Should the countryside be an exclusive club for landowners?

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FinellaGlen

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Just a question but do you think that horse riders should have access to bridle paths and field margins etc or should the only people allowed to ride there be farmers and wealthy landowners? Someone has said to me that they ride on their own farmland but wouldn't dream of allowing anyone else to do so. Fair enough but they then went on to say that they wouldn't expect to be allowed to ride on anyone else's land. Again fair enough in one way but, in another way, why would they ever need to ride on anyone else's land if they have hundreds of acres of their own? A case of "I'm alright Jack"?

Ultimately, if all landowners and farmers were allowed to ban horses from setting hoof on their land the numbers of horses would seriously decline in my opinion. There must be an awful lot of people like me who can afford a horse but cannot, sadly, afford hundreds of acres on which to ride it. Does this mean that I, and people like me, shouldn't be allowed to own horses until we win the lottery?

I'm interested to hear the thoughts of others, especially if you do own large amounts of land and even more especially if you think that non landowning horse owners should stick to maneges or public roads.
 
some of it is a small percentage of riders who are ruining it for everyone else.
a farmer who has had his crops damaged by some little git on an uncontrollable pony isnt likely to want any rider on his land full stop and who can blame him?
however if you approach a farmer and ask permission to ride on his land you are far more likely to find him saying yes as you are not ignoring his right to say no.
the majority of farmers i know have no problems with the responsible members of the riding community using thier land as long as they stick to the edges of planted crop fields and most importantly gates are always closed behind you.
 
I am country born and bred. I live in a very rural area in the middle of thousands of acres of arable land. I wouldn't dream of leaving a gate open. Never have, never will. I would only ever ride on a field margin. I have asked the farmer for permission but he said, "No".

There will always be a minority of people who don't treat other people's land, possessions etc with respect but I'm not one of them. I am still not allowed to ride on his land though
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This question probably depends where you live. Lots of people on here won't live near big country estates and farms, so this won't apply to them. Others, like me, have the luck and pleasure of 100s of acres of public access land like forestry commission land. I would guess a few have enough of their own land to ride across.

I would imaine in the majority of instances, not that many people are faced with a straight choice between riding across someone else's farmland and the roads.
 
I absolutely agree with you. I find it annoying that we are unwelcome on even country lanes, yet surrounded by inaccessible land which I for one would pay to use. I ride whenever I can on farm land. Thankfully my landlord has lots of land which he rents out and I tend to ride on that, roll on harvest time so I can sneak on some fields to have a canter on the stubble.....
 
Naturally, unfortunately the yard at which I keep my pony is situated between a motorway and a busy A road. It's up a dead end track which leads one way to the slip road, along which cars travel at speeds of 70 mph and more. I daren't venture across it for obvious reasons. The other way is a quiet track through farmers fields.

My yard is really good, my yard owner is lovely, my fellow liveries are great and the facilites (apart from the hacking) are just what I want so I don't want to move yards. I just have to accept that I can only hack on the one track like I have been doing for the past year. If the farmer who owned the land was "horse friendly" hacking would be a lot more interesting but I can put up with it because everything else is so good. I would just really enjoy the chance to ride along the field margins once in a while that's all
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siennamum - I'd pay too if I was allowed to go round the field edges. I might suggest that my YO asks if we are allowed to ride if we pay. I have never even met the farmer in person. I'm too much of a coward
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some farmers don't have 100's of acres and I know many who are worried that if they say yes to some riders they will end up with every traveller in the neighbourhood racing over their fields.Another aspect is the "If it has been used by riders for 20years it will be open to everyone" so they'd rather say no and nip it in the bud.
 
im lucky enough to have a dad who knows most of the local farmers and ive always been allowed to ride on their land, even after my pony wrecked some crops....bolting and broncing across the field. i only ever ride on the edges of the fields and close all gates.

if i didnt have access to farmers land i wouldnt be able to hack, it would be all roadwork.
 
