Worst horse rider ever

[DaveGos]

We do a gentle ride on minor lanes each Wednesday and my friend who is paraplegic and rides a recumberant trike hand cycle with battery assist rides with us, we also have a one armed rider. Anyway this week we were gently riding down one of those lanes where cars can just squeeze by each other going in opposite directions. 2 horses with riders come around the corner , One with a man on the other with a woman on. We were not going very fast to start of with but slow down anyway. Our paraplegic friend was on the back . When the horse with the man on gets to the trike, it gets startled and rears up . Out friend in common with most such riders has a small flag at the back to stop lorries etc not seeing him. It was a windy day and this bright fluttering object sets the horse off. The horse rider then proceeds in a one minute shouting rant consisting mainly of the F word blaming our friend for having the flag. I suppose you get idiots in all groups but this takes the biscuit

[[XAP]Bob]

It's common for 'bent cyclists in general (see my thread last week, or this?) about forcing someone off the road.

The flag won't have helped, but a paraplegic doesn't have the option I do - to get up and resume 'human' shape.

[Nigel]

It doesn't excuse a shouty horse rider, but I think some understanding of the horse & rider's position might help. As other threads here have said, recumbents can spook horses because they look weird and not "human like". So, there have been comments to stop and stand. Standing is probably not an option for a paraplegic, but the group of riders could stop, and someone talk to the horse rider about the situation and work out a safe pass for all concerned. Possibly position some standing riders next to the stationary recumbent to shield it from the horse might have helped.

[tatanab]

It doesn't excuse a shouty horse rider

Isn't that a natural reaction when you've just been scared silly? A rearing horse probably does that to the rider. I can also understand the use of bad language because I was told off one day by a lady who was upset because I'd sworn at her dog (not at her, she was yards distant) which was trying to get at my ankles. As first reaction bad language comes easier than "gad sir, thou art a cad!".

it does not seem to me that any party could have done anything to avoid the situation in this particular case. I trust that peace was restored on both sides once the adrenalin had died down.

[mercalia]

It doesn't excuse a shouty horse rider, but I think some understanding of the horse & rider's position might help. As other threads here have said, recumbents can spook horses because they look weird and not "human like". So, there have been comments to stop and stand. Standing is probably not an option for a paraplegic, but the group of riders could stop, and someone talk to the horse rider about the situation and work out a safe pass for all concerned. Possibly position some standing riders next to the stationary recumbent to shield it from the horse might have helped.

in fact look like animals on all fours like wolves/big cats etc?

[sirmy]

Why should the horse rider be excused because he'd had a shock. Surly the main point of concern is that this person was sitting on a large, unpredictable animal he couldn't control? If this was any other class of highway user people would be calling for them to be banned as a danger to others. If Ford (other makers of tin boxes are available) were to introduce a car with an AI engine management system that randomly over rode the throttle and steering would it be allowed on the road?

[[XAP]Bob]

Why should the horse rider be excused because he'd had a shock. Surly the main point of concern is that this person was sitting on a large, unpredictable animal he couldn't control? If this was any other class of highway user people would be calling for them to be banned as a danger to others. If Ford (other makers of tin boxes are available) were to introduce a car with an AI engine management system that randomly over rode the throttle and steering would it be allowed on the road?

They already do - automated braking and lane assist as well as collision avoidance.

Horse riders were using the roads before we were - they deserve respect and ,where appropriate and possible, courteous behaviour from us johnny come latelys...

In this case there is little that could have been done. Even with other cyclists around them the horse would have seen the bent...

[TrevA]

Horses really are unpredictable animals. My wife had a horse that would get spooked by:

A flower that wasn't there yesterday.
A plastic bag flapping in the hedge.
A cyclist whose flouro jacket was flapping in the wind.

Ideally, they wouldn't be ridden on the road, but sometimes they have to be, to get to a bridle way or to bridge a gap in the bridle way network.

