Why I prefer animals to people!

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Princess Rosie

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To the rude woman that I came across today in Hillam, out hacking on her dark bay, wearing dark clothes. I slowed to 10 mile an hour as the sun was low in the sky and I then saw you and your lovely horse, both totally dark and blending almost totally into the background. I stopped and very politely and with concern for you both, advised you needed be careful as the sun was very low and you were both very hard to make out against the surroundings and maybe you needed to get high viz on and said I was worried that you might both get hurt.

You looked at me with disgust and did thank me but even before I was out of earshot driving away, you couldn't help yourself and shouting out that I needed to get a new car(!) blah blah blah and other things obviously else rude which I didn't hear!

Not sure why you feel the need to say this and other things which I am guessing were also rude , yes my car is 12 years old but pristine (it's a 12 year old jaguar!), when I was so polite and stopped out of the goodness of my heart to hopefully help you and your lovely horse stay safe.

You, MADAM, are a disgrace to the horseworld and you are very fortunate that I am not the sort of person who would stop my car and get out and cause you an issue! You need to be thankful that there are people out there that will give a damn about YOU and your horse.

Rant over!!!
 
why do people feel the need to risk the life of what should be the first concern, their horse. riders have a choice to go on the road, horses don't, so make sure they can be seen.
 
I much prefer animals to people, in fact I dislike the vast majority of people I know to some degree which makes me wonder if there is something wrong with me?! I much prefer the company of my horses, dogs and cat. I have noticed also when passing people on horses how many don't bother to thank you. I ride on roads regularly and even if I can't take one of my hands off the reins I ALWAYS give an exaggerated nod as an acknowledgement that someone has very kindly slowed down to pass. Costs nothing does it?
 
I absolutely agree, some people cannot be helped! I had a few blind moments with low sun and wet roads today, it's very dangerous at this time of year to be on the road and not flashing/glowing/reflecting every available colour of neon!!
I really wish hi viz was compulsory!
 
Princess Rosie said:
...and you are very fortunate that I am not the sort of person who would stop my car and get out and cause you an issue! You need to be thankful that there are people out there that will give a damn about YOU and your horse.
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OP, up until this part of your rant I was sympathetic. Yes, hi-vis is very important. Yes, we all need to do our bit to help everyone get home safe. Yes, we should support wearing hi-vis and encourage others to do so. No, we shouldn't insult people or their cars, etc.

But seriously? You instigated the conversation, unprompted and unsolicited. Not everyone will respond positively to that. Some may be grateful, some may be rude, some may be made so uncomfortable by you speaking to them that they will go away and dwell on it and end up never hacking out again.

And also, some may have horses that react badly to cars stopping and starting nearby. I have witnessed a rotational fall that occurred after a driver (no, not the car I was travelling in) stopped to speak to a rider. Thankfully all involved survived with only minor injuries, but it can happen. Especially with older cars. I know that our engine used to be quieter when driving than when moving off initially after pulling up, even if it hadn't actually been switched off. It had a faint rattle which could feasibly have been disturbing to a horse.

Well done for driving safely. Really it's all you can do. The sort of person who would "get out and cause an issue" is imo worse than the person who for whatever reason wasn't wearing hi-vis. The latter may have gotten caught out by the weather, the former is being needlessly aggressive. They will probably look for ways to be aggressive wherever they go - they are that person who starts rows in the supermarket over other people taking too long to choose between beans or peas.

I don't mean to imply that you are this sort of person btw! But to be fair the rider may have been, and I personally wouldn't waste my breath offering advice to a stranger, precisely because of this fact.
 
I would have been wearing hi-vis anyway but tbh some randomer taking it upon themselves to tell me what to do would have been met with a simple response starting with F and ending with Off.... The rider does sound like like a butthole though.
 
I actually carefully stopped my car at the edge of the road and rider had her horse at a junction of a very quiet road at the point of discussion and no, my car is very quiet and having been a horsewoman for 36 years I am cautious in terms of causing others potential issues.

I certainly won't be stopping again to offer live saving advice and yes, this particular woman was an absolute horror!

Thanks for all the posts of support, I was genuinely upset by this incident as there was no reason for her rudeness.
 
I have been stopped whilst out riding before by a lady letting me know she couldn't really see me. To be completely honest i was mortified that I had been so irresponsible! From then on i always wore hi-viz!
 
If someone is being dangerous on the roads then I would hope we would all say something. If you run into a horse and rider that can't be seen because they're so dark you can get a serious injury to yourself, not to mention what might happen to them!

But then people never take kindly to advice.
 
lastchancer said:
I would have been wearing hi-vis anyway but tbh some randomer taking it upon themselves to tell me what to do would have been met with a simple response starting with F and ending with Off.... The rider does sound like like a butthole though.
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There could be some people out there who genuinely don't realise that they are hard to spot, and a polite word could make all the difference. However, if this is the sort of reaction they might get, I'd understand if no one ever dared say anything to anyone anymore, no matter how polite and genuine their concern.
 
