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when your driving how do you pass horseback riders on the road?

6K views 59 replies 28 participants last post by  kiwi79 
#1 ·
Just got home from a ride. On my drive back home I passed my aunt who lives a few miles away and a lady who trailered in to ride with her. I've never ment the lady so obviously she didn't know I was my aunt's niece. Pretty sure my aunt didn't recognize the car either as its new.

As I passed I do what I always do when I pass people on horseback, I slowed down to about 25mph (this is a busy 55mph rural paved road) and moved over, giving them quite a bit of room and drove past.

I was pretty shocked when the lady riding with my aunt screamed an obcinity at me and flipped my the bird lol.

So am I not passing people on horseback the right way? Lol. They defiantly saw me coming and I gave them lots of room as well as slowing down. I also had a child with me so points to the lady for being inappropriate haha

How do you prefer cars pass you when you're on horseback? I personally like them to go by the way I did. Not too fast (although it wouldn't bother my horse anyways) and not creeping by.
 
#2 ·
I personally would drop to a speed well below 25. If they were coming towards me, I would look directly at them with a small wave ( making you look aware and harmless). If they were combining up behind me I would give a pass wave for the same reason. To get their attention and to let them know you are aware.
25 mph......no way.......and with a child ??
 
#3 ·
It really depends on the laws for your area, most areas consider horses a mode of transport just like a bike or car. The horse must stop at stop signs, keep to the bike lane if there is one and if not stay on the paved road as far over as to not block the flow of traffic. The horse must ride in the same direction as the traffic. The rider must maintain control of their horse, just as a driver must maintain control of their car. I drive in Amish country all the time and keep the speed limits. I dont buzz them, but certainly dont jam on the brakes or cross the center line head on into traffic either. The Amish manage it just fine, the problems come in when their are both horses that shouldnt be on the road and riders who shouldnt be out the of practice pen ( some times shouldnt be on a horse at all).
We had a wreck several years ago, just down the road. A rider ran into the side of a car and crashed the horse into the windshield. The horse died, but lucky the driver was ok. They thought they were above the law and didnt have liability insurance , for taking their animal off their property. Their house now sits empty and owned by an insurance company after the 75K car they totaled and the hospital hit up the insurance company for payment.
 
#4 ·
I don't ride on the paved roads here very often as they are full of curves and as such have limited visibility. Most cars do just what you have described, slow down to around 25 mph or so (55 mph rd) and cross the center line giving us as much space as they can. Usually they smile and wave. The jerks rev their engines and speed up.
 
#6 ·
I want them to and I do slow down. It also depends on who is riding and how the horse is acting. A an adult and child I slow down even more and cross the center line. If its an adult on a green acting horse I treat them like a child really slow and cross the center line. As a rider, I did not like it when people slowed down too much. Having a car creep past my old horse sometimes worried her more. I don't ride my current horse on the road because he is not trust worthy (wants to chase cars). I think it depends on the situation and the horse. Amish country is probably one of the few places where I would relax my driving rules because those horses as a general rule are really used to being in traffic. I regard them the same as I regard a police horse or a former carriage horse from any large city. Where I ride now, its mostly weekend warriors with hot, horses and sometimes not as much riding experience/control.
 
#7 ·
I'd call your aunt, tell her that you were the person who passed them and ask what her friend's problem was. Don't be mean or rude about it, just ask it more from a "What did I do wrong?" stand point.

The few times I've passed people riding on the road in my area, I've slowed down to 15-20 MPH (depending on the speed limit) and given them as much space as possible as I passed them. If there is a car coming the opposite direction, I will stop or crawl until I can pass on the other side of the road safely.
 
#8 ·
I slowed down to 25 and did cross the center line. It's quite a busy road for our rural area and people are known to speed on it.

I felt like I did the right thing given the situation, in my opinion if your nervous on the road on your horse you probably shouldn't be on the road.

Both riders are adult riders on very seasoned horses. I know my aunt's horse well and he is a very reliable 20 year old. I don't know the other woman in person but I know her via Facebook. She recently did a several hundred miles ride for some anti slaughter purpose on the very horse she was riding (a very distinctive paint) across several states so I know he's road safe as well.

Idk guess she was just nuts lol
 
#10 ·
Horses are supposed to travel in the travel lanes with traffic. When I approach a rider or a buggy I slow down so I am not driving too close behind them. I usually leave about 3 car lengths, so the horse has room to freak out without getting too close to me. I travel behind them, at their speed, until I reach a safe place to pass. When it's safe to pass, I get completely in the other lane and pass at a reasonable speed. I don't crawl past but I don't speed by either. I don't want to linger in case I make the horse nervous, but I want to be able to stop quickly if I need to. As far as I know, this is the safest way to pass and the probably the only legal way...

