its getting so dangerous to hack out now

I agree the slow down signal is poorly understood. The one time I used it (i could hear something coming fast from behind on a country lane) not only did the driver not react the riders I was with asked me what I was doing!

The stop signal works better, I have used that to stop a car coming towards us when a car is passing from behind.

As riders we need to be aware of what drivers think of us and do our best to keep them sympathetic. Holding them up unnecessarily will only antagonist them. It irritates me when riders don't acknowledge me or make any effort to make it easy for me to pass them safely so it must really piss off non horsey drivers.
 
We bought decommisioned police bomber type jackets. They have the battenburgs and stripes across the chest and around the arms and still have the epeletts on the shoulders. The only thing that has been removed is "police" on the back but the silver is still there. We also use other hi viz such as martingales and quarter rugs. My mare is a big bay and we really do look like the fuzz!!

We hack out on the lanes and they have bought us those seconds where a driver thinks ??? If I hold up my arm, they almost stop!

I am sure that drivers appreciate our efforts to be seen and we have had a lot of good and funny comments from drivers to workmen in the road.
It'ts pretty frightening to think you have just averted an accident in your car and that can make drivers mad too.
 
Hubby is a driving instructor and we live in a high horse population area :D He always teaches his pupils about passing horses. Not much choice as they always pass them at some point or other in the course of their lessons.

He takes more experienced learners to areas where he knows there will be horses to educate them.

One learner got a bit more education than expected on one occasion where a young horse (who was accompanied by 3 experienced horses in a t-pak type of way) spooked over something and started backing up ploughing through the horse behind it. OH had stopped the learner quite a way from the horses when he spotted what was going but still nearly ended up with one on his bonnet.

I don't think it is just lack of education, it's the ignorant way some people are. It's the culture we live in, everything is a god given right and they have priority over everything and everyone else, even for some horse riders ;)
 
i was hacking out the other day with my friend i was riding taz she was riding sally and was leading little teddy, it was windy and there was a piece of paper flying around in the bush taz spooked and backed up sideways towards the other side of the road a man was driving up about 200 yards behind us and carried on coming even though taz was on the other side of the road mounted the curb and almost hit taz on the way past he sped up as he went past then pulled in to a drive way what was the bloody rush?! and then he started shouting at me saying that horses shouldnt be allowed on the road and how he was gonna call the police on me?! had enough of the idiot now taz is usually so good on the road but people just dont respect that horses have right of way. :o
 
I hate hacking out on the roads, its just plain scary!

I think many people see horses in the same way as they do bikes - ie. doesn't matter if you whiz past as long as you don't actually hit them. I think there is a general lack of understanding of the fact that even a perfectly quiet horse can spook at something in the hedge and suddenly spin or jump sideways.

That said, I've found nothing slows traffic down like a horse jogging sidewaysey. I've been on a few tbs that have got het up about something and started pratting about a bit, and I do think makes drivers back off in a big way.

Whilst I never encourage horses to be naughty on the road, if they are feeling a bit flighty and I can see something coming at us that doesn't look like its planning on stopping - I sometimes allow a little prance or sidestep just to give the driver the heads up that they'd better slow down and be careful - much prefer that than someone comes flying by and the flighty horse chooses the moment they are level with us to jump sideways into their car!
 
marydoll said:
Tally ho youre lucky that you dont need to ask drivers to slow down, but please dnt try to paint us that do as idiots waving there arms around, its a recognised way of asking fast drivers to slow down going past you, for whatever reason. I'd rather ask a driver to slow down before a horse im on or with reacts to the noise or speed as it passes, we're well aware the best place for hands are on the reins
Click to expand...

Sorry if it came across that way.
 
Im another who, sadly, thinks its just getting too dangerous to hack out any more. Our yard goes straight on to a B road in the countryside, we have fab off road riding within half a mile in both directions but even that short distance scares me to death. Its a rat run so is only viable at weekends anyway but for example. yesterday morning whilst I was at the yard we had 2 HGVs get stuck because they were both too wide to pass each other, a local cycling club out in force, at least 2 boy racer types haring round the BLIND bends and this morning a motor cycle convoy (at least 30) roared past the gateway. All this happened before 9.30 am and is a fairly normal occurence. Che is brilliant in all traffic but will spook at paperbags, empty drink cartons blowing around, cows hiding behind hedges etc. Now I can usually feel this happening and know what to expect but unfortunately the average Mr Driver behind has no idea what's going on behind the hedges and assumes because horse is behaving he will continue to do so. I have used the Stop hand signal before when there has been something coming towards me and behind me and Ive thought Che might be about to jump sideways or Ive needed to walk wide past something. I often indicate to drivers to slow down and have no hesitation in doing so if I think its justified. We are both hi vized up and I am always courteous to other road users, I will pull in if safe to do so to let drivers pass and indicate to let them past when I can see the road ahead is clear. I always acknowledge those who slow down or give way with a wave or at the very least a nod and smile or a mouthed Thank You. I think ignorance is to blame for a lot of the behaviour, the local country drivers, even the younger ones, generally know how it works and if Im signalling it means something so if in doubt, slow down. Unfortunately the roads are just getting busier and busier and not everyone has the first clue about how horses react. Very very sad but it only takes one idiot and BANG, the consequences dont bare thinking about :(
 
I agree I have a pony who is normally well calm but was frightened last year by a man driving an off road racing car, he was going way over 30 on a country road, I was wearing hi viz and asked him to slow down, he did not he accelerated even faster deliberately causing my pony to spin and slip and fall on the road, I feel off. He must have seen what had happened but did not stop to see if we were ok. Thankfully pony escaped with nothing more than a grazed hock and I too was fine.

This driver then went on and tried to frighten a child on a lead rein pony. When the pony was not frightened he turned round and came back and drove even faster luckily the leader managed to hold on to the pony and child did not fall off.

It took me a long time to ride out again on the roads on my own.

Today i rode out with a friend, I was riding in front both us of in full hi viz including me wearing hi viz trousers, pony in hi viz boots etc. Most cars were courteous but there is always one idiot. The road was very narrow yet a car decided to come past me and there was only just enough room for him to pass I could have easily touched the car it was that close, lucky my pony had no problem with this.

My friend was quite a bit behind me and saw what happened and was livid, her horse is wider than mine and he was trying to do it to her too and she asked him to stop and he did not so positioned herself so he could not come past and then asked him why he did not stop when asked and explained to him it was dangerous to ignore peoples' requests and also to drive so close to a horse.

I try very hard to be polite to drivers and get in drive on a narrow road if cars come so they don't get held up by me but it is not always possible because some roads don't have drive ways and so I we then have to wait to get to a passing place cars have to go to a passing place if they meet another car coming in the other direction.

I think there are more people out on the roads that think it is funny to frighten a horse and that does worry me.
 
I agree with people thinking it is funny/clever to scare a horse - we've had people shouting "how fast can it go?/how well can you ride?" comments at us before.
I complained to the Royal Mail after one of their idiotic drivers sped upto us and revved behind our horses - mine was already spooked from his speed but tried to kick out as he revved up and sped past us, inches from her bum.
They've not replied yet. I've got the postcode of where we were and the time. So I'm going to give them a ring tomorrow!
K x
P.S no "didn't see us" excuses either cos we were all hi vizzed up!!!

To anyone saying "horses should be able to cope with cars" - sorry but sometimes when a car comes flying past me like a bat out of hell, with a very quiet engine, it even makes ME jump!! Sometimes horses spot something which makes them spook into the road and if that car is going so fast it's unable to stop - what if it was a child running out after a ball? I agree in a way that your horse should have road sense (especially if going on major roads) but you do need to get them to that stage first and they look to us for their reassurance and unfortunately we can't guarantee that all drivers are going to be sensible. I ask drivers to slow down or if they stop I'll make a point of smiling and thanking them - rude horse riders are just as bad as rude car drivers!
 
Last edited:
Oh the hacking around me is loads of roads! I either have the choice of hacking down lanes, where me and my friend once nearly got ran over on a lane so narrow that only the car could just about fit! She was going at quite a speed and even held the horn as she passed to scare the horses, we had to practical throw our horses into a hedge to get out of the way! Also had people beep the horn as we've been going over the top of a motorway bridge! Most of the time I stick to hacking 2 min down the A449 to get onto bridleways instead of going down the lanes as I tend to find the truck drivers are the most sensible around horses, they always slow down and dont pass me unless I call them on and atleast the roads are wider! Its not fair horses were here first!
 
