trotting up from behind - rude or acceptable?

JustFindingTheDecorations said:
in fairness, that's something you will have to deal with - people will want to overtake you at some point, and it isn't always possible / practical to do it in walk. Obviously, it is unwise to trot up behind an unsettled horse when approaching a busy road, but once on the other side, you can't expect others to keep your pace forever.
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i totally agree - and had we not been approaching an inner city main ring road i wouldnt have bothered at all.
It was the fact we were approaching a junction from a quiet country lane onto this busy road which we then have to trot down for 50 yards before we turn off (to avoid upsetting the drivers we trot)

I just think as others have said that these riders set off to cross the road on their own horses so why did they have to join us and upset my horse at such a dangerous place?

Once we had crossed the ring road we all stopped, as i said ,to let them go on

I just dont think an inner city ring road is an ideal place to risk things
 
HO-HO-HOney 08 said:
Yes they should have perhaps called out, but in my opinion your group should have waited to make sure that both groups got safely across the road,

I personally think its rude to trot up to or trot away from others without politely asking if the other ones are ok with it.
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The OP did state that the group in front were not aware of their approach.
 
'You are lucky that you haven't yet experienced a problem with your horse when strange horses approach - but that doesn't mean that it can't happen to you. ' Yes it does.. I have controlled horses. they are used to riding in company. strange horses are not a great unknown beast.
 
HO-HO-HOney 08 said:
I can see your point, but look at it from theirs... you're on a forward going horse, approaching a junction you have to cross, and your horse has spotted the other horses ahead and is wanting to catch up. You get the idea that the group ahead is not going to wait and see if your horse will be ok standing at the junction when traffic is possibly going past when it can see your horses moving away on the other side... It is quite likely the fact that you didn't wait would cause the horses in the group behind to dance around an make crossing the road more dangerous for them... So rather than let that happen, you trot to catch up the group in front..

Yes they should have perhaps called out, but in my opinion your group should have waited to make sure that both groups got safely across the road, then decided that their group or your group should go ahead while the others let them have some space - but the road crossing wouldn't have been a danger for anyone. A bit of communication goes a long way ob both sides. We have to share the road/bridleways now and again, and should really be thinking of each other.

I personally think its rude to trot up to or trot away from others without politely asking if the other ones are ok with it.
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we were at walk - the other group were well away from us, behind us - saw us in the distance and trotted up to us - we were not trotting - they trotted to catch up wiht us and because we were on a bendy lane we didnt hear them till they caught up with us.
 
SusieT said:
'You are lucky that you haven't yet experienced a problem with your horse when strange horses approach - but that doesn't mean that it can't happen to you. ' Yes it does.. I have controlled horses. they are used to riding in company. strange horses are not a great unknown beast.
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Sorry if I wasn't clear - when I said that it doesn't mean it can't happen to you, I meant it doesn't mean that your horse won't one day react in that situation in an unpredictable way. I simply meant that we should all expect the unexpected, even when we are riding our own horses, and especially when we come accross unknown horses.
 
darkhorse123 said:
we were at walk - the other group were well away from us, behind us - saw us in the distance and trotted up to us - we were not trotting - they trotted to catch up wiht us and because we were on a bendy lane we didnt hear them till they caught up with us.
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But they may have been worried about being left on the wrong side of the junction - if they had seen you, perhaps they didn't if the road was bendy? I know that my horse would have danced at a junction in that situation.

What happened after the road? Did you decide that they overtook together, or did they just dash off?

I keep reading that you were upset because horses trotting up behind stresses your cob, but they may have been stressed because their horses were pulling because they'd seen your group..

I wasn't there, so can't really comment, but it does seem as though you are only thinking of the situation from your own viewpoint, and are worrying too much.
 
darkhorse123 said:
windy lanes - we saw them in the far distance a long way behind us as we were riding out - as i said, all hi vizzed and they were a long long way behind us
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and i ride with 2 trusted friends - who look out for me so often turn round to check on us.
We did see these riders in the very far distance so were unperturbed - you do seem very argumentative suzi - were you never a novice hacker ?
 
