saying thanks from a horse rider. [Archive] - 100% Biker & Trike Magazine Forums

santafe

15-01-2007, 10:55 AM

Just wanted to say hi to you all and send thanks to you bikers for your consideration to horse riders on the roads.I was out on horseback yesterday on a bendy country lane and met a group of bikers who not only stopped their bikes for my young horse to pass, but warned the other bikers to stop as they approached round the bend.Each time I've met a biker, they've been incredibly thoughtful, so many thanks to you all.Just wish all motorists were as patient !
A biker friend explained to me that maybe its because you too risk life and limb every time you go on the roads that you appreicate the dangers..or maybe its because a ton of horse on your lap doesn't look pretty !
Anyway, cheers and enjoy your horse power !

misterchaz

15-01-2007, 11:44 AM

Friendly lot eh?
Yep I always smile , wave and beep my horn as I ride past.
Beep,beep,beep!
:D

Jus1

15-01-2007, 01:31 PM

Hmmmm - can o worms that is !!!

How can a horse rider use the road with out TAX or INSURANCE - I believe (and could be wrong) that we are not insured if involved in an accident with horse .. ie- if it kicks out and takes you off. Also worth slowing down passing horses on twisty corners because one of them may well have taken a dump on the exit of. yeah I slow down... so my pride and joy dont get fooked up by some 17'2 b4stard great horse taking a dump on a twisty country lane or freaking out and jumping on my ride.

You stay on the green bits, I'll stay on the grey bits .. neither of us have to slow, say thanks or worry about life and limbs. :eek:

GreatBritishRob

15-01-2007, 01:39 PM

Its a pleasure slowing down for horses but if im honest i do it for the horses sake not the owner. Its nice to see a horse rider that appreciates the fact though. Your welcome Santafe, pity not all horse riders are as well mannered and apprciative as you seem to be.

Urban Terrorist

15-01-2007, 02:34 PM

only reason i slow down for horses is cos i'm looking out for horse****!!! Damn slippery that stuff, and wouldn't attract the nicest of nurses down the qe2 covered in the stuff!!

And don't fancy ending up with me head up a horse's arse either :mad:

cxdemon

15-01-2007, 03:35 PM

Riding on Dartmoor it goes with the territory slowing for horses/cows/sheep/ tourists, but thanks for the comments, we all have to remember at the end of the day horses where ridden a long time before bikes n cars, and a little curtasy goes a long way some times :D

misterchaz

15-01-2007, 03:53 PM

Horses once had a use. Now they don't unless you live in the outback or states I guess.
Coming from a family that breeds them and races them.....
I bloody hate them!
When I walk in my mother's yard , I shout Yuuuhoo at them all. My old Ma' thinks I'm being friendly - actually I'm reminding them all about the glue factory :eek:
I still slow down for them , but they are a bloody liability on the roads.
Especially if in the hands of a novice ( much like bikes really I guess -oops!)

hermann

15-01-2007, 03:56 PM

.

You stay on the green bits, I'll stay on the grey bits .. neither of us have to slow, say thanks or worry about life and limbs. :eek:
Bikes stay to the grey bits robs pointing stick'll be coming out :p . Seriously though for someone to go to the effort of coming on here to thank us for being courteous, whether thats cos were all well mannered ladies and gentlemen or just dont want a load of ironclad feet backed up by x number of stone of horse coming down in front of us, we at least make more of an effort than a lot of the road going public. Stepmums got a horse but you wouldn't catch me on a form of transport that can think for itself, although some of me bikes...

Helene

15-01-2007, 04:17 PM

Fairplay! For someone to make such an effort to say thankyou goes a long way. I used to ride horses (sold my last one to buy a GSX1100) and slowing down/ coasting past is appreciated, as for sticking to the green bits, most of the time you need to use the grey bits to get to them...