Re the suggestion that asking drivers to slow or stop is a sign that your horse is not good in traffic etc. My mare is fantastic in traffic, however she cannot levitate! If a car is coming towards us and one is coming behind us, I will turn and ask the one behind to stop/slow to avoid them hitting each other. This happened today, smiles all round :D Last week however, the taxi driver I asked to stop, ignored me until he was virtually on the mares hocks, as until then he had not seen the car coming up the hill :eek: I had heard it coming and saw it before he did!
 
Can I just all those who rant about bad drivers do you wear hi-viz?

If you do fair play they should have seen you and slowed down, and if you don't then I'm sorry but there is every chance they just haven't seen you!
 
Yes Piebaldsparkle, loads of Hu-Viz, on both me and the mare. Hat band, long sleeved jacket or fleece, lef wraps and sometimes exercise sheet as well. Often in clashing colours, we must be visible from the moon :D
 
We're lucky where we are now. I've been here for 8 years and only had 3 proper run ins with vehicles in all that time. Which is loads better than other areas of the country I've lived.

One was a boy racer going flying up a single track road, that only goes to the yard and a farm & only wide enough for one car, high hedges and banks one both sides. I could hear him flying up the road, but couldn't see him round the bend. He ended up just managing to stop with Minski head over his bonnet. He said he was sorry and he didn't realise there were horses on that road. I was heading back from my ride and he was doing the same speed in the oposite direction!! Luckily on a straight bit of road, so saw me in plenty of time, I just made sure I kept my horse on the road so he had to put his sporty car on the mud and roots and stones.

Second was a bus driver trying to get past me riding my youngster and my friends riding my old horse. Tried to force a bus between the horse and parked cars, that most people don't try to get a car through.

Last one was a recycing lorry who were thowing the bottles and cans etc into the lorry while I'm trying to get past. I was riding the youngster again and needless to say horse wouldn't go past with all the racket and they refused to stop for me to get the horse past. I did have a go at them as asked why they wouldn't stop, they were making sarky coments like we don't have to stop for any one, even tough there is a 17hh horse spinning backwards up the roads and cars trying to get past. I did complain to the company where were not much better than the blokes, but I did eventually get them to go something about it.

Any yes I was wearing hi viz every time!!
 
It is quite distressing to read that so many people are having problems on the roads these days, you hear of so many fatal accidents caused by reckless driving.

I was out driving my car earlier today and just about saw a guy on a coloured horse riding along a country lane close to a hedge no hi viz and on his mobile phone!!! unbeleivable.

We always wear hi viz and are always curtious to drivers but it is really getting beyond a joke now.
Ive reported bus drivers before and have had letters of appology back, wether they mean it or not, theyve had to respond and its made a point.
The police were very helpfull as i said ealier but can only do somthing about an incident if you get a reg, i know this isnt always possible especially if your trying to control your horse, but i did manage to get it on this occasion, so we are going to concentrate on doing that from now on and we will ring the police every time we have a problem and get them to log it.

Maybe if everyone can do the same they might actually take notice and do somthing positive, we have try, it getting beyond a joke.

Maybe we should make an incident blog on here :-)
 
I've just posted a thread about my hack tonight. It's getting to dangerous, especially with younger horse. At work we have to hack the 3year olds out for the first time etc, and we have a babysitter, we ride two abreast and the babysitter is very good bless him. He pins us into the hedge when we spook. And we always were Young Horse hi-viz. I was hacking one day and my babysitter was pinning me against the hedge as we do, and this woman stopped her car and said we were being inconsiderate.. I was thinking inconsiderate to stop a horse jumping into her windscreen... It made us both angry!

I get bad road rage and I dont even drive yet :rolleyes:
 
Well my horse generally IS very good on the roads but guess what, he's not a robot! Hence, there can be times when something jumping out of a hedgerow will make him a bit edgy which could end up in a situation, with some of the drivers I've come accross.
I certainly do not consider him poorly trained, I consider him a sentient creature whose behaviour you cannot predict 100%

Just yesterday, bearing in mind that our country lanes are very greasy at the moment because of the weather, I simply had to sit and wait as I could hear a car approaching me very fast indeed around blind bends. There was nowhere for me to tuck into, and when the car saw me at the very last minute, he whacked on his breaks and skidded to a screeching halt. Not at all pleasant, and if I had another option I wouldn't be riding on the road. In the abscence of a manege, however, with bridle ways becoming impassable at a rapid rate of knots, and with the fields either being rock hard or like a bog at the moment, I have absolutely no choice.
 
