Riding Access (Gates and Cattle)

[jinglejoys]

I did the local bridlepath for our group the other day.Rode the part I usually avoided as its pointless and doesn't go anywhere anyway.I had trouble opening and holding the gate open for my mule to squeeze through from the ground,there was no way I could do it from his back it was all I could do to fight the spreings with both hands!

 

[sallyballybee]

I don't mind most gates but I detest these. At my last yard there were swing gates with an extended latch specifically for horses. Several injuries and a couple of horses put down after getting stuck and smashing their way out. Mine just steamrolled through it so that solving it for us.

I would rather pay for a new gate than have a swing shut one, far less hassle and less dangerous to turn around and shut it.

Pan

my friend broke her foot on it once, i avoid the worst ones now...too scary, i like the ones that you can push and they get stuck on a verge!! ideal

 

[Flame_]

FWIW it's this kind of self righteous attitude of entitlement that some riders seem to have, which makes most landowners so loathe to allow riders to cross their land.

What the same sense of entitlement that motorists have when they want roads building through people's land to get where they're going? Its a good job the government supports this sense of entitlement or no one would be able to go anywhere, would they? At least with bridleways and footpaths the land remains the property of the landowner, people just have the right to pass through it safely.

 

[monkeybum13]

eg on bridleway what wouldnt be allowed would be:
self closers on gates which snap back quickly onto horses legs as you take them through

Try telling that to the BHS who actively encourage these gates on several bridlepaths. One bridlepath has 5 of them and another has 8 iirc. These are not long distance bridlepaths either!
Accidents have been reported - my horse has been caught in one resulting in a cut and my mum badly damaged her leg.

 

[Patterdale]

Flame have you read the rest if the thread? This is not a bridleway, it is a public road and there are NO access issues, the only issue is having to get off to open a gate, which I think is entirely reasonable.

What I think is UNreasonable, is people expecting landowners to pay for new gates, and talking about petitioning to councils etc for this to happen, when they can already get through.

This kind of attitude I have a real problem. People could just get off and do the gate, as most of the rest of us do. But no, no, let's make a massive fuss, put everyones backs up and cause a load of trouble instead, just to make it that bit easier, because some people think it is their god given right.

This attitude I really struggle with.

I am all for access, but there ALREADY IS access in this case.

 

[Flame_]

Flame have you read the rest if the thread? This is not a bridleway, it is a public road and there are NO access issues, the only issue is having to get off to open a gate, which I think is entirely reasonable.

What I think is UNreasonable, is people expecting landowners to pay for new gates, and talking about petitioning to councils etc for this to happen, when they can already get through.


I am all for access, but there ALREADY IS access in this case.

Yes fair enough, it was just in response to the comment about landowners not wanting to let riders across their land. Maybe the gates could get some new fasteners to make opening them from horseback possible? Especially if the gate swings easily. I suppose it depends what sort of gates they are. If it would make the OP happier, it might be worth them paying for it so long as they got permission first.

 

[Patterdale]

I suggested that, then would suit all.
I don't mean to rant but it makes me mad!
We have problems with walkers/dogs etc on our farm, no ones ever just happy to walk on the path with no fuss....it's s bit of a sore subject for me!

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Here is the 2008 H&H reply to a reader letter about the self closing gates (which are in themselves fine on a bridleway but they MUST be adjusted properly to be safe in use)
QUOTE
"WE have received a number of letters on the subject of bridleway gates recently — some telling us of nasty accidents and lucky escapes — so we approached Henry Whittaker, access chief executive at the British Horse Society (BHS), for his views and advice.

"A few people have complained to us recently about the speed of some self-closing bridleway gates," says Mr Whittaker, adding that there is no current statutory design to which gates must comply but there is a British Standard. If the width of a bridleway gate is less than five feet between the posts, then under Section 145 of the Highways Act 1980, the Highway Authority may require the owner to widen or remove it.

"The self-closing H-frame gates [with a distinctive rider-friendly handle] have been around for a while and were first made with either fixed or variable speed settings, but the main suppliers are now manufacturing gates only with variable speeds.

"The speed is not always checked at the production stage and, although the gates come with instructions for setting the speed, you are lucky if these instructions are still there after the shipping process," says Henry.

"Therefore, the installers need to check the closing speed on site."

