I was out on a ride today and twice was nearly knocked off my bike! The first time i followed a car past a horse really really slowly but the horse was a bit startled and so me- not the car was shouted at with you f***ing this etc! I couldn't believe it then later two horses together moved off the road to let a car past with me following it one had the sense to look to see if anything else was coming before gettin back on the road while the other just wandered out- If i hadn't been so far over to the right anyway to go round them after the 1st incident of the day it would has floored me! I dont mean to rant but i used to live and ride my MTB back home most days by a riding school and in 18 years have never had a problem or in the 2 years road riding up here till today they just didnt seem interested in looking around andjust being safe errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. any advice? anyone else had this happen to them? was i doing something wrong unknown to me!
Rant Over !
Horses everywhere !!!!
Moderator: Moderators
I've discussed this one a few times with horsey friends:
There are so many horses on the road around here because the bridal path network is rubbish
It helps if you shout a cheery "good morning" from 50m away so the horse knows your a person
Riders don't understand how fast we go, so even if you half your speed when passing it still looks to them like you're going full tilt - which annoys the rider
If a horse starts jumping around then it must be pretty scary for the rider up there, so I reckon we have to forgive a few profanities
That said, its a frustrating one. I always reckon that horse riders are "vulnerable road users" like us and so there should be some solidarity. I'm always keen that we don't treat them like motorists often treat us.
Sounds like with your first tale you just met a nutter - you get them using every form of transport (even bikes, no surely not) - best ignored. Your second tale sounds like a horse rider making a mistake and, hey, even we make them sometimes. Guess it looked worse because you were still wound up from the first one? Hope it didn't spoil your ride.
There are so many horses on the road around here because the bridal path network is rubbish
It helps if you shout a cheery "good morning" from 50m away so the horse knows your a person
Riders don't understand how fast we go, so even if you half your speed when passing it still looks to them like you're going full tilt - which annoys the rider
If a horse starts jumping around then it must be pretty scary for the rider up there, so I reckon we have to forgive a few profanities
That said, its a frustrating one. I always reckon that horse riders are "vulnerable road users" like us and so there should be some solidarity. I'm always keen that we don't treat them like motorists often treat us.
Sounds like with your first tale you just met a nutter - you get them using every form of transport (even bikes, no surely not) - best ignored. Your second tale sounds like a horse rider making a mistake and, hey, even we make them sometimes. Guess it looked worse because you were still wound up from the first one? Hope it didn't spoil your ride.
Like Rob says - give them a shout before you get there as the horse can't hear you coming like it can a car, most riders will thank you for being considerate. Someone once told me that horses are 'prey' in the wild and they think you're sneaking up on them to eat them!
Esp true of race horses which can be really jittery, so always let them know you're there - riders (jockeys?) might ask you to stay back for a minute while they calm their animals.
Esp true of race horses which can be really jittery, so always let them know you're there - riders (jockeys?) might ask you to stay back for a minute while they calm their animals.
thanks for this one guys- you can probably tell how stressed it made me! Ya i normally try to say morning to let them know and just be friendly i guess the thing that annoyed me was in both cases i was following a car (right behind) but the riders didnt bother to look round as they could hear the car. I think im must be in the wrong as well since regardless the horse was a bit startled. thanks for suggestions/listening to my rant
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