Stupid bloody riders on the road!!!!

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Sunny08

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Today driving down the country roads I come across a pair of riders. One didn't have a hat on the other on a 4 year old (they are on another local yard so vaguely know them) was talking on her mobile phone. The four year old horse was leaping all over the road preventing me from passing, the other horse wouldn't walk forwards without the young horse in front. The girl put down her phone kicked it until it went forwards - I think it was spooking at something in the hedge. Anyway as I go to pass another small van comes the other way, I wait, the young horse literally leaps over the road again almost into the van. I then overtook the horses, I had been waiting a good few minutes got no acknowlegement or raised hand from either rider.

There are many issues here as far as i am concerned:
1) If you have a young horse it is the RIDERS responsibility to make sure the horse is road safe!! Train it properly!! (I have a 4 yr old and have been so careful to train her to be as near 100% safe on the road as possible!)
2) Riders who piss about on the road and do not say thank you, or keep them and other road users as safe as possible give the rest of us a bad name!

Sorry rant over - it just really, really annoyed me!
 
How does one train a horse on the road....without taking it on the road? Surely there are lots of horses who start off a little jittery but mature into very sensible hacks?
 
yes,rant away,it gives the rest of us a bad name.
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Well, you have to educate a horse on the road - to become safe on the roads. However, there are ways and means......

Luckily as you know them - you'll be able to give them some advice.
 
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How does one train a horse on the road....without taking it on the road?

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Actually, I now know the answer the this one! My horse's trainer was chasing me and my horse round a 20 x 40 arena in a Discovery this afternoon.
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At some point she's going to have to get used to actual roads though, and I'm sure there'll still be plenty of interesting moments.
 
Don't know about you, but as a horse rider myself I think I'm always a little more patient when held up behind someone struggling a bit with their horse (mobile phone and no hat aside).

I also tend to appreciate that sometimes the rider can't/won't wave or nod etc as they're too busy concentrating on what their horse is doing ... rightly so in some cases!

It would be all too easy for me to sit and be judgemental when I own an 11 year old lightweight cob who is the ultimate confidence giver in every given situation under saddle. However...I choose not to be. I prefer to just thank my lucky stars that I have the honour of owning/riding her and feel compassion (and in the case of some horses much awe) towards those who don't always have it "easy".
 
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I had been waiting a good few minutes

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and?? The one using the phone shouldn't have been, granted, but horses do have to learn how to react to traffic, and occasioanlly, riders simply can't wave a thankyou 9and thes riders annoy me too) but when it is obviously becasue of a young horse playing up, I would rather they kept both hands on the reins, and just nodded if they could.
Sounds like a little patience needed by you on this occasion.
 
Donklet i disagree. All it takes is a second of eye contact and a smile, or a nod of the head. Obviously these people didn't even manage that. I detest riders who don't acknowledge kind drivers on the road
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Don't know about you, but as a horse rider myself I think I'm always a little more patient when held up behind someone struggling a bit with their horse (mobile phone and no hat aside).

I also tend to appreciate that sometimes the rider can't/won't wave or nod etc as they're too busy concentrating on what their horse is doing ... rightly so in some cases!

It would be all too easy for me to sit and be judgemental when I own an 11 year old lightweight cob who is the ultimate confidence giver in every given situation under saddle. However...I choose not to be. I prefer to just thank my lucky stars that I have the honour of owning/riding her and feel compassion (and in the case of some horses much awe) towards those who don't always have it "easy".

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I have to agree with above - Ranter needs learn a little patience and generosity to other horse owner, whatever they are doing if they are on the road on a young ish horse (or any horse for that matter) . As a driver I know I have a brake and accelerator and the brain to use it, so I should be the one that gives way, or time, to the rider!
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lack of hat and mobile phone would annoy me. but i agree with the others that to train a youngster to be a bombproof hack involves road work. if someone has another method please let me know
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is it possible that rider did smile or nod head but this was missed as its such a quick movement? TBH if i was on a leaping youngster i would be trying to stay on rather than wave thanks at drivers, no matter how nice they had been
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Now not wearing a hat or hi viz and talking on a mobile phone is wrong but as a fellow horse rider surely the fact that a horse was jumping all over the road or maybe shying you could understand? where were you going that you couldnt wait and be patient for 6 mins or so until they had got the horses sorted? I was out with a young rider this evening for a hack both of us in Hi Viz, riding single file, neither horse doing anything wrong just quietly walking about 500 yards from our yard and we got called "Tossers" so it works both ways...not exactly the right response even if the driver didnt like horses being on the road. I didnt enjoy telling the 13 year olds Mother that was what had happened. Maybe when your out riding and something similar happens it may make you think again.
 
I appreciate young horses are unpredicatble and the only way they learn is to get out there ....but I agree it is the riders responsibility to train her horse if she was not on her mobile phone and was concentrating on her horse, maybe it would have been better behaved. HP is very spooky but if I anticpate this I can "shoulder in" so his head is away from the "monster" and 9 times out of 10 he wont spook or at least not as badly. If I wasnt fully in control i.e on the phone then he could do what he liked . I think OPs frustration that she wasnt even attempting to control her horse.