Only read 1st page but we are having the same problem! Unfortunatly our field is smack bang in the middle of a very busy village full of idiot boy racers. Poor pony hardly ever gets out hacking, although did chuck him on the box yesterday to take him to the local woods & he loved it!! Daughter is getting really fed up of riding in the field :(
 
well after someone HH forum suggested a camera i research it and found this camera is the best

allot sit on the side of your head thus don't film direct in front what you looking at where as this one sits in front so what you see it films cant wait till it arrives could be evidence in the future there is no disputing whats been recorded on film.yes its pricey but worth it if it can convict someone for dangerous driving round horses

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230634132276&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
 
Last edited:
how funny we were only talking about those cameras didnt realise they made them, will definatly get one,
So what you all think about making a blog on here, im happy to go to local papers and get publicity. :-) we need to fight back!!!!
 
I hack on the roads at least once a week. Most of the drivers round our way are quite considerate and pass wide and slow. What puzzles me is that so many of them pass wide and slow round blind bends and other situations where you can't see if something is coming. I have seen quite a few near misses where the driver coming towards me has had to put in an emergency stop to accommodate the vehicle passing me so carefully that the driver's brain is unable to process the possibility of other hazards. Is it just me?
 
I always wear hi-viz, get out of the way where possible and thank drivers who show consideration, even those who actually end up making life more difficult - but hey they're trying!

However - I hack past people who wear no hi viz, do not move where possible and do not thank drivers. THEY don't help themselves or the rest of the riding population..

I think every rider should remember they aren't just representing themselves - but all horse riders, and one persons bad manners or ill preparation can really jeapordise the rest of us when that driver next encounters a horse.
 
Below is an email I managed to send the person who decides who gets to propose their ideas to the people who make it happen. Quite a lenghtly email but any ideas could really make a difference such as using and recycling old signs that are being removed. Especially the current 'hose aware' signs that no1 takes any notice of! Any ideas let me know and i'll email him! :)







Hi David,

Thank you for getting back to me.

I shall address the points you have made and get back to you with solutions.

Many thanks,
Emma Andrews

-----Original Message-----
From: Kerry, David R
Sent: 19 May 2011 12:06
To: Andrews Emma
Cc: sbartrum@stennik.com; nrawlings@stennik.co.uk
Subject: RE: Idea for road safety involving horse riders

Hi Emma,

Thank you for forwarding your idea for a new road traffic sign.

The idea is not without merit but I would raise the following points.

Inter-active traffic signs are expensive to create, erect and maintain. In a rural area you would probably be struggling to find a suitable power supply. The solution in these cases would be to use wind turbine/solar cell power. Our engineers tell me that the total cost of installing just one of these signs is £6,000. Even a normal triangular sign, post and concrete footings comes to circa £400 each. With local authorities already strapped for cash I cannot see where this funding would come from.

Horses, regrettably, are not high on the list of priorities for local authorities. Accident rates, compared with other road users groups are extremely low. Where horse rider numbers are sufficient and accident rates are considered a concern, equestrian crossing points (often referred to as Pegasus crossings) have been put in place, but they are not seen very often because of cost. In Cumbria we don't have one (despite the high numbers of equestrians). A crossing of this sort would cost in excess of £70,000.

Your sign would need to have additional wording, I feel. Warning a driver that a horse has passed the spot within the last five minutes would not necessarily tell them what they should do. Additional wording such as "Be prepared to slow down and/or stop" or similar might be necessary to ensure maximum benefit.

I am not sure how your idea of a hinged (flag post type) sign would work. The structure would necessarily be heavy; who would be responsible for lowering and raising the unit (not forgetting the thorny subject of legal liability costs if someone injures themselves in the process)? An automatic system of raising and lowering the sign would be equally difficult to achieve and again expensive. If the sign began to rise or lower whilst motorists were present, it might cause them to be distracted from their driving task and cause accidents. It might also be a problem for the next horse rider along that road, if they arrive at that point just as the sign begins to move. How would the device be powered? What would happen if someone or someone's vehicle were parked next to the device and damage was caused? How would you avoid vandalism? What if a driver caused their vehicle to drive over the top of the sign or a pedestrian (or horse) were to trip over it?

