Motorists should take more care
Monday 11th May 2009, 9:00AM BST.
I would like the awful motorists who shouted, pipped and swore at me and my horse last Sunday, while I was riding home from Bratton show, to know that I don’t like riding on the roads.
The preferable safe route, which is from Wrockwardine Road along the Silkin Way, has now been blocked off by Telford & Wrekin Council, with a metal barrier.
It was his first show and we had had a lovely time, only to end up panicked and upset.
Name and address supplied
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disgraceful behaviour !..however its a true reflection of how people are on the roads these days,no patience,no manners and no thought for the possible outcome if the horse had thrown its rider and bolted…possbly damaging and injuring,but hey as long as they get where they want to be on time thats all that matters isn’t it !
they should all take a long look at themselves and be ashamed
(ps never ridden a horse but im sure its not easy)
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What a shame an ignorant car driver caused such a problem. Don’t let an idiot put you off supporting your local shows and a having a nice day out. Would it be worth writing to the council and asking about allowing access through Silkin Way? Why have they blocked it off? Best of luck and keep safe.
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Andy, I was going to say exactly the same thing about writing to the council. (They probably blocked it to stop cars and motorbikes getting through).
However, there is always a solution so the writer needs to make a plan of action. If she is affected by it, other horse rides will be too.
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morons , our school bus stops to pick up my child i live on the side of a main road cars toot etc on the odd day its a disgrace.
In the usa they have to wait until the school bus moves on they are not allowed to go around it etc .
I also stop to reverse in i signal in plety of time etc again toots and abuse i have every wright to stop outside my home and reverse in .
pathetic behavior by some oiks.
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This is terrible, but a sad reflection of the morons who seem to pass the driving test. Are people not tested on the Highway Code anymore?
And why is it the council are putting in pavements and cycle paths with every new road? A bridle path would be simple – it doesn’t need a make up surface, merely a designation will be sufficient for horses and so keep wheeled vehicles off.
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Myself and a couple of my friends children also ride to this show, and feel that peoples lack of patience is a major problem, we don’t ask people to stop just to slow down a little. My horse jumped on a ford fiesta once and luckily both of us and the driver were ok but the car was a right off. Telford bridleways association have tried to get the metal posts removed but its about time something was done, how many people will have to get hurt before something is done.
Horses were our main form of transportation for years, so why can’t we have more bridleways, for safety of horse, rider and vehicle users ???????
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Being he voice of reason. Roads are for cars etc and people who pay road tax to use them. Not horses/bikes etc which slow down traffic
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We pay our road tax too odviously not for the horses but, i suppose you have never walked down a country lane or been on a mountain bike, lets hope that someone slows down when passing you??
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As a horse rider myself, I’m only too aware of this problem.
Remember – slow down for horses.
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Andrew says”i have every wright to stop outside my home and reverse in” !! not quite correct. Forward moving traffic has the right of way !! I always slow down and give a wide birth to horses. Only a small percentage acknowledge this! Im sure horse owners and car drivers could all do with learning some manners !
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Y Mab Darogan strikes again!Do you purposely make controversial comments?Roads are for every form of transport whether they’re cars or horses.By shouting at the horse and it’s rider the motorist could have caused the horse to bolt and cause a serious accident.As the writer has stated her preferable route was blocked.Voice of reason?Ha!
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Disappointing comment Y Mab, but expected.
Instead of sitting around firing potshots at people that have real issues, maybe not ones that affect you but real none the less, try saying something that is constructive.
One of the pleasures of living in a rural county is to see the occasional horse – maybe encourage more kids to get involved in showing/riding horses instead of hanging around town centres causing trouble.
Also, have you never had the pleasure of riding a bike around the Shropshire countryside, or maybe riding one to the supermarket instead of taking your car ? You should try it sometime.
As Jodie said, most households have a vehicle and are therefore paying tax. By riding a horse or bike they are taking that vehicle off the road and making your life a little easier – the least you can do is drop your exclusive thinking and be a courteous driver.
I am not a tree-hugger but recognise the value of reduced vehicle usage – maybe you (and apparently many others) should appreciate those willing to make the effort to reduce their usage.
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Here’s a popular missconception – “Road tax” is actually called Vehicle Excise Duty. It is a tax on vehicles, not road use. Road maintenance is paid for by your income tax, which motorists, cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians all pay. Paying VED does NOT give motorists a more right to use the roads over pedestrians etc. The public highway is just that. Public. All public, including walkers, riders and cyclists.
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The simple fact is roads are for cars not horses. I find it very cruel to see horses which are clearly nervous and very stressed being forced to walk on roads with cars flying by. It is my belief that people who force horses to walk on busy roads should not have the right to own a horse.
