen very easily if cars are present.
 
Surely not, and even if it was, it definitely falls into the category of "just because you can doesnt mean you should"

I feel sorry for the poor innocent motorists you'd potentially come across if you do

Anything could happen, and adding to the mix the mare will probably want to follow her foal if it takes flight, so you could be sat on an out of control horse
 
Nari said:
Is it legal to ride a mare on the road, or even a public right of way, with her foal loose? No headcollar or anything on the foal, literally loose and hopefully not straying too far from the mare.
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When we move groups of cows and calves on public roads, we take plenty of help - in front of them, behind them, to turn at junctions etc. Horses, including foals, are less likely to be herded these days, altho does still happen. A single mare, ridden, is not being driven along in a cohesive group, there is no one to direct or control the single loose foal (and from personal experience of riding broodmares, it’s highly likely the foal will do some scatty ‘exploring’)
Strict liability for damage caused by your animals dictates that you must be able to ‘control’ them in public places (this includes dogs, they have to ‘be under close control’, altho on a PROW/ road that does not automatically mean must be leashed, only through certain ‘open access’ sites as advised under CROW legislation). Control - whether this is herding in a group, or riding and / or leading animals.
I think the legal issue is the extent of ‘control’, and if harm is occasioned by a loose foal - you’ll be entirely liable.
 
I've seen it done. The foal saw us, crossed a road to come over (no cars luckily) and then ran around wildly, setting off our horses and his Mum, who was frantically calling him back. It seemed like an unbelievably dangerous thing to do to me. After that I only saw them out with the foal being led alongside his Mum.
 
I have no idea about the legality of it, but it doesn't sound like a good idea. When I first moved my foal on public roads before he could lead properly, I took half the village with me to walk in front and behind to signal to potential motorists to slow down / stop and to stop the foal from wandering too far ahead / behind on the stretch of road we were on. Now that he's head collared and leading, he is always lead on a rope from point a to point b.
 
probably depends on the area and the roads. Regularly done around here. I wouldn't even notice if someone was leading a mare with a foal at foot I've seen it and done it so often. A local farmer used to exercise his hunter with her foal,, probably a 5 mo TB type. Stud ponies around here are run along with their foals down the roads. If a mare needs to come in and the foal is not head collar trained then there is no other way and probably safer to let it run with it's mum than fight a headcollar. If several mares are being moved then it is not practical to catch and lead them all.


When you are riding ferall ponies are sometimes driven up your bum by cars and sometimes just run down towards you, also cattle and sheep. We used to take a foal out riding with us with our 2 geldings. He just came along on the road until we got to the common.

Very much depends on your area and what is normal I think. Foals are far less of a PITA than off lead dogs which go out with riders or loose with walkers. At least the foals are predictable the dogs often have no respect for traffic or horses.

There appears to be no formal rule ie as in the highway code that farmers moving cattle (or sheep) should have anyone in front. I looked for something specific as I nearly got seriously hurt ie trampled, only the horse saved us. I couldn't find anything specific other than advisory.
 
paddy555 said:
probably depends on the area and the roads. Regularly done around here. I wouldn't even notice if someone was leading a mare with a foal at foot I've seen it and done it so often. A local farmer used to exercise his hunter with her foal,, probably a 5 mo TB type. Stud ponies around here are run along with their foals down the roads. If a mare needs to come in and the foal is not head collar trained then there is no other way and probably safer to let it run with it's mum than fight a headcollar. If several mares are being moved then it is not practical to catch and lead them all.


When you are riding ferall ponies are sometimes driven up your bum by cars and sometimes just run down towards you, also cattle and sheep. We used to take a foal out riding with us with our 2 geldings. He just came along on the road until we got to the common.

Very much depends on your area and what is normal I think. Foals are far less of a PITA than off lead dogs which go out with riders or loose with walkers. At least the foals are predictable the dogs often have no respect for traffic or horses.

There appears to be no formal rule ie as in the highway code that farmers moving cattle (or sheep) should have anyone in front. I looked for something specific as I nearly got seriously hurt ie trampled, only the horse saved us. I couldn't find anything specific other than advisory.
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There most definitely isn’t a requirement to have someone walking in front, in fact, NFU and HSE specifically advise against, in case of stampede.
We take a tractor in front, hazards and arc lights on, bang in centre of the road for whatever distance necessary, and if meet any cyclists or walkers, advise them to stay right at the side until past. Cars drivers generally get the message and pull over.
Used to take milk herd along the road twice a day, same: cow-parade, but they are very quiet and in a regular routine.
 
