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Please could you complete this survey 'what is the relationship between horse ......

1K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  loosie 
#1 ·
' Do Horse riders and other road users understand each other?'

As part of my Welsh Baccalaureate individual investigation project, I decided to investigate the issue of horse riders on the roads and how they view cars/ how car users(road users) view them.

please note that no names are required and the results will purely be used for the use of a project that could achieve a good grade.

thank you for looking.
If you are happy to take part, please follow the link to the survey monkey website below where the questionnaire is located.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/K5LLYKB
 
#2 ·
As usual with this sort of survey the questions are not specific.

I have had many road encounters where I have been put at risk. Including one where a tractor driver reversed back towards my horse.

I am now retired but worked professionally with horses for many years, mostly racehorses. The last twenty + years where I was riding the roads were very narrow locals showed great consideration to horses amd riders, tourists were frightened of the narrow lanes and didn't want to scratch their cars so drove slowly. The problem drivers were the 'incomers', people moving into the countryside with little to no knowledge of what it is all about.
 
#3 ·
Here in Northern Utah, its fairly rural; small towns where its normal to see people riding horses in town. I was riding last night in town on one of the back roads and we stopped for about 6 cars. I always get to the side of the road and wait for the car to pass. Drivers seem to be pretty considerate and give us plenty of space. Ive only had Scout for about 4 weeks, so were still getting to know each other. I was impressed that he wasn't bothered by the huge tractor pulling a manure trailer! Those tarps though, watch out for those phantoms!! :)
However, there are those jackasses that find it funny to honk to try and scare the horse. There was a young lady (14 years?) in Salt Lake last summer that was hurt pretty badly when a person drove up behind her while she was on her horse and honked the horn. She got bucked off and broke her arm, ribs and I think a leg. There was nothing police could do because its not illegal to honk your horn and they couldn't prove that the driver had malicious intent.
Whenever I'm driving and encounter a rider, I assume the horse is going to freak out, so I go around slowly.
 
#4 ·
Yes, that survey was pretty basic. I would say 90% of the time drivers are great, a few are indifferent and some are downright dangerous. The most dangerous driver I have personally encountered was actually a policeman on a motorcycle responding to an emergency call. He zoomed past a group of riders (myself included) so fast that I thought I would wet my pants. We were in the middle of a road at the start of a 4th of July parade. It was a miracle he didn't cause another accident in his haste to get to the first one. :-x
 
#5 ·
I’ve had a few bad experiences but I think the majority of drivers are pretty respectful and understand the consequences of bad driving around horses. I’m more worried about dealing with drivers when I’m in another car, as they’re far more aggressive to other faceless road users.
I would call my area semi-rural, so I have to ride on busy roads at some point. My old gelding was exceptionally good in traffic, but one summer he spooked at a herd of cows and turned his rear into the road and an impatient driver decided to accelerate past rather than wait for me to bring him back to the side. He could’ve taken us down.
As a trek leader on the same roads, I was at the head of a line of students but as we were going through a tree and bush covered road, a double decker bus approached and passed us at speed. The closeness and noise of a large vehicle, blast of air and wildly moving bushes and trees sent the horses into a panic. The gelding I was riding was only five at the time and he had problems with large vehicles from then on; unfortunately, a number of years later he was killed in his field when he spooked at a bus.
Some would argue that the worst one was a car pulling a horse trailer (a well-known owner in the area) rattling past a line of young students at great speed. Luckily, all of the horses had handlers to help calm them and the riders.
Decent people will always consider the safety of the horse and rider when they pass, regardless of the amount of contact they’ve had with the animals or rural life in general.
 
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#7 ·
Done. In my experience, it seems some riders, at least part of the time, create their own problems. They're riding horses that I know to be traffic safe. but I hear the tension in their voice when they call up the line, "Car! CAR!!!"

With the exception of the convertible I described in the survey, most drivers give me plenty of room. Not all go as slow as I'd prefer, but we both have room to maneuver.
 
#8 ·
The most scary experience I've had was riding along a road(close but off the road, I might add) and leading my young daughter on her pony, while the elder rode behind, and a young !*$# came past, veered TOWARDS us & held his hand on the horn!! If I'd only had the wits to get his number plate... I don't think I'd have gone to the cops to track him down, after putting my kids in wreckless danger!! Thankfully, while we were a bit shaken, the horses didn't bat an eyelid.

