Safe Speed Forums

Where do we stand with horses on the road?

I don't want to intimidate or frighten any one, but horses seem to have there own set of rules.

Why aren't horses tested before they can go on the road?
Why aren't the riders tested?
Why don't they have to have third party insurance?
Why can a child take a 600 kg horse on the road?

Roads (except motorways) have always been "shared use". They are public spaces that anyone can use. Pedestrians, equestrians and cyclists use the roads by right. Motor vehicles users use the road by licence.

I don't have a problem with that arrangement, in fact I think it's an excellent arrangement.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Give them as much room as you bloody can, I've seen the damage a horse can do to a car without injuring itself.
It was at a horsey type event, when a horse panicked and went loose in the car park, smashed up a dealers brand new display car.
The problem I have in a truck, is that the air tanks can release overpressure at the most inconvenient times and scare a horse quite nicely thank you.
I do wish that horse rider would wear a flourescent jacket though, dark clothing and dark coloured horse, doesn't make them easy to see against a dark background.

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Semper in excreta, nur quantitat variat.

I remember an incident from my very young childhood, when a mad horse bolted down a road, and over our car. It shattered front and back screens, but fortunately noone was hurt. My dad, and I in his footsteps, has always given them a wide berth since then!

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-mike[F]
Caught in the rush of the crowd, lost in a wall of sound..

Dead right. I certainly didn't intend to suggest that we shouldn't be "worried by horses". Far from it. We (drivers) should be extremely cautious.

Horses are big, strong, heavy, hard, easily scared and unpredictable.

Slow, wide and quietly is the only way to pass a horse, and if you can't get wide, then stay behind - well behind. Don't honk, rev your engine or accelerate significantly. Don't expect good communication from the rider because they may be inexperienced.

When you encounter a horse on the road you know nothing about the skills of the rider (or the person leading the horse), and importantly you don't know if the horse is used to cars. Be aware that you're not the only thing around that might scare the horse - so even when you're being cautious, the horse might still be unpredictable.

Horses are just one good reason for always observing the safe speed rule. If you came around a bend and encountered an unexpected horse while travelling too fast to stop, the results would be very very ugly.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Couldn't agree more!

Nags are strange old things. Many moons ago when wars were fought from horseback men could charge towards cannons on the things. Yet they might then see a twig or something and completely freak out (the horses i mean!). The slightest thing can upset a horse....

I work on the 'outer' fringes of the Met, and i've happened upon horses which have broken free whilst i've been doing 110 on a 40 dual carriageway. The brake discs were hissing afterwards! I must say though that when i see horses in the distance on a 'blues and two's' i immediately turn off the two-tones and give a very wide berth at slow speed. The riders tend to be very courteous and i've always found them to be pretty clued up.

The fact that they're normally blonde 18 year olds in riding gear has nothing to do with my slowing down of course......

Nice to know coppers still join up for all the right reasons.

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Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

You would call that appropriate speed, can you supply that on headed note paper please




So due to the presence of a Horse, your arrival time to an incident which demands you traveling at speeds of 100 mph plus, is delayed.


Cannot think of any incident that could demand such a high use of speed, on a road deemed safe only at 40 mph

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Steve

Obviously in his opinion it is, as he's been trained to know what an appropriate speed is! (Presumably this was with 'blues and twos' on!)

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-mike[F]
Caught in the rush of the crowd, lost in a wall of sound..

Hi Man!

You have to give horses space .. they scare easily. But like cyclsist .. there is A Horse Proficiency Test which a good many riders do take ..

But yes ... must admit you don't just slow down cos it's a horse...... the curves of the rider do play a major part in the safe speed to use...

I can see why reading that may alarm you bmwk12, so i'm happy to answer (but you won't be getting anything on headed note paper, i'm not that stupid! )

As mentioned in the post, i work on the fringes of the Met, and my particular ground is a mix of semi-urban and rural. The particular road i refer to is a dual carriageway. The central reservation has a high, grated barrier along it's entire length, certainly too high for someone to get over. Therefore my vision scans more or les focus on my nearside. I drive to the very left of lane 2, straddling the white line in places where i need more reaction distance. The road is straight, well lit, and flat, but has quite an abrasive surface (it's due for re-surfacing i think). This gives me a very good braking surface where the tyres can really dig in.

I should point out that the car will go faster than the 100 ish i do down there, but i personally would consider that to be too fast to give me safe reaction time. We actually use that road to avoid going through quite a built-up residential area on blues-and-two's, and i consider it much safer. So yes, at the times and in the conditions that i do that speed, i would consider it appropriate.

I can see why reading that may alarm you bmwk12, so i'm happy to answer (but you won't be getting anything on headed note paper, i'm not that stupid! )

As mentioned in the post, i work on the fringes of the Met, and my particular ground is a mix of semi-urban and rural. The particular road i refer to is a dual carriageway. The central reservation has a high, grated barrier along it's entire length, certainly too high for someone to get over. Therefore my vision scans more or les focus on my nearside. I drive to the very left of lane 2, straddling the white line in places where i need more reaction distance. The road is straight, well lit, and flat, but has quite an abrasive surface (it's due for re-surfacing i think). This gives me a very good braking surface where the tyres can really dig in.

