"bent/pony interface with unfortunate consequences.

[Arch]

[QUOTE 1141731"]
You're on a bent! The best approach is to floor it, and ride between the horse's legs. That way you'll not cause them to move, and if you're shouting all the way through they'll easily identify you as human.
[/quote]

I'd almost like to see you try...

Reminds me of something on my holiday. One day we were cycling along when a tractor came the other way - it was the sort designed to work along rows of vines, with two wheels each side of a row, so it had tall wheels, and an even taller frame holding the cab up - must have been six or eight feet up. We were whizzing down a slight hill, and a little voice in my head said "Go on, you could get under that if you swerved over to the other side of the road...."

Of course, I didn't, it would have given the driver a heart attack, and probably totalled my flag. But it would have been so cool!

 

[661-Pete]

The problem of bents and horses has been mentioned before. I suppose it's some sort of primordial instinct: to a horse the low-slung moving object looks like an approaching lion or leopard.

As it happens 'bents are quite rare on the rural Sussex lanes where I do most of my cycling. There are plenty in Brighton itself, and you often get a few doing the L2B run, but not so many in the country lanes off the favourite routes. Maybe just as well: horses and riders are abundant on these lanes, and even a conventional bike can spook a horse for no reason.

I think the only complete solution is to get horses used to 'bents during their training, in their own stables perhaps. But for that to happen, there need to be a lot more 'bents around the place and, as I said, that's not happening around these parts. I suppose one could put the word around the equestrian fraternity, tell them to get a 'bent and ride it around the stables...

Any better ideas?

 

[Arch]

Also, loudly hum the William Tell Overture....

 

[betty swollocks]

This is what I like: constructive suggestions.

 

[DavieB]

I might do that Arch, thanks for the advice.

 

[ufkacbln]

The problem of bents and horses has been mentioned before. I suppose it's some sort of primordial instinct: to a horse the low-slung moving object looks like an approaching lion or leopard.

As it happens 'bents are quite rare on the rural Sussex lanes where I do most of my cycling. There are plenty in Brighton itself, and you often get a few doing the L2B run, but not so many in the country lanes off the favourite routes. Maybe just as well: horses and riders are abundant on these lanes, and even a conventional bike can spook a horse for no reason.

I think the only complete solution is to get horses used to 'bents during their training, in their own stables perhaps. But for that to happen, there need to be a lot more 'bents around the place and, as I said, that's not happening around these parts. I suppose one could put the word around the equestrian fraternity, tell them to get a 'bent and ride it around the stables...

Any better ideas?

THis is exactly the problem.

Horses are "prey animals" and as a result have wide visual fields, small brains and a panic response.

Predators are low sleek, fast and unfortunately so are recumbents (especially trikes) so we are seen as a threat, with the unfortunate response. Even when still it will appear as a predator lying in wait!


You cannot avoid it.

 

[Arch]

This is what I like: constructive suggestions.

Sorry Betty...

But I think you're doing what you can.

With regard to talking when you're some way away - the horse's will have better hearing than the riders. No need to shout, perhaps, just talk anyway 'to yourself' (use a nice calm tone, the words probably don't matter much). You might feel a bit daft, but I suspect the horse will hear you before the riders. And the horse pricking it's ears and becoming alert might help to warn the rider that there's something ahead.

 

[XmisterIS]

OP - it sounds like it wasn't your fault, or anyone's "fault" per se. Perhaps on of the ponies got a bit overwhelmed by all the things round it and decided to do a runner, which would have spooked the other ones into running too because of herd mentality.

30 metres sounds like plenty of distance - I have accidentally approached a horse too fast on my motorbike before - cue lots of braking and downchanging and big, loud engine-braking sounds .. and the horse just looked at me with a slightly disinterested expression!

Animals are unpredictable, even tame ones!

 

[redflightuk]

I find the horses around here spook more when i had a flag on the trice, i took it off for a while and they didn't worry about that strange thing coming towards them. I came across the occasional one that would spook at anything( usually of the Arab breed). I put the flag back on for a while but one day i parked it too close to the stable door and my horse had fun tearing it to shreds, so now i have a windsock which most don't seem to mind.
As you can see the pic left my horse has now started to eat the rest of the trike.

 

[Amanda P]

If you really want to put the wind up a horse, have a flag with tinsel wrapped around it on your recumbent

It's really visible at night, but even steady horses go a bit nuts when they catch sight of it.

There's a problem here: it seems the more likely a thing is to make drivers notice it, the more likely it is to make horses go berserk.

 

[661-Pete]

I suppose at the end of the day, the question is: if a horse spooks, whose fault is it? If a horse takes fright and injures itself, its rider or someone else - who is liable? Who gets compensation and from whom?

This has never happened to me yet - but I've had near misses.

Could the rider or owner claim that you had an 'unreasonable' attachment on your bike, something known to frighten horses?

 

[Globalti]

Sounds like my brother's flight from Detroit to Heathrow on Friday night - just as they were closing the doors the steward come on the tannoy and screamed at the passengers to evacuate the aircraft NOW as there was a tornado coming! There was mass panic as everybody rushed for the door, passengers arrived back in the terminal missing their shoes and bruised from people's elbows!

 

[ColinJ]

Sounds like my brother's flight from Detroit to Heathrow on Friday night - just as they were closing the doors the steward come on the tannoy and screamed at the passengers to evacuate the aircraft NOW as there was a tornado coming! There was mass panic as everybody rushed for the door, passengers arrived back in the terminal missing their shoes and bruised from people's elbows!

I thought that the staff were there to ensure the safety of the passengers!

 

[tyred]

I thought that the staff were there to ensure the safety of the passengers!

The staff probably got trampled into the aisles during the stampede.

 

[Arch]

There's a problem here: it seems the more likely a thing is to make drivers notice it, the more likely it is to make horses go berserk.

Presumably towing a shying horse on long rope would be the ultimate in hi-vis....

You just hope it doesn't take off sideways.

As an aside - in France we didn't come across any riders on the road, but horses in fields by the road seemed much more willing to stand and watch us go by, as opposed to skittering off across the field, as many do here. Many actually trotted towards the hedge to have a look. Some bolted away, but not so many.

Perhaps they are blase - they've seen enough 2CVs, that nothing else is odd.