It doesn't sound like you did anything wrong. If you find our why the rider reacted this way, I would be curious to know.
 
#11 ·
I was pretty shocked when the lady riding with my aunt screamed an obcinity at me and flipped my the bird lol.
This is not the bird, it just means that you are number one. :D

When I am riding I don't care about cars coming by.
When I come upon riders with my vehicle I slow down a lot, if they seem okay I just continue on.
 
#12 ·
Sometimes you never know what you did wrong. I was going to visit my sick grandma at the hospital once when I found a nice parking spot on the bottom floor of the parking garage. Some couple in another car whizzed past me in the garage honking and flipping me the bird, and the passenger leaned out the window to do the same thing when they passed me at the above level. It had me checking under my car to make sure I wasn't in a handicapped spot or something! I don't remember cutting anyone off in traffic or seeing an irate driver on the way in, but sometimes I sit and wonder what I did to tick those ladies off so much!

I don't see anything wrong with how you do things, but I'd be curious to hear what she has to say. Your aunt is probably embarrassed by her friend, and her friend will probably be embarrassed about being called out for it.
 
#13 ·
Here in the SW it's difficult. We have so many "new" people that either don't know what the proper way to drive past is or think it's funny to "haze" the cowgirl. I stopped riding on my rural highway for just this reason.

When I pass a horse and rider I try to make a judgment on the riders comfort level and the horses reaction. I always slow, but these factors determine how much. I've actually had to stop once to let a young man get his green horse under control. When he had a handle on it he waved me on. I straddled the center line and slowly but steadily drove by. I think it's all on an individual basis.

My little rural road has a speed limit of 35, but even with all the blind curves folks zoom by at about 50 all the time. Several times I was riding and they didn't slow or move over, so I stopped riding the 1/4 mile to get to the national forest gate. There's no shoulder to speak of and it just isn't safe.

I don't think you did anything wrong. I'd be curious to hear what the response is from your aunt. Perhaps her friend saw something you didn't?
 
#14 ·
One day early in my riding days I was on an older mare that I was unfamiliar with. We were headed down a rural paved road to a trail (with friends) about 100 yds from the barn. There wasn't any traffic and all was going well until a semi appeared. The driver was soooo polite. He slowed down as soon as he saw us, but he forgot he had air brakes (or it never registered with him.) Let me tell you, it registered with the mare!!! I thought I was in a rodeo!

Another time we were crossing a dirt road in a state park when a driver stopped to ask directions. All was well until he rolled down his window! The sound sent my husband's horse 6 feet sideways!!!! I guess he just never imagined power windows being included in a tour of a state park?

Between these and other adventures (none resulting in injuries) I have just plain sworn off roads. I cross them when necessary, but I won't ride on or beside them.
Most drivers will stop and allow us to cross. In my opinion, a stopped car is the safest. Just call me chicken rider. cluck, cluck, cluck. <grin>
 
#19 ·
This reminds me, I once had a little cow pony from Mexico. Awesome horse, but still needed to learn streets and roads. One day I was riding on a residential back road when the garbage truck came. The driver was really nice. He stopped and set his truck at an idle to let my horse calm down and realize it's just a truck like any other. When we had everything under control my horse and I continued on at a gentle walk. Horse still had a pretty close eye and ear on that truck though. As we passed the driver waited patiently. We were just a little down the road before he felt comfortable starting his route again. As you can imagine, all was fine until that "arm" came out to pick up a dumpster! My horse went straight up in the air and backpeddled so fast we were in a mesquite bush when he came down! I laughed so hard! Everything turned out ok in the end, but over the next several months that little horse learned to carry me anywhere! I still miss him sometimes.
 
#15 ·
In my days as a safety NCO for an Army transportation company I learned that a pedestrian struck at 25 mph will likely be crippled, a pedestrian struck at 35mph will likely be killed. That the horses should be road safe is a given, but can't be counted on.

I'm betting that a horse struck at 25mph will be knocked down at the least. Possibly thrown over the hood. No garantees on the condition of the horse or rider afterwards. The car won't be pretty.

I do as I'd like others to do. I wait until it is safe to pass, then do so at a steady 10-15 mph, slower if I'm unsure of the horse or rider.
 
#16 ·
I haven't seen a horse get hit by a car, but I did see a cow get hit by a cavalier about 10 years ago, so I imagine it was the same, the cow rolled up over the car nearly flattening the roof, they hit it at 40mph or so, apparently the fencing had a hole in it and the cows decided that was a good time to bolt across the road, the driver was OK, the cow not so much
 
#18 ·
I slow down to an appropriate speed and pass, completely in the other lane, when safe. If a horse is acting up, I'll put my blinkers on and creep behind or stop and wait.