IMO it is bad manners if you hold anyone up (even for a short while) not to at least smile and nod. The rider was not to know the car occupant was horsey or not. If I held someone up in North London for that long on HP I would probably have been beeped or they would have forced their way past anyway!!
 
[ As a driver I know I have a brake and accelerator and the brain to use it, so I should be the one that gives way, or time, to the rider!
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You would be suprised how many drivers dont seem to know that though!
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Thats what horses do though, there is always the risk that your horse, however roadworth, might shy and you say you know this was a 4 y o. OK, so the rider had a mobile phone but at least she sounded as though she was relaxed and not panicing. Maybe she wasn't in a position to continually smile and nod and wave at people, maybe you missed her. It might be annoying, but the roads are just as much for riders as for cars.
 
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Today driving down the country roads I come across a pair of riders. One didn't have a hat on the other on a 4 year old (they are on another local yard so vaguely know them) was talking on her mobile phone. The four year old horse was leaping all over the road preventing me from passing, the other horse wouldn't walk forwards without the young horse in front. The girl put down her phone kicked it until it went forwards - I think it was spooking at something in the hedge. Anyway as I go to pass another small van comes the other way, I wait, the young horse literally leaps over the road again almost into the van. I then overtook the horses, I had been waiting a good few minutes got no acknowlegement or raised hand from either rider.

There are many issues here as far as i am concerned:
1) If you have a young horse it is the RIDERS responsibility to make sure the horse is road safe!! Train it properly!! (I have a 4 yr old and have been so careful to train her to be as near 100% safe on the road as possible!)
2) Riders who piss about on the road and do not say thank you, or keep them and other road users as safe as possible give the rest of us a bad name!

Sorry rant over - it just really, really annoyed me!

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Totally agree, tars us all with the same brush, no hat, on a mobile duh, the one without a hat would have to land on her arse to get brain damage, yes young horses need taking on the road to gain experience and problems will arise, but that isn't the way to do it or any sort of example to show motorists
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When you take a baby out on the road to get road experience, you go with a.) someone who can ride and is happy to kick on in front when needed and b.) a horse you can bounce off is any problems happen and again, that horse has got to be happy to go foward as a lead horse

From what the OP has said - they had neither of these things and I can see why that would be annoying, let alone the no acknowledgment etc (hat and mobile - their bed, they lie on it...)
 
Totally agree that the only real way to road train a horse is to take it out in traffic - but there are ways to do it!

Try to get horse to see traffic before actually going out in it (e.g. stand it on the other side of a fence next to the road)
Sensible companion if at all available with a rider who is concentrating on helping you, not chatting on the phone!
Hi viz (well personally I never hack out without it).
Common courtesy to all drivers, especially if you keep them waiting while horse has a hissy fit - it's no wonder a lot of drivers don't slow down or go wide round horses if they get no acknowledgement for doing so.

And as for not wearing a hat on the road, that's her own stupid, foolish choice.

We're a vulnerable group of road users in today's situation, so it's up to us to make it as safe as possible.
 
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[ QUOTE ]
Today driving down the country roads I come across a pair of riders. One didn't have a hat on the other on a 4 year old (they are on another local yard so vaguely know them) was talking on her mobile phone. The four year old horse was leaping all over the road preventing me from passing, the other horse wouldn't walk forwards without the young horse in front. The girl put down her phone kicked it until it went forwards - I think it was spooking at something in the hedge. Anyway as I go to pass another small van comes the other way, I wait, the young horse literally leaps over the road again almost into the van. I then overtook the horses, I had been waiting a good few minutes got no acknowlegement or raised hand from either rider.

There are many issues here as far as i am concerned:
1) If you have a young horse it is the RIDERS responsibility to make sure the horse is road safe!! Train it properly!! (I have a 4 yr old and have been so careful to train her to be as near 100% safe on the road as possible!)
2) Riders who piss about on the road and do not say thank you, or keep them and other road users as safe as possible give the rest of us a bad name!

Sorry rant over - it just really, really annoyed me!

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Totally agree, tars us all with the same brush, no hat, on a mobile duh, the one without a hat would have to land on her arse to get brain damage, yes young horses need taking on the road to gain experience and problems will arise, but that isn't the way to do it or any sort of example to show motorists
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Agree with you Pedantic, I would have been bloody furious with the riders, no hat...stupid beyond belief..... maybe the horse leaping about all over the road, wouldn't have been, if the stupid person riding it had been concentrating on giving the horse confidence instead of rabbiting on the mobile!!!!! I would have been tempted to give them a mouthful..feel sorry for the horses having owners like that.. what prats.. I suppose they thought they looked cool.
 
