Nearly a nasty accident!

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fallenangel123

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I went to the stables this morning as usual, baby asleep in the car, three year old 'helping'. Most of them were out, I was just helping her put out her old pony, we took his headcollar off and stepped away about two paces when a gas powered bird scare went off scaring the bejesus out of all of us and causing the old boy to take off for the far side of the field with the others! Can you imagine if she still had hold of him? It still has me feeling sick. He is spectacularly kind and sensible but this was a bit much!

On investigation I found the scarer is about 30m from my hedge! It went off twice more while I was up there, each time the horses took off. Is there any legal requirement about how far from stables these need to be, my mare is a nervous wreck at the best of times! Obviously it isn't going to be safe to let the kids ride while it's there or we really will have a disaster! (feels sick again)

There was no one at the farm when I came back past, but I'll try again later, probably better once I have calmed down anyway!
 
there are lots round us unfortunately... thankfully my boys are pretty used to them as i have to hack past them. Im not sure about legislation but perhaps if you explain to the farmer he might move it? Perhaps he just didnt realise where he positioned it was too close... although they still make a fearsome noise a field away im afraid.
 
God, I bet that was frightening! My 4yr old daughter has had some near misses too and it's like time stops! Hope you get it sorted. x
 
Ooh how scary for you! There used to be a birdscarer about that distance from the bridleway I have to go down to get to the forest, I used to wee myself every time I rode past! I don't know if there's a law per se, but I was advised to approach the council. If you're on good terms with the landowner might be worth talking to him first?
 
Are there any houses nearby? If so have a chat with the home owners. If they have an issue with the noise as well, they are more likely to get a response from the council if they complain of noise pollution.
 
Ive had this experience , where the arable fields around us have be planted up and then they put scarers out , they even put one in thefield right beside the lane ( Which is an official bridlepath!!!)where me and my neighbour would literally have to ride past , she complained to the farmer and he moved them all , but i'm not sure what the leagal requirement is but i bet there is one. Speak to the farmer first then , if he's not willing to move them , maybe citizens advice?
 
Check out the NFU code of practice, but if it helps, horses do get used to them. We had one directly behind our hedge in the field and the horses totally ignored it. A lot of our hacking routes have them and we encounter a fair few shoots when we're out riding,even had daily quarry blasts on one of our bridlepaths and the horses quickly got used to them.
 
Check out the leaflet and do contact your council, I think these come under the noise officier ?
We have loads around ours and one suddenly seemed very loud, turned out it was not the right sort for it's position and the famer changed it after a word from the council chap.
Sometimes even just getting them pointed the opposite way is enough to stop the horses reacting so badly.
Good luck.
 
You will find that your horses will very quickly get used to the scarer-treat it as a free desensitiser! But obviously do be careful until they are calm about it going off particularly with the kids.
 
V scary!

As others have said though the horses will eventually get used to them. I've hacked past them now more than 6feet away the other side of only post & wire fencing and, as the horse I was on was used to it, it didn't bat an eyelid... though I can't say as much for myself!

Perhaps it can be a wee bit further off for a while.. and you'll eventually end up with bomb- (well, shot-)proof ponies?

V scary today but don't despair.
 
I get really fed up with people that state horses get used to them. Some may get used to them from a distance but not if one is next to or close to one and remember some are hidden behind hedges etc.

The latest generation of bird scarers are very much louder than the conventional ones and one would need a completely deaf/brain dead horse not to react to them.

May I ask you to report this accidentv under www.horseaccidents.org.uk and E-mail them details of what happened to you.

Gas gun bird scarers are responsible for a large number of horse related accidents each year.

I am afraid there is sadly no legislation to control bird scarers

Landowners/farmers seem totally oblivious to the accidents they can cause.

Only 6 weeks ago we had a serious accident close to me in Ickleford Hertfordshire where a rider was unseated from her horse when a bird scarer went off. The bird scarer went off another two times causing the loose horse to bolt on to a main road and collide with a vehicle. The horse was sadly killed. The landowner/farmer was unaware of the accident until one of their friends told them about it several days later.

The NFU leaflet is totally inadequate as it should state a minimun distance that a bird scarer should be placed from a public highway or public right of way and that it should be sited to point away from any of them.
It should also ask that all three sides of the bird scarer are surrounded by straw bales twice the total height from the ground to the end of the canon so as to baffle the noise from going sideways or backwads especially in windy conditions.
Only the type of bird scarer that has an audible horn that pre-warns one that it is going off by sounding one minute before the explosion should be used as at least they provide some warning that they are there and about to go off.

If you have a bird scarer that is causing you problems contact the landowner/farmer and make a note of the time and date when you spoke to them. If it is situated close to a public right of way and they fail to do anything within 48 hours then contact your local access officer at the County Council.

Landowners/Farmers have a duty of care for anyone on their land and if an accident occurs then the Health and Safety Executive may be able to take action against them.

I treat the dangers of bird scarers very seriously as we have had a number of serious accidents in our area as a result of them.
 
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OWLIE185 said:
I get really fed up with people that state horses get used to them. Some may get used to them from a distance but not if one is next to or close to one and remember some are hidden behind hedges etc.

The latest generation of bird scarers are very much louder than the conventional ones and one would need a completely deaf/brain dead horse not to react to them.
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Erm they do get used to them, and if one was next to our farm I'd make sure mine got grazed near to it for that very reason

Then again i can now fire a .38 revolver from my horse, so I'd be a big fan of bang desensitisation

Just to prove it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AX6rkjnK6A
 
Jen_Cots said:
Then again i can now fire a .38 revolver from my horse, so I'd be a big fan of bang desensitisation
Click to expand...

Loving the video :D ..... would you fire your gun if you were sitting on the horse in the red rug :eek::D?

And, why? Why are you shooting? Do you do some type of display?
Is that a Micklem bridle you have on?

Sorry for going off track OP :o.
 
Hee hee I don't think Minnie (the polo pony) is too impressed, but she *will* be trained later on this year and is getting more used to it!! :D

I'm just riding in a bog standard english hackamore, partly so I could give him plenty of treats whilst this is happening!!

This is training for SLR - Sword, Lance, Revolver competitions, I am trying to qualify for Royal Windsor, but doubt I will be good enough this year! You can also do displays, but frankly I want to compete against the army dudes!!
 
Jen_Cots said:
Erm they do get used to them, and if one was next to our farm I'd make sure mine got grazed near to it for that very reason

Then again i can now fire a .38 revolver from my horse, so I'd be a big fan of bang desensitisation

Just to prove it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AX6rkjnK6A
Click to expand...

Cool - I think my girl would be ok with guns - but balloons, no chance - scaaaaary

OP are your fields connected to your home - if you contact the Council they are only able to help if the gas guns are casuing a stautory nuisance. A satututory nuisance is an unreasonable act or omission that is predjudicial to health or has a material interference with the peaceful use and enjoyment of your home according to sober modes of living. Unfortunately hobby activities dont count. My advice in the first instance would be for you to have a nice polite word with the farmer when you are feeling calm. Remenber that the farmer is trying to protect his livelyhood - birds can strip a rape crop in just a few days.

Bird scarers being used in compliance with the NFU COP are usualy deemed as 'reasonable'. I hate bird scarers, purely because at this time of year I am inundated with compliants, some are justified and normaly dealt with via a quiet word with the farmer but others are totaly ridiculous.
 
Have a word with your local council, particularly their health and safety department, and explain the situation. IMO that is too close, and I'm surprised the farmer would position it so close to your yard. Horses do get used to them going off at regular intervals, but 30ft away is too close and I doubt they'll ever get desensitised to it being this close. They'll always jump, at the very least.

If an accident occurs due to a horse being spooked by a gas gun going off who is liable? My horse was spooked a few weeks ago by a barking dog running at me out of a driveway, causing my horse to spin round into a car (luckily no serious injuries occurred) but the owner of the dog has been reprimanded, and it was made clear by the police to the dog owners that had there been damage to the vehicle or injuries they would have been liable for causing the accident. So, if a gas gun placed next to a yard, or a bridleway caused a similar accident is the farmer liable???
 
With respect, horses do not necessarily get used to them we have one close to the edge in a field next to a road we hack down. I can assure you my horse is not used to it, especially if it goes off when we are riding next to it.

These bl00dy things are a hazard and I do not believe they are worth it for the minimal amount the bird eat. Get rid I say!
 
