Very proud of my baby and a bit of a rant!

GinaGem

GinaGem

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Took Ru for his second proper hack yesterday (we've just been going up and down the road so far). Went with my instructor on Badger and Jo on Bodey. Just as we got to next doors driveway a fork lift/tractor thing came steaming out and made some sort of loud crashing noise. Ru spooked but was a good boy but it set some ponies in a nearby field off - bombing about. Badger decided he wanted to piss off and ended up spinning and heading backwards up the road trying to back in to Ru! Ru was a bit spooked as he cold see Badger coming at him out of the corner of his eye but stayed level headed and we continued walking with Bodey while my instructor calmed Badger down and got him going in the right direction again!!!

Then we got further up the road and my mum and dad came up behind us in their car at the same time Bodey decided that a pile of stones in a field ahead was way too scary and that he wasn't going to go forward, Jo had a bit of a battle to send him on, meanwhile Ru is still quite calmly plodding along not even acknowledging the scary pile of stones or Bodey refusing to move forward!!

Further on we had a police car come up behind us - there was a gap literally seconds further up the road where he could pass but he sat really close up behind us hassling us forward, we decided to pull over on a narrow verge and he came steaming past - thank god Ru has proved to be good in traffic because the car passed within inches of his arse - we were so angry!

Think it was one of those days because we just kept meeting challenges - cars, lorries, horses bombing around (Ru trotted off once being a bit spooked but was quick to calm down which i was pleased with), a dog trying to kill a glove, a lady pushing a wheel barrow, dog walkers, a bonfire with smoke blowing across the road, loads of dumped rubbish etc etc. It also started raining as soon as we had mounted.

I was just so proud of Ru, he handled everything so well, you wouldn't really know he was a baby and not only that but he'd had to have a week of previously and he wasn't at all fizzy. Was also proud that he was better behaved than his two leads who are usually super stars hacking!
 
Ru sounds like a super star. What a brave horse - despite all the terrors, and less than helpful babysitters.

Do you wear a 'young horse' tabbard, and how good are you companions at stopping and slowing down traffic?

Ride using the whole side of your bit of road - or the whole road if it is narrow. Don't hug hedges and fences, and make sure your babysitters are pro-active in stopping traffic.

Naughty police man should have known better.
 
Yeah we had tabbards on with various relevant slogans. It's usually a nice quiet single width country lane but yesterday something was against us!

Ru is 17hh so takes up plenty of room and usually gets a lot of respect from cars in terms of room but the police just were bloody rude and irresponsible, they didn't really give us a chance to act, they were past at the first opportunity. We thought it would be safer and calmer for Ru just to pull over where we were as Badger had already been a bit of a pain and the car was getting quite close up behind.
 
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Do you wear a 'young horse' tabbard


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I stopped wearing mine because I heard that they can invalidate your personal liability insurance - something to do with admitting liability?

Probably utter rubbish but it put me off, just incase.
 
Anybody know if that's true? other than that i've got a plain one and a 'does my bum look big on this' which i used to wear on Gem! Jo's got a 'whoa - slow down' one i could borrow or a 'please pass wide and slow'
 
Just found these on other websites -

'...isn't it now the case that you have to be careful what you print on these articles of clothing as the wrong words can prove legally binding in case of an accident? For example, a slogan saying "Caution - young horse" can be seen as an admission by the wearer that the horse is young, prone to reacting in an unpredictable manner and therefore is a known liability on the road. So, if involved in an accident it is probable that the rider of the young horse could be held responsible for the incident...'

'A year or so ago a lady was out with a young horse and wearing such a Tabard. There was an incident and car and horse both got injured. lady was taken to Court and lost her case because of the tabard she wore. It is deemed as admitting Liability.'

From Horsedata -
'When buying tabards it may be worth buying ones without writing on. Some insurance companies see the "Please pass wide and slow" and "Caution young horse" as an admission of a horse which is unsafe on the road. Therefore, the rider can be deemed negligent for riding such an animal on the road should an accident occur!!'

Still not sure how true it is, and i'll admit to wearing mine occasionally still if I can't find anything else because it's better than nothing.
 