All of my horses were insured, so I had liability insurance in the event of any kind of accident, all the people I know with horses now are also insured, but when you consider that some of the horses they are riding are worth £10,000 plus its a hobby/lifestyle chioce they take seriously. Theres a lot more work in keeping a horse on the road than there is a bike, thats why I sold mine! The garage doesn't need mucking out everyday at 5.30am :eek:

Jus1

15-01-2007, 04:27 PM

dont get me wrong ....I live in and around farm land, always have pretty much ..on the green belt as they say ... grew up in Lancs ... see now the diff is down here is that we have all the " hurrah" crowd the "who ray henry's" plodding up and down the lanes as if they are in their range rovers on a sunday morning.

I was in a pub couple of years back which happens to be at a cross road ... is a bikers pub, with farms all round it. I'm sitting there supping my pint and a bike fires up ... this bloke see's a horse so he sits back engine still running and waits for the horses to pass, this point a woman comes flying out of no-where and starts the old "its disgusting" and "turn it off" "turn it off, NOW" bit ... now he ain't revving, he's waiting in a car park ..A CAR PARK... sheeeesh, he aint in a field, he aint on a farm, not using the road (that we have to pay for) but in a car park, she got a proper mouthfull and some from said Biker and the rest of his club and rightly so IMHO.

it's not that I dont slow down, I do .. and I guess .. "thanks" for saying thanks is a good thing to do to such people who take time out to thank me (us) for slowing / stopping - However ... like dogs that chase sheep, the ones that cant handle the roads (like "Arab" Horses) ..shouldn't be on a road to be scared in the 1st place, should be shot for causing danger to other road users. No regulations, No tax, No insurance, **** all over the road (even your DOG aint allowed to do that) -

IMHO they should not be allowed on the road in this day and age.

Jus1

15-01-2007, 04:37 PM

All of my horses were insured, so I had liability insurance in the event of any kind of accident

I am not to sure about that ... if your Horse (at the time) kicked my bike.. I dont believe I can claim against your insurance for this, if i come off on a pile of sh1t created by your horse..I dont believe I can claim against your insurance for this.

as per orig post .. maybe I am wrong.

ps) I've been to more horse shows, mucked out more horse boxes, stables and been to so many presentation dances than you can't even begin to shake a stick..... my bro and sis won just about everything from Midlands up to borders in the mid to late 70's when we lived in Lancs.. dressage,steeplechase,jumping etc .. duraglit and polishing trophies ... sh1t i still have nightMARES about it now.. :) - still i can polish the crap outta ma bike now ... guess it was good training :cool:

hermann

15-01-2007, 04:42 PM

I am not to sure about that ... if your Horse (at the time) kicked my bike.. I dont believe I can claim against your insurance for this, if i come off on a pile of sh1t created by your horse..I dont believe I can claim against your insurance for this.

as per orig post .. maybe I am wrong.

ps) I've been to more horse shows, mucked out more horse boxes, stables and been to so many presentation dances than you can't even begin to shake a stick..... my bro and sis won just about everything from Midlands up to borders in the mid to late 70's when we lived in Lancs.. dressage,steeplechase,jumping etc .. duraglit and polishing trophies ... sh1t i still have nightMARES about it now.. :) - still i can polish the crap outta ma bike now ... guess it was good training :cool:
Yeah but your garage isn't covered in straw and stink of ammonia. Or maybe it does...

Jus1

15-01-2007, 04:46 PM

Yeah but your garage isn't covered in straw and stink of ammonia. Or maybe it does...

I think its fair to say it HAS on both of those :D

Helene

15-01-2007, 05:00 PM

[QUOTE=Jus1]I am not to sure about that ... if your Horse (at the time) kicked my bike.. I dont believe I can claim against your insurance for this, if i come off on a pile of sh1t created by your horse..I dont believe I can claim against your insurance for this. QUOTE]

If my horse had kicked your bike my insurers would have paid for all damages. Horse **** in the road is the same as diesel and oil, prove its origin you have a case.

Due to the recent rise in popularity of the internal combustion engined driven vehicle (recent in comparison to horse driven) are we now to accept that in your opinion that the UKs rich and diverse equestrian history should be relegated to a field?* No more horse guards parade, No more trooping of the colour, No more horse drawn drays, Bit of a shame to lose so much of our heritage?

