Very upset/mad car hit my horse

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Steeleydan

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Been out riding this morning and just as I was on my way home riding on the main road, a car stopped at junction of side road and proceeded to pull out thus hitting my horses back legs with front of car. I couldn't believe wot had just happened I shouted "Youve just hit my horse are you blind" I was wearing hi viz, she then claimed she couldnt see me because I was above her windscreen so I said wot about the horse legs and body. Wot a stupid women I did call her worse than that, I got off to check his legs there were some scuff marks and he is tender to the touch on his cannon bones. Waiting for vet to check him over I told the women she would be getting a large bill from my vet. She has given me all her details including reg number and insurance company. I phoned police when I got back home but not much help my Dad is friendly with local pcso so phoned him he my call at the womens house and give her wot for. The saving grace was she was only traveling at less than 5mph. I was so cross at the time now all I can think of is how bad it could have been.
 
OMG - that is awful. What a poor excuse from her!!
I suppose the saving grace as you say was the speed was low. The driver must have been quite shook up and she seems like the honest sort if she has supplied all her details etc.
Hope the vet check is all good and no lasting damage. Keep us updtaed.
 
Good god, if she couldn't see something as big as a horse right in front of her, just imagine if a pedestrian had been crossing the road - she could have killed them!:eek::eek:

Hope your horse recovers okay.
 
You must be very shocked and I hope your horse is ok.

Please would you report this to the BHS? It's really important that all these incidents (including near misses) are logged.

I've been talking to the PSNI lately - their horse related road accident statistics are ridiculously low, not because they don't happen but because ppl don't report them. The more that are reported the more likely it is that a publicity campaign/education for drivers will be launched.
 
When this happened to my mum was a bit more serious with a broken ankle and horse needing stitches etc. but she took pictures of the horses injuries before and after vets treatment, the high viz she was wearing as the driver would have seen it and pictures of the position on the road it happened and the horse warning sign that was about 50m before where the accident happened. Unfortunately the police really weren't interested apart from the women had an foreign driving licence she hadn't retaken in the UK and she was not insured. But mum did manage to sue her in a civil case.
I think the thing to remember is it is a road traffic accident so document everything had this been your Aston Martin she had dinked and you even had to have a scratch resprayed it would be a lot harder on her!!!
Police attitude stinks bl**dy good job you weren't on a bike and that she had stopped at the junction and just pulled out!

I hope your horse is ok mentally and physically and you are not too shaken up. I would say more high viz but mum was high vized to the nines and made no difference.
 
Just to update you all the vet has just been, he said the horse seems happy in him self not lame just a bit of swelling on one of the scuff marks which is on his fetlock, may be stiff in morning but appart from that we were bloody lucky for it not to be any worse.
 
Steeleydan said:
Just to update you all the vet has just been, he said the horse seems happy in him self not lame just a bit of swelling on one of the scuff marks which is on his fetlock, may be stiff in morning but appart from that we were bloody lucky for it not to be any worse.
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I'm glad he's ok OP, and hopefully no hidden damage :-)

I agree you should send her the vets bill!!! It could have been a lot worse for all 3 of you :(
 
So glad your horse is OK, what a horrible experience! At least the woman stopped and gave her insurance details rather than driving off, although I am shocked the police are not interested! Surely not seeing a HORSE in front of your car constitutes dangerous driving?
 
BooBoo I thought exactly the same "Oh I didnt see half a ton of horse in front of me!!"
In my view that is careless driving, I dont think the Police are bothered about cars hitting horses/dogs/cats etc. I wonder if it was a child on a bike they would take the same carless attitude.
 
Me and my mare had a very close shave a few years ago, we were turning right off a road wearing full hi vis (exercise sheet, boots and vest). obviously i looked behind me before turning, i was in middle of road when i car in excess of 100mph came up behind me, it was going far to fast to stop, luckly my mare heard it or something as she jumped out of the way, resulting in her slipping on the road surface, falling over and badley scraping her legs. the car, needless to say, didnt stop. leaving me traumatised (i was only 16 at the time) i was so shaken up. some one who witnessed it pulled up bt neither got the reg so this idiot got away scott-free. luckily my horse wasnt phased by it and quite enjoyed th little holiday due to her cuts and scrapes. although it did end her showing career due to scaring on her legs. bloomin idiot drivers!
 
The police need to do something about this surely. The woman should be made to have an eye test to begin with, at the very least. So glad you and your horse weren't much more badly injured or worse.
 
Ring the police again, if you get no joy from the first officer, ask to speak to the duty inspecter, every force area has one, make sure they understand the exact nature of the incident. If the driver does not report it herself within 24 hours, she has committed yet another offence. Do not be fobbed off, it is only by the prosecution of bad drivers that we can hope to make the roads safer.
Glad you and the horse are not too badly hurt.
 
I am very sorry to hear about your accident today

It is important that you go to the police station and report the incident in person. Ask them for an incident number as this means that it will be officially logged in to their system. It also means that if you claim off your insurance or the drivers insurance that you can refer to the incident number.

Also report this incident on the www.horseaccidents.org.uk web site as this is a web site that was set up by the BHS so that they could have statistics of horse accidents and where they geographicaly occur.
 
Clearly it was a stupid thing of the woman to do, but at least she stopped and seems to be acting honourably. I doubt that there are any of us who haven't made a driving error at some point.

As people have said, document everything so that you can persue an insurance claim and I think you must get an incident number from the police to do this??

But be ever so wary about persuing any other vendetta - legal or otherwise. Even if you win damages, you will have dedicated valuable time and emotion to it and lets be honest, people cause horrific damage with their careless driving and it doesn't always seem to be taken particularly seriously by the courts.
 
Ok. Firstly I'm going to say that I'm in no way shape or form defending the driver, she should have been driving with more care and attention and she totally deserves whatever is coming to her. At least she didn't ram into you deliberately, having read some other recent horror stories on here and on other forums. I'm sorry for your accident OP, I hope your horse is OK.

On the other hand, and I KNOW I'm going get backlash for this...sometimes it IS hard to see a horse and rider even if the rider is wearing hi viz. The rider's jacket is above the normal eye line when you are in a car, and the horse's hi viz leg wraps are below it. There's nothing in the middle, if that makes sense, which is exactly where the hi viz material should be. There's a lot to be said for hi viz numnahs and martingale slips, at least they draw the eye on to the horse's body itself.
 
I don't get how you can miss a horse being "right in front of your bonnet", hi viz or not, but it does seem from your posting that it wasn't deliberate and that she co-operated details wise, I hope your horse is ok and nothing lasting, I would have gone mental as well, maybe the non hi viz brigade could learn from this, and realize just how invisible you are to motorist's, particularly nowadays as there seems to be an endless supply of areseoles been allowed to pass their test, how some pass I just don't know :mad:
 
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