The 'Polite' tabards

[paddy]

OH had a good experience with our tabard this morning when hacking out a newly backed youngster with a couple of other horses. They were just about to cross the road, waiting for an oil tanker reversing to the pub, when someone came screaming round the bend into the village. OH flagged her down and told her off for speeding (it's a 30mph speedlimit). Seems she thought he was a policeman and was quite abashed, and waited for them to be able to cross.

Huge thumbs up from me! (Although a cyclist assumed my horse would be bombproof the other day as it's a police horse, isn't it?).

 

[monkeybum13]

(Although a cyclist assumed my horse would be bombproof the other day as it's a police horse, isn't it?).

This is the thing I wondered, bikes are fine but I find that in my normal tabard farm traffic and country buses give me plenty of room or stop totally which is great, just wondering if they mistake you for the police they may carry on and pass (does that make any sense? probably not)

 

[paddy]

I think with the non silent traffic (bikes have a habit of sneaking up on you) it's less of a problem, but you may have to 'manage' the traffic. If they're unsure whether you've any authority, sticking your hand out and asking them to stop is more likely to get a result, just in case. We used to do this when I was escorting hacks across Hyde Park Corner in central London. Because drivers assumed you were something official, staring them in the eye and putting your hand out to ask them to stop generally worked. Life was so much less exciting after they put up the horse traffic lights.

 

[misterjinglejay]

Does anyone know if you can use them for your BHS Riding and Road Safety exam?

 

[maxapple]

I love mine and have noticed a huge difference in drivers since I've been wearing it. If you combine it with confident hand signals telling people when to pass or when to stop, it works a treat!