I live in a touristy country town not far from 'the big smoke'. I've had busloads(I mean big busses) of tourists slow down to my pace & crawl along beside us taking pictures... a horse who is used to cars & trucks going by can still feel... a bit threatened by a big monster 'focussing' on them!

And just recently... our horses are pretty 'bomb proof', but after the 5th or so Harley in a pack... So riding along a road with my kids the other day, heard a mob coming & was about to dismount & tell my girls to, for 'Justin', the first ones appeared... and a second later all went quiet! The whole mob of bikies must have put their machines in neutral or such & just coasted quietly & slowly past us! Started making a noise & hooned off only when they were a few 100m past us! :)
 
#9 ·
Most people in my area are pretty good about passing riders on horseback. My scariest was on a quiet, gravel road. A gravel truck was coming up the hill so I made sure to pull my horse over onto the shoulder. That A-hole didn't slow down a bit, and passed us going 80+km, spitting gravel and dirt at us. Oh man..was I ever pi$$ed. I'm thinking he was likely a city driver doing a job out there and just didn't possess any common sense.
 
#10 ·
While I think drivers do need to be respectful, owners also have to realize that there is always going to be some idiot who wants to try and get a free rodeo show. I think for that reason it's imperative to get a horse extremely traffic broke, and also why I'm not interested in owning a high strung horse in my area. One lady I knew had a couple arabs (I know not all arabs are like this), and no matter how many times she desensitized them to something they would still jump the moon every time over traffic or spooky scary things. Definitely not horses I would be riding at her age.

Both the mares I ride are very traffic broke and I feel very safe on them. They do occasionally spook, but they would never 'rodeo' us or bolt or whatnot. They are steady around those roaring monster garbage trucks that pass us frequently, and any idiot can well follow his intentions of zooming past us and they won't bat an eye. In fact, one of them is more worried about bicycles (not motorcycles), and the other about large tree branches. lol.

I wish people and the world weren't that way, but it is, so we have to learn to adapt.
 
#11 ·
Yes horseluvr, agree 1000%. Seen some frightening things & hurt people & horses(& cars) involving horses & traffic that were no fault of motorists, but because silly people were riding unprepared/unsuitable horses in this environment. That's just irresponsible kamikaze behaviour, IMO! And just because it is legal to ride a horse on public roads(well, here at least, they're classed as a vehicle), like pushbikes, it's not always safe or intelligent to do so on all roads. I remember coming around a bend down a hill in an 80km zone in my car one day, to have to slam on the brakes & avoid a stupid girl riding her horse down the middle of the lane... when there was a perfectly safe naturestrip to ride on, and the shod horse was sliding all over the place on the steep bitumen too. No accounting for idiots...

And my horse & motorbikes... had a non-horsey brother of a property owner where they were kept one stage think it was harmless fun to come up on his trailbike(noisy 2 stroke) and CHASE the horses! He apparently did so a few times before we discovered. Took a bit of effort after that to convince my horse motorbikes weren't predators! He's great now, but does get uncomfortable when there's a big mob of extra noisy bikes... not that I blame him, I can't understand the people who like that godawful racket!
 
#12 ·
There are few places in the U.K. Where you can ride without having to go onto roads and most of them have no verges you can get onto to clear a way,

Majority of people wear high viz jackets and bands. Even in the Highway Code it states that horses should be passed slowly and given a wide berth. Does it happen? Majority of the time.

When I was exercising I never kept into the side of the road. I rode in the middle of my side. This made me an obstacle to get past rather than something to pass that was in the hedge. I would, if the road was clear, and again roads here are rarely straight for long, wave the vehicle pass. If the road was very twisty and I couldn't see, I would pull into a gateway or drive to let them pass and always thanked the driver for slowing or waiting, either by calling out or raising a hand and waving thanks.

Majority of orders are good at thanking drivers, around me now most are very good, those that aren't I will pass, stop and get out my car and lecture them on manners!
 
#13 ·
I never kept into the side of the road. I rode in the middle of my side. This made me an obstacle to get past rather than something to pass that was in the hedge..... pull into a gateway or drive to let them pass and always thanked the driver for slowing or waiting, either by calling out or raising a hand and waving thanks.
Yep, I agree that if you must be on the road, best to be ON the road. And 'common courtesy' - well it ain't that common, but I too make a big point of my appreciation for considerate drivers - there's a reason they say 'please & thankyou' are 'magic words'. I actually blew kisses at that Harley pack that went 'above & beyond'!
 
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