canals, walkers and bell tinklers...

[LLB]

As Arch says really. The Pony for some reason beyond me was very nervous of cyclists when we first got her (maybe one rode too close too fast or something), and she actually bolted once on the road when a bespectacled and bearded roadie came cycling towards us about 5 years ago.

I think what scares them about cycles is the speed and relative silence which a cyclist can approach them.

If approaching to overtake, then call out good morning/afternoon and then give a wide berth. If coming towards them, then move towards the kerb and slow down again. If the rider asks you to wait, then they will appreciate it greatly if you follow their direction.

Its difficult really as horses need to be conditioned to use the roads with the traffic, but its impossible to do this without actually facing them with it. They are safer out in the company of other horses as they naturally want to stick together.

 

[simoncc]

Nobody should be allowed on modern roads if they cannot control their vehicle and predict exactly how it will behave and respond in every situation. That's why horses are not suitable vehicles for today's roads. Many horse riders cannot control their vehicles properly. What's more, their vehicle is not some lump of metal with no feelings, it is a living thing, and many horses do not seem to enjoy being on roads along with modern traffic. Many of them seem very jumpy and nervous to me. Anyone who is a real horse lover would not take a nervous horse on a modern road.

The police train their horses so that they are unafraid of traffic, noises and crowds. Most horse owners who use their animals as road vehicles do not seem to have the same consideration for their horses and other road users that the police do. That's a shame.

 

[the reluctant cyclist]

I cycle on the canal a lot in the summer and I sometimes find people walking in front of me.

I don't think the canal is the place to scare people by skidding to a halt behind them to scare them. I tend to just fall in step behind them until they notice me. They usually do this pretty quickly - it's like there's some sort of sixth sense isn't there! If they really don't notice I might say "excuse me ladies can I just squeeze past?" and whether they see me or I have to ask I always, always, say a very pleasant "thank you very much" to them when I do go past. I can't say I'm impressed with the through of a cyclist screeching to a halt behind me to scare the hell out of me!

As for people saying "haven't you got a bell" or "you should have a bell" funnily enough I have had this said to me too.

I haven't got a bell on either of my current bikes. On my road bike there isnt' enough room for a light, computer and a bell (unless someone can help me out there?!) so I don't have one and on the mountain bike I just haven't got around to putting one on it!

Usually I am asked this as I wait for people to move off the cycle lane and to be honest I'd rather just hover until they see me! If I do hover and then they go "you should have a bell" I just reply - it's okay I was quite happy to wait thank you! Usually that does the trick!

 

[LLB]

Nobody should be allowed on modern roads if they cannot control their vehicle and predict exactly how it will behave and respond in every situation. That's why horses are not suitable vehicles for today's roads. Many horse riders cannot control their vehicles properly. What's more, their vehicle is not some lump of metal with no feelings, it is a living thing, and many horses do not seem to enjoy being on roads along with modern traffic. Many of them seem very jumpy and nervous to me. Anyone who is a real horse lover would not take a nervous horse on a modern road.

The police train their horses so that they are unafraid of traffic, noises and crowds. Most horse owners who use their animals as road vehicles do not seem to have the same consideration for their horses and other road users that the police do. That's a shame.

Horses are allowed on roads by right, not by licence. It is up to the other road users to consider them, not the other way around.

How do you think that police horses learn to deal with traffic, do yo uhave any idea how they are conditioned to deal with crowds ?

 

[John the Monkey]

Got it! Not a Uk site..

...

With all this choice, and some very tiny ones, why wouldn't you have a bell?

Wonderful! Tempted by the compass bell, myself.

 

[LLB]

The best way for a cyclist to negotiate a horse on a road is as follows-

• Ride as fast as you can. The quicker you ride, the shorter time the horse has to worry about you
• Take the quickest route without deviating from your line and putting you both in danger. I find that often means ducking low and freewheeling between the horse's legs. Front to back or side to side, it doesn't matter.
• So that the horse knows that you're coming, shout "Geronimo!!" at the top of your voice. This will also gain you the respect of the horse (who is also listening) as it will realise your appreciation of black and white horsey films.

The pony put her 70 odd stone on my wellied foot the other day. I could feel the tissues in my big toe being squashed by the weight. I shaln't repeat what I said but it began with Ffffffffffffffffffffff

 

[Maz]

The pony put her 70 odd stone on my wellied foot the other day. I could feel the tissues in my big toe being squashed by the weight. I shaln't repeat what I said but it began with Ffffffffffffffffffffff

...and ended with uuuuucckkk!!!

 

[LLB]

...and ended with uuuuucckkk!!!