Of course the countryside is not an exclusive 'club' but please to note that as for riding on field margins there are restrictions under EU/Natural England regulations that do not allow driving/riding on some types of field margins. Also there are restrictions on when they are able to be topped (mowed). Believe me there is as much red tape involved in the countryside as there is anywhere else - for example if a rider or horse was to injure themselves when riding on a farm they could be sued (yes that is the society we now inhabit!) Bridleways are different of course and should be open to all on horseback - not the case I am sure but pls don't blame the farmer for restricting access to field margins as penalties for misuse ( and the eye in the sky satellites do watch over us) are severe! Communication is the answer to access - go personally and ask - it can work - not all landowners are fiends!!
 
If you are interested in setting up a toll ride scheme, where members pay a subscription, which is paid to the farmer(s) contact TROT - www.tollrides.org.uk

I know that there are many anti toll rides people, but there are also 3,000 members of toll ride schemes who are happy to pay and have lots more riding and improved routes, particularly where the landowners would NEVER contemplate a bridlepath (which has a right for everyone for ever) but might consider a permissive scheme which brings in a bit of money.
 
Boosh - we have asked, several times. The answer is definitely "No". None of us is a day under 45. All of us are responsible. No-one wants to cause any damage. There are only one or two other horses and riders who could access the fields in question due to the siting of the yard but the answer is still "No". The farmer doesn't just own 5 or 6 acres. The fields round here are enormous and even if he only owned one field (he owns lots in reality) it would still amount to about 50 acres. He just says that he doesn't like horses, end of.
 
I am one of the lucky few who owns a decent sized farm and I have wonderful trails up in our own woods. I had the trails cut out a few years ago at vast expense! However they are amazing and really lovely trails. I am even luckier in that all of my neighbours also own large farms .. and they all happen to have horses thankfully. From my trails I have direct off-road access to literally miles and miles of trails.

I actually encourage my neighbours to ride my trails (which they do most days) as this keeps them accessible and keeps the weeds down and inhibits the trees from encroaching on the trails. The only problem I come across with some of my neighbours/boarders is that I find the ones who do not own very much land, do seem to ride out much further into the crop fields, than the neighbours who do farm large amounts of land. I ask everyone who rides on our fields before we harvest if they would mind not going any further than 10ft into the field - some people do not stick to this though
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.

I would think that the biggest problem your farmers may have is the liability for insurance if anything were to go wrong. I find it doubtful they would keep you off their fields for any other reason than insurance purposes. I have had everyone who rides my trails sign my insurance company's waiver forms, to which everyone was happy to do.

I have to say, I do expect to be able to ride on the neighbours land when they use ours, I wouldn't expect to ride other farmers land if they didn't have horses ... however I do meet all the farmers around her often when we are out riding and they invariably offer more trails to us when we stop and speak to them. The old farmers in particular absolutely seem to love seeing all the horses out and about and are very anxious to tell us where their trails are. Most of these trails are very overgrown and sometimes difficult to find however we take our secateurs and small axes with us and eventually we clear them. The old boys are always very happy to hear that we have opened them back up again and they are being used. They seem to have no concept of insurance and we have never been asked to sign any waivers when going onto their land.
 
With the outdoor access code up here the countryside is open to everyone. Technically I can go and ride in any fields I want, providing I don't disturb livestock and ruin crops, and the farmers are not allowed to stop me (thats simplified, I can't remember the exact details
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). But in reality I know the farmers would be annoyed and it would cause problems between them and my YO so I don't bother
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Its strange really. I would be annoyed if I bought 1000 acres for my own use (in my dreams!!) and all the local riders used it. But on the other hand I think farmers should be kind and let me ride on their land
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I think we all have to respect each others private property, just because someone owns a lot of rideable acres doesn't mean they should allow us access to ride on however careful we are. If you were paying the mortgage etc on the farmland you may not want to *share* it with your neighbours either
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Would like to point out that I'm a farmer
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as we have CSS on the farm we have a few horseriders using the tracks and would like to see more. I'm not allowed to ride on certain neighbouring farms - because they don't like horses !- even though I'm on friendly terms with the farmer
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There is always the opportunity of creating a new network of local bridleways in your immediate areas. It does take a lot of work and time but it can be done.

If you are interested in creating new off road riding in your area then simply contact your local BHS access officer who will be only to pleased to help you.

Having said that I own 6 unfenced fields which I put down to grass a few years ago and keep the grass topped regularly. . I allow local riders to use them and don't have any problems at all. As regards public liability I got insurance cover from the NFU which was very reasonably priced so insurance cover is not the problem.