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John, Smellie and Bob
Don’t feed the troll! ;)
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The Silkin way is a footpath/cycleway and as such horses are not allowed use it.See Highway Code Rules about animals (47-58).
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Actually if you knew a thing or two about horses they enjoy hacking and are fine with safe drivers around, With your attitude you have proberly made the horses you have seen “nervous and very stressed” by “flying by”
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Jodie – From my experience the amount of flustered stressed horses I have seen on the road far outweighs the amount of horses which seem to enjoy “hacking” on the road as you put it.
I very much doubt any animal would enjoy having cars even travelling at 10 to 30mph passing by.
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Whilst I woudn’t condone the irresponsible attitude of the drivers in this case, I do have some concerns about the anachronism of horses on our roads in this day and age.
Some years ago, my vehicle was hit by a horse and rider, which had bolted from a side road. The horse had apparently been ‘spooked’ by some children palying with a ball.
The rider was uninsured, and the horse caused considerabe damage to the vehicle with some minor injuries to both horse and rider. The police were far more interested in checking to see if my car was taxed (it was) than anything else. Clearly the animal was unsuitable to be on a road in the first place.
If I were to take even a moped on the road that was likely to suddenly set off on its own, in an uncontrollable fashion, that would be illegal, and I would certainly be prosecuted for having no insurance – but it’s apparently OK for a rider – even at a very young age to set off untrained and unsupervised on to our roads.
If groups such as horse riders and cyclists want to be considered responsible road users, why are they not subject to the same rules regarding insurance as car and motor cycle users?
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Ok i agree horses ridden on roads should be insured, which i am and if i was involved in a accident through petplan which covers for damages and such, in the same way as my car and ride and road safety tests are in action, but horses have as much right to be on roads as yourselves. And yes all the horses i ride on the roads are safe and enjoy hacking and ride past lorries, tractors and all other traffic.
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Peter asked:”If groups such as horse riders and cyclists want to be considered responsible road users, why are they not subject to the same rules regarding insurance as car and motor cycle users?”
Lucy answers, because horses and cyclists dont kill 3,000 people every year. I believe the figure is one pedestrian killed by a cyclist in the last 5 years, so have a go at them by all means but not equestrianes.
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It is a shame that your day out was spoiled by one idiotic motorist. Sadly there are and probably always will be folk, like some Neanderthals who post in here that think they own the roads and the world.
One dreads to think of how Y Mab Darogan treats cyclists on the roads, do you aim at them and hurl insults at them for daring to tresspass on ‘your road that you paid to use?’ or are you just pathetic in general? Most on here seem to agree with that ideal!
Although bridle paths are few and far between, walkers AND cyclists use them too, so why is it such a big deal for a rider to use a road? Get real people, life…no matter what form it is in, is priceless and should be treated with respect. I for one wish that this rider’s horse HAD bolted, if only for sufficient time to come down on the offending car but not harming the rider or horse!
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I agree with Y Mab, the only time a horse needs to be on the road is either in a horsebox or a delivery van (i.e. food).
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No doubt Y Mab has similar views on mountain bikes on his beloved Snowdon.
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Horses are on roads by right, as are cyclists and walkers – motorists of all types have to have a licence to go on the road. Motorists generally need to be more aware of vulnerable road users, who are as entitled to use the road as anyone else and any motorist who doesn’t like that fact should perhaps be taken off the road themselves.
As for horses not enjoying going out on roads – mine love it, they always want to see what’s going on and don’t bother about cars going past them carefully. Fortunately, where I live the vast majority of drivers are considerate and courteous, which makes life safer and more pleasant for all road users.
What Peter seems unaware of is that horses are living animals, and any animal (or small child) is likely to behave erratically at times. While I do have sympathy for him being in an accident with one, 3rd party insurance probably wouldn’t have helped in this case as the rider wouldn’t have been negligent. Even the quietest horse can react quickly to the unexpected.
As for Y Mab, I suspect the only reason he’s seen many flustered horses on the road is because his driving is so awful he flusters anyone else about.
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So Lucy – equestrians don’t need insuring? So what would you have suggested in my case where an uninsured, inexperienced rider came tearing out of a side road straight into the passenger side of my car? Difficult to avoid that one I’d suggest – cars tend not to go sideways in my experience! And why should I have ended up out of pocket as a result of someone’s ill-adised hobby?
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To simplify matters for people who do not understand.
If you were on a jumbo jet you would not want small microlights getting into the jets flightpath and being a danger to themselves and the passengers on the plane.
