Hello and a plea from us horse riders!

[Cubist]

During the Holme Valley MTB challenge two women on horses were waiting at a junction to my left. One called out " Could you let us out please, my horse is afraid of bikes." I told her this was a large event and that there were loads of riders behind me."Well could you ask them all to stop so we can get across?" The words "What, all 300 of us?" didn't impress her.

 

[NotthatJasonKenny]

I'm not fast enough to overtake horses yet, not sure I want to, the view is better from behind! I'm afraid I had riding lessons in my teens and it left me with a lifelong love of women in jodhpurs...mmmm

Hang on, this is the Jeremy Kyle forum isn't it? D'oh!

 

[Linford]

Or go on Horseyclipclop.com (or whatever the horserider equivalent of this site is) and plead for all of them to pick up their horseshit after them?

I consider the horse poo to be a good indicator that there are vulnerable road users in the area. Riding around it is no problem on 2 wheels.

I did actually raise the same comments a few years ago about horses being spooked out by cyclists.

Going back about 8 years, my daughters pony bolted after a roadie came towards us from the other direction. I was on my MTB at the time, but it was a gradient, the bloke had a big beard, was out of the saddle and was puffing and showing his teeth (scared me TBH ) . The Pony span on the spot and went off at a gallop from the directon we came from. Fortunately there was a lane about 50 yards up and she steered into it and pulled up.

We are predators at the end of the day and that is how they see us - especially when we have beards and big teeth

 

[400bhp]

Quite, I was going to say something rather rude along the lines of

'Stop being a tw*t'

but hopefully you have learned

Or perhaps you would care to read the whole thread and my replies.

 

[benb]

we have some drivers who deliberately try to scare the horses - one memorable occasion was when someone threw a banger under my horses feet!

What a ****
I wonder if you could fit a camera mount to a horse's bridle?

 

[Linford]

What a ****
I wonder if you could fit a camera mount to a horse's bridle?

A helmet cam is a better bet. The footage off a horses head bobing up and down would make you seasick in a few seconds IMO

 

[NotthatJasonKenny]

Jodhpurs, Jeremy Kyle show, are you sure? You can call me a frightful snob if you like but I would have thought more trackie bottoms.

I meant discussing my lifelong emotional turmoil more than anything!

 

[toroddf]

Hi guys, not sure if this is in the right place but I would like to ask you all for a favour!
As a horse rider I see many cyclists on the roads, may I please ask that if you are approaching a horse from behind that you call out and let the rider know you are there? Bikes are so quiet and unfortunately our horses (and us!) don't know you are there until the last second and that can cause them to spook. I have had a couple of near misses and would hate for anyone to get hurt.

Many thanks!

Eve

I agree. In my local area, we share the bikepaths with horseriders, dogwalkers and joggers too. I have a healthy respect for horses. To start with; they are bigger than me and has the potential to end my life. They also has the potential to end the life of the horserider too. So yes, I make myself heard when approaching a horse and seek to establish contact with both the horse and the horserider. I let the horse size me up & decide what to make of me while I ask the horserider for the permission to pass. If appropriate, I also talk directly to the horse (to the amusement of the mostly female horserider) to make the situation less stressful for both the horse and myself. I have to admit I have my heart in my mouth when I pass the horse. But so far; no problems and I am getting a lot more confidence now. But I have to admit I don't like situations like this at all.

I see no reason to disrespect horses and horseriders. I see no reasons to disrespect anyone when I am out on a bikeride. Bikeriding is all about something more spiritually uplifting than showing disregard for others.

 

[Silver Fox]

I haven't managed to read all the replies yet but this really made me I think a few cyclists have worried for my sanity too as I am prone to having full blow conversations with my horse!

Nothing wrong with that Eve. It all seems quite normal in the horsey world, magnificent creatures that they are.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Electric_Andy]

"someone threw a banger under my horses feet!"

Throwing a sausage would be bad enough, but did someone actually throw an explosive at the horse? Some people need shooting

 

[Nihal]

If only cows were as sensible as human or horses in our areas *sigh*

 

[Arjimlad]

This has been an interesting thread. I don't pass horses all that often but when I do it's useful to have some insight into how not to spook them. I would certainly expect any horse rider to talk to their steed much as I talk to my beloved bicycle as we roll along.

Is whistling a tune any good ? would that spook a horse ? The theme from "for a few dollars more" springs to mind, obviously without the whipcrack sound effects though.

Being shy around the ladies (and I have observed that most riders are female) I would find whistling a lot easier than speaking directly to them.

In my experience, whatever I say usually spooks the rider

 

[Sara_H]

I worry about spooking horses on the 'bent. I'm very low, and suspect my knees read like the shoulders of some predatory big cat. I've only ever seen one get really jumpy, and that seemed to be triggered by a fellow rider's flag. My approach tends to be start talking to the horse and rider as early as possible, and keep the conversation going whilst I'm waved past.

The flip side is that I fairly often run out of things to say, so end up going "I'm human... Yes, still human. A human on a bike. A laid back bike. But a bike. With a human on.. Yes, a human... etc..."

Seems to put the horse at ease, but the riders likely worry for my mental health.

I told my OH a few weeks ago that I'd read that horses are sppoked by bikes because they don't recognise them as people and that if you talk to them it calms them down as they then kniow you're human.
A few weeks later we were passing a pair out on a ride and he starts wittering on "Hello oresey, don't be scared, its only me a Human Bean bla blah blah........" wnt on for quite some time, seemed to do the trick though and made everyone laugh (though the horses maintained a long face )

 

[ianrauk]

It's even worse when one is riding a bent.... horses are just damned scared of the things. Looks like they don't know what to think or do when they see one of those coming towards them.

 

[MrJamie]

Im sure you can get horsey nappies these days, nearly every silly invention has been done!

I normally ring my bell from way way back before i think they can hear it, then again a little closer until the rider turns and acknowledges it, then I slow right down and let them do their thing, not that im ever cycling in a rush anyway Horse riders always seem very friendly, so I presume im doing the right thing.