I am only too pleased to see riders using my fields but some landowners may wish to have there privacy.
 
i think alot of it has to do with insurance. farmers will never be allowed to ban horses from public bridleways, although you do hear of odd cases of landowners making things difficult....
if you allow people to ride on your property and an accident happens you can be held liable and in this day and age well ......silly litigation cases are all over the shop.
Also i can see where farmers are coming from regarding crop damage from people who simply cannot stick to the proper track, wether that be a field margin or a bridlepath.
I would be quite happy to pay for a permit and declare that i ride at my own risk if it meant using farmland margins insted of roads. i count myself lucky as we have quite a few nice bridleways around plus a couple of huge fields to ride in.
 
No, the countryside is for invading townies, apparently.
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There is a problem for farmers, in that if they allow dog walkers, riders etc to use their land, under some legislation or bylaw, if that land is used for a certain time, it becomes a public right of way. Sadly this means many farmers are no longer keen to grant access. The 'right to romaers' have a lot to answer for... Landowners pay a vast amount for the privilege of working and owning their land - ask yourself how you would feel about people feeling they had an automatic right to use some facility of yours just because you happen to own it, and it suits them to do so.
 
I had the same problem with a farmer near to my field and I wrote him a letter in the end asking if I could not ride across the land facing was there another track he wouldnt mind me riding on.
He replied allowing me to cross a different field which he did not use for his crops....
might be worth a try...
I was situated on a very busy road and I just expressed how dangerous it was and would really appreciate any support he could offer me....
 
Oh it is so sad - I can feel the bitterness and frustration in your comments - if you were one of our neighbours you would be more than welcome to ride on the farm - believe me in the current scheme of things we farmers are the peasants - I keep telling my children to take up the law or accountancy and have the countryside as a hobby! Suggest take up hunting then you will have access to lots of open countryside and the Masters will take the flack if you go wrong!
 
My father gets extremely upset about this. You may think his arguement unreasonable, but I don't think it is.

He paid for that farmland. He was the one who raised the money to buy it, who worked his butt off to repay the money. Without that land he would have no money - it is his office, his life, his everything. For my family, that farm is all they have.

Why should someone else come and use it just because they feel they should? How would you like it if someone came along on a sunny day and sat down in your garden because they felt like it? You paid for that garden, it is your garden - but just because people want to, they come and sit in it. You would feel invaded, cheated almost.

That is how it feels for some, not all, some farmers. Their land is all they have and as 'stupid' as it may seem to you, when someone comes and freely uses it at their leisure it makes farmers angry. You wouldn't go and ramble about in peoples offices, so why would you in a farmers field?

It is something I feel very strongly about. When a farmer or landowner has given you permission to ride on their land (I feel it is only correct to ask - I'd ask before I came into someones garden....) then it is fine, or if you are riding on a bridle path or route designated for your use. But when inconsiderate horse owners feel it is their right to gallop on farmers land without asking if makes certain people VERY angry. It is certainly not always a case of the 'land gentry' not wanting the commonfolk riding on their land - it is often a case of the farmer who struggled to buy that land, the land which provides everything for him, not wanting people trampling about on it, often causing problems even though they don't think they are.

I'm not being mean or directing my post at anyone in particular, I just want you to see it from my fathers point of view. That land is all he has and when people feel some automatic right to use it without asking (or even when he says, politely, I'd prefer if you don't, still doing it...) it makes him upset.
 
I do agree with you and your father actually. I often liken our farm to other peoples gardens; mine is just an extra giant garden and yes I have to say if some person, whom I did not know, came wandering over my farm I would most definitely have something to say to them...how rude!
 
not all farmers are wealthy, there money is tied up in the land and they earn a fair bit less than most other industries, they go without holidays and other luxuries-take that from me, no holiday in 20 years, if you want acres to ride over save your money and buy them, it is my choice to be a farmer and not have holidays but do get annoyed by thr tag of wealthy
 
Thank you for all your explanations of why it is wrong for me to want to ride along one or two field margins on my pony. I am starting to understand now that even if you own a "garden" which stretches to thousands of acres you would not wish members of the public to set foot on it. Unfortunately, I haven't had a holiday in years either due to my choice of career and I will never, even if I give up eating, be able to afford land
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