Talking of stupid girls (another rant)

[Nudibranch]

OK, I'm not perfect by any means BUT...

The other person who rents at our yard (who as I've previously mentioned uses car mats as saddlecloths and rides on footpaths), was out for a hack last night. No hat, no SADDLE, big floppy wellies and no hi-viz at about 7.30 pm. He may be a steady old cob but trust me, those lanes are very bendy, with high hedges in places, and I've had many an idiot race past at way over the speed limit. Someone even threw an empty can out the window once, only just missing my tb's head.

I just despair of this girl, alright it won't affect me personally if something happens to her but I just wonder, how can people be so stupid?!

 

[Cahill]

what a dumb-arse!
annoying thing is ,these sorts merrily carry on and nothing happens to them.

 

[somethingorother]

Not read the other post (?) but appart from the hat i dont see the problem with this particular incident. Lots of people ride out bareback, and i dont see as wellies make much difference when theres no stirrups for them to get stuck in. Hi-vis might have been a plus but its doesnt start getting dark here til about 8 and im affraid theres more people who dont wear hi-vis in daylight than people that do.

However i see the problem with the hat, thats just stupid.

ETS: Unless you mean roads? i re-read the post and thought ahh maybe they mean bendy roads? First off i imagined little country tracks and quiet lanes. Would never say its ok to go bareback on roads.

 

[YorksG]

Country lanes are roads, if they are open for cars to drive on. I would hope that people would always ride in hi-viz, even when not on the road, if you do happen to fall off the emergency services can find you much more quickly.

 

[Nudibranch]

Yup, I did mean roads - and despite them being one lane and very twisty, people often do 50+ on them.... I wouldn't recommend riding along there without a saddle, even on a safe plod!

 

[Cahill]

so,would her insurance cover her if there was an accident?
like you are not supposed to lead a horse without a bridle on a road,so what about riding without a saddle on a road?(due care etc)

 

[Cuffey]

EXTRACTS FROM HIGHWAY CODE

18 Rule 49 HORSE RIDERS Safety equipment. Children under the age of 14 MUST wear a helmet which complies with the Regulations. It MUST be fastened securely. Other riders should also follow these requirements. These requirements do not apply to a child who is a follower of the Sikh religion while wearing a turban.
Page 18 Rule 50 Other clothing. You should wear
·1 Boots or shoes with hard soles and heels
·2 Light-coloured or fluorescent clothing in daylight
·3 Reflective clothing if you have to ride at night or in poor visibility
Page 19 Rule 51 At night. It is safer not to ride on the road at night or in poor visibility, but if you do, make sure you wear reflective clothing and your horse has reflective bands above the fetlock joints. A light which shows white to the front and red to the rear should be fitted, with a band, to the rider’s right arm and/or leg/riding boot. If you are leading a horse at night, carry a light in your right hand, showing white to the front and red to the rear, and wear reflective clothing on both you and your horse. It is strongly recommended that a fluorescent/reflective tail guard is also worn by your horse.
Page 19 Rule 52 RIDING Before you take a horse on the road, you should
·1 Ensure all tack fits well and is in good condition
·2 Make sure you can control the horse
Always ride with other, less nervous horses if you think that your horse will be nervous of traffic. Never ride a horse without both a saddle and bridle.
Page 19 Rule 53 Before riding off or turning, look behind you to make sure it is safe, then give a clear arm signal.
When riding on the road you should
·1 Keep to the left
·2 Keep both hands on the reins unless you are signalling
·3 Keep both feet in the stirrups
·4 Not carry another person
·5 Not carry anything which might affect your balance or get tangled up with the reins
·6 Keep a horse you are leading to your left
·7 Move in the direction of the traffic flow in a one-way street
Never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends.

Page 20 Rule 54 You MUST NOT take a horse onto a footpath or pavement and you should not take a horse onto a cycle track.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Unfortunately Cuffey much of the Highway Code is a guide & not law.

I believe that Hi Viz should be worn at all times out hacking, regardless of what time of day it is. The bare minimum should be a tabard, they are cheap enough. If we don't use them ourselves I can see it going into legislation, which is shouldn't need to be. Riders say 'It's personal preference' but I'm afraid that won't wash.....that excuse was given about motorcycle crash helmets & so legislation was drawn up. Surely common sense should prevail. OK, rant over

 

[Cahill]

it`s a shame people do not read the highway code,it`s all there in black and white.

(lots of rude lycra-cycle-riders about at the moment who ride double and think they own the road.)

 

[Maisy]

So whats this about?

'a child who is a follower of the Sikh religion while wearing a turban'

Do Sikh childrens heads not get damaged when landing on the floor?? Perhaps we could all save a fortune on hats and get a turban instead, as they are clearly up to the job??

 

[Orangehorse]

You could point out that she is putting her horse in danger by not wearing high-viz, rather than herself. That make more of a point.

Our local vet says riders should dress for the road, the same as they dress for cross country, show jumping or travelling a horse.

 

[niagaraduval]

I've ridden my horse a few times bareback on the road. In a head collar whilst catching him. The road isn't very busy at all though. There's barely a car on it. I always wear a hat bareback though, I was wearing riding boots and it was at midday so no worries about it getting dark. I do it occasionally. It's a long walk from the field to the yard. Why not save the time by riding up. I see a lot worse than that out on the roads. I saw a bloke riding this 18h+ cart horse, no saddle, no bridle, no hat, and in his socks. He had a bit of rope in the horse's mouth. And was smoking a pipe walking up a busy road.

 

[AmyMay]

I had a friend who rode her horse bare back quite often around the village.

The last time she did it she happened to be passed by a police car. She was stopped, asked to dismount and given a formal caution for behaving in a dangerous manner with the horse.

 

[amandawordingham]

I'm more gob smacked that she uses car mats for saddlecloths!!

 

[stencilface]

Have to say, we used to ride the riding school ponies down the roads to bring them in from the fields. This was bareback and with a headcollar not a bridle. And in those days, not a hi-vis vest to be seen. TBH, I don't really see the problem with riding without a saddle if you are competent to ride it. At least you won't get your foot caught in the stirrup if you do fall off.

 

[Nudibranch]

Cahill, I seriously doubt they have insurance.

 

[OWLIE185]

Maybe she is clearly unaware of what could happen to her and her horse.

We all need to be sensible when riding out on or off the roads.

I would have a quiet word with her and explain the potential problems that the errors of her ways may have on her and her horses.

 

[ladyt25]

AmyMay - How would a policeman have the right to ask someone to get off their horse because she was riding bareback?! I don't think there is actually a law saying a saddle has to be worn on a horse is there? I am not convinced they could have actually given her a formal caution. If it had been me I would have told them to mind their own I'm afraid!

I have to say I have ridden without a saddle before - when we were kids we were driven to our stables and our parents would come and pick us up and hour or so later. One day we were left there and we realised we actually only had tack from one of the ponies. So, one of us used the bridle and the other the saddle and off we went! We didn't have mobile phones back then and no nearby house/phone we could ring from to get the other tack brought to us.

I have also on occasion forgotten my hat and have had to ride the mile or so back to the house to get it. I wouldn't intentionally go out without my hat but it did not worry me riding that distance without one.