Not quite, it was Ffffffffffoooooot, gerroff it , then followed by Ffffffuccking hell IIRC

She is barefoot at the moment, if she were shod, it would have probably been broken

 

[Chuffy]

I did like the lady who I came up behind one day on a canal path. I deployed my escalating standard ped warning.
"Excuse me, bike behind...Excuse me!...EXCUSE ME!"
She heard me at the first attempt, but still had a go at me for not ringing a bell. The fact that I'd politely got her attention seemed to bypass her.....

 

[User482]

I did like the lady who I came up behind one day on a canal path. I deployed my escalating standard ped warning.
"Excuse me, bike behind...Excuse me!...EXCUSE ME!"
She heard me at the first attempt, but still had a go at me for not ringing a bell. The fact that I'd politely got her attention seemed to bypass her.....

In the future, if people deliberately ignore my polite request to pass by, I shall be deploying the Airzound...

 

[simoncc]

Horses are allowed on roads by right, not by licence. It is up to the other road users to consider them, not the other way around.

How do you think that police horses learn to deal with traffic, do yo uhave any idea how they are conditioned to deal with crowds ?

I am fully aware that horses currently have a right to be on the road. I just think that right should be removed. That's my opinion. There are already many restrictions on what vehicles can use what roads.

I know how police horses are trained. It is expensive and time consuming. Perhaps that's why most horse owners don't bother. If I owned an animal I wouldn't subject it to situations where it is obviously nervous or downright terrified, but obviously most horse owners prefer to save a few quid rather than take steps to avoid this distress.

 

[Pete]

SimonCC, I don't enjoy going all ad hominem against another forummer, but really your post above is hard to stomach! For the record, I'm not over-fond of horses myself, I dislike some of the activities to which they are put, I gag at the smell of them, I find their droppings on the road a nuisance. They have every right to use the road and may that be forever the case! - it would be a terrible day when that right were denied them.

If a horse rider shows me courtesy (as nearly all of them do) I show courtesy back. Nearly all horses I meet are well-trained and give no problems: they're just another road user to pass by. And I'm always ready to accommodate. A few days ago I met one approaching in the middle of a narrow lane, forcing me to a standstill. The rider apologised for her positioning, she said her mount could not cope with the camber of the road made slippery by mud and recent heavy rain. She also thanked me for stopping. I took her at her word. That little 'thank you' gave me a real lift. That's how it should be, between road users.

 

[Dave5N]

Have to say I have NEVER found horse riders anything other than courteous and pleasant. And in control.

Which is astonishing really because they are all without exception reactionary bourgeois representatives of the hated oppressive ruling classes who will pay the price for their unjust dominion of the glorious cycling proletariat and whose time will surely come to answer to the people's justice at summary revolutionary tribunals.

Admittedly some of the women do wear nice jodhpurs.

I always slow down, give a bit of width and say hello. Never any problems. Same for canal paths and walkers. Never had a moment's bother.

Don't think I would ever fit a bell though.

 

[simoncc]

SimonCC, I don't enjoy going all ad hominem against another forummer, but really your post above is hard to stomach! For the record, I'm not over-fond of horses myself, I dislike some of the activities to which they are put, I gag at the smell of them, I find their droppings on the road a nuisance. They have every right to use the road and may that be forever the case! - it would be a terrible day when that right were denied them.

If a horse rider shows me courtesy (as nearly all of them do) I show courtesy back. Nearly all horses I meet are well-trained and give no problems: they're just another road user to pass by. And I'm always ready to accommodate. A few days ago I met one approaching in the middle of a narrow lane, forcing me to a standstill. The rider apologised for her positioning, she said her mount could not cope with the camber of the road made slippery by mud and recent heavy rain. She also thanked me for stopping. I took her at her word. That little 'thank you' gave me a real lift. That's how it should be, between road users.

If you find the opinions of others hard to stomach perhaps an internet forum isn't the place for you. I speak from experience when I say that many horses seem very nervous and sometimes quite distressed on public roads. There is no reason, other than the owners desire to save money, why this should be. Perhaps only horses that have not been properly trained to cope should be banned from public roads. To me, it seems cruel to subject an animal to an environment where the slightest noise or fast moving object causes it distress, but I'm fully aware that many horse riders are not so concerned about this matter, and have no qualms about taking their horses on to modern roads. That is a shame in my opinion.

 

[Pete]

If you find the opinions of others hard to stomach perhaps an internet forum isn't the place for you.

If you want to have a play at being moderator, by all means PM admin and see what he thinks. If you want to know what the original wording of my post was, before I edited it to tone it down a bit: well, for your information, what I said originally was "I find your post despicable". How about that? Perhaps language you would have understood better? Anyway forums are all about people disagreeing at times. We won't come to an agreement on this one. Leave it at that.