Who keeps their horses next to a busy road?

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Patchworkpony

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Who keeps their horses next to a busy road and if so how do they ride out or do they box to go hacking? Given that so many roads are much busier than they used to be, with faster traffic, I am just curious about how people manage and whether it worries some of them to the point they have given up hacking altogether.
 
I kept mine right next to a very fast, long, straight road (twice, actually!).

I hacked out all the time, and I was just very careful when coming out of the gate.

It doesn't worry me at all - all my horses are hacked out from a young age and do lots of on-road hacking to get them used to everything :)
 
Unless I box up all my hacking is roadwork or coast to coast paths next to busy roads and I mean main artic routes. My pony was completely bomb proof in all traffic and where I live I wouldnt be able to hack out at all without going out in traffic and boxing up all the time isnt convenient for me and ironically the one time I did box him up to go for off road hacking on moorland with a friend we had a rotational fall and he suffered a skull fracture and brain injury.
 
I used to keep mine next to a really busy A road and had about a hundred yard walk around a busy corner on the pavement to then cross the pub card park and out onto quiet country lanes. I used to wait at the gate for a gap in the traffic and lead quickly round before getting on in the car park- not ideal, but it didn't stop me going out, but then my horse at the time was pretty sensible.
 
Horse is at my parents on a busy B road used by a lot of HGVs and heavy farm traffic, the worst drivers though tend to be car commuters. Just try and be sensible about what times I ride - it's quieter after 10 and before 3 or after 6pm for instance in the week. And wear plenty of hi-vis, the lorries especially respond really well to it. Whilst we do have access to quieter roads we have a minimum of 1/2 mile to get to them, and if I do our short "block" hack I end up doing about 2 miles on the busy road.
 
We used to own a property which was actually on the old A12 so was duel carriage way and used as a cut through. I actually really liked it as although cars usually passed you a bit on the faster side they were in the other lane so you had plenty of room. They eventually put a speed limit on it of 50mph. When we first moved there I got my horse who became amazing in traffic due to where we lived. Never bothered me although people were often shocked we would ride out of the yard gate onto a duel carriage way. Also it was about judging the traffic as in I wouldn't ride at rush hour times as that's when most people would be using it as a rat run.
 
We used to own a yard on a busy A road, and hacked down it regularly. Until one day some idiot drove too fast, lost control and hit me in my car head on. Just a few yards down from my yard. Made me realize that it's the other road users you have to be worried about.
We sold up and now have a farm with quiet country lanes. Just milk wagons and neighbours.
Yes, there is still a risk, but would say that with less road users, our odds are more favorable.
 
we're lucky at my yard. The field is right next to a busy road (but only 30mph) I liked this fact when I bought my young horse as he could get used to the traffic and all the ambulances going past before I started riding him.
However, I don't have to ride on the roads as I can go straight through another field onto the bridlepath that goes for miles off road :-)
 
I used to keep mine at a yard with a busy road outside. I could do a short section of the busy road and then turn off to mostly country lanes and villages, but the lanes were used as a rat run so I tried to avoid busy times. If I wanted to get to off road hacking I needed to do lots of main roads including traffic lights, roundabouts and either a bridge over a dual carriageway or take the underpass. I used to get up early to avoid the worst of the traffic. Early Sunday morning was the best time.

Now I live somewhere that has more escaped sheep than traffic, but if I meet traffic it's often big farm stuff on single track roads, so the fact that CM is fab in traffic is still essential.
 
I regularly hack along the main road from the M4 to Cardiff Airport. Although we can avoid it, it would seriously limit our hacking if we did. There's a wide verge and pavement so we're away from the main flow of traffic and just choose quieter times - early mornings at the weekend or late evening on weekdays in the summer. I don't take M up there on his own as he's not fond of bigger traffic but A goes on his own or babysits M by walking on the outside of him. In some ways, I prefer the big wide straight but busy roads to the country lanes as drivers can see you far more clearly and you have enough space to get away from them, on the lanes there's nowhere to go if one comes round a blind corner too fast.
 
