Stupid gates on Bridleways! what is the safest option - get off or stay on?

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pollypock1211

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After numerous accidents on different horses i am really losing my patience with the gates on our bridleways. I'm sure it is not just me and they could be tolerated if we all had a bombproof cob, but when dealing with a youngster its a different story. The problems with them are endless, closing too fast, the stockproof handles etc, and i have complained twice to our Local Authority with no luck and hardly a response at that! I want to take this further or at least TRY to do something about it to help all our local equestrian users.

I am in a difficult area (which at the time i thought was ideal) so there are no other routes other than to go on the Bridleway which you'd think would be perfect for a youngster! but it seems it would be safer to go on the road at this rate!

The way i have been tackling the problem so far is getting on and off and i have done this continuously now for 4 weeks - she has been good most times bless her but twice i haven't been able to get back on and have had to walk it home! and we did have a near miss yesterday when something spooked her whilst i was trying to get on and inevitably bolted. This made me think! i should not have to be getting on and off constantly 4, 5 and sometimes 6 times during a ride. She is a very spooky horse and it is not worth thinking about if her bridle got caught in the silly long handles (like it did my last horse).

Not sure what to do next - should i continue to get off or should i try and do the gates whilst mounted ? i have emailed the Local Authority but i doubt ill get a satisfactory response if any at all :( in the meantime it is preventing me riding my horse.

Any views, ideas and experiences please. Thank you :)
 
Contact your local BHS Access rep, you don't have to be a member to ask for help. If you don't know who that is pm me and I'll have a look for you :-)
 
Be careful what you ask for though. A lot of gates around us have had the "horse friendly" fastenings put on. I personally find them harder to open and less safe than the old ones. The amount of pressure needed to pull the lever nearly has you off the horse, assuming you can get your position just right to be able to pull it over.
 
All our gates have 'supposedly' been designed with 'equestrian users' in front mind. When i first complained 2 years ago the reply was that they met the BHS standards. However i have been reading a report from last year and it seems they are to be discontinued ! as a trial proved these gates are unsafe !
 
rockysmum said:
Be careful what you ask for though. A lot of gates around us have had the "horse friendly" fastenings put on. I personally find them harder to open and less safe than the old ones. The amount of pressure needed to pull the lever nearly has you off the horse, assuming you can get your position just right to be able to pull it over.
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and yes i bet yours are the same as ours the fastenings on are hard to open :( that's also another problem with them. To be honest i don't know what would be best suited for us but there has to be something out there.
 
Personally I never get off as to much hassle to get back on my giant. He was rubbish at gates but soon learnt I would happily stand by a gate for hours if need be. He would rather be on his way and has magically transformed
 
I really struggle with the lever ones too. You end up leaning across the horses neck to reach them to open them then hope that the horse doesn't barge through before it's properly open. I've had my knees caught a few times so now end up with one leg drawn forward to avoid catching the gate. Not exactly secure. Hate them.
 
Urgh this drives me mental also. We have access to a fabulous nature reserve for hacking and the gate has one of those tall handles designed for horse riders but the gate is also spring loaded and as I dont have Inspector Gadget retractable arms, I cannot hold it open while guiding my 16'3 Warmblood through it. So I have no choice but to get off, open gate, go through and then get back on, Fortunately the gate is designed that its quite easy to use it to get back on again once its closed.

We also have a bridge on our hacking route - there is a sign that asks riders to dismount for safety but they have very kindly provided a large mounting block either side of the bridge to make it easy to get on again - else I would be buggered lol :D
 
It's funny, isn't it, how scary the "rider friendly" gates are? I have no problem opening and closing regular gates with sliding latches, even though it involves hanging off the side of the 17hh too tall horse - and after training, he understands perfectly how they work too, and never minds when they bang shut loudly. He's patient enough to allow me to faff around resliding the latch back to securely close gate.