I should point out that the car will go faster than the 100 ish i do down there, but i personally would consider that to be too fast to give me safe reaction time. We actually use that road to avoid going through quite a built-up residential area on blues-and-two's, and i consider it much safer. So yes, at the times and in the conditions that i do that speed, i would consider it appropriate.

Not sure about 110 in a 40 either, but the basic principle of safe driving is to adjust speed to the conditions, so when road clear and conditions safe then i see no problem with trained police driver "making progress" on way to call - means that when they encounter a hazard, such as a horse, that requires them to drive very slowly they are under less pressure to make up time where not safe.

In my eagerness to reply i've posted it twice!

Sorry, meant to add to previous post. The 110 was incorrect, i meant to say 100. I know it's only 10mph but once you're into three figures you're talking big speed. 100 is my personal limit on that road, but i know others who go quicker...........

I dont understand what you mean by testing horses before going on the road? If you mean 'broken in' to get used to the road, they are. When you see horses being ridden or led 2 abreast, it is often because the horse on the inside is inexperienced and the horse on the outside is older and experienced and helps to calm the 'green' horse. A test would be of no use what so ever. Horses are a bit like children, one day your child may like beans, a few days later, they wont eat them because they say they dont like them. Horses are like that in a way, one day they will happily walk past a bit of rubbish flapping in the hedge, the next day they will 'shy' at the same bit of rubbish! They are unpredictable and most riders will tell you that they only go on the roads to get to bridle paths etc. In most areas it is impossible to avoid riding on the road to reach these bridle paths.
With regards to testing riders, most regular riders and horse owners do take the BHS road proficiency test.
Insurance? In my opinion, it should be a requirement. If you are a member of the BHS, NPS or AHS, you are insured third party with your membership. If you do any affiliated events, you are also insured.
And lastly, any parent that allows a child to ride on the road unaccompanied needs a good talking to (putting it mildly!).

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Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

All this stopping and being courtious is all very well and fine and dandy, but it only works when the motorist is doing the stopping.

Before I go on, Ialways give them room.

3 possible situations:

Me in car. I have to slow down, no probs and creep past. I won't race passed you kids or dogs, so again no probs. The problem is this if I don't they say "hey Mr boy Racer , you will frighten my lovely horse and it will damage you car and might hurt you too".

The next situation is me on the Mighty C90. A low performance veichle if ever there was one. Now if I frighten them now I'm dead. Finished. I still have to give way to them

The last situation the tables are turned when I am on something big and agricultural. I might be using all of the single track road. There is now no where for me to go. I still have give way, get out the way, turn engine off, lock cab, hide in ditch, etc.

I'll say again, I won't frighten your horse, dog, kids, granny ect on purpose.

If the horse is not safe enough to be on the road, it should not be on the road. If the horse is likely to damage something, better make sure the rider has appropate insurance. If I have to be 16 to take a gutless 50cc scotter on the road, then how about a minimum age limit for taking a horse on the road. These rules should apply no matter how tight the jodpurs are.

You say if a horse is not safe enough to be on the road, it shouldn't be on the road......so now I am interested.......how would you make sure a horse is safe on the road? Remember they are living creatures that do think for themselves, they are not robots and like humans, they have their 'off' days. Or would you just ban horses off the roads altogether?

If you as a driver/motorcycle rider are aware of the possible dangers, and adjust you driving/riding accordingly, there is very little to worry about. Of course you get the inexperienced or downright stupid horse rider on the road, who dont have the first clue about how to behave as a road user, but then you get those type of people in cars too.

If I am riding my bike and I come across a horse, and that horse decides it doesnt like motorcycles on that particular day, its simple....I pull to the side of the road and wait for the rider to give me the signal that it is ok to pass. If I am riding a horse and a car/motorbike/farm vehicle approaches and the horse I am riding at the time decides it doesnt like that particular vehicle at that particular time, I find somewhere to 'pull in' ( a driveway or such like) and let the driver pass, even if this means turning round to find a safe place for the vehicle to pass. Most sensible riders do if possible, they dont want their horse damaged just as you dont want your vehicle damaged.

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Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

Is It true that if a Horse strikes your Car 3 times while In a panic state you can do something about it like claim on Insurance,But less than 3 times you can't? Or is that false Information?

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RoADA Member -GOLD 2008
If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.

Huh? Who's policy would you be claiming off when asking that? If it says that in your small print then thats what it says. I know very little about insurance but would imagine it would depend on the policy. I cant see that a horse striking your car once or three times would make any difference....
As for if you claim off riders insurance, I have never had a claim against me so wouldnt know.

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Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

This is something that has bothered me since I was a lad, working with 'milk' horses. I've seen the state their shoes get into, and it made me think. Surely to God horses were never meant to walk, trot, canter or gallop on a metalled road? Only man (or woman or kid) makes them do that!