simoncc said:
That's very true. That's why we ban faulty motor vehicles from the roads and why we ban people from driving them if they behave unpredictably for any reason, such as drink, drugs, old age, using a phone or simply carelessness. Horses are often unpredictable on the roads. That's why they should be banned. And I simply don't believe that most horse owners are considerate of their horse's feelings. I see too many very nervous and distressed horses on public roads for that.
And Arch, riding a horse on a public road is never the only way to get to a bridle path. Have you ever heard of horseboxes? I suspect that most riders would prefer not to go to the inconvenience or expense of one, just as most riders prefer their horses to be nervous and jittery in traffic rather than spend time and money training their horses as the police train theirs.
Many off-road motorcyclists take their bikes to off-road facilities on trailers because the bikes are not suitable or legal for road use. The same arrangement should be brought in for horses.
Are horse owners a powerful group within the RSPCA? I can't think why they haven't tried to get horses off the road for animal cruelty reasons. Most horses just do not look like they are having a good time on the roads to me.
Its a shame that you aren't a deep thinker SimonCC or you would have worked through the answers before you hit the submit reply button.
How do you think that horse riders condition a horse to road furniture ? = If the horse shies away from a parked lorry, or a tractor, or a manhole cover or anything else they don't like the look of, they are brought to this object and shown that it is not a threat to their safety. This doesn't happen overnight, it takes time and you cannot replicate this sort of thing in a field or paddock. To make a horse safe be it a police horse, or a privately owned one, it needs to be educated and that can only be done in situ, not by proxy !
As for the Horseboxes quip ?. The option for moving horses about is to either hack them (impractical in many situations over any distance as there are just too many inconsiderate other users out there, as well as the weight of traffic on many roads), use a large car (4x4) with a trailer as I do (expensive as it has to double up as regular transport), or to use a lorry (very expensive to buy (£20k upwards for a 10 year old Horsebox), and very thirsty due to their weight (single figure MPG), they usually stand idle for 6 out of 7 days a week (to seize up), class 7 MOT plating or if bigger, a ministry test which is big bucks, and storage for them is difficult to acquire). Most will also soon to be subject to the LEZ charge of £200 per day if they need to enter the M25.
Also is the problem of parking the said transport when out. When I have the trailer on the back, I am very limited where I can stop due to the size of the combination. I have to park wherever I can safely unload them which could be a pub car park, or a very quiet back road where there is not loads of cars zooming past, and where I'm not in fear of some idiot breaking into the car whilst we are gone, and then I still have to hack on a road to the bridleway entrance. I can't just park across the bridleway entrance, and any layby's close to the entrances are 'yes you guessed it' - on the road. Cars and lorries aren't allowed onto Bridlepaths, even if they are carrying horses.
Having Horse transport is liberating, and you can look at any horse owners forum to see multiple posts where the owners are trying to figure out how they can get transport for their animals.
To get a total ban on horses on the roads as you want, would you be happy to subsidise upgrading of the bridleway network for continuous paths, or making all sustrans routes converted to accept horses as well ?, Horses are only legally allowed on the roads, not on pavements.
you are already bitching and moaning about the license fee - which is elective, how well would it go down to be forced to pay a compulsory fee on this in your taxes ?
Whilst we are on the subject of animals on the roads, Dairy cattle are driven daily on rural roads the length and breadth of the country from their fields to milking parlours to provide you with the dairy products you take for granted every time you go shopping or put the kettle on. Would you want cows to be banned for the roads as well ?