Lack of "COMMON SENSE"

As horseriders we all know that it is a dangerous sport and that horses can be unpredicatable animals. In a perfect world we would all have horses that never react badly or do anything dangerous or silly but the reality is that we dont they are all different and none are perfect.

Ok its a free world and you have the right to please your self when out hacking or riding and yes you should try to educate your horse to deal with different situations calmly but they have their owns minds and they do react to each other.

I dont like the "I'm ok and my horse is ok so I'll do what I want" attitude. Would you walk past someone who had just fell and hurt themselves in the street because it was their fault they should have been looking where they were going!! Or what about if you seen someone drive into a tree i'm sure you would help even if it was their own fault.

I would never trot away leaving someone on a horse that was having a paddy, they could be seriously hurt. Ideally the horse should be able to deal with it calmly but it wasnt.

On the other hand OP should possibly have asked the other riders if they minded if they passed as horse was getting wound up.
 
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I would never trot away leaving someone on a horse that was having a paddy, they could be seriously hurt.

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The horse wasn't having a paddy - only started to have one when they trotted away. And if there were one or two of them then they wouldn't have heard the other horse having a tantrum as their horses hooves would have drowned out the sound.

I certainly would not be upset if someone that was in front of me trotted off. And my horse really get's upset if that happens.........

If you can't manage your horse with any safety out on the roads - then you shouldn't be riding it on the road. Sorry.
 
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I would never trot away leaving someone on a horse that was having a paddy, they could be seriously hurt.

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The horse wasn't having a paddy - only started to have one when they trotted away. And if there were one or two of them then they wouldn't have heard the other horse having a tantrum as their horses hooves would have drowned out the sound.

I certainly would not be upset if someone that was in front of me trotted off. And my horse really get's upset if that happens.........

If you can't manage your horse with any safety out on the roads - then you shouldn't be riding it on the road. Sorry.

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I agree if you cant mange your horse on the road then you shouldnt be on the road.

They could have asked/said they were going to trot away they could also have glanced back to check the horse/rider was ok.

Might need to agree to disagree: I do think its a bit rude to trot off when there is another horse behind you.
 
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They could have asked/said they were going to trot away they could also have glanced back to check the horse/rider was ok.

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Why???
 
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They could have asked/said they were going to trot away they could also have glanced back to check the horse/rider was ok.

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Why???

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Because in my experience most horses will react badly to this situation, mine certainly would and you said yours does. I would hate for my actions to result in someone getting hurt.
 
"They could have asked/said they were going to trot away they could also have glanced back to check the horse/rider was ok. "

They could have done, but the point is they DIDN'T. You can't force people to do what you want, so you need to be prepared for situations like the one in question. that's common sense.
 
On the rare occasions that we are in such a situation, if I am infront and the other horse(s) appeared to be moving quicker than me, I would pull over to the side or get off and hold the horses head, and allow the other horses to get past, before standing for a while to let them get well away.

I presonally see it as good etiquette to ensure that all horses and riders are safe...
 
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I have always been brought up to believe that if you wish to pass someone - on the road, in the school, in a field - wherever - that you ask them beforehand. It is just the courteous, decent thing to do...although not everyone does it
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But the OP was riding behind these people....surely you cannot say that they should have asked her if it was ok to trot further ahead?
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Im baffled; I dont think I have ever known anyone do that
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I certainly wouldnt - and havent!
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"They could have asked/said they were going to trot away they could also have glanced back to check the horse/rider was ok. "

They could have done, but the point is they DIDN'T. You can't force people to do what you want, so you need to be prepared for situations like the one in question. that's common sense.

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Im not saying you can force people to do what you want. Im just saying that I think its rude to trot away from another horse. Its happened to me my horse had a wee bounce but we got home safely and under control. I just dont understand why you would put someone in a potentially dangerous situation. I think we have enough to deal with on the roads/out hacking without having to worry about each other.
 
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Because in my experience most horses will react badly to this situation, mine certainly would and you said yours does

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So because my horse winds up when he sees another horse trot off in front of him, I should expect every rider I meet to ask permission to trot away from me? Or, God forbid, disappear from sight???

It's just not practical.

Most horses are entirely sensible - and if you know what winds them up you take avoiding action.

If every rider I met had to ask permission to do something, or likewise I had to - I'd never stop talking........
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I would never trot away leaving someone on a horse that was having a paddy, they could be seriously hurt.

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What if you knew there was a risk of it winding your horse up? Two horses pi$$ ar$ing around is far more dangerous than one, It was not their fault that the horse threw a wobbly. Surely it is not a question of their ettiquet, you do not know why they tried to distance themselves from a horse and rider getting closer to them, and it was not their responsibility to wait for the other rider with the silly horse to ride with them. I have had git's of horses do this to me, it is the horses,, not that of the other people. My attitude is that my horses have to get used to it, they can not have their own way and any wobbly throwing is just par for the course, I would actually rather people didn't pussyfoot around me and my horses, how are they ever going to learn how to behave otherwise.

On one of my mares I would probably stop and see if the rider was ok, even if I had made the effort to distance myself presumably because I wanted to ride separatly from the other rider. On my other mare, not a hope in hell, I am trying to ensure that all her experiences are good ones since she was an emotional wreck when I got her, as such I would not put her in that situation, but if she tried to paddy with me, I would just recognise that she is a bit insecure and get her through it, I probably wouldn't want her to be rewarded by the horses that she was throwing a wobbly over coming to join her, to help me calm her down
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just rewarding her tantrum then.





 
This reminds me of something that happened to me a few years ago...I was hacking out my boss's horse and saw a girl walking ahead. I was on a fizzy hunter and wanted to trot on, so I trotted up to her, and asked if it was ok if I passed. She said yes and I trotted past.

A few minutes later (and a few bends later), the horse came flying past me, riderless. I turned my horse round and went back to look for the girl, who I found walking down the road, she was ok. I asked her if she wanted any help, if she wanted me to do anything and she said 'no thanks, I've rang my friend, I'm fine'. So off I went back to they yard.

A few days later, my Boss asked to see me, and asked me what had happened. Apparently the girl had recognised the horse and her dad had rang my boss and told him I passed her and trotted off and left her in trouble! I was livid!

In the sitiation of the OP, however, I would not ask if there was someone behind me and I wanted to trot on, nor would I expect to be asked if there was someone in front of me. If I turned down a lane where there was a horse in front and mine wouldn't behave I would go a different way, and if there was someone trotting on behind me I would trot on and move out of the way until my horse had calmed down enough to continue.
 
Ok maybe the people trotted off as their horses get upset with horses approaching from behind them, they could still have indicated their intentions.

Two upset horses is worse than one ageed but what is more dangerous is if the horse behind decided to join the horses in front at speed, then everyone would be in a dangerous situation.

If we are saying that horses should be able to cope with horses trotting off surely your horse should also be able to cope with a horse approaching from behing in walk, maybe it would be a good lesson for the horses in front.
 
Sounds like Bertie, and I would have turned him around and gone another way.
I just believe that out hacking, you cannot rely on other people's actions to help your own situation, and if I had been the woman in front I would have done exactly the same- I don't enjoy riding out with people and I don't know anyway, neither do my horses.
 
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If we are saying that horses should be able to cope with horses trotting off surely your horse should also be able to cope with a horse approaching from behing in walk, maybe it would be a good lesson for the horses in front.

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Its not a question of horses coping. Horses have a habit of coping with very little.
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Its a question of knowing that you as a rider are aware that you can cope and control your horse in a difficult situation, when the horse is anxious, naughty or excited. Occasionally its acceptable to request a bit of help from other riders and road users, but generally speaking, out hacking its your responsibility to have strategies to make the hack go smoothly. The OP could have avoided the situation by turning round and not following.
 
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If we are saying that horses should be able to cope with horses trotting off surely your horse should also be able to cope with a horse approaching from behing in walk, maybe it would be a good lesson for the horses in front.

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Its not a question of horses coping. Horses have a habit of coping with very little.
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Its a question of knowing that you as a rider are aware that you can cope and control your horse in a difficult situation, when the horse is anxious, naughty or excited. Occasionally its acceptable to request a bit of help from other riders and road users, but generally speaking, out hacking its your responsibility to have strategies to make the hack go smoothly. The OP could have avoided the situation by turning round and not following.

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I agree and if I was in the same situation i would have went another way. I was reiterating what had been said by previous posters but from a different viewpoint. I still think its rude to trot away from another horse and as I have already said I am happy to agree to disagree with anyone who thinks otherwise.
 