The rider friendly ones with the big long handles and spring closures - we just can't do them without me getting off :rolleyes: They swing shut too fast and too strongly, and we have had horse scoooting through to get away from closing gate but with me still holding the handle, so getting reins caught over the top of it :eek: I hate 'em. I can't honestly think of a safe way of operating them, unless I train the horse to use his bum to hold the gate open while I deal with the handle?

Suggestions welcome!

We also have a bridge on our hacking route - there is a sign that asks riders to dismount for safety but they have very kindly provided a large mounting block either side of the bridge to make it easy to get on again - else I would be buggered lol
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Now that's thoughtful!
I usually end up using gate to remount! It really gets to me that I have a horse who's good enough to let me remount off a metal gate, but given how good he is, if the gate was properly thought out I shouldn't have had to get off in the first place!
 
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We have a mix round here. Our local council had to spend the budget put aside for gates(even though our nice wooden ones were fine). We ended up with some nice step troughs which are obviously not gates but they are fine. But our lovely wooden gates are now metal which on a freezing day freeze up are noisey(so yes a spooky horse wont like that).
The new ones are designed to close so yes you have to be quick. I have managed to stay on and have had to get off sometimes. (Find something to stand on to get back on..end up with mud on saddle and usually the bridleway is muddy so wearing wellies is the only option just in case). Adjust the stirrup down one side etc.

Nothing wrong with getting off just an inconvenience.

Our local budget had to be spent regardless and unfortunately I blame the ramblers they are very strong in our area so get more voice. The council do what they want anyway.
 
There has just been a big study done by the BHS, and published in a nice glossy booklet.
I suggest getting a copy of this and sending it to the local authority. Get in touch with your BHS representative.

Our local Council think that if you ride a horse across country you should be capable of getting off and on to open gates if necessary, but on the other hand they are gradually improving the gates on bridlepaths, espcially ones that are well used.

How about taking a Council officer for a ride on a horse and getting him to try and open the gate from the top of the horse? Our local bridlepath association did this once - acutally the problem was barbed wire too close to the path and a bridge with a gate at each end, rather than an awkward gate - but they soon saw things from our point of view! At a later date, we did a presentation to the local volunteers at their annual meeting, showing how much space a horse needs and just how high you are when on a horse. This was "stolen" f rom Catriona Cook, who is a BHS person in Yorkshire.
 
pollypock1211 said:
After numerous accidents on different horses i am really losing my patience with the gates on our bridleways. I'm sure it is not just me and they could be tolerated if we all had a bombproof cob, but when dealing with a youngster its a different story. The problems with them are endless, closing too fast, the stockproof handles etc, and i have complained twice to our Local Authority with no luck and hardly a response at that! I want to take this further or at least TRY to do something about it to help all our local equestrian users.

I am in a difficult area (which at the time i thought was ideal) so there are no other routes other than to go on the Bridleway which you'd think would be perfect for a youngster! but it seems it would be safer to go on the road at this rate!

The way i have been tackling the problem so far is getting on and off and i have done this continuously now for 4 weeks - she has been good most times bless her but twice i haven't been able to get back on and have had to walk it home! and we did have a near miss yesterday when something spooked her whilst i was trying to get on and inevitably bolted. This made me think! i should not have to be getting on and off constantly 4, 5 and sometimes 6 times during a ride. She is a very spooky horse and it is not worth thinking about if her bridle got caught in the silly long handles (like it did my last horse).

Not sure what to do next - should i continue to get off or should i try and do the gates whilst mounted ? i have emailed the Local Authority but i doubt ill get a satisfactory response if any at all :( in the meantime it is preventing me riding my horse.

Any views, ideas and experiences please. Thank you :)
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I think you should train your horse at home to stand while you get on, thank your lucky stars that you have any bridleways to ride on with unlocked gates at all and stop whinging and expecting my taxes or farmers measly profits to be spent on gates you have an easier time with, personally.
 
