fatherpierre

Did it go missing before you left?

jasey

I'm with Jen - Ban bus drivers (and Taxis)

Diesel

Lots of bridleways in Richmond Park, so why are they always on the bloody road, standing by with that craned round neck and indignant look of you have a SS Backbox at 20mph!!!!

I did politely ask this road rider what was wrong with using the pararell bridleway once through my helmet. He waved his fist at me and my loud cans, so I took to the bridleway instead - this he didnt like either! Cant win!!

[I didnt really, but there is logic there, esp on knobbly tyres, he he )

D

Eder22b

Yep they should be banned.They make a mess in our roads...

Franx

To be honest though, it's not as if you see them every day is it? I haven't passed one this year although they are a tad unpredictable when you do..

OllyK

Depends where you live Franx, I live near Quorn - major hunting area, can't move on a weekend for them. And the muppets following the hunt crawling along, pulling on to the verges without signals, stopping in the middle of the road, churning the verges up and covering the road in mud etc are enough to drive you nuts.

Franx

I can see that'd be kind of annoying. I don't see many up here though. Huge herds of them could get a bit tricky - especially with an afterburner

BMWhere?

...and that's just the protesters!

OllyK

LOL @ BMWhere

Noo the protestors don't have the big 4x4's so can't get on the verges, they have the old knackered camper vans and are broken down by the road spilling oil on shap bends and lying in the middle of the road

Butkus

These threads are so frustrating to read sometimes! Why can't people be a bit more tolerant. Passing a horse really is not a big deal is it? And like someone said on here earlier, how many do you pass? I live in the country and it's quite rare that I pass them, and even if I do I don't even think about it that much: Slow down, give them some room, speed up when you've gone by.

And as for the argument that you surprise them and scare them when you approach - it's nonsense. You shouldn't be driving that fast that you would scare them in the first place. Remember, you shouldn't be driving round corners and such like so fast that you can't come to a complete stop within the distance you can see, so there's no real reason to frighten a horse.

There's so much anger on here towards people with different past times that don't comply with our own. Horses and cyclists use the roads too - Live with it.

FrenchBoy

I tell you what, why dont we just all sell our high performance vehicles and buy invalid chariots to drive around our national speed limit country lanes!!!

that way everyone is nice and safe and nobody has anymore fun ever!!!

Fatman

Horses spook at things other than cars. Carrier bags, dogs, random shiny things, etc. Granted that you can increase the chances of a horse spooking, but crawling past at 10mph won't necessarily prevent it.

OllyK

Too true fatman. My Mum came up behind a horse a few years back, narrow road so had to follow along behind as no way past. Horse spooked and started going backwards, straight in to Mum's car. OK if it was me I would have stuck the car in reverse, but I think we have already drawn the similarity between horses and female drivers!

BMWhere?

That's my point. I always slow down and literally crawl past horses whenever I've encountered them. 90% of the time there is no problem and the riders give me a nod or a wave to thank me for my considerate driving. The other 10% of the time, the horse is already spooked before I even get there, walking sideways or jolting around with the rider fighting to stay on the thing never mind regain control!

Sure, they're not the biggest hazard on the road and the majority of drivers don't come accross them that often, but they still are a very unpredictable hazard and its that unpredictability that makes them extremely dangerous.

I don't mind slowing down or stopping for hazards - pedestrians, cyclists, slow tractors, herding sheep etc. as long as I can predict what will happen when I try and pass then I'm tolerant. I can't predict horses and anyone who says they can is a lying.

I don't believe they should be taxed and I don't have any issues with people wanting to ride horses. I just don't believe the public roads are the correct place to be taking a horse when there are far more appropriate places to ride them. Unless there is a genuine need for a horse to be on the road then they shouldn't be allowed.

Then theres the whole issue that horses just arn't designed to walk on tarmac. You have to nail bits of metal to their feet, which was only really done for the horses comfort on harder, but still relatively soft, bridalways and not hard tarmac. Taking a horse on a tarmac road is like taking an F1 car in a field! For the welfare of the horse as much as anything else they should be banned! IMHO!

jasey

Yep - ban the cyclists too !

So here's my ban list;

Horses
Taxis
Buses
Cycles
BMWs
Caravans
White Vans
Ferrets
Women
Poofs
Catholics
Protestants
Israelis
Palestinians
Gypsies
Left Wingers
Right Wingers
People under 25
People over 45

That would solve so many problems

Apparition

Don't know about banning them from roads but I get sick of walking my dog along (Human) foot paths that have been churned up by horse hooves ! I wonder if there's some ancient bylaw relating to this matter ?

supersarbs

What is it with all these posts suggesting banning things?

We live in a country where the government seems to be intent on banning anything that someone might enjoy.We all know what our reply would be if all performance cars were banned or electronically enforced speed limits are forced on us (possibly not too far away?)

As someone who drives and also has ridden on occasion, I can see why people are frustrated woth horses, however, in my experience only a minority of idiots on horses do not respect other road users and will not stop / clop along 2 abreast etc etc. On the other hand I've been on a horse with complete kn0bbers coming round blind bends at single track roads at 60+mph - anything, car pedestrian or horse would be in danger. My girlfriend owns 2 horses and spends more than I do on insurance which includes liability cover on the roads (£500 per horse) and she will always be courteous and thank cars users, even the above mentioned idiots would have screeched to a halt 10 feet away.

End of the day lets live and let live - instead of calling for everything to be banned and legistlated - why not accept that some people like to do different things as a hobby.

Just my 2p's worth...

Diesel

OK, lets be reasonable about this! What is the problem with using the horse box and 4X4 towbar affair when on a public highway? Even horse riders acknowledge the danger due to the various factors involved. Where are they going on the road anyway – popping down to Spar for a pint of milk and lumps of sugar?

I saw a horse hit by a car some 15 years ago – boor bugger; he walked a good few hundred meters away from his intestines

BAN SMOKING (and adding water to bacon!) by all means; just politely ask horses to stick to bridleways and fields.

Dracoro

jasey - you forgot chavs, pikies and boy racers

MooseRacer

Agree 100%.

It is highly ironic that people are complaining about horses being on the public highway

I'm saddened, and genuinely surprised, by the level of ignorance, intolerance and arrogance shown by most of the posts over the last 6 pages.

tiggers

God, is this thread still going?

Horse - knackers yard - huge pressure cooker - glue!!!

It's the only way

Disclaimer: This post was made in jest and does not condone cruelty to horses - still don't see why if the French eat them we can't though

Diesel

Ohh and while we are at it ban oversensitive Mooses from the road too You should see the damage they can do!

D
PS I DO tolerate them Moose - just not sure if it is a brilliant idea; that's all... Ohh and car drivers arrogant? Neigh!!!! Never - don’t be such an old nag

jasey

I also forgot Tractors - but I was assuming that was a given

Numptie

Jasey,

Why ferrets ?

BTW - did your cat get a scare on Saturday ?

Cheers,

N

jasey

Ferrets are pack animals and they .....

My Cat's a bag of nerves ever since *someone* started drag racing up and down my Manor in something with one of the old Concorde's engine in it