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I would have trotted off if I'd seen someone following.
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Out hacking, you shouldn't have followed if your horse gets upset following other horses that have every right to speed up.
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I completely agree with this. You weren't with them, you weren't even that close, and you allowed your horse to catch up towards them. They have every right to trot if they want to and if you can't control your horse in that situation then you should either have kept him away from them or school him to behave better.
 
I think we should all be responsible and that includes ensuring that other riders are safe. We should all stick together i don’t think anyone is saying that it should be law that you must alter your ride to please other riders but i would just think it was good manners to make sure that my actions didn’t result in an accident albeit not directly my fault.

One of the girls on our yard went out on a hack with 2 others and half way round decided she need to get back so she trotted off and left the other two, one of them went mad and nearly caused a serious accident. Are we now saying that this is ok and that it is the girls fault because she couldn’t control her horse?????

We have to understand that our actions have consequences to others and if all it took was for me to walk for a while to help another rider then why not.

All that said if it was me i would have turned a different way and not followed the other horses.......
 
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Ok maybe the people trotted off as their horses get upset with horses approaching from behind them, they could still have indicated their intentions.

Two upset horses is worse than one ageed but what is more dangerous is if the horse behind decided to join the horses in front at speed, then everyone would be in a dangerous situation.

If we are saying that horses should be able to cope with horses trotting off surely your horse should also be able to cope with a horse approaching from behing in walk, maybe it would be a good lesson for the horses in front.

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I totally agree with you on that, horses should be able to cope with an approaching horse, however, I often choose to ride alone, unless I am hacking out of my yard with someone or meeting someone on a hack pre-planned. I do not think my space should be invaded by a bolshy horse who's owner is letting it catch up uninvited. The poster said that he: quickened his pace '
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' and obviously did not see anything wrong with this. I as a rider would not dream of encroaching on someones ride, I would not think it funny or fine to allow my horse to do so, and if I was the rider in front I would trot on because I chose to not be with the rider behind for one of 2 reasons:
1: the rider purely was not welcome to ride with me uninvited
2: I may have an insecure horse green horse and be delberatley hacking it out to get it used to being on its own.

Fine, in the case of this poster there were two riders infront, but she had no right to allow her horse to catch up to them and ride with them uninvited, where was her etiquette? Did she shout to them to ask if they minded company? Not as far as I am aware, she thought it was ok to let him quicken his stride and catch up, bad form in my opinion, and as such I do view complaining and blaming them for her horses excitable behaviour when she had already allowed her horse to go up a gear and they were a reasonable way off and tried to regain their distance, and possibly privacy as a definate overreaction
 
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Horses have a habit of coping with very little

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I think this is totally inaccurate - horses cope with most things, and we see problems where they simply don't exist. It's usually the rider that's the problem, not our dear nagletts.
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I would have trotted off if I'd seen someone following.
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Out hacking, you shouldn't have followed if your horse gets upset following other horses that have every right to speed up.
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I completely agree with this. You weren't with them, you weren't even that close, and you allowed your horse to catch up towards them. They have every right to trot if they want to and if you can't control your horse in that situation then you should either have kept him away from them or school him to behave better.

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Sorry OP but I have to agree. I don't think the other riders showed any real lack of common sense. I'd always ask before trotting past someone, or away from a group I was already riding with but you were approaching them not the other way around.
 
If I were 200 yards ahead, I would not ask people that far behind if I wished to trot -200 yards is a good distance away. If I were behind another horse, I would them ask if it were ok to pass, walk a short distance and trot away.

I would to some degree assist someone in difficulty, but at the end of the day if you can't control your horse out hacking then put some effort into getting it sorted. Why should others have to go at a slow walk and have their fitness/hacking general enjoyment of a ride out be compromised?

I have been training my youngster from the outset that he does not trot after others. When on hacks, I get him to go last and have others trot on. He is learning that he cannot go at any speed other than the one I ask and must never attempt to race or play catch up. This is for the show ring as well as general good manners.

I also do this with our young clydesdale, either turn her away from others and go in a different direction or let them ride off. She was excellent recently when a pony tanked off, she did jog with me initially but was under control and came home at the pace I wanted.

I have done the same with other horses, though some did take a lot more effort and time to realise they could not have the herd mentality, it can be done. I only had one that was not good if others went past and I did not hack her out solo for this reason.

It is a shame that more people as part of the training process don't teach youngsters that they cannot go mental if a horse goes past them.
 
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Should you not have shouted to ask the other riders if you could join them?

My lad is perfect in 2's but in 3's he is a total plonk so I would not have wanted you to join if a friend and I were out on a quiet hack

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My horse is exactly like that too he's an absolute angel in 2's but as soon as a 3rd horse is there he canters on the spot and performs various airs above ground untill he get's in front which he also doesn't like cos it's too scary
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. but i'm not sure i would have trotted off although i did trot away from 2 horses coming behind me the other day cos i had a feeling it was people i don't like
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I can see both sides really
 
If I was ahead I'd have trotted off quickly, and tried to change off the road quickly. Pip can't cope with overtaking horses, or company with out me getting off due to bad experiences, not just manners. Prehaps that means we are not safe, but I do everything we can to avoid the situation. If the person behind knows they can't cope with following, then TBH thats their problem, and should get off/turn around.
Sorry.
 
Ok now i feel i need to defend me and my horse
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Firstly, whoever said "i shouldn't be out on a horse i wasn't in contol of, or school him better so he was obedient...... I didn't actually say i was out of control
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and he is well schooled.
I feel that if either was not the case, he would have either had me off or tanked off with me
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instead he danced about and made it clear he was not amused.

My horse is very well mannered and MOST of the time is immpecably well behaved, he often nannies youngsters on the roads.
99% of the time he is a saint, but on this occasion, as i will note for future reference, he obviously doesn't like being at the rear of anyone. Yes i could have turned round as some of you have said, but that was the way i had just been and was then going well away from home again
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The horses ahead of me were going at a snail pace walk, so my intention was to get close enough to ask if i could overtake them, i can't see much of a problem with that to be fair.

I never meant it to sound like i planned to join them uninvited!!! That was certainly not on my agenda. I went out on my own cos i wanted to, i am not a tag along
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As for my etiquette.....
I had seen these people a while earlier, i had to ride past them. They were half way across a long bridge, wide enough for a car. They were riding two abreast so rather than upset either of their horses by joining them, i waited for them to cross before i went over. I knew my horse would be fine to go past them but as i didn't know what theirs were like i didn't take any chances, as over the bridge is a lake, that i didn't really want to see any one end up in. So i guess you could say i have some etiquette.

Rant over
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Frankly, if you were doing an endurance ride and couldn't move quickly away from riders coming within 200yds of you ... there would be huge mobs of riders all stuck together! Horses have to get used both to being passed (politely and considerately) by faster horses and to those same horses pulling away once in front.
 
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Are some horse people totally clueless when it comes to horses
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<font color="blue">I'm afraid so </font>

this was fine, it was like riding a jelly, he was walking really fast and taking silly little steps, i laughed at him and wobbled along with him
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<font color="blue"> IMO this is the point at which the OP should have made sure that her horse was listening to her and being well mannered. If you let your horse dictate the pace in one situation, you can't really blame him for taking advantage in another situation</font>

It just amazes me that people can be so daft....
Does anyone else feel like me or am i being silly
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<font color="blue"> It amazes me too. Incidentally I always try to ensure the safety of other riders/walkers/bikers etc when hacking. I would not want to feel that I was even partly responsible for some-one else's injuries, even if they were mainly their own fault </font>

ET make clear differences between quotes and my opinions (Ihope
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actually now i think about it both of my horses have been overtaken or had people trotting off in front of them and they may have a slight moment of disbelief but then they just forget about it and move on, if you know your horse you know how it will react in certain situations and you should be able to avoid getting in a dangerous position
 
WOW never had so many replies ever
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Forgot to add, he is a very sensitive sort, so by laughing along at him and not getting wound up was the way to deal with him. Had i got uptight and worried with him he would have been a real sh1t.

Yes maybe i was in the wrong, but like i said all i wanted to do was get past them.
It isn't often he gets his arse in his hands, i will put this one down to experience and learn a little more form the constant learning curve that is horses
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This horse has given me the confidence to go out on my own and enjoy, at no time did i feel afraid, so to me that is priceless, as 2 years ago after 2 headcases i would'nt have dreamed of getting on board again, never mind sit to his paddies. All i was getting at in my original post was the fact that some people have little regard for other riders
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didn't mean to start a riot
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