Cyclists and horse riders

[oldwheels]

I have often met horses on the cycle path near Appin in Argyll. Never been a problem and I stop and usually exchange greetings with the rider.
If approaching from behind I shout rather than ring a bell and the rider usually lets me know when it is ok to pass.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

When I was a teenager I knew some girls who rode horses
One was very experienced and had several horses (rich - her family home actually had battlements and the fireplace in the front room was made with wood from Nelson's flagship!!!!!!!)
Anyway - her main ride (horse - stop sniggering - we know who you are!!!) was perfectly OK on the local roads inspite of some cars going way too fast
nothing would spook him

except Crosville Busses - no-one had any idea why - same make and model in different livery and her was fine with them
Crosville and he became a handfull!
They thought that he would be OK when Crosville changed their livery - after all he was even OK with other green buses

but no

seemed like the horse could damn well read the company name and still spooked with new make and model Crosville busses in the new livery!

With the hindsight of being much older (about 40 years!!!) - I reckon it was probably the horse picking up the worry of the rider when one appeared - but it's a bit late now!!


Anyway - in my view - they weight over a ton, panic at the least thing, have scary looking teeth - and are shod with iron hooves
they can have all the right of way they damn well want!!!

 

[All uphill]

Like most of us I've safely passed hundreds of horses and riders over the years without incident, until 2019 in Gloucestershire when I came across a horse that was already in full panic, trying to throw its rider.

The cause was apparently some rocks painted white to keep cars off the grassy verge. I stayed well back and watched the drama. Eventually the rider gained control of the beast, dismounted and tied it to a signpost.

The sight of a ton of wild horse has stayed with me; I am super cautious now.

 

[steveindenmark]

I owned horses for 20 years. You have to teach them to be bombproof. All mine were. You did all the right things. It sounds like this rider and horse should be accompanied by another rider and horse who are more experienced.

 

[Dogtrousers]

It sounds like a very nasty experience for you and for the rider. It also sounds like you did everything right.

I'm a bit scared of horses to be honest, so I'm always cautious. And the horse people, with one or two snotty exceptions, have generally been nice.

This sums up my view:

Anyway - in my view - they weight over a ton, panic at the least thing, have scary looking teeth - and are shod with iron hooves
they can have all the right of way they damn well want!!!

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

A while ago I was having a drink and a snack on a bench by a canal
nothing anywhere near except a stables and several fields that the horses were grazing in
Nearest field was probably 50 yards away and down a bank - so I was in an elevated position

A woman appeared and went to get one of the horses a couple of fields away
she put a bridle on the horse and started walking it out of the field - but the entrance to the set of fields was closer to me and at the bottom of the bank
I was just leaning against the bench I has stopped by

WHen they got close the horse started getting a bit nervous and dancing around rather than following the woman nicely

After a minute or so she called over and asked me to take my hi-vis vest off
I did so and hid it under the bench and the horse calmed down
as she walked nearer she thanked me and explained that the horse always got spooked by hi-vis yellow!!

Horses can be weird

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The countryside act 1968 almost included the right to ride your bike on public footpaths.

https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1968/apr/09/riding-of-pedal-bicycles-on-footpaths

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

The countryside act 1968 almost included the right to ride your bike on public footpaths.

https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1968/apr/09/riding-of-pedal-bicycles-on-footpaths

Doesn't that mean that there is no such thing as a footpath where bicycle are not allowed?

It does say that you have to dismount to pass walkers which seems strange

Anyone know if this is still valid??

 

[KnittyNorah]

You did the right things; you are not to blame at all.

It's the human - it's ALWAYS the human - unless the horse has, literally, a brainstorm/tumour/epileptic seizure (which for obvious reasons is rare - but not unknown). Sometimes its the human it's with at the time; often it's a human who influenced the horse at some formative time or memorable event. Sometimes it's an event caused by another human - a third-party, if you like. In that case, the human with the horse can often - if they are in tune with the animal - rescue the situation. The recent event in London where an unleashed dog attacked a police horse was an example of that. The horse did not try to bolt or flee despite a large dog latching on to it. But the rider wasn't screaming hysterically ...