The other thing to bear in mind is that local authorities have been told by the present Government to reduce the number of warning signs not increase them. The feeling is that we have an "over saturation" of warning signs to the extent that drivers are unable, or unwilling, to take in all the information and the signs are, therefore, being ignored.

Sorry to be so negative, but I am sure you would rather have an honest opinion - and this from a road safety officer who has two horses that have to be exercised on the public highway, from time to time.

Please take on board the points I have made and if you can see ways around all the problems I have highlighted, then please feel free to get back to me. Unless and until the problems are solved there is little point in offering your idea to the Department for Transport, which would be the next logical step.


David R. Kerry
Senior Road Safety Officer
BHS Safety Representative, North
Road Safety GB Equine Adviser

Cumbria Highways
Cumbria County Council | Skirsgill Highways Depot | Skirsgill | PENRITH | CA10 2BQ

t: 01768 812336
f: 01768 812391
www.cumbria.gov.uk


-----Original Message-----
From: emma.andrews
Sent: 17 May 2011 16:35
To: Kerry, David R
Subject: FW: Idea for road safety involving horse riders

Dear David,

Hope you are well. I have forwarded on my idea on how to seriously improve the road safety of horse riders and car drivers alike and I have been given your contact information.

My idea is stated below in a previous email but I shall run through my initial idea.

My idea is to have a high signage post, that is high enough for horse riders to reach with ease. On the screen of the sign there would be a button that can be easily pressed by the horse rider when he/she comes across one on the side of the road when riding. Once this button has been pressed a message is displayed reading 'HORSES PASSED < 5 MINS AGO'. After 5 minutes this message would disappear. This would then allow the car/lorry drivers etc to gain a 'heads up' that a horse has passed within 5 minutes and that there is a high possibility that there will be a horse on the road not too far ahead allowing the driver to proceed with care. This would be most beneficial on those winding roads with blind corners. I believe that this would significantly reduce the hazard/risk of accidents, sometimes fatal. There are a number of ways the sign could be designed. It would be something very simple from the idea I have just mentioned or something even simpler to a flag pole that is raised and then could be slowly weighted down over a course of a few minutes back down to the ground.

I came up with this idea as I am now 22 and have just started riding again (currently loaning a pony). We live in a small village with lots of winding busy roads (that you need to use to get onto bridal ways) where cars come zooming round, then as soon as they see us slam on their breaks to slow down(nearly causing the car behind them to go into the back of them). I thought 'wouldn't it be ideal if there was anyway to really pre-warm them that horses are ahead'? .....So here is my idea.

Please let me know your thoughts,

Kindest regards,
Emma
 
sounds a good idea but its just getting them to spend the money.
the thing is there are allot more inccidents on the roads than what people actually report, so if we all report it to the police when thses inccidents occur it will hopefully make them more aware of just how many near misses there are on the roads. Its sad that there has too be so many fatallities before anyone takes notice..
 
BoolavogueDC said:
I think every rider should remember they aren't just representing themselves - but all horse riders, and one persons bad manners or ill preparation can really jeapordise the rest of us when that driver next encounters a horse.
Click to expand...

Totally - it drives (excuse the pun) me insane when I ride past riders and they don't say thank you for passing slowly, or they don't even look at me!!!
 
Ive only read some of this but Ive had major issues before.
I used to ride racehorses in Thetford, and we had no choice but to go on the roads everyday to get to our gallop. We were polite and wore our hi-viz etc etc & I've come across some right loonatics. Artic lorries speeding past us at 50mph without even moving over, feeling the wind from the wing mirrors brushing your hat isn't a nice feeling. Someone has stolen my whip from me before because my horse put one foot out of place as he sped past so he stopped and came flying up in reverse just to steal my whip! Absolutely pathetic.
I've just got my dream horse and I'd love to treat him to go over the road from where I keep him on the lovely land they have over there, but seeing as he is bit of a "OH MY GOD, that grass is very scary!" kind of horse, i wouldnt dare with the inconsiderate hooligans there is on those roads. :/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top