I expect the same from other drivers, though my mare has no issue if a truck louder than a semi with the jake full on and a throaty exhaust passes us going 50. Her only issue is a tow truck or a semi with a van trailer. On the roads we ride, very unlikely we'll see either of those aside from the small stretch of Rt68 we ride down since we lost property access due to other riders tearing up his yard and not fessing up. Aside from those two things though, Alahna couldn't care less. Dirtbikes, quads, semis (without van trailers, lol), motorcycles, pickup trucks, hay wagons (though I'm sure she'd try to snatch a bite if they got close enough LOL), bicycles, attacking dogs, garbage cans blowing around in the wind, etc. I don't worry about her on the road, I only worry about someone hitting us, but only a small amount since I usually turn to stare at them until they slow down.

I don't assume anyone's horse is very well broke though, so I always slow down and give them a wide berth when I do get a chance to pass. I don't want hoofprint dents on my truck, haha. Nor do I want to see someone fall on pavement because their horse spooked or turned intoa bronc.

I will admit to cussing plenty of people out and "calling them number one" with my middle finger when they try to stay in the same lane and still go 35-45mph though. Recently I've started moving over slightly or holding my whip out, they seem to really want to keep their car scratch free from a leather popper, haha.
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#42 ·
Recently I've started moving over slightly or holding my whip out, they seem to really want to keep their car scratch free from a leather popper, haha.
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:) I do the same thing-I always carry a brightly colored dressage type whip on the car side and if someone is moving too fast or close I stick it out over the road. Drivers seem to think it will scratch their cars. They may not slow down but they sure do move over!

My horses aren't afraid of too much on the road but bicycles can be a problem. They sneak up behind you and don't make any noise!
 
#20 ·
To me 10mph seems a bit slow. Both of these horses were completely relaxed and facing my vehicle on the shoulder of the road. Crawling past them at 10mph would have been a bit extreme IMO. If it were a child, someone on a green horse or someone in obvious distress of course I would have gone a bit slower and further around but that wasn't the case.

I guess in her opinion it was just too fast. She'll likely have to get used to it or give up riding with my aunt if that's how she feels, it's a well traveled rd and I highly doubt every car passed her/them with as much courtesy as I did and you have to travel on it to get to any trails or decent places to ride.
 
#21 ·
I prefer the drivers to either get in the other lane or driving over the center line. Several times I've encountered drivers who don't scoot over an inch even if we're right next to the road. It's like "Gee, thanks for the room buddy!!"

Drivers should slow down and move over when passing a horse and rider. They don't know if it's the horse's first time out and he might bolt if a car flies pass him. It's pretty much common courtesy. Now if the rider were well away from the road, I'd see no problem.
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#23 ·
You are nicer than I am.With a kid in the car, I wouldn't stop, but I'd have wanted to. Knowing her on facebook, I'd probably say, "hey, that was me in the car. Could you tell me what more you wanted? I slowed down to 25mph, I moved to the other lane. What more do you want? I think that was totally rude, flipping me off and yelling obscenities. Did you not notice there was a child in the car?"
Like I said, you are nicer than I am.
 
#24 ·
Please let me add, I am going only by that particular situation. A young person, a horse that even gave a hint of being unsure, many things would make me behave accordingly. When you know the horses and the riders and know they are safe, I'd do exactly as you did. The only horses I pass here are on skinny dirt roads, no room to move over that far, so I do slow down to 10 to 15mph, or less. I watch the horse(s) and rider(s), if there was a problem, I'd stop.
 
#25 ·
I've seen deer hit by cars and watched the deer get up and bound off into the woods. Car totaled. I've seen a car that hit two horses; one walked away, the other's let was broken and he had to be put down. Car totaled. In the first case, my step-dad fractured his neck (he was okay... but in a brace for awhile). In the second, the driver was shaken up but okay. I knew both horses and their owners - someone thought it'd be fun to un-hitch them from the hitching post and send them home with a slap as a joke.

Some joke, huh?
 
#26 ·
We have to ride on the roads a lot in the UK. In rural areas these are twisty and often very narrow.
In the UK Highway Code book it is stated that vehicles should pass slow and wide.

Majority of drivers do this but there are always idiots.

Riders also have to be considerate and courteous, pulling into the side to allow traffic to pass on narrow roads, waving them past if they can see over the hedges that the road is clear and thanking drivers who do slow down.
 
#27 ·
I don't often encounter this as a driver, but I will say that as a rider, I actually think it's worse when the person slows to a slow creep and just trails along in our blindspot without passing. I completely understand the situations people described with a green or fractious horse, but with a calm horse on the shoulder, I think it's ok to go ahead passed slowly. I have started waving drivers on in this situation, as I think they're trying to be nice (which I really appreciate) but just don't know quite what to do.
 
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