HO-HO-HOney 08 said:
You should be just as aware of what is behind you when riding on a road as what is in front of you. You should be looking over your shoulder every couple of minutes.
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as i said we did - one minute they were ages away - next there.
And they didnt join us on the road but on the windy country lane leading up to it where unfortunateley we cant see past every corner and bend behind us
 
I think it really depends various factors - number of horses, horses in the group etc.

I've been in a situation in was very rude for the rider behind to approach.
I was hacking with two friends, one on a new, green pony and the other was a nervous rider. We were approaching a cross roads and the new pony planted his hooves and said 'no way', now the rider was very capable and coped very well but it was evident that pony was not cooperating as he was napping badly. I was more than peed off when someone hacking alone behind trotted up behind to overtake without so much as a word of warning as we were in clear view of him and we were obviously having problems with a napping pony. It was beyond rude of the man - I would say it was stupid and dangerous.

However, if the circumstances are ok, then I don't see the problem. As long as the rider approaching asks then it's fine. It may well be safer
 
HO-HO-HOney 08 said:
But they may have been worried about being left on the wrong side of the junction - if they had seen you, perhaps they didn't if the road was bendy? I know that my horse would have danced at a junction in that situation.

What happened after the road? Did you decide that they overtook together, or did they just dash off?

I keep reading that you were upset because horses trotting up behind stresses your cob, but they may have been stressed because their horses were pulling because they'd seen your group..

I wasn't there, so can't really comment, but it does seem as though you are only thinking of the situation from your own viewpoint, and are worrying too much.
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they trotted to catch up with us - so obviously did see us.

If they hadnt trotted up to us they could have crossed quite safeley as they obviously planned to do when they set off together.

After the road we waited while they went on
 
HO-HO-HOney 08 said:
But they may have been worried about being left on the wrong side of the junction - if they had seen you, perhaps they didn't if the road was bendy? I know that my horse would have danced at a junction in that situation./QUOTE]

This all depends on how far away from the junction they were and I suppose you would have to be there to judge that, but you are quite right this is another situation that would be highly dangerous, and I personally would have held well back (bearing in mind there are bends in the lane taking the front group of riders out of sight) and given them time to be long gone before I approached the main road and I'd make sure my horse was well settled before I went near the traffic, prefering to have the dancing about on the quiet country lane if possible. (Not sure I'd be brave enough to tackle an inner city ring road at all though) I have ridden a horse that was impatient at junctions and once reared up and fly jumped into a (quiet empty) road when I was trying to teach her to stand still and wait, and there was no way i would let her get anywhere near a busy road in the above situation.
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I consider it to be rude as well, as you never know how new-to-you horses will act in such a situation. I had something similar happen to me 2 years ago. No roads were involved. I was riding out with 3 others, around the fields of the barn property.

We were all in a line walking along a dried creekbed, coming up on a stony section where you have to walk to cross over it. We were all ambling along, I was in the rear...and farther back from the other three since my horse was a slow mover. I picked up a trot (frequent for us) to catch up, as the 2 front most riders were approaching the stony section. All of a sudden, unbeknownst to all of us, another rider (from our barn!) came up from behind and continued to crash through the dried creek bed full of cattails, etc and peel off at a gallop in the other direction. Since I was closest to the rider, my horse lunged forwards cantering & bucking the entire way to catch up to the rest of my group. At the same time, the 2 of the riders in front of me who had been about ready to walk over the stony section, had their horses both LEAP across it! Luckily no one came off, but we all were very p!ssed off and the horses were then wound up the rest of the ride, as they could all see the other horse/rider galloping up and over hills on the other side of the field.
 
IMHO yes they were rude to trot up behind you without giving a warning - however if you are hacking out on public roads you have to expect other road users not to be as considerate as you would like, this includes other riders, cyclists, motorbike riders, car drivers, van/lorry drivers and even walkers. If you can not cope with these other users being a little inconsiderate then you shouldn't be on the roads - and especially not approaching a busy road.

Also, surely you should have been aware of their approach and therefore if you thought your horses would be a little upset from being approached quickly from behind, then why didn't you turn and face the other horses, taking the "scare" out of the situation.

Your responsibility to manage your horse regardless of what other people are doing. Sorry - as I said at the top of this it is only My opinion.
 