I think you did the right thing, I've done this twice, once with a child who was accompanied by her mum on her bike. I spoke very politely to the mum as I used to train then later exam for the Riding and road safety part of the pony club C test. she said she'd ridden round our lanes as a child and never worn hi viz and had always been fine. she thought her child would be fine too. Well I hope she is but our lanes are very busy now! I also spoke to a woman riding at dusk on a very busy road, I was driving my lorry and frankly only just saw her as she sat in the middle of the road waiting to turn right! As it happened I was going to her yard so also was turning right. I can't repeat her response to my polite suggestion that she needed to be more visible if she was on the road as it was getting dark. I hope she's never involved in an accident but at least i took the time to talk to her.
 
Nutsaboutnags said:
I had a few blind moments with low sun and wet roads today, it's very dangerous at this time of year to be on the road and not flashing/glowing/reflecting every available colour of neon!!
I really wish hi viz was compulsory!
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This.

Today I spotted at the last minute a large bay horse and rider who was wearing dark clothes (no hi viz). I had already stopped at a junction, and was stationary whilst I looked right, left and right again. It was only at the second and final look right that I saw the horse, which was was only feet away from me, having been hidden in dense black shadows before (tall hedge, low sun, wet road).

I considered saying something to the rider about how invisible she was in the prevailing lighting conditions, but decided that frankly, I couldn't be @rsed.

Feeble on my part, I know.
 
good for you princessrosie. i totally agree that it sometimes takes a different perspective to see these things. when driving before now i have realised how invisible cyclists are - you just don't realise when its you.
and as for having a 12 yo jag - i am well jel! :)
 
tobiano said:
good for you princessrosie. i totally agree that it sometimes takes a different perspective to see these things. when driving before now i have realised how invisible cyclists are - you just don't realise when its you.
and as for having a 12 yo jag - i am well jel! :)
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Bless you. x
 
I did once stop at the end of our motorway bridge, to congratulate two teenagers on their hi-viz and suggest that they thank the queue of very patient drivers who had not tried to pass them on the bridge, to be met by blank looks!
 
Why do people think they have the right to give strangers advice on their manners clothes or whatever ?
I would never dream of stopping a stranger to give them the benefit of my advice although I did once shop the 18 yo son of a friend to his mother for inappropriate overtaking of our horses .
Mum and I discussed what to do and she sent me down the pub to give him a dressing down in public , I was dubious but she knew her son best it worked .
 
Goldenstar said:
Why do people think they have the right to give strangers advice on their manners clothes or whatever ?
I would never dream of stopping a stranger to give them the benefit of my advice although I did once shop the 18 yo son of a friend to his mother for inappropriate overtaking of our horses .
Mum and I discussed what to do and she sent me down the pub to give him a dressing down in public , I was dubious but she knew her son best it worked .
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It wasn't stopping to give advice on manners or clothing, it was out the goodness of my heart as I was so genuinely concerned about this person and her horse. I would rather someone spoke about a concern to someone in a calm and caring manner than going somewhere intentionally to give someone a public dressing down.
 
I would not thank a stranger for commenting on my clothing, hi viz or not I have been an adult for more than thirty years .
If people chose not to wear hi viz it's their choice it's not as though anyone does not know it exists unless they live in a deep cave and only come out to hack .
On my friends son I did it with misgivings but at the request of his mother I would not have approached him otherwise .
 
I had my share recently. Not with rider but walker!
Driving home in pitch dark around long bushy bend on a country lane and there is a **** in dark clothing walking on my side of lane in same direction! And I only saw him (or her, no idea!) because IT had a pissy little torch and turned around shining towards me...
My poor car expanded its vocabulary with quite a few expletives some of which were foreign...
 
My collage teacher, passed me one day while I was out hacking. He explained he could not see me and my horse because we blended with the hedge. I had never really thought about it, it was bright sunlight I thought I could be seen. Since then I have always worn hi viz. I was pleased he thought to tell me. Maybe that's why I have survived forty years of hacking!!!
 
I think that while the majority of people do know hi viz does exist, some aren't aware of the benefits. I think sometimes it's only when you're a driver and you come across a rider not wearing any and you have that "invisible horse" moment that you realise how much better it is to wear it.

I've come up to a lady riding a grey before without any hi viz. It was on a bright stretch of road and her horse blended in quite nicely.

If someone couldn't see me I don't think I would be insulted with them telling me so
 
Elbie said:
I think that while the majority of people do know hi viz does exist, some aren't aware of the benefits. I think sometimes it's only when you're a driver and you come across a rider not wearing any and you have that "invisible horse" moment that you realise how much better it is to wear it.

I've come up to a lady riding a grey before without any hi viz. It was on a bright stretch of road and her horse blended in quite nicely.

If someone couldn't see me I don't think I would be insulted with them telling me so
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If someone couldnt see you how would they find you to tell you they couldnt see you?
 
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