Back in the 1980s, I was riding my young Arab mare when we were overtaken by a stolen high-sided lorry speeding round a bend on a narrow Kentish lane. The people on the other side of the lane when this happened had turned their children round, to prevent them seeing the (expected) carnage when the lorry cleared me and the bend, and one of them had already set off to the nearest house to call 999. A combination of luck, my training of her - I, like @steveindenmark , believe that it is perfectly possible to train most horses to be 'bombproof' in most situations - and her trust in me - I think it is possible to train almost all horses to 'look to you' in situations where otherwise they could not cope - meant that the miracle happened and neither of us were dragged or flung under the lorry. Many people might see extensive 'police-type' training as a waste of effort for 'just a horse' or 'just a kid's pony' which is going to live in a herd in a field, but it never is as you never know when an 'emergency' might arise, just you and your horse and you need to trust each other.

Some humans never learn to 'read' a horse - no matter how good a rider they are technically. Some people can read a horse without even knowing that they can. I've met a few who I was convinced had years of experience with horses. No, they had none.

 

[vickster]

Doesn't that mean that there is no such thing as a footpath where bicycle are not allowed?

It does say that you have to dismount to pass walkers which seems strange

Anyone know if this is still valid??

He says it almost included…did the law not pass?

 

[Mike_P]

Saw a horse last year going mental seemingly set off by a barking dog and which tried to kick it's standing rider https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/your-ride-today.173254/page-2052#post-6742556. Had one go somewhat lively as I passed it despite calling out on the approach from its rear and was way across the otherside of the road.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Doesn't that mean that there is no such thing as a footpath where bicycle are not allowed?

It does say that you have to dismount to pass walkers which seems strange

Anyone know if this is still valid??

It was an amendment that was withdrawn if you read it thoroughly. Note that law banning riding on the pavement is covered by the term footway, which has a specific meaning and does not apply to all footpaths.

 

[fossyant]

Only ever had an issue once. Cycling down a wide road, the rider saw me coming up on the horse as she had looked back. I moved to the opposite carriageway, virtually in the gutter. Just as I was passing the rider veered the horse right over the road onto the verge. Very nearly got squashed.

You did the best thing you could. If coming up from behind, and it's fairly tight I wait for them to wave me through.

 

[ColinJ]

I had a VERY scary equine experience a few years ago...

Most of the horse riders and horses that I encounter are no problem but I did have a problem with one particular horse ...

I was riding down a local bridleway when I spotted someone riding a horse towards me. I slowed right down and realised that the rider was someone I knew. He's a very tall man and he had a huge horse to fit him!

He shouted STOP!!!!, so I did. He called out that his horse was extremely nervous near cyclists. My immediate reaction was that this was a public bridleway on which horses and cyclists would often meet, so bringing a beast of that size and temperament into conflict with them was not a brilliant idea ...

As horse and rider started to pass me I made the criminally stupid mistake of moving a few inches to the side to make room. The pawls in my MTB's freehub clicked a couple of times and the horse freaked completely! It went up on its hind legs and its front hooves were flailing about above my head. The rider was struggling to stay on the saddle and get the horse under control.

Finally, he quietened it down and started to move on past. He leaned down and whispered "See - I told you not to move!"

Absolutely bloody marvellous!

 

[Dogtrousers]

Last year I was doing a bit of uncharacteristic offroading when I met a man riding a big horse coming the other way down a bridleway. I pulled into the bushes to let him pass and he stopped for a (rather long) chat, and introduced me to the horse (I forget the horse's name).

Anyway, he told me he'd just been to take the horse "to see the pigs". I thought I'd found myself in some kind of kids' story ("hello Mr Pig said the horse"), but he explained that the horse was nervous about pigs so he was training it to be habituated to them. He'd take him to where the pigs were, and explain to him that they would end up as sausages soon enough. This, it seemed, was to make the horse feel braver about pigs.

Anyway Mr Horse was very nice and placid. Maybe the rider realised that I needed habituating to horses, because I managed to relax a bit, having backed away into the nettles and brambles at first.