EllenJay said:
IMHO yes they were rude to trot up behind you without giving a warning - however if you are hacking out on public roads you have to expect other road users not to be as considerate as you would like, this includes other riders, cyclists, motorbike riders, car drivers, van/lorry drivers and even walkers. If you can not cope with these other users being a little inconsiderate then you shouldn't be on the roads - and especially not approaching a busy road.

Also, surely you should have been aware of their approach and therefore if you thought your horses would be a little upset from being approached quickly from behind, then why didn't you turn and face the other horses, taking the "scare" out of the situation.

Your responsibility to manage your horse regardless of what other people are doing. Sorry - as I said at the top of this it is only My opinion.
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dont apoligise! no thats a good opinion and is what i asked for - looking back i did "manage" him and we all crossed safely - although i have learnt i would never do this to other riders :)
 
EllenJay said:
. If you can not cope with these other users being a little inconsiderate then you shouldn't be on the roads .
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And how do you get experience of coping with these situations if you don't get out there and do it?

The OP DID cope, but she was shaken by the experience. All she asked was if we considered the other riders to be rude - and most people think they were.
 
I wouldn't catch up - because you never know if the group of horses in front is a group you want to be anywhere near. I know that my horses have manners, and that I can control them - I'm not going to risk being near horses that kick out, or are potentially out of control. Equally with strangles always being a risk, I'd rather not be within sneezing distance, thanks.

On another note, to the OP - you need to get someone to train your horse to cope with other strange horses being around it. At a show or a sponsored ride you would have these situations where people trot up to, and past you. As a novice rider, you need a horse that will cope in such situations.
 
Yes, it was rude but you did cope - so well done much :)

I must admit though, if you plan on doing any sponsored rides or anything like that in the future, it might be worth trying to de sensitise you and your horse to similar situations - or just in case you are unlucky enough to meet rude riders again. You might find practising halting and keeping your horse calm whilst. others walk, trot and even canter up behind you gives youmore confidence as well.

But well done for coping so well :)
 
NativePonyLover said:
Yes, it was rude but you did cope - so well done much :)

I must admit though, if you plan on doing any sponsored rides or anything like that in the future, it might be worth trying to de sensitise you and your horse to similar situations - or just in case you are unlucky enough to meet rude riders again. You might find practising halting and keeping your horse calm whilst. others walk, trot and even canter up behind you gives youmore confidence as well.

But well done for coping so well :)
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ty so much - yes looking back we did do well :)

and i think i will look ot asking peopel to do just this - trot up behind and pass us but on safe country lanes so he is used to it - ty all x
 
HO-HO-HOney 08 said:
But they may have been worried about being left on the wrong side of the junction - if they had seen you, perhaps they didn't if the road was bendy? I know that my horse would have danced at a junction in that situation.

What happened after the road? Did you decide that they overtook together, or did they just dash off?

I keep reading that you were upset because horses trotting up behind stresses your cob, but they may have been stressed because their horses were pulling because they'd seen your group..

I wasn't there, so can't really comment, but it does seem as though you are only thinking of the situation from your own viewpoint, and are worrying too much.
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IMO, if these horses, which were originally quite a way behind OP, were pulling to get to the group in front, their riders should have stopped somewhere along the quiet country lane which OP describes and WAITED until the group in front had crossed the road and got out of sight.
I think there is a considerable difference between a horse which gets upset by strange horses trotting up to join a group from behind and one which gets upset because it sees a group of horses walking away from it in the distance.
The second horse is the one which needs some practice at home to develop good manners. The rider could do with learning some as well.
 
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JustFindingTheDecorations said:
Personally if I'm out with my horse I tend to go to great lengths to avoid other riders unless I know them - too much risk of upsetting them by mistake or them gettting in the way of us enjoying ourselves - it works both ways :D
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Think I'd better follow your example, just sooo many over-sensitive horses and people out there these days :rolleyes:
 
mulledwhine said:
OP please do not feel in the wrong at all !??