Just bought a hunting crop to try to help with gates as one has a sign on it asking to shut gate which sticks up an inch above top rail and catches martingale, and a narrow track with ditch to turn on when through gate, also thong on it to deter loose dogs since being attacked by one.
 
cptrayes said:
I think you should train your horse at home to stand while you get on, thank your lucky stars that you have any bridleways to ride on with unlocked gates at all and stop whinging and expecting my taxes or farmers measly profits to be spent on gates you have an easier time with, personally.
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Oh so i dont pay any taxes! I live on a farm so i earn the measly profits you are referring to, and pay my taxes, and a lot of them! And GUESS WHAT i am lucky that i do have a bridleway that is extremely popular and encouraged to be used by horse riders especially! That is what it is there for! haha! The gates, as far as i can see, are there merely as a barrier of access. It is not the fact i have an easier time with them it is the fact they are dangerous! and just to finish off my horse is extremely well 'trained' for a 5 year old! what do you want me to do? train her to get the lever between her mouth so she can pull the lever over herself whilst swinging her bum through the gate then shutting it behind her!!! Ill try that one!!
 
Actually - with regard to the above comments re taxes etc - in our area Surrey Wildlife hope to receive a large grant from the EU to graze cattle on our common land. If they do - they will have to install gates and fencing etc etc! So whilst not going into the ins and outs etc these bridleway gates are becoming a big issue with the BHS undertaking safety studies etc. So if in doubt - get in touch with your local access rep - they may be able to help or at least advise whether the current gates are considered dangerous.
 
pollypock1211 said:
Oh so i dont pay any taxes! I live on a farm so i earn the measly profits you are referring to, and pay my taxes, and a lot of them!
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So here is your choice. We cannot pay enough tax to have everything that everyone wants. So, what's your choice, a drug to keep people with cancer alive longer, or your gates? That's the reality.


It is not the fact i have an easier time with them it is the fact they are dangerous!
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They sound as if they are only dangerous because your horse has not been trained to do them. I encounter gates at least as "bad" as you are describing every time I go off road onto my neighbours land.

and just to finish off my horse is extremely well 'trained' for a 5 year old! what do you want me to do? train her to get the lever between her mouth so she can pull the lever over herself whilst swinging her bum through the gate then shutting it behind her!!! Ill try that one!!
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No, I want you to train her to wait while you unfasten a gate and open it. To walk through calmly and to wait while you shut it. And to stand while you get back on.

And I personally never take a horse out on my neighbours land with padlocked gates, barbed wire topped gates, gates tied with baler twine, gates that are not gates, just interlocked sheep hurdles, and gates that are not even on hinges until they do.

Mine do that at three. I would expect it of any five year old and I would not take it into that situation until it did.

One of your complaints was getting your reins looped around a totally standard long lever handle on a gate. If you cannot manage the gate without that happening, stop doing them, you are in danger and so is your horse.
 
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Mmmm, difficult one this.

Firstly (sorry, this sounds like sour grapes, but isn't intended to be), I'd just LOVE it if there WERE any decent bridleways around here, period. There is one, but it runs right beside a dual carriageway and the others are all "permissive" and therefore are like a jungle for about 51 weeks of the year until someone decides to trim the stuff back. So I'd kill for ANY bridleway that's half decent enough to get up speed for a canter on!

Having said that - IF your horse is struggling with the opening-gates routine, to the extent that you had to get off and said horse then "bolted" with you, personally I feel that you maybe need to take a step or two back here. What I'd be inclined to do, if you can, is to get your horse used to this sort of obstacle in a "safe" environment such as a school or whatever. You obviously might struggle to replicate a bridleway gate, but what the basic problem could be is that your horse isn't as yet yielding to the leg and you might need to practice leg yield/shoulder in etc etc at home first, even starting from the ground and working up to mounted work if needs be. Coz to effectively go through any obstacle like a gate the horse needs to be able to yield to the leg basically and be able to understand the concept.

Personally I'd work on this at home, THEN try the gates on the bridlepath when you're both ready.
 
There are so many different views from horse riders regarding suitable gates, however maybe mounting blocks should be provided on both sides of the gates so as to enable riders to re-mount more easily. What do you think?

