'Young Horse' Tabards - Yay or Nay?

3Beasties

3Beasties

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As title really. Am wondering if I should get one for when I am hacking out my 5 year old. She seems fairly happy with traffic but does have the odd tantrum about which direction we should be heading etc.

Are the tabards a good idea or could it make me liable if anything happened?
 
I have one and to be honest most drivers don't understand what a young horse is capable of doing so it doesn't really slow them down any more than normal but around here most drivers are really good so i just use it as it is bright and reflective.
 
i once read a comment in a magazine that a 'young horse' tabard can make you liable if your horse causes the accident. also i found that you can get abuse from some people 'well if its young, why is it out on the road'.....education doesnt cross their mind!
just a bright coloured tabard would do!...i dont think many drivers slow down enough to read the words in the first place!
 
TandD said:
i once read a comment in a magazine that a 'young horse' tabard can make you liable if your horse causes the accident. also i found that you can get abuse from some people 'well if its young, why is it out on the road'.....education doesnt cross their mind!
just a bright coloured tabard would do!...i dont think many drivers slow down enough to read the words in the first place!
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I have heard this said before, so does that mean that a new driver who puts a P sticker on their car is liable!! I have used one in the past and did find that the boy racers did give us a wide birth.
 
showpony said:
Would recommend sticking a set of L Plates to both sides of Hi Vis Vests... People do notice & most have given me a very very wide berth or stopped until I pass.
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Ha never thought of that. I'd probably get all the villiage idiots coming out to laugh at me as i rode by though :/
 
I have one for when I take my 3yo out on in-hand hacks :) it just says "young horse in training" (no WARNING or CAUTION) just a simple statement of fact :D
I have a yellow hi vis exercise sheet that the boy wears and I've stuck 'L' plates to the bum! People definitely slow down, even if its just to point and laugh at me with my bright orange jacket, yellow tabard, pink gloves, hi vis hat band, hi vis strap round each calf with flashing red LEDs, and the boy wearing his hi vis 'Learner' exercise sheet, leg wraps and breastplate :D
 
TBH, ANY hi-vis tabard around where i ride has got be better than what other riders wear, sadly. I actually stopped and told a rider today that her hi-vis was great and I saw her easily :)
 
"Young horse" means nothing to motorists. Have one with "pass wide and slow" or I have seen some with "in training" but I think I prefer the first one, as it gives a direct request, no room for misunderstanding.

Actually, I think the admitting liability thing is an urban myth, you are taking sensible precautions to be visible to other road users.
 
My friend has one that says "young horse in training - please pass wide and slow"

We tend to put it on whomever is at the back when we use it, which is usually me on my not so young ned (he's 18) can't say whether it works or not, luckily my boy is good so long as he's got company, and there are always motorists that whizz past over the speed limit without a care in the world, and there's always some that go past wide and slow whether I wear that or a plain hi vis one...
 
I used a marker pen to write 'Road training' 'Please pass carefully' on the back and 'Slow Please' down either side of the lapels on the front, worked for me!
 
A friend of mine tied an L-plate onto a tail guard and went out with that all the time. It really worked. Before i met her i would never have thought of it, but it is a really easy and identifiable sign- every driver understands it instantly, whereas a 'young horse' sign may not have the same impact. She also wears a hi-viz tabard with 'please pass wide and slow' on and leg wraps.

If i had a young horse thats definitely the way i would go- shes been stopped by passers by several times- alot of people have a smile or a laugh with her, but they all slowed down! :D
 
I was always advised to stay clear of anything other than "Please pass wide & slow" because otherwise I wouldn't be covered by insurance if anything was to happen, because something such as "caution young horse" or "horse in training" could suggest that the horse wasn't safe to be on the road. I'm not sure where L plates would stand insurance-wise but I think they're a good idea as everyone knows what they mean whereas non-horsey people perhaps wouldn't understand the things that could worry or upset a younger less experienced horse x
 
I contacted the BHS a couple of years ago before I started to take my youngster out on the roads. They said to use a please pass wide and slow as anything such as a young horse, horse in training or L plates could be used against you in the event of a claim.
 
I followed a horse and rider the other day with the 'POLITE' tabard.
I had never seen one, and I did initially it was the police ... Brilliant idea, does anyone know where to get them, as I think they're the best tabard I've ever seen :)
 
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