bit of a nightMARE yesterday. In blairadam forest which has a number of trail users.

Two horses in front of us, at least 4 dogs closer to the horses which are spooking them more than a little bit so we decide to hang back. At the next junction the lass at the back pulls over to let us past which we do slowly and thank her for and a smile is received.

The next woman is a different question, again some dogs spooking so we hang back to slowly overtake once we pass them. A bell or shouting at this stage woudl prob cause the horse to bolt.

So we crawl past only to receive a barrage of abuse at volume 11 including YOUR SCARING MY HORSE YOU IGNORANT IGNORANT PEOPLE. at which point the horse jumps in the air (maybe the shouting???) to which SEE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE WHY ARENT YOU STOPPING YOU IGNORANT..At this stage i tried to explain we were overtaking slowly because the horse was already spooked but tbh it was a waste of time. we cycled on with IGNORANT echoing through the forest for at least 5 mins.

what would you have done differently to placate this mare?

Shot it.

The rider, I mean…

"NightMARE"- I see what you did, there. Very clever! 😮

Did you leave before the snow?

I would have belled or called from a distance anyway "OK if we pass?". But some people are just obnoxious, and have preset opinions for given circumstances. Much like here really ;o)

I would have said something like ‘cyclists behind you’ even if you think they already know you are there, they may not – it leaves the ball in their court as to letting you pass safely. Unfortunately some people will always have a problem but IME my approach is usually greeted with thanks.

Most horse riders I’ve encountered have been fine, and seem to really appreciate it, if you wait, and are patient (I don’t mind waiting, love, I’m having a good look at your bottom!). But some seem very snooty, and seem to act as just because they are wealthy, they can treat everyone like serfs.

Several ways of dealing with her. One would be to ride ahead, then stop, and moon at her. What’s she going to say then, eh?

But the most important thing, is to consider the horse. Having a large, powerful animal like that, going on the rampage, is good for neither man nor beast. Sounds like this woman wasn’t fit to be riding horses anyway, and her whole attitude probably put the horse on edge in the first place. Horses seem to be able to pick up on your state of mind; if you stay calm, the horse will be a lot easier to deal with, I find.

Possibly find out what stables she’s riding out of, and go and have a word about her abusive behaviour.

Personally, I probably would have given her both barrels of East End Council Estate nastiness.

But that would probably not have been at all productive. And might have upset the horse even more.

Perhaps wait until she’s off the horse, then have a go at her.

I think I’d want to stop short of stoving her head in with a claw hammer, and then dismembering her before burying the bits in different counties; might be a tad excessive, that.

Personally, I’d have told then to get f*cked and carried on my merry way. They’re the group of users I find more ignorant than any others to be honest. If the bloody thing’s not able to be ridden without getting spooked, then they’re the ones that need to sort sh*t out, not you. A polite "bike behind you, passing on your left etc" should be all that’s necessary. If they ask you to wait, then that’s fair enough, but to think they’ve got some god given right to have everyone treat them with kid gloves is out of order IMO

And relax. I have my flame proof suit at the ready 🙂

Speaking shouldn’t spook a horse, as it will recognise the sound as human. That’s why dismounting and walking past is usually best, though not always possible.

I usually ask the horse rider if we’re ok to come past.

I once dared to suggest to a few horse riders at Wharncliffe that they should wait where they were for a few seconds as more riders would be coming down the trail. cue abuse from lady at teh front along the lines of "we were here first, Its a BRIDAL path and we can go where we want, you have to give way to us!" etc. Being a mature, well balanced adult, I responded by waving them on, only for a few seconds later three DHers to emerge at full whack from out of the woods (one of them air born) much skidding a squealing from brakes to avoid dropping off the other side of the fire road and some very spooked horses.

I used to ride horses, and it is a pain when people act in a selfish way, but if your horse is easily spooked, don’t take it where other people are likely to be (we’d ride young horses on private land). That said, some people are just idiots. Put on a horse, there just bigger idiots.

MrGrim – just finished as the snow was coming down. Cue a v cold getting changed in the carpark experience.

Sitting in the bath with a beer (as you do) it came to me i shoudl have said at the top of my lungs WHY DONT YOU GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE 😆

tbh woody’s response was v tempting at the time but there were kids about.

i believe she was within her right to have kicked you in the head as you were not on a lead.