According to Mr Whittaker, self-closing gates are designed to be pushed open and swing slowly back, but all sorts of factors can affect this, from the gradient of the bridleway to the width of the gate.

"Obviously a small, light gate will close much faster than a wide, heavy one," he explains.

"Legislation says the gate must be easily opened and closed, but it does not state while mounted.

"I would advise anyone who is worried about a gate in their area to contact their local BHS access officer and ask for the gate in question to be looked at," he says.

The local highway authority should then be informed, but it may not replace a gate just because it is "too heavy" or "shuts too quickly". Mr Whittaker is quick to stress that you should not try and change the speed of the gate yourself.

"If you have had an accident or been injured using a gate on a bridleway you should contact your local BHS access officer immediately," he says.

Advice on the design of bridleway gates is given in the BHS publication Bridleway Gates: A Guide to Good Practice, currently under review.

Information

British Horse Society Tel: 08701 202244 www.bhs.org.uk
Highways Authority Tel: 08457 50 40 30 www.highways.gov.uk
END QUOTE

This may help the poster with the nasty self closing gate, it is possible that the gate can be adjusted; just dont try to DIY; instead contact BHS access officer or council ROW officer and they can approach the landowner.

The reply above does also confirm that there is NO legal requirement on a bridleway for an gates to have to be operable from horseback but they do have to be in full working order. Those having to under 5 knots of baler twine to open a gate on a bridleway can legitimately request that the gate is repaired or replaced.

 

[monkeybum13]

Here is the 2008 H&H reply to a reader letter about the self closing gates (which are in themselves fine on a bridleway but they MUST be adjusted properly to be safe in use)
QUOTE
"WE have received a number of letters on the subject of bridleway gates recently — some telling us of nasty accidents and lucky escapes — so we approached Henry Whittaker, access chief executive at the British Horse Society (BHS), for his views and advice.

"A few people have complained to us recently about the speed of some self-closing bridleway gates," says Mr Whittaker, adding that there is no current statutory design to which gates must comply but there is a British Standard. If the width of a bridleway gate is less than five feet between the posts, then under Section 145 of the Highways Act 1980, the Highway Authority may require the owner to widen or remove it.

"The self-closing H-frame gates [with a distinctive rider-friendly handle] have been around for a while and were first made with either fixed or variable speed settings, but the main suppliers are now manufacturing gates only with variable speeds.

"The speed is not always checked at the production stage and, although the gates come with instructions for setting the speed, you are lucky if these instructions are still there after the shipping process," says Henry.

"Therefore, the installers need to check the closing speed on site."

According to Mr Whittaker, self-closing gates are designed to be pushed open and swing slowly back, but all sorts of factors can affect this, from the gradient of the bridleway to the width of the gate.

"Obviously a small, light gate will close much faster than a wide, heavy one," he explains.

"Legislation says the gate must be easily opened and closed, but it does not state while mounted.

"I would advise anyone who is worried about a gate in their area to contact their local BHS access officer and ask for the gate in question to be looked at," he says.

The local highway authority should then be informed, but it may not replace a gate just because it is "too heavy" or "shuts too quickly". Mr Whittaker is quick to stress that you should not try and change the speed of the gate yourself.

"If you have had an accident or been injured using a gate on a bridleway you should contact your local BHS access officer immediately," he says.

Advice on the design of bridleway gates is given in the BHS publication Bridleway Gates: A Guide to Good Practice, currently under review.

Information

British Horse Society Tel: 08701 202244 www.bhs.org.uk
Highways Authority Tel: 08457 50 40 30 www.highways.gov.uk
END QUOTE

This may help the poster with the nasty self closing gate, it is possible that the gate can be adjusted; just dont try to DIY; instead contact BHS access officer or council ROW officer and they can approach the landowner.

The reply above does also confirm that there is NO legal requirement on a bridleway for an gates to have to be operable from horseback but they do have to be in full working order. Those having to under 5 knots of baler twine to open a gate on a bridleway can legitimately request that the gate is repaired or replaced.

Thank you for this. Have contacted the local BHS officer before and her reply was that she rode through without a problem therefore it should be fine for everyone else
I have reported the incidents on the bhs accidents website and it appears I'm not the only one with gate incidents on the same bridlepath.