May I suggest that you read the recent booklet published by the British Horse Society 'A trial of self-closing bridle gates and a horse friendly vehicle barrier by The British Horse Society 2011' Please ask them to send you a copy. Their contact details are The British Horse Society Abbey Park Stareton Lane Kenilworth Warwickshire CV8 2XZ. Tel: 02476 840515 www.bhs.org.uk E: enquiries@bhs.org.uk

Your comments on the booklet would be appreciated by the BHS.
 
The council have installed 'horse'gates on a byway round me as they have blocked it off to the 4x4 groupies that regulary used it and enjoyed crashing in and out of the river along it they damaging it so were banned.
They are the metal ones with the tall lever handle that are very noisy. They do open easily but are sprung loaded so slam really quickly. I have been ok with them but I don't know how people ride and lead through them.

A concrete block/mounting block each side would be a good idea to help people who can't manage them or they frighten their horses.
 
cptrayes said:
So here is your choice. We cannot pay enough tax to have everything that everyone wants. So, what's your choice, a drug to keep people with cancer alive longer, or your gates? That's the reality.
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Yes of course i would choose a cancer drug over the gates and i respect that our issue with the gates is probably a very minor one compared to other issues our current climate is facing. However, it is still an issue and a dangerous one which needs rectifying sooner rather than later! This is all i'm saying. There are grants out there for this purpose and it comes out of a completely different pot of money than to that of a cancer drug!


cptrayes said:
They sound as if they are only dangerous because your horse has not been trained to do them. I encounter gates at least as "bad" as you are describing every time I go off road onto my neighbours land.
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How do you know ?? have you seen the gates i am referring to ?? I'm guessing not. If you refer to the BHS report these gates are actually 'Gate 6' and the quote from their findings of this report is
"Gate 6 produced sufficient adverse events and was sufficiently difficult to use for the BHS to advise that it should now be withdrawn"
It is not just my horse, it is everyone in the area that has a problem with the gates.


cptrayes said:
No, I want you to train her to wait while you unfasten a gate and open it. To walk through calmly and to wait while you shut it. And to stand while you get back on.
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As previously described, the gates are not that easy (see above), nevertheless she waits and stands patiently but we cant help the odd pheasant jumping out of the bush or a barking dog running up behind us and expect her to stand and wait whilst i mount!!



cptrayes said:
And I personally never take a horse out on my neighbours land with padlocked gates, barbed wire topped gates, gates tied with baler twine, gates that are not gates, just interlocked sheep hurdles, and gates that are not even on hinges until they do.
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nor do I !

cptrayes said:
Mine do that at three. I would expect it of any five year old and I would not take it into that situation until it did.
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I live on farm - I have no menage/school. Where do you want me to practice these gates? should i buy one and plonk it in the middle of the field so i can practice injuring ourselves?? The only way to train is to get out there and do it - My 5 year old has WON and competed BD up to Novice level with constant scores being 70% and above so do not tell me she has no manners and needs 'training'
 
I dont mind any gates bar the spring shut ones. I've used one once and never again, dangerous things. The only gate my horse ever refused and has smashed a few horses up who have ended up trapped in them :(

I always do on the horse but they've always been very good. Something nervy I'd probably get off or of with someone else get them to hold bac gate.o
 
Some of the gates near me are brilliant, I especially like it when they tie a temporary one across the farmyard to move some stock, then leave it for the rest of the day. OP mine wasa pain to do gates on as a 4 and 5yo, you just have to train them out of it. It's only taken my sisters 3yo a couple of goes to realise that standing next to a gate gets him treats/praise.

And if you still don't like them, come and try the bride ways near me that go through a deer park - 6ft plus high sprung gates are a treatto open ;)
 
I agree that the spring shut ones are the most difficult to maneuver - we have one next to the yard and after several attempts to get through it on horseback I ended up getting off.

I can get on from the ground or can always find something to use as a mounting block!
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
Mmmm, difficult one this.