What a superstar Ru was, but I could hardly believe that Badger did anything remotely silly - perhaps he just thought your instructress would appreciate a more challenging ride!
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What a good baby! I guess it was just one of those days when all bad things come together, but at least it is now sod's law that you shouldn't have another hack like that for a while!

Really weird about the tabards - but if you think about it, it makes sense - an admission that there is something to be wary about! Luckily I don't ride on any roads anymore, but when I did I always had a 'Please pass wide and slow one'. Strange....
 
The thing with the tabards has been done to death. There haven't been any cases were riders have lost due to wording on tabards. The only one published was a rider having her compensation halved because she did NOT wear hi-viz, so the judge was penalising her. Wording doe not admit liability. It is giving warning to other road users to take extra care, in the same way a road-sign might warn you of a pot-hole/other hazard. In fact, one could argue the other way, that not wearing a worded tabard when you know that your horse might behave differently to others is negligent. To be honest, I'm sick of this stupid rumour.
 
A legal person could tell you better but I thought that horses had something called strict liability which means that you are always liable when they are involved in an accident. There is nothing that you could do to admit liability as such so it doesn't matter what is written on your tabard

http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/horses/topics/insurance.htm

Insurance
The Animals Act 1971
The Animals Act 1971 places strict liability on the keeper of animals that cause harm where the following points are satisfied: “(a) the damage is of a kind which, unless restrained, the animal was likely to cause; and (b) the likelihood of the damage was due to characteristics which are not normally found in animals of the same species or are not normally found except at particular times or in particular circumstances; and (c) those characteristics were known to the keeper.”

In the past, this was interpreted as allowing owners to limit liability for damage caused by their horses if they could show that they had not acted negligently, e.g. if field fences and gates were reasonably high and secure. However, a House of Lords’ judgment in 2003 (Mirvahedy v Henley), concerning injury caused by spooked horses, confirmed that in certain circumstances strict liability can apply to the keeper of animals that cause harm. In effect, the owner of the animal may be liable for damage caused regardless of any actions they may have taken to limit the risk of such damage.

It has been suggested that the application of strict liability in these circumstances is out of line with other areas of the law where legal liability can be mitigated by the taking of reasonable precautions. It has also been claimed by the horse industry that horse owner's liability insurance premiums have risen dramatically following this decision by the House of Lords.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) together with other equine organisations such as the British Horse Society have initiated a campaign to have the Animals Act amended to address this potentially open-ended liability issue. The Government understands the horse industry's desire to clarify the Animals Act, following the Mirvahedy judgement, to ensure that animal owners who take every reasonable precaution to prevent accidents involving their animals happening should not have to bear full liability when such accidents occur. We are also clear that any change in the law must not absolve the owners of horses or other animals from their responsibility to take every reasonable effort to prevent the occurrence of damage and that full liability for such damage should still apply in any cases where negligence is proven.

We have made it clear that we are willing to advise and support the horse industry in amending the Act if an agreed approach, which commands the full support of the rest of the horse industry, and a suitable vehicle, such as a Private Members' Bill, can be found. We are currently working with the horse industry, including both the CLA and the BHS, to agree a suitable amendment which could then be picked up by an MP who is successful in the next Private Members' Bill ballot.

 
No offence but this wasn't really meant to be a debate about tabbards, i was just really pleased with my horse
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No offence but this wasn't really meant to be a debate about tabbards, i was just really pleased with my horse
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But that's the joy of posting on a forum - you never know how a discussion will develop
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Well Gina you know that I think Ru is a complete star! You and him are made for each other! Lots more hacking out together from now on misses!
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Sorry about Bodes silly moment, think he was just keeping me on my toes, he, he! It was very unlike him!
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LOL how many times have I heard this, that the baby horse is always so much better behaved than their babysitters!

I think it just goes to show how unpredictable horses are, but I hope he keeps up the good work.
 
Oh but they would be so boring if they weren’t a little unpredictable now and again, wouldn’t they!?!

I think Bodey and Badger had a secret plan before we went out! They like to play tricks on Ru! He,he!
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