Cat & dog food & postage stamp glue......................nuff said!

Ruth - you are more than welcome - however:
I only have a 21yr old 12.2 Exmoor pony (still fit as a fiddle tho!)
and a 13.2 palomino Welsh sec C stallion, also getting on a bit, aged 17 - also very very spriteley:D
Had to cut back on numbers, due to desk driving now - and also my back.

Horses on the roads - you guys stop & ask the riders you meet - as you would be suprised at the answers you get.
Not one of the people I know likes riding on the roads - they only use them as a means to get to the next field/comon/heath/bridleway (those bridleways that havent been turned into a mudbath by hooligan bikers:P ).

If I had to go on the roads, it was to get a horse fit by walking it on a level surface & then only where possible on quiet roads. I hated the roadwork - its soooo boring, and also dangerous too.

C:)

Hmm, from my experience its the horses that do the damage, then the bikes get the blame for it (assuming it is a green lane) as everybody hates the bikers (noisy smelly things apparently - same could be said of horses though ;) ) including the ramblers.

Have a look at the state of bridle ways where no bikes go, and see the state they are in.

Bugger. Quick, someone take my soapbox !! :lol:

I've always tried to be considerate to horses and their riders, and have always slowed right down for them. I had a skittish horse kick the nearside wing of my car in once, loads of damage and no insurance (the horse rider that is). I wouldn't like to imagine the mess it would make of your leg.

I do have a problem with horses on the road. It seems inconsistent to me that the law makes people wait until they're at least 16 before driving any vehicle, and yet it's perfectly happy to let little Cynthia (aged 8) out onto the public road in charge of an unpredictable animal.

In my view there should be several criteria that need to be satisfied before anyone is allowed out on the road on a horse.

First, there should be the equivalent of an MOT for any horse. I don't see why the horse itself should not be subject to a yearly test of it's behaviour to check that it's quiet, placid and well behaved enough to be safe, not some tempremental highly strung thing that is always going to be a handfull. If neccesary, there could be several MOT ratings for horses, going from an old docile pony that's never going to break out into a trot to a thouroughbred 'sports' option.

Second, there has to be a minimum age for people to ride on the road or a public bridleway. It seems to me that the same age restrictions as motor vehicles should do nicely.

Thirdly, being licensed is a must. Riders should have to take and pass a 'driving test' to show that they're competent to ride a horse safely. If neccesary, this should be graded in the same way that motorcycles bhp is limited to new riders (or like a pilots license). Only riders whove passed the thouroughbred exam should be allowed to ride a horse that has a thoroughbred "MOT" rating. If you've only passed your plodding nag test, then you should only be allowed to ride plodding nags.

Fourth. I don't see why riders should not have to wear some sort of bib or armband with a registration number, or the horse could have a registration mark on a horse blanket or something.

Fifth, the horse and rider should both be insured for third party damage at least and they should be required to carry all the documentation about the horses MOT rating, their rider status, their registration details and insurance documents.

Sixth. They should all wear a helmet (there are plenty that don't)

I'm not anti horse I rode one for the first time in my life whilst on holiday in Connemara this year (well, funnily enough it wasn't a horse, it was a Connemara pony), just on a plod about (it broke into a little trot once or twice), but I loved it. We went up the side of a mountain overlooking the sea, and to me it was a real highlight of the holiday. So I can understand the attraction of riding, but I still think it needs far more rigourous control.

Jools, bang on with most of it mate (apart from the categories:lol: - which I'd love to apply to bikers too, eg - I ride w/ends only when the sun is out & cant corner for toffee, so I dont see why you should come past me section:lol: )

There are many responsible people in the horse world that are pushing for a mandatory test.
After all, kids in the pony club are not allowed to ride to rallies etc (they have to be 'transported' , no jokes!) till they have passed their riding & road safety test, but the kiddie that goes out on a friends nag at the w/end doesnt.

Parity for all road users - all horse riders should ake a test & have insurance - and so should flipping cyclists too:mad:

C:saint:

[Edited on 31-1-2005 by CK and AK]

Amen to that about cyclists. If they want the whol lane then fine, I've got no problem with that, they're entitled to it. But then they go and run straight through the red lights etc.

I nearly hit one in a car once and he had the cheek to say that he had right of way because he was a cyclist. I was walking over, red mist fully descended, and I was going to belt him when he jumped back on his bike and took off up a footpath away from the road. Probably didn't want me to run him over.

Probably went off to his cycling mates about nearly being hit by another ignorant car driver!

My view is that they shouldn't be allowed on the road, I know nothing about horses, and don't want to, but do they have insurance, road tax etc?

I remember several years ago a friend of mine had a morgan, it was parked up no one around, horse came past and kicked the thing, nice horseshoe print in the hand crafted panel, the owner saw this, and eventually took the rider to court, as there is no insurance/legal procedure, or certainly wasn't then.

You could argue the same for cyclists, but as far as I can remember pushbikes don't have a will and mind of their own.

Good point, i never thought of that.

/ian

Best way to pass a horse?
Whilst in france we used to wash it down with a couple of guinness then take a senapod before retiring.
Should pass through no problem after that.:D

Bit difficult with the new bikes - NO SWITCH FOR THE LIGHTS.