I keep my horse at a small DIY yard which is really close to my home. It is on a B road, but in the last 10 years this has become a rat run and combined with the fact the roads are narrow, twisty and enclosed by high hedges, 2 years ago I bought myself a small lorry as although my horse was bombproof, the idiot car drivers were not. As people now work, shop, commute 24/7, 7 days a week there is never a guaranteed "safe" time to venture out so I had to decide between moving yards or getting transport. As the yard is ideal for my horse I bought a little 3.5 and it does mean I can now venture further afield and to shows as well. It is a bit of a pain having to box up every time I want to ride but we have fab bridleways close by, within a 20 min drive I have about 4 different places to park and dozens or different routes to take so not all bad.
 
A hi viz had band is essential on country roads IMO. I have been told by the local farmer that being able to see it over the hedges is really useful. I do wear other hi viz too (as does the horse), it's a habit I got into when riding on the busy roads.
 
MyBoyChe said:
I keep my horse at a small DIY yard which is really close to my home. It is on a B road, but in the last 10 years this has become a rat run and combined with the fact the roads are narrow, twisty and enclosed by high hedges, 2 years ago I bought myself a small lorry as although my horse was bombproof, the idiot car drivers were not. As people now work, shop, commute 24/7, 7 days a week there is never a guaranteed "safe" time to venture out so I had to decide between moving yards or getting transport. As the yard is ideal for my horse I bought a little 3.5 and it does mean I can now venture further afield and to shows as well. It is a bit of a pain having to box up every time I want to ride but we have fab bridleways close by, within a 20 min drive I have about 4 different places to park and dozens or different routes to take so not all bad.
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This I think is going to be the way forward in the future as roads are more and more dangerous. Sorry not the roads - I mean the IDIOT drivers!
 
My field is right next to a very busy dual carrageway but I dont have to do any road work as there is a path under the road opposite my gate that leads straight onto the country park with 100's of acres of riding on multi user paths & fields

We are in a very urban area with 2 major motorways crossing the area but have fantastic riding

People are very suprised as looking at the area on a map there are no bridleways

I have run 2 TREC comps in the country park with the full backing of the council rangers

It helps that I am on the trails group for the park as well

We were featured in the BHS magazine 'bucket list' of great places to ride last year

If you drove past my field you would never guess at the great riding around it :-)
 
Our yard is on a busy fast road. We don't hack out at the moment, but this is due to not having any sensible horses here. We have two unbroken youngsters, one TB that does not hack out (hates it), and a mare who needs a lead, so we are pretty stuck! :( But the hacking is great if you have a sensible horse as you just need to cross the road into the woods and then there is miles of off road hacking. Eventually I will be getting a big sensible hack and things will be much better then because I will be able to escort other people again like I used to when I had my lovely sensible ID. I never used to think twice about riding along busy roads. There's actually a wide verge too, but I would worry about a pheasant coming out suddenly and spooking the horses into the road more than the traffic alone.
 
We have a couple of very difficult road crossings to make - blind bridleways onto fast B roads.

I'm always with children, and have to drill into both children and ponies the discipline of standing quietly until the command is given (wait for total silence to ensure nothing's coming). Then I go out to the middle where I can see, confirm it's safe and everyone pegs it across the road. ALL the horses are A1 with this process. They have to be.

It works OK, so long as it isn't windy - then I can't tell if anything's coming, and things get very hairy indeed.
I once had to dismount from a driving vehicle, leaving a 7yo child in the vehicle, and using voice commands to tell the pony when it was safe to emerge from the BOAT and cross the road. There was just no way I could drive and see to make a decision.

Have tried getting better signage / sight lines, but no-one wants to know unless someone's been killed.
 
Wagtail said:
Our yard is on a busy fast road. We don't hack out at the moment, but this is due to not having any sensible horses here. We have two unbroken youngsters, one TB that does not hack out (hates it), and a mare who needs a lead, so we are pretty stuck! :( But the hacking is great if you have a sensible horse as you just need to cross the road into the woods and then there is miles of off road hacking. Eventually I will be getting a big sensible hack and things will be much better then because I will be able to escort other people again like I used to when I had my lovely sensible ID. I never used to think twice about riding along busy roads. There's actually a wide verge too, but I would worry about a pheasant coming out suddenly and spooking the horses into the road more than the traffic alone.
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I have to choose my moments to go past things like wheelie bins and for sale signs as my daft boy would think nothing of throwing himself in front a lorry to protect himself from their evils. Luckily he's quite good with sudden surprises. Hsving said that, he jumped at his own reflection in a shop window the other day!
 
Wagtail said:
but I would worry about a pheasant coming out suddenly and spooking the horses into the road more than the traffic alone.
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Too right - I got hit by a car and dragged on the road when a dog in a garden flew at my pony and he shied right into a passing car. Never had a sound bad since!
 
Always kept my horse by a busy road - hacking never been an issue. Got them used to it from an early age. I actually hate hacking around narrow lanes. The fear when a car comes too fast round the corner on the wrong side of the road!!!!
 
Our stables are on one side of a busy road and grazing at the other. It can be a pain to cross but the horses quickly get used to standing as buses and lorrys go past. My spooky scared of flowers horse doesn't bat an eye lid at any traffic or sirens on emerency vehicles etc. Once you cross the road there is loads of hacking with no more roads so its not to much of a problem.
 
We've got three routes out of our yard - one onto a major trunk road that is used seven days a week by heavy lorries, the second onto a busy b road that connects the trunk road with a large village and two industrial estates and the third via a bridleway that leads to some quieter lanes, although these again are routes to the villages and used as 'rat runs' at certain times of day.
I've lived in the area for 20 years and originally we would happily ride on the 'b' road in all but rush hour traffic. Now we avoid it except early or late on a weekend day, and only then on very sensible horses.
We're lucky that the landowner planted grass strips around some of the arable fields next to the yard and we can ride off road in summer when we can also get onto local bridleways which mainly cross cropped land. At this time of year it's pretty limited.
I'm not complaining because we have good facilities at the yard and it's very handy for competition venues. But I think that if your main reason for riding/keeping a horse is to hack, you have to think very carefully about where you stable them, in order for it to be enjoyable and safe.
 
annagain said:
I have to choose my moments to go past things like wheelie bins and for sale signs as my daft boy would think nothing of throwing himself in front a lorry to protect himself from their evils. Luckily he's quite good with sudden surprises. Hsving said that, he jumped at his own reflection in a shop window the other day!
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That's the thing. No matter how bomb proof they are in traffic, if something else scares them they can jump into the path of vehicles.
 
Yep. I live on a B road which when I bought the house and land 20 odd years ago was a lot quieter than it is now. I have an Irish boy and an ex-racehorse - both who are super on the roads but it's me who is nervous. I do hack out but only on Sundays (mostly because I work the rest of the time!) and find the roads quieter that day. I also box up and take them out and about hacking to local woods or country parks or up the gallops.

I only have to go 100 yds up main road to get onto quiet lanes however. The other time that's good to hack is when England have a big rugby or football match!

At the other end of my land there's a dual carriageway so horses are very used to traffic. Agree with previous poster that straight main roads are usually less hairy than narrow country lanes with idiots and blind bends.
 
Reading this thread reminds me of the petrol strike a few years ago. I got the pony and carriage out, and went up the main roads. There were no cars at all and it was great.
 
I kept my mare in a friends field next to an A road (and a factory and a railway line) she was just a baby at the time so was there more for traffic/bomb proofing purposes, but we hacked out my friends mares regularly 😊 (still do as she's still there) x
 
pennyturner said:
Reading this thread reminds me of the petrol strike a few years ago. I got the pony and carriage out, and went up the main roads. There were no cars at all and it was great.
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Oh if only we could return to the sanity of those days. I've given up carriage driving on the roads - it's no pleasure at all, you have your heart in your mouth approaching every sharp bend.
 
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