Firstly (sorry, this sounds like sour grapes, but isn't intended to be), I'd just LOVE it if there WERE any decent bridleways around here, period. There is one, but it runs right beside a dual carriageway and the others are all "permissive" and therefore are like a jungle for about 51 weeks of the year until someone decides to trim the stuff back. So I'd kill for ANY bridleway that's half decent enough to get up speed for a canter on!

Having said that - IF your horse is struggling with the opening-gates routine, to the extent that you had to get off and said horse then "bolted" with you, personally I feel that you maybe need to take a step or two back here. What I'd be inclined to do, if you can, is to get your horse used to this sort of obstacle in a "safe" environment such as a school or whatever. You obviously might struggle to replicate a bridleway gate, but what the basic problem could be is that your horse isn't as yet yielding to the leg and you might need to practice leg yield/shoulder in etc etc at home first, even starting from the ground and working up to mounted work if needs be. Coz to effectively go through any obstacle like a gate the horse needs to be able to yield to the leg basically and be able to understand the concept.

Personally I'd work on this at home, THEN try the gates on the bridlepath when you're both ready.
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Thank you. She only bolted due to being spooked and she is, and does yield to the leg but yes we defiantly need more practice in this area. I know i am very lucky to live direct on the bridleways but that is why i choose to be there and i expect to be able to continue to use the bridleways as i always have done. If i could practice in a safe way i suppose it would be so bad but im not sure how to go about it :(
 
PeterNatt said:
There are so many different views from horse riders regarding suitable gates, however maybe mounting blocks should be provided on both sides of the gates so as to enable riders to re-mount more easily. What do you think?

May I suggest that you read the recent booklet published by the British Horse Society 'A trial of self-closing bridle gates and a horse friendly vehicle barrier by The British Horse Society 2011' Please ask them to send you a copy. Their contact details are The British Horse Society Abbey Park Stareton Lane Kenilworth Warwickshire CV8 2XZ. Tel: 02476 840515 www.bhs.org.uk E: enquiries@bhs.org.uk

Your comments on the booklet would be appreciated by the BHS.
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Thank you, that was a very interesting read. It also highlighted that the gate I have particular problems with, on my 17hh horse :D, is on a spring closure of about 3 to 4 seconds - so that's explained a lot to me now :) I might speak to the farmer who installed it and ask if he can at least extend the closing time so that we don't get clanged on the legs before we're even half way through!

I will email BHS to give feedback as well :)
 
PeterNatt said:
There are so many different views from horse riders regarding suitable gates, however maybe mounting blocks should be provided on both sides of the gates so as to enable riders to re-mount more easily. What do you think?

May I suggest that you read the recent booklet published by the British Horse Society 'A trial of self-closing bridle gates and a horse friendly vehicle barrier by The British Horse Society 2011' Please ask them to send you a copy. Their contact details are The British Horse Society Abbey Park Stareton Lane Kenilworth Warwickshire CV8 2XZ. Tel: 02476 840515 www.bhs.org.uk E: enquiries@bhs.org.uk

Your comments on the booklet would be appreciated by the BHS.
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Thank you. I have emailed the enquiries at BHS with my concerns so ill wait to hear back from them. I have also read the report and it appears our gates are the 'gate 6' the ones which are to be withdrawn. Mounting blocks would defiantly help i just dont see how this would be possible for the bridleways leading directly onto the roads.
 
On Leith Hill there are a few of these, now, for when cattle graze the heathland. The National Trust put mounting blocks either side of them, made from tree stumps. I'm not keen on the gates, either, but manage them ok. Perhaps ask for this style mounting block? Most of the time the materials are free or very cheap.
 
I love self closing gates as long as there isn't a massive hedge or fence sticking out away from the the fastening end so its impossible to stand the horse sideways on to the gate to start off with. As long as you can start off stood sideways on they are easy, you just keep hold of the lever as you go though then let it go when the horse is almost through. I can't see the problem at all unless you're on a giant horse which will always make gates harder to do!

I always avoid getting off unless its a narrow gap to squeeze through as that's how i broke my hand.
 
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