The same is true if your driving, you should not be having to avoid horses being a nuisense on the road and a danger to themselves and car drivers.
Lucy W – I do indeed go mountain biking myself but off road not on road.
which is another sore point horse riders constantly ruin off road tracks by riding on them and damaging the paths for walkers and riders alike.
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Peter: There is no legal obligation to insure horses, just as there is no obligation to insure naughty children that may cause damage. However my horses are covered as ‘pets’ for straying on my house insurance, albeit that is not cover whilst ridden.
In your bizarre scenario you could make a civil claim and potentially seek compensation from Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for psychological damage you may have suffered. However, you would need to prove that you were not psychologically damaged before. Hmmmm?
Of course you could insure you car fully comprehensive. Rather like we insure against burglars as we accept that the likelihood of recovering the losses from the perpetrator are negligible. Or are you saying burglars must have insurance?
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Y Mab: Jumbo jets can not stop for micro-lights, whereas cars can for horses.
Having flown from Las Vegas Airport in a helicopter, I can tell you that the helicopters cross the landing path of the Jumbos and when I flew, the helicopter had to hover and wait while a Jumbo came in. The pilots both exchange a cheering ‘thank you’ wave, just as courteous drivers would.
So if they can be courteous, why can’t you? Heaven help us if you ever get a pilot’s licence.
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Lucy,
My vehicle was comprehensively insured, but I still lost the excess. The cost
of a civil claim would have outweighed the amount to be recovered.
But is it really reasonable that horses and their owners simply have ‘carte blanche’ to roam the highways potentially causing damage to innocent parties and their property without any obligations in respect of training, suitability of the animal for the road, recompense or the like? Surely not!
And if I were you I would certainly invest in insurance cover for riding your horse – if it were to kill or injure anyone you might well be held liable.
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Lucy W – I somehow doubt you would get a helicopter in the flightpath of a jumbojet.
But seriously do you think horses enjoy having dangerous metal objects fflying past at them while they trot along on tarmac roads which cause no end of injury to the poor horses hooves?
Not without mentioning they do all this while a rider sits on top.
Horses were meant for soft fields and earth not hard roads.
Have a thought for the horse please.
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Y mab doragan : People were made to roam soft earth and fields also but now we wear shoes.
As do horses ??? The tarmac does not effect the “poor hooves”, and we don’t just trot on the the magority of the time we walk. And i always walk when in traffic to make it easier for the cars to get around me.
If horses all roamed free i would agree and there would be no roads of housing estates, then there would be no need to ride them, but we have taken horses in to captivity and they need regular riding which means we have to go on roads to get to fields
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It’s about time all road users used some consideration, patience and common sense be they car drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, horse riders, motor bike riders or anybody. It’s always better for all concerned to get to their destination in one piece and a little late than to not arrive at all!
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Jodie – Have you heard of horseboxes? It is a way of transporting a horse to a field without riding on the road.
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Peter: Small Claims in the County Court can be made online. It’s very simple with little expense and costs are recovered in full. Indeed if you claim certain benefits it may be free.
Horse riders, as cyclist and pedestrians do not have your so called ‘carte blanche’ to roam the highways’, they have to obey the rule of law just the same as cars. It merely the fact that when it comes to unrecovered negligence losses from road accidents, it is not deemed necessary by the democratic majority to have compulsory insurance – unlike cars.
The legal stance would seem to be that horses are unpredictable and should be treated with caution as any qualified driver should know. I am unaware of any instance of a horse rider being successfully sued for negligence this scenario. It seems that on the facts, all such accidents are in fact the negligence of the driver, and hence compulsory insurance is not justified for horses but justified for cars.
As for myself I am insured for stupidity upto £5m, just the same as car drivers have to be, although I think the correct term is Negligence Insurance – that is what third party insurance is – insurance to protect the innocent from your stupidity or negligence insurance.
Y Mab: I suggest you go to Las Vegas and take a helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon and let me know how it crossed the airport or can you see it from Snowdon? ;o)
Or even look on the web and ask yourself how they get from the heliport on the west side of the runway to the Grand Canyon on the east?
As for horses enjoying being shod and going on the road, my experience is yes they do. I can only cite that my horses all went through Newport High Street on occasion (not Boxing Day) and were not disturbed by the experience. Mine practically push against one another to come out and be ridden when they see me walking towards them with the saddle and bridle. It is similar when the farrier comes, they get all excited because I take their shoes off first, so they know what’s coming. When the farriers van arrives, they rush to the gate. They definitely enjoy human interaction because it is always a good experience.
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I do hope you don’t use bridle paths when you go mountain biking Y mab, after all, we wouldn’t want all those horse riders whining like 5 year olds at your antics would we?
Obviously you are a very miserable person who feels the need to pick fault with all and sundry, you have my sympathies.
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as the mother of the rider may i point out to all the idiots that want to beep and swear it is you that scare the horse. the horse in question is very safe with cars lorries buses and coaches passing him as they did on the way to the show.but may i add all these drivers were courteous and passed with a lot of consideration unlike on the way back.so may i say a big thankyou to all the drivers that were polite and thankyou everyone that understands about horses and have commented on this issue.the rest of you please have some consideration for all horse riders just the same as you would(or should have)for pedestrians bikes and all other road users.
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i know this particular horse and he is a very sensible horse all be it he is very young which shows how mature young/old horses can be, inlike some of the drivers that showed no respect or patience.as jodie said horses do enjoy hacking out as like most animals and humans horses get bored easy especailly with doing just one thing. cant you see we are trying to help you here by going a bit off road thats the whole point!!!!!
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Y mab doragan – fact is if you took your driving test today then it would probably tell you to pass horse wide and slow and odviously you don’t so.
I would rather be stick behind a horse on a road for 1-2 minutes than behind a tractor that i cant get round.
And what would be the point of starting up a lorry or getting a horse all booted up to ride down 1 road ????? Would that really make sense??? NO!
So stop be so obnoxious and face it your wrong?
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Peter: Small Claims in the County Court can be made online. It’s very simple with little expense and costs are recovered in full. Indeed if you claim certain benefits it may be free.
Horse riders, as cyclist and pedestrians do not have your so called ‘carte blanche’ to roam the highways’, they have to obey the rule of law just the same as cars. It merely the fact that when it comes to unrecovered negligence losses from road accidents, it is not deemed necessary by the democratic majority to have compulsory insurance – unlike cars.
The legal stance would seem to be that horses are unpredictable and should be treated with caution as any qualified driver should know. I am unaware of any instance of a horse rider being successfully sued for negligence this scenario. It seems that on the facts, all such accidents are in fact the negligence of the driver, and hence compulsory insurance is not justified for horses but justified for cars.
As for myself I am insured for stupidity upto £5m, just the same as car drivers have to be, although I think the correct term is Negligence Insurance – that is what third party insurance is – insurance to protect the innocent from your stupidity or negligence insurance.
Y Mab: I suggest you go to Las Vegas and take a helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon and let me know how it crossed the airport or can you see it from Snowdon? ;o)
Or even look on the web and ask yourself how they get from the heliport on the west side of the runway to the Grand Canyon on the east?
As for horses enjoying being shod and going on the road, my experience is yes they do. I can only cite that my horses all went through Newport High Street on occasion (not Boxing Day) and were not disturbed by the experience. Mine practically push against one another to come out and be ridden when they see me walking towards them with the saddle and bridle. It is similar when the farrier comes, they get all excited because I take their shoes off first, so they know what’s coming. They definitely enjoy human interaction because it is always a good experience.
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Lucy W – Maybe you would like to walk barefoot down a tarmac road and see if you enjoy the experience. You could enhance it by giving a piggyback to a 14stone person while cars fly by you.
How stressed would you be?
As for your argument that horses enjoy being ridden down roads that is the same argument that huntspeople use. ie Dogs enjoy chasing foxes over fields and the fox enjoys being chased
Pure poppycock
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Y Mab: Indeed I wouldn’t like to walk barefoot on tarmac, neither would my horses, hence we both wear shoes.
And I don’t weigh 14 stone!! Perhaps you would like to give me a piggy back so that you can appreciate the experience my horses enjoy ;o)
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This debate is not about hunting, these dogs are bred to kill like wild dogs would.
This is asking people to slow down, for the safety of rider, horse and drivers.
And there not bare foot!!!!! They have shoes, so why ask Lucy a retorical question that is not required??????
Any ok compared to jobs that horses did like pull canal boats, barrel wagons, cannons and all kins im sure that carrying a human is like us carrying a shopping bag.
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Telford & Wrekin Council are obsessed with barriers. It may be to stop go-carts and motorbikes, but horse riders, and the disabled, get penalised as well. Let’s have all non-motorised users sharing non-motorised paths – with no barriers. Other off-road users have byways open to all traffic. Jan
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lets get back to the original letter. all us horse riders are asking for is to have bridal ways and paths that we can ride on.in the meantime while we wait for this to happen we are all just asking motorists to be courteous and polite and pass with care.this isnt much to ask for.come on telford and wrekin council you can help us to be able to ride safely
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