* Assuming all engined vehicles are now for road use only? One for Rob I think?

Jus1

16-01-2007, 09:23 AM

Due to the recent rise in popularity of the internal combustion engined driven vehicle (recent in comparison to horse driven) are we now to accept that in your opinion that the UKs rich and diverse equestrian history should be relegated to a field?* No more horse guards parade, No more trooping of the colour, No more horse drawn drays, Bit of a shame to lose so much of our heritage?

A fair argument ... and nope, I can't say I would like to see that either!

but then yes, there are places for horses .. bridal paths, woodlands, national parks, beaches to mention a few .. to "have to" use the horse on the road is like saying I have to use the river to get my boat to the sea ... rubbish, use a horse box. The road is busier than it was, I dont think we're talking about Trooping the Colour .. and lets be honest when they are ... there aint a million cars trying to get past is there ... same with Horse Guard Parade. Now if they did it it on the A1 !!! .. thats the point I am making .. they dont .. they do it where it don't pi55 off or endanger themselves / other motorists and/or they stop vehicles using select piece of road for duration....ALSO highly trained horses and riders, What were talking about is using my chop/bikes, enjoying the summer twisties and flying round a bend (at speed limit, lets say) to find 4 horses side by side waving hands at me like I am out of line for using the road .. then having to slow in case I get kicked off or perhaps slide off on sh1te on previous corner that said horse riders dont give a monkeys about!!- as per prev .. I DO slow and I acknowledge the thanks for doing so .... No Testing - No CBT-No one to prove you are worthy of using roads.. any age !!! just jump on and trot off down the road etc etc .. I think its fair to say "MOST are not insured" - yeah, yeah, we walked before we rode horses .. but you cant walk down the middle of the road telling people to slow down and taking a crap on bends - well you can in some parts :D

GreatBritishRob

16-01-2007, 09:44 AM

[* Assuming all engined vehicles are now for road use only? One for Rob I think?
Ha! :D
Nope, dont mind horses on the road at all. Like i said, i slow down for horses but its for the horse not the owner.
The thing with taking say motorbikes off road is there are organisations trying to stop it like the Ramblers etc and they are doing a very good job at making things awkward for us that do like doing off road stuff. Maybe horse riders should unite with bikers of all sorts and help us keep the countryside open for all of us whether that be off road or on.
The insurance thing has been bought up to. I do think horse riders should have valid insurance if they want to ride on the road. I also think there should be some standard of riding as some people ive seen over the years look totally out of control on a horse.
As far as trooping the colour and the likes goes. Well those horses are trained to deal with noise, cars, people so on so forth. Your average every day horse and rider aint so its not really a good comparison to be fair.
I dunoo, its not that clearcut either way. I know of horse riders that think motorbikes and the likes shouldnt be allowed off road yet they still want to be able to ride their horses on roads. Bit unfair me thinks. Maybe if we just all got together and worked together a bit more instead of having these pissing contests about who's more entitled to this or that things would be a lot better.
I do hate to see horses gallop on tarmac though, not bloody good for their leg's.

dragula

16-01-2007, 11:51 AM

:mad: i think horses should stay off the road because no matter what the owner/rider says they are not in control of the beast that weighs a 1/4 of a ton ? if it wants to throw a flakky it will whether its the best horse rider in the world on it or not so in my opinion the should stay off the roads :)

Lone-Wolf

16-01-2007, 12:00 PM

Wotcha.

How to deal with horses.
DOT meets a few hosses (http://www.moonshiners.org.uk/video/2006waysidehoss.wmv)

Easy - and everyone's happy. :)

Helene

16-01-2007, 06:48 PM

This has to be a case of as Rob says, working together. It is unrealistic to expect a horserider to box up a horse to drive a mile down a road to unbox the horse at the bridal way. There are novice riders out there, normally seen wearing a dayglo vest with 'novice rider' written on it, not dissimilar to those worn by learners with bike schools. If this is the case, they are normally with an experienced rider and with somebody leading the horse. The novice rider tag is somthing of a misnomer as it usually refers to a person who can ride yet has little road experience, similar to someone who has just done there CBT and is out on the road for the first time. All the stables I know locally have strict guidelines for road useage and insurance policies in place should an incident arise. That is not to say all stables/horse owners and riders are the same. But living close to a rural area, (my choice, lovely part of the country) I have to respect their chosen way of life. The horses and the countryside way of life were there way before I turned up on my buell/trike/chop whatever I happen to be riding or driving that day and I believe they should be allowed the courtesy of continuing in the chosen lifestyle/hobby/passion in the same way as we expect to be allowed to continue with ours.

Helene

16-01-2007, 06:50 PM

All this does seem rather silly just because a horse rider had good manners and took time out of their day to say thankyou ?

misterchaz

16-01-2007, 06:52 PM

Yep , I think you're all flogging a dead horse. :D

santafe

16-01-2007, 10:04 PM

Hi, me again, I pretty much agree with much of what's been said, fair comment.Yep, horses are a pain on the roads, people in a hurry get delayed by a few seconds,and yes, the best trained horse can be unpredictable because they're animals of prey and instinctively 'flight animals'.But not many riders ride on the road by choice, we have to just to get to a short bit of green.Even using a horsebox (bit of a luxury for many)isn't the answer -where do you park it? and how do you ride back to it without going on a road ?
'Spose it's it bit like confining bikers to only riding in an empty car park, not much fun.We get ramblers trying to keep us off bridle paths too complaining the tracks get damaged.
Yeah, horses are a choice, like anything people chose to do outside working and the £15 p/w it costs me for DIY livery is worth it. Most people I know do have insurance and/or public liability insurance nowadays and those who don't,annoy the hell out of those who do, same with the ignorant riders who don't take time to acknowledge other road users who slow down for them.But then intolerant people come in all guises- cyclists, motorists, dog walkers, horse riders and bikers.Live and let live I say.

Shifty

17-01-2007, 07:09 AM

Live and let live I say.

Exactly!! With a bit of patience, and maybe fewer chips on shoulders, there's plenty of room for us all.

Some horse riders are annoying I agree, but they were there first weren't they?

And as has also been suggested, when someone goes to the effort of looking for a bike forum, joining and posting just to show their appreciation it's surely a bit ill mannered to start coming out with some of the complaints/abuse about horses that have been posted here.

bigg

17-01-2007, 08:03 AM

I used to have a girlfriend who owned a horse.We had a stable relationship. :(

GreatBritishRob

17-01-2007, 08:51 AM

I used to have a girlfriend who owned a horse.We had a stable relationship. :(
It wasnt great cause he wasnt hung like a horse. :D

misterchaz

17-01-2007, 09:47 AM

....... it's surely a bit ill mannered to start coming out with some of the complaints/abuse about horses that have been posted here.

Manners don't have anything to do with it. I always open doors for ladies and make sure I am dressed in the appropriate evening attire before sitting down for dinner each evening. I always make sure my manservant asks the ladies to retire from the dinning room before I bring out the cigars and Port.

It's about personal choices and freedom of speech. The opions expressed are all justified and actually acknowledged by SantaFe. It's not about being rude to someone who has "made the effort". I'm sure if you go on some horsey forums you'll get folk complaining about us and other road users at sometime - all from a personal experience?

I grew up with horses, worked with them as a kid , got dragged around horseshows , showjumped for a while and hated every minute of it. But that's my experience - don't mean I'm ill mannered.

I drove down past the secondary school yesterday , just when the kids were coming out and the coachs were parked at the side of the road. My mates' mother was going down this busy narrow lane outside the school with her horse going left , right and always -it weren't happy at all! This is a woman with 30 or 40 years riding experence - and it still looked like an accident waiting to happen! I just sat in the car until she got out of the way , cursing and swearing under my breathe that she's a fool for having such a horse on the road at busy schooltime. But when I passed her eventually we both smiled and waved. I would say that is the case with many of us - slow down , curse and swear - then wave politely. We are "tolerating" them for our own safety ( and their safety) methinks!