Jen_Cots said:
Erm they do get used to them, and if one was next to our farm I'd make sure mine got grazed near to it for that very reason

Then again i can now fire a .38 revolver from my horse, so I'd be a big fan of bang desensitisation

Just to prove it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AX6rkjnK6A
Click to expand...

:o er..the mind boggles! In what situation (I assume you're living in England and not the wild west, or guerrilla infested areas of the third world) would you need to be able to shoot a .38 revolver whilst riding your horse?
 
Scary! Glad that the little one is okay. Hopefully the horses get used to the sound of the bird blaster going off, like everything else they usually do (luckily!).
 
The bird scarers were so bad round here at one point despite everybody complaining about them (27 loud bangs every hour minimum) that I was very limited as to where I could take my dogs for a walk, everywhere I went you could hear one upto 5 miles away when ther wind was blowing in the right direction.My Lurcher at the time was terrified and I ended up not even being able to get her out of the house and into the car to go walking.
Poor horse riders had to put up with them very close to the bridlepath and a caravan/mobile home site lost trade because people couldn't stand the noise.The farmer mainly responsible was a law unto himself, locals (who he had planted a bird scarer behind the hedge that backed onto their house) all got together to put pressure on the council, they would not act before that with the separate complaints coming in.
I even went out one sunday morning at 5 am to take the dogs for a walk in peace, no chance the scarer fired up at 5.20 amm SUNDAY morning and then it goes on until after dark often up to 10 pm in the summer. Not only does it scare the living daylights of of sensitive horses and dogs but the constant noise pollution wears you down, we don't want to hear it from dawn till after dark EVERYDAY it spoils our standard of living. I lived on a arable farm when young, we never had these bird scarers and did not suffer too much from bird damage.I have seen birds put up by the scarer circle round and go straight back down to continue feeding, so they don't seem that effective anyway.
A Raptor is far more effective or the sound of one as well as a dummy strung up on lines.
Oz
 
Hi guys, thanks for all your replies. Can't see me firing a gun on Chancer, she doesn't like me doing archery anywhere near.

I took the OH down to the yard with me tonight, just as we got them in it went off followed by the sound of five ponies hitting their doors. He is more diplomatic than me so he went to see the farmer and explained the situation. He was fine about it and is going to get it moved. His wife had seen where it was and told him about it too!

There are plenty of them around the area which the horses ignore generally but this was a bit extreme! Hopefully it'll be gone by tomorrow!!
 
I'm with Owlie 185, we are surrounded by the things and although the horses don't bother too much when out grazing in the paddocks, they always react when out hacking, (severity of reaction depending on how far away the scarer is). My friend and I had a bad fall last year after one went off close by (the landowner has admitted liability), and I just can't believe that they are not listed on the horse accidents website. My fellow liveries and I are currently in discussion with our YO following the introduction of these scarers onto his land which is making hacking a misery.
 
fallenangel123 said:
Hi guys, thanks for all your replies. Can't see me firing a gun on Chancer, she doesn't like me doing archery anywhere near.

I took the OH down to the yard with me tonight, just as we got them in it went off followed by the sound of five ponies hitting their doors. He is more diplomatic than me so he went to see the farmer and explained the situation. He was fine about it and is going to get it moved. His wife had seen where it was and told him about it too
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Lovely to hear you sorted it out relatively easily!

Although obviously I am very disappointed that you are not going to take up horseback archery!!! ;)

horseback_archery.jpg
 
I have to plan my rides carefully waiting in the stables, till i hear a bang - then rush out past the banger - then i cant come back until i hear a recent bang - then i rush back in!!! :D - I wouldnt consider this a problem, i would rather that than find one I didnt know was there.

A horn warning would be VERY helpful!!!
 
Jen_Cots said:
Lovely to hear you sorted it out relatively easily!

Although obviously I am very disappointed that you are not going to take up horseback archery!!! ;)

horseback_archery.jpg
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Lol! I've always enjoyed field archery and having seen horseback archery thought it was a great way to put two hobbies together. Chancer has other ideas! Just standing near her the arrow goes one way, her another! My mini Shetland is fascinated by it all, but I fear my feet may drag a bit on him!!!
 
Good as his word the bird scarer is now about 300m away, still loud but they are ignoring it again. Don't you just wish everyone was as easy to get along with!

Right now I am totally out of excuses and will actually have to get my butt back in the saddle!
 
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