Hanging back on a bike and making no other noise will spook most horses. They can hear you but not see you and unless they’re particularly used to bikes (unlikely) they get scared and think you’re probably going to eat them.

As mk says it’s better to make yourself known vocally, both out of courtesy to the rider and to let the horse know you’re not a horse eating monster.

I always ask from some distance back if it’s ok to pass. That way the horse knows that the thing creeping up behind is a human rather than a predator. Not that I’m too sure what predates horses..

Not that I’m too sure what predates horses…

Lions innit…

Having been kicked by a horse whilst stationary I now either ask if it’s ok to pass if need to over take, if they are coming towards me I will stop and but the bike between me and the horse and wait for it to pass just to be 100% sure.

I was on a local ride once and came down a track to find a horse rider completely out of control with her horse (well spooked before I even arrived). I stopped a little way back, saw she was struggling and offered some help to which I got told she didn’t need any help. I stood there out of the way giving her time to control her horse. After a few minutes of her not being able to control it and nearly being bucked off the horse I got a load of abuse from being there and that I should go and hide in a bush as I was causing the problem. I told her politly that I was NOT hiding in a bush and walked back up the path out of sight and waited there. A few minutes later the rider and horse came up, she stopped and tried to give me more abuse to which I replied ‘Your horse isn’t scared of me now and I am not doing anything different, I think you should learn to control your horse in a paddock first before taking it out on public paths’ – I won’t repeat the mouthful of abuse I recieved and I just continued on my way.

Most of the horse riders round my way have a big chip on their shoulder and if you are nice to them or rude you’ll end up with the same abuse.

Not so long back at Whitewebbs in Enfield I had a horse almost gallop into me, despite the "No Galloping" signs, and the rider then told me "it’s not safe for me to ride here". I was too dumbstruck to tell them that it was their riding that was dangerous for everyone else.

(the rider wasn’t on a lead so I was tempted to kick them in the head, but there was little point given they had a helmet on).

Also, generally speaking why do female riders tend to be polite and courteous whilst male riders are all moody d***heads?

Also, generally speaking why do female riders tend to be polite and courteous whilst male riders are all moody d***heads?

Because men are, by and large, more likely to be arrogant, aggressive d***heads than women?

Not that I’m too sure what predates horses..

Dinosaurs predate horses.

HTH

Most horses/horseriders I’ve met have been very pleasant and I used to ride horses quite a bit anyway so kind of know how to handle them.
Had a similar incident to meeheja ^^ once when we encountered the local hunt, told them to please wait as there were riders coming down the path behind us. We were told in no uncertain terms to ‘f*** off out the way you peasant scum’, they rode round the bend and next thing there was a lot of brake squealing and a lot of shouting and spooked horses. One (horse)rider came off but we weren’t hanging around to get the abuse from that so we buggered off sharpish.
If you’re upset about her behaviour, it’d be worth a word with the stables, people are generally better behaved when they’re not looking down on you from horseback!

Most horseriders IME are fine as long as you dont career round a bend into them, however you will ALWAYS get a minority in ANY sport (ours included) who think they are right and you are wrong.
If i can be bothered i’ll have a bit of verbal sparring with them and then a good old laugh at them. Usually winds them up further. Whatever i do or say its not going to change their opinion so i might as well have some fun! Although i might try comepletely agreing with them, that REALLY confuses them.
Might have to kick the horse if i feel threatened next time.

I always call before I get too close. ‘Couple of bikes behind’. Most people seem to appreciate that.

My personal experience is that if you want to meet an arrogant, self centred t-w-a-t then look halfway along a horses back. (*Sincere apologies to girl in Chargford, Devon – who had the intelligence and consideration to trot along the single track road for about 50yds to a passing place to let me past – but that is the ONLY consideration I’ve ever had from a horse rider in 35 years of road/trail etc use)

Dily Male
=========
Car driver mows down cyclists. After being startled by a crisp bag blowing out of a hedge the driver reversed vigorously backwards and forwards, mowing down several cyclists. The judge dismissed the case on the grounds that the car had been there first and the driver ouldn’t possibly have expected a crisp bag to be blown by the wind.

reminds me of an incided a few years back, when v-brakes were cool rather than retro.

crossing a field see some horses coming in the opposie direction (a good 100m away) so pull over and stop. Que a torrent of abuse for using my brakes (admitely it was wet and mudy so a bit of a squeek could be heard) and scaring the horses. Cant remember my reply but it involved dumfounded silence followed by my best monty python esque abuse (referances to their ancestors, hamsters and a butternut sqash).