I think some HHo people forget what it was like to feel nervous :)

People trotting up behind was RUDE
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No, people trotting up behind is not rude as long as they have given you warning and you are not seen to be having trouble with your horse. If they had seen from a distance that a rider was having trouble then it would have been polite to have waited behind. Think of all the cyclists that seem to creep up on you unaware, they often freak horses out because we jump when we see them when all it would have taken was a warning shout; I've asked cyclists before now to in future give a shout for all our sakes as I'd hate to squash one!
As someone else said, you can't rule what other people do on public roads/byways whatever mode of transport they're using but you do have to learn to cope with whatever is thrown at you and it sounds as if the OP coped well in this situation. If I didn't want to ever be overtaken around here I'd be holding my breath a long time as there are so many horses about here; it's unrealistic to think they should all stay behind you or not trot towards you; they might be at work, not on a leisurely hack out with friends or even alone as I always am.

Thing to remember for everyone is manners cost nothing and it's polite to make riders in front aware of you behind them but it should not stop you overtaking them if you need to; just do it considerately.

Incidentally, nobody has said that it might have been that the riders behind thought that because of the volume of traffic on the main road, that drivers would actually prefer one group of riders rather than two in quick succession which would hold them up more. Just more food for thought.
 
darkhorse123 said:
ty.
I am a novice unconfident rider and had this done to me today.
My horse was not happy and the group i was with thankfully looked after us when he went ballistic on the said main road when said horses and riders were by now trotting down it with us.
When our group could turn off we did and stopped - my friends stayed with me so me and my horse could calm down while we let the other group pass and go on.
Shook me up a bit tbh.
I was worrying it was me, wondering if it was me nto beign a good enough rider - I should be able to control him better - ty x
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If you can't control your horse's behaviour when something as trivial as another rider trotting happens, then you shouldn't be on the main road anyway.
S :D
 
Shilasdair said:
If you can't control your horse's behaviour when something as trivial as another rider trotting happens, then you shouldn't be on the main road anyway.
S :D
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So where do you start?
If you go out with good riders and horses - how do you suggest i and my horse learn to hack out safely? Can you learn hacking experience in the school?

If other horse riders can not be courteous imo its a very bad state of affairs - all horses and riders need to learn and gain confidence hacking out dont they??? or were you born able to do it?

All you knockers and doubters started somewhere - or did you never have a first hack out ????
 
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Maesfen said:
No, people trotting up behind is not rude as long as they have given you warning and you are not seen to be having trouble with your horse. If they had seen from a distance that a rider was having trouble then it would have been polite to have waited behind. Think of all the cyclists that seem to creep up on you unaware, they often freak horses out because we jump when we see them when all it would have taken was a warning shout; I've asked cyclists before now to in future give a shout for all our sakes as I'd hate to squash one!
As someone else said, you can't rule what other people do on public roads/byways whatever mode of transport they're using but you do have to learn to cope with whatever is thrown at you and it sounds as if the OP coped well in this situation. If I didn't want to ever be overtaken around here I'd be holding my breath a long time as there are so many horses about here; it's unrealistic to think they should all stay behind you or not trot towards you; they might be at work, not on a leisurely hack out with friends or even alone as I always am.

Thing to remember for everyone is manners cost nothing and it's polite to make riders in front aware of you behind them but it should not stop you overtaking them if you need to; just do it considerately.

Incidentally, nobody has said that it might have been that the riders behind thought that because of the volume of traffic on the main road, that drivers would actually prefer one group of riders rather than two in quick succession which would hold them up more. Just more food for thought.
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agreed - manners cost nothing and at least ive learnt never to "pounce" on other horses or riders unannounced
 
darkhorse123 said:
So where do you start?
If you go out with good riders and horses - how do you sugest i and my horse learn to hack out safely?

If other horse riders cant be courteous imo its a very bad state of affairs - all horses and riders need to learn and gain confidence hacking out dont they??? or were you born able to do it?

All you knockers and doubters started somewhere
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I've hacked out and had some exciting times - ambulances at full speed, car crashes, trains, helicopters - you name it - I can't expect everyone to stop life to keep me safe.
You need to start to habituate your horse to whatever you think he is likely to meet - and a horse either trotting up from behind, or trotting/cantering away in front is quite likely.
What if you met the hunt?
S :D
 
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