[Cyril Haearn]

In the pictures of the inauguration of Mr Macron I saw many soldiers on horses standing quite still, like the horse guards in London, how does one get them to stay?

One imagines Macron was careful not to use the phrase *en marche!* in his speech

[[XAP]Bob]

Training and trust between rider and horse - and blinkers help.

Horses aren't all that unpredictable- they might be unknown to you, they might be more observant than you...

[Cyril Haearn]

Horses come in many different varieties, maybe the specification *horse* is as inexact as *cycle*

[eileithyia]

Some years ago a fellow cyclist and also a horserider posted on another forum.
Horses are animals that are predated on and that inherent prehistoric fear is ingrained. A horse will be being ridden with it's full of thoughts of hay, grass, nice straw in the stable, nice filly in the field, when they suddenly see or hear something they cannot recognise, their first instinct is to react; a flapping bag / flag, a sudden strange noise... once they recognise it as something familiar they will settle down again. This is why anyone approaching a horse is advised to talk to the rider(s), anything; hello, nice day, nice horse...... as the horse will hear a human voice and this will help reassure that it is not about to be hunted down by a pack of wolves....

If any of us get a shock / have to suddenly adjust something we are doing we can call out in alarm.

[bogmyrtle]

To the op I would ask have you never uttered a few joined up sweary words after a close pass?

A rider gets the same fright when their horse spooks at something that wasn't anticipated. The difference is the thing that caused the spook is still there in front of the horse meaning the rider is suddenly in the situation of having to make snap decisions on how to get the horse to go past something it's instinct is telling it to flee from.

When the thing causing the spook involves other humans and the rider tries to warn what's caused the problem its perfectly understandable there will be anxiety in their voice and probably a few swear words as well.

[Psamathe]

I think with animals (and many things) it is down to a question of degree as to what will spook them - not "if" but "how much". I'm sure there must be some things that would spook the most stable cart horse.

When I approach horses I'm always watching the horse and note small signs of it being "unsettled" (e.g. moving their bum out a bit towards what is scaring them). I'm no horse expert but as you approach so their discomfort builds and they give signs.

Once shortly after I started cycling I was approaching horse and trap (driven by a couple I know) and I slowed, one of their horses showed signs of being unsettled and I stopped, no issues caused, exchanged pleasantries with them and driver commented it was my hi-vis waistcoat open and flapping that caused on horse to be unsettled.

...A cyclist whose flouro jacket was flapping in the wind.....

So on occasions I wear hi-wis waistcoat, when approaching horses I always hold the waistcoat closed tight so no flapping.

I've assumed that flapping bright things are more likely to unsettle a horse - and I guess things like flags are there to be noticed and seen (and that includes horses as well as drivers).

I'll often stop with a horse and often then have a chat with the rider and several with un-settled horses have asked me to keep talking loudly (which I've done) - I assume that the horse hears riders voice, gets the direction as from the bike and thus assumes it is a person rather than something strange. I've not idea if this works but it's something some riders have asked me to do when passing them.

I've had one horse that was so skittish I stopped long long way before them and even stationary, no hi-vis the horse would not walk past me. When rider eventually got it past she explained it was the horse's 1st time on the road. Something I don't know what the answer is but every horse on the road has to have a 1st time on the road, just as every learner driver needs to have a 1st time on the road, etc.

Ian

[661-Pete]

Years ago I was approaching two horses and one of them spooked. I assumed it was down to me and started to apologise, but, no! The rider explained that the trigger was a couple of polythene-wrapped straw bales dumped on the verge. Apparently these large, black, cylindrical, shiny and plasticky objects looked 'alien' and 'unnatural' to the horse - hence spook.

I don't think there's any remedy to this sort of eventuality. Perhaps the lead cyclist should be some distance ahead, and should warn the riders exactly what is approaching, so that they can take preventative measures: dismounting if necessary.

Certainly there is no excuse for the rider swearing. My experience is that 99% of riders don't do that, though. There's always going to be the odd rotten apple.