Thisisnotaspoon, improving equine-cyclist relations since 1986 🙂

I’ve had a few riders just ask us to keep talking as we pass, the horse then recognises you as a human and no problem. Dumb animals!

I had one where she said “get off your bike you idiot”, the horse still didn’t like it and I suggested politely that if her horse couldn’t even cope with walkers she should perhaps ride it round a few fields before taking it out into one of the most popular areas in the UK for walking / cycling. Then she said “sorry, I guess you’re right” and rode off back where she’d come from. Didn’t know what to say, I was gearing up for a good old argument there.

Joe

i tend to shout my hello’s as early as possible, i will then slow down if necessary.

any recieved abuse is returned promptly, then forgotten.

Funniest thing I have ever seen and probably the grossest thing, was a female horse rider being caught short, curling one huge log, next to a tree on a remote local track that I was following.

She just covered her face and body as well as she could and whimpered, go away, go away, when I cycled passed.

For some reason she did not reply when I said “lovely weather for it”

😉

You must have been very close, or had a proper good look, to notice that much.

You filthy bastard…

‘Special Interests’ takes on a whole new meaning for you, doesn’t it? 😯

RudeBoy – Member

You must have been very close, or had a proper good look, to notice that much.

You filthy bastard…

‘Special Interests’ takes on a whole new meaning for you, doesn’t it?

Why, was it your Mum, rudeboy?

Was she hot?

Was she hot?

No, but her Horse was fit

The horse riders around here are very civil. Many times we’ve come across a young horse that mainly gets spooked by the noise of a bike. I have got off a few times and asked the rider if the horse would like to get a good look at it.

Alway ask to pass and if they say can we wait, then we hang back until it’s safe.

Used to have a horse, totally mad thing but was fine around bicyles.

Zocchii Bombers predate obnoxious riders and horses

I once saw a horse throw its rider off – I went over to check if she was ok, and received a load of abuse, saying how it was my bike that had spooked it. Given that I was some distance away, wheeling my bike through a gate when it happened, this seemed highly unlikely. Perhaps the next time I fall off due to a lack of talent, I’ll head over to the nearest stables to give them some abuse.

Why, was it your Mum, rudeboy?

Was there any need for that? Granted, I’m having a little laugh with you, which I’m sure you understood, but is there any need to insult a member of my family?

Are you 12?

Why not try Mleh, maybe more your cup of tea…

So it was your mum…..

😉

Oh dear. I see school’s out…

I ride every Sunday with my GF on her slightly (that’s being kind) mad horse, it’s a thorough bred ex-race horse, which as she puts it are ‘man made’ and the worst kind! Anyway, back on track, he’s fine with everything if it’s in its place, a person on a bike is no problem, a bike laying at the side of the path freaks him out, as does a fridge or armchair that some ****t has dumped! So the thought of going and hiding in a bush is just about the worst thing you could do for him, guess they must all be different.

The main thing for me is I don’t do anything differently since having a GF with a horse, I was always considerated of horses because even if you’re in the right the kick in the head it might give you if it rears is still gonna hurt! It takes nothing more than common sense for cyclists and bikes to mix, but I agree, the abuse you get when trying to be considerate is comical at times!!

There are definitely preconceptions, I’ve seen dropped kit and asked horse riders if it’s theirs and they seemed shocked I’m speaking to them rather than hurling abuse!

having been surrounded by horses for as long as I can remember I consider them little more than giant organic vibrators to ether keep young girls away from boys or older ladies pacified.

I find overtaking them high side with a Pro2 hub at full whirr to be the safest course of action.

If the nag is so skitty that the rider is not in control then the rider shouldn’t be on that horse in a local where they are likely to encounter the general public. back to school with the halfwitted beastial dry humper!

bloody things, only good for stewing.

Creeping up on a horse is probably more likely to startle it than a ‘morning – bikes coming up behind you’ (or whatever) at reasonable volume and from a sensible distance.