Exasperated said:
There most definitely isn’t a requirement to have someone walking in front, in fact, NFU and HSE specifically advise against, in case of stampede.
We take a tractor in front, hazards and arc lights on, bang in centre of the road for whatever distance necessary, and if meet any cyclists or walkers, advise them to stay right at the side until past. Cars drivers generally get the message and pull over.
Used to take milk herd along the road twice a day, same: cow-parade, but they are very quiet and in a regular routine.
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i didn't mean walking but on a quad bike/tractor etc. Sadly round here some farmers don't have anything in front to warn people or to close the road. It seems that is not illegal. I have found that to be far more dangerous, in fact very dangerous as I was directly in front of a driven herd of cattle and didn't know what to do, than a mare with a foal at foot.

Burnerbee said:
If we were still in the 19th century, fine. Now? Anywhere but Sark or equivalent, bonkers thing to do.
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I don't think we are still in ther 19th century but there are so many loose animals on our roads that a led mare and foal is of no consequence. Just depends where you are. Round here traffic has to give way to animals.

OP hasn't said what sort of conditions this was in. On a busy road then obviously not, round her or in similar places it wouldn't make much difference. I would have less problem than I do with ride one and lead two. Now they block the road, can't turn around and whilst a mare has some control over their foal it is difficult to see one person has total control over 3 large horses. Obviously if that is something like off road polo ponies it is different but not 3 together on public roads. However in some areas with minimal traffic it may be safe.
 
Nari said:
Mare was being ridden, not led. The road was a narrow country lane with poor visibility that carries a fair amount of traffic.
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Well, that’s just foolhardy! To be hoped they weren’t travelling far.....
Like paddy says, some locations and distances, there would be no issue, and loose dogs can do far more harm than a solitary foal.
Re advance warning for other users, even the old pack trains had to have a ‘bell horse’ in front (sometimes led, but often on their own, a good bellhorse that knew the routes and could be relied on to keep a good pace was worth some money), to alert folk what was coming and probably taking up the whole route.
 
paddy555 said:
i didn't mean walking but on a quad bike/tractor etc. Sadly round here some farmers don't have anything in front to warn people or to close the road. It seems that is not illegal. I have found that to be far more dangerous, in fact very dangerous as I was directly in front of a driven herd of cattle and didn't know what to do, than a mare with a foal at foot.


I don't think we are still in ther 19th century but there are so many loose animals on our roads that a led mare and foal is of no consequence. Just depends where you are. Round here traffic has to give way to animals.

OP hasn't said what sort of conditions this was in. On a busy road then obviously not, round her or in similar places it wouldn't make much difference. I would have less problem than I do with ride one and lead two. Now they block the road, can't turn around and whilst a mare has some control over their foal it is difficult to see one person has total control over 3 large horses. Obviously if that is something like off road polo ponies it is different but not 3 together on public roads. However in some areas with minimal traffic it may be safe.
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Closing the road is actually a legal issue, but motor vehicles should give way to ridden / herded animals on roads, and should always slow / stop if flagged down. Most drivers are sensible, but we have had several incidents, and find cyclists more like to keep pedalling into groups of cattle, filming as they go!
 
Crazy_cat_lady said:
Anything could happen, and adding to the mix the mare will probably want to follow her foal if it takes flight, so you could be sat on an out of control horse
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Yes.

Exasperated said:
When we move groups of cows and calves on public roads, we take plenty of help - in front of them, behind them, to turn at junctions etc. Horses, including foals, are less likely to be herded these days, altho does still happen. A single mare, ridden, is not being driven along in a cohesive group, there is no one to direct or control the single loose foal (and from personal experience of riding broodmares, it’s highly likely the foal will do some scatty ‘exploring’)
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100%
 
On the road it's just silly. Off road I can't really see an issue with it. No difference to a dog off lead with questionable recall but generally returns or stays close.

Back home they seem to do it regularly out in the woods and forest paths and the foal never runs off. They even do it with older horses who are used to it.
 
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