I think poster is being quite intolerant. fair enough rider souldnt be on the phone, no hat or what ever. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a bombproof horse to hack out with either.
We take the racehorses on the road (albeit for less tan 5 mins eachway to and from the river). each lot is arranged according to the work level and stage of training they are at. Hence the just broken ones hack together and the older ones hack toether etc. We had an incident with an ignorant driver the otherday, nearly endeed up with two riders on the road and one horse on the car. 2 fat arrogant people bombing up the hill ( v steep hill and car was a heap of crap so presume the car wouldnt take them up it at any less speed), didnt not slow down never mind stop when asked and gave the finger, rolled down the window and shoted oscenities when first horse spun - their shouting set some of the others off. 3 cars had passed us on that group of horses just beforehand without incident. Eitherway, car didnt wait and nearly caused an acciddnt.
for the record we stay on the farm paths as far as possible, then have 100-200m on a very quiet road (with very steep hill) then come to a y junction at the bottom of the hill where we go off road to the river (right beside a bridge). The road at the junction (that continues over the bridge) is quite busy though and currently los of council lorries are travelling all the roads in the area. We have met the same truck driver three times each morning for the last week and each time we still have to remind him to slow down and give us a chane, despite signalling to him and thanking him everytime. On the otherhand, his colleague stopped, pulled in and turned off his engine the other day when my horse spun round and refused to pass his dumper truck ( the other 4 hoses had passed without incident). Was very thankful to driver and everytime he approaches us, he pulls in to let us by and is very considerate. We are very lucky that there are very considerate pedestrians, cyclists, farmers and loacals usng the roads generally, who are well used to seeing the horses going to the river.


Drivers are LEGALLY obliged to stop for ANYONE in charge of animals on the road.

Of course riders should salute (by wave or headnod) if at all possile ( we all do), but when you are dealing with a frightened horse its not always possible.
 
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Donklet i disagree. All it takes is a second of eye contact and a smile, or a nod of the head. Obviously these people didn't even manage that. I detest riders who don't acknowledge kind drivers on the road
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hence I said 'a nod if they could' Seems others agree with this, that it is NOT always possible to make contact, maybe only because the driver looked away for that exact second.
I dislike riders who do not ackowledge tha you have waited or whatever, but a little tolerance sometimes...

You seem to have a problem with me, and I don't even know who you are!
 
a problem??
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Sorry i don't think we've spoken before this thread
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I read your reply wrong and thought you were saying they shouldn't be obliged to acknowledge the driver, but you were actually saying they should be allowed to take youngsters out on the road.

So, sorry about that. No problem, i promise
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Riding a horse on the roads and using a mobile phone at the same time is irresponsible and dangerous behaviour.

Young horses should initially be exposed to roads by taking them on the roads in the early light mornings when there is little traffic about and they should be escorted by a road safe horse and rider.

As regards thanking drivers then this can easily be done with a smile and nod of the head without having to take ones hands off the reigns.

Riders like this are a nuisnace and danger to other riders as they only wind up motorists who then show less regard to other riders they meet on the road.
 
Ok so the no hat and on a phone bit is just silly. Having a young horse who's a bit daft on the road is just one of those things and the only way to teach a horse is to get to out there in my opinion.

However, I have been stuck behind a woman riding her horse in the middle of a country lane, at dusk with no hi viz and with a dog trotting along with her. I could not pass unless she moved to the side but she continued to plod up the middle of the road - I had lights on due to the poor light but yet she didn't notice me. It's very difficult, she clearly hadn't noticed me (her dog had!) and I cannot beep my horn can I. I was following her for about 2 mins as she ambled along. FINALLY she looked round as I think she noticed her dog was looking at me.

She slowly moved to the side and it was only when I passed I realised WHY she had not noticed me - she was talking on her phone!!! I was fuming to be honest and she looked at me as if i was putting her out cos she'd had to move aside (there is plenty of verge space on the road)!!! It is not the first time either I have seen her and it's always the same, she is so ignorant or is that arrogant in her case?! Hmm, i think her horse and dogs have more road sense!

However today i saw a real example of a brain dead driver - horse and rider (well 2 of them) riding past parked cars outside a church (always the same on a sunday!) yet the lady behind them obviously didn't have the patience to wait and proceeded to squeeze past having to mount the pavement on the other side of the road in the process - we were coming towards her (our right of way in our car) and had to pull in as she continued on her mad squeeze attempt. She seemed totally oblivious to her idiotic behaviour and thank god the horse was nice and well behaved!

Sometimes wonders never cease!
 
[ QUOTE ]
Riding a horse on the roads and using a mobile phone at the same time is irresponsible and dangerous behaviour.

Young horses should initially be exposed to roads by taking them on the roads in the early light mornings when there is little traffic about and they should be escorted by a road safe horse and rider.

As regards thanking drivers then this can easily be done with a smile and nod of the head without having to take ones hands off the reigns.

Riders like this are a nuisnace and danger to other riders as they only wind up motorists who then show less regard to other riders they meet on the road.

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Well said Peter.

No hat and on the phone with a young horse on the road isn't "a bit silly" it's downright irresponcable and dangerous for "all" concerned.
 
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