Bikes v Horses?

Should horse riders have some sort of license or cirtificate to ride on the road?

Should they be wearing high viz as a rule?

Where do i stand if i/we fall off due to horses on the road?

Dunno about hi-viz?

If you can't see a horse then you're just not looking

I would imagine a sensible horse owner would have 3rd party insurance (you know - like all bikes have insurance )

Having said that I've found the best thing to do is keep well away from them. Very wide berth, dead slow and quiet (but ready to go rather more quickly if necessary.)

Should horse riders have some sort of license or cirtificate to ride on the road?

They don't need one, same as pedestrians.  Whether they should or not is immaterial, they don't.

I've found the best thing to do is keep well away from them. Very wide berth, dead slow and quiet (but ready to go rather more quickly if necessary.)

Wise advice.   Horses are big, one end has big teeth, the other end has nasty hooves. You really don't want to argue with a ton of frightened horse.

(and horses are often ridden by tasty young ladies, who are often ever so friendly if you have been polite and considerate to them.  Not that  anyone here would be influenced by that of course)

Paulybab wrote (see)

Dunno about hi-viz?

If you can't see a horse then you're just not looking

I can recall at least one occasion locally, where I've come around a bend to be confronted with a girl on a horse coming the other way.  Large dark brown horse with young lady wearing dark top and olive green body warmer,  problem being behind them was a tall hedgerow (taller than horse and rider) - dark green foliage and dark brown trunks(?).  It was quite a bright day too, on the last occasion.

I generally don't have a problem with horses being ridden on the road, except for piles of poop on corner entries, and the fact that I usually find them riding two side by side as I come around a nice corner! But some of the (horse) riders could do with a quiet word of advice.

I usually try to knock the bike up a couple of gears and bring the revs down, pass slow and wide and not rev the engine suddenly, but it can be a bit difficult when you spot them mid corner whilst lent over.

I find if you try to be courteous, they'll usually acknowledge with a wave and a smile.

NC30Gnome wrote (see)

Paulybab wrote (see)

Dunno about hi-viz?

If you can't see a horse then you're just not looking

I can recall at least one occasion locally, where I've come around a bend to be confronted with a girl on a horse coming the other way. 

, pass slow and wide and not rev the engine suddenly, but it can be a bit difficult when you spot them mid corner whilst lent over.

.

Doesnt this come back to riding at a speed so that we can stop well within the distance we can see to be clear?

siwel wrote (see)

NC30Gnome wrote (see)

Paulybab wrote (see)

Dunno about hi-viz?

If you can't see a horse then you're just not looking

I can recall at least one occasion locally, where I've come around a bend to be confronted with a girl on a horse coming the other way. 

, pass slow and wide and not rev the engine suddenly, but it can be a bit difficult when you spot them mid corner whilst lent over.

.

Doesnt this come back to riding at a speed so that we can stop well within the distance we can see to be clear?

Its not just horses that you may find lurking around corners.  Out of town I've also seen at least (in no particular order): sheep, cows, stray dogs, shit from all manner of beasties, the infirm and confused, invisibly dressed pedestians and cylclists, those battery powered invalid carriages, a sinclair C5 (once), stationary vehicles, traffic cones,  bloody great holes, bales of hay, fallen trees, large drifts of potatoes, of apples, of wheat, of gravel and sudden changes in road surface.

Slow in, slightly less slow out... 

Cousin Jack wrote (see)

Wise advice.   Horses are big, one end has big teeth, the other end has nasty hooves. You really don't want to argue with a ton of frightened horse.

(and horses are often ridden by tasty young ladies, who are often ever so friendly if you have been polite and considerate to them.  Not that  anyone here would be influenced by that of course)

And a huge lump of iron nailed to the hoof and big muscles to propel it. Always give a wide berth; no matter how good the rider the horse still has a mind of its own and bikes startle them more than cars. Can't always guarantee its tasty young ladies riding them (same as some people looking like their pets)

If you're in an area used by the local hunt always take a bit of extra care (multiple riders and dogs not on leashes)

Always found horse riders are quite considerate types and most wear hi-viz voluntarily (most riding schools advise it)

When encountering the Local Hunt i'm always tempted to do the best i can to get in their way...not so easily done on a bike though

 Notwithstanding the above, horse riders are almost unfailingly courteous. Some of our number could learn from them....

simon maclennan wrote (see)

 Notwithstanding the above, horse riders are almost unfailingly courteous. Some of our number could learn from them....

They don't fit loud cans or leave the beams on either.

siwel wrote (see)

NC30Gnome wrote (see)

Paulybab wrote (see)

Dunno about hi-viz?

If you can't see a horse then you're just not looking

I can recall at least one occasion locally, where I've come around a bend to be confronted with a girl on a horse coming the other way. 

, pass slow and wide and not rev the engine suddenly, but it can be a bit difficult when you spot them mid corner whilst lent over.

.

Doesnt this come back to riding at a speed so that we can stop well within the distance we can see to be clear?

I didn't mention anything about speed. On that particular occasion I was going quite slowly (for a change ) mainly due to negotiating a series of 's' bends whilst riding into bright sunlight.

The point I was trying to make was that the horse and rider were quite effectively camouflaged against the hedgerow, meaning they didn't register immediately. So whilst lent over in the corner, mid way through the 's' bends, spot horse and rider and tried to slow whilst changing up a couple of gears (not the best situation, I know). I would have spotted the horse and rider much sooner if she'd been wearing the usual hi-viz.

Then again I could have just carried on at my original pace.  

BTW all three of my boss's daughters and his wife own and ride horses. And his daughters all work in the equestrian 'trade' as it were, so I can see things from their point of view.

I suspect that wearing hi-viz on a horse (or as a ped/cyclist) under some circumstances may be a good idea (better maybe for the horse to wear hi-viz leggings as the rider is often above the habitual eyeline) but the obligation to ride safely and to be able to stop in the distance that you can see is clear lies entirely with the rider of the bike. 

If you are riding where you don’t have a good clear view you must slow down.  Insisting that other road users ought to wear hi-viz appears to me to be trying to shift the responsibility onto the other road user* (after all it is the bike that is traveling relatively quickly compared to the horse).  Assuming that hazards are well marked will lead to assumptions and certain doom.   As I posted earlier, except for the traffic cone, there are very many other hazards out there that will never, ever be wearing hi-viz. 

* I tend to think of it in a similar way to locking the house to avoid burglary:  it may well prevent a casual thief from getting in and thus avoid any incident but whether the house is locked or not, the responsibility for the burglary lies with the burglar and not the house owner. 

I actually think most roads are now a bit too dangerous for horses to be on, and yes they should be licenced and insured.

Its a real shame their isnt more decent off road places where horses can go.

I dont know the legal situation regarding a fall. I certainly wouldnt like to be involved in any incident with a horse.

I say that as one who used to ride/own horses and have always ridden bikes.

I've seen a picture on here of two horse and riders with hi-viz on but they just disappear against the bright green foliage.

Hi-vis is not a guarantee that you will be easily seen.

I think it is one of Horses pictures, but search being what it is I can't find it.

<<I think it is one of Horses pictures, but search being what it is I can't find it.>>

The irony

Can't find it even though it's hi-viz

So men working on the road shouldn't have to wear high viz cos it doesn't guarantee they'll be seen!

No, it doesn't guarantee you'll be seen but, it certanly helps!!!!!!

<<So men working on the road shouldn't have to wear high viz cos it doesn't guarantee they'll be seen!

No, it doesn't guarantee you'll be seen but, it certanly helps!!!!!! >>

So what if these workmen are standing on a road behind which is an oilseed rape field in full bloom?

How will it help to see them?

And if it doesn't help, why might that be?

Nikkie wrote (see)

I actually think most roads are now a bit too dangerous for horses to be on, and yes they should be licenced and insured.

If you carry that argument forward, so should pedestrians.

Yes roads are more dangerous now, but that's not the fault of the horse is it?

Then surely if horse riders were wearing high viz then it would give them the chance to be seen!

A license or certificate to ride on the would be a good idea too.

You could strap a young teenager with very little road sense to a 1 tonne horse and they can trot happily down to the shops!  If a car or dare i say it, a 'motorbike' comes along the road, the horse gets scared, car or bike was speeding!!!!!