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When you see people riding them, it's all very gentle and civilised. Sedate, even. If I had a horse, I'd want to go like the wind, bounding through the countryside like Zorro.
Is it a legal thing - are horses not allowed to run?
They do its just you've not seen one.
Like galloping as opposed to trotting?
Pretty sure they can go fast when they want to.
Quadroped use a different style to biped though, because more legs.
When they do run they go so fast that you can't see them with the naked eye.
They do. Just the ones you see maybe weren't. My wife has an endurance horse and will leave the yard, warm up and then alternate between trot and canter for hours.
But it is a bit like people. Some riders or horses aren't that fit so running everywhere is not an option. Also some people aren't that confident.
Other thing to consider is the ground. Generally considered bad form to canter down hill as it unbalances the horse and increases risk. Peculiar to this country really, I have galloped down hills in other countries. Rocky ground, that with holes or other hazards need to be considered.
never seen one going faster than walking pace and pissing off traffic
I had a rider moan at us on Epsom Downs as we had ruined her gallop. She said it was the only place on the Downs they could go fast.
Sounds like BS to me and she was just up for a moan.
never seen one going faster than walking pace and pissing off traffic
Ignoring some of that comment you can trot a horse on asphalt but it isn't great for them so riders would normally walk. Short trots are ok but canters are definitely out.
Probably, no different from meeting someone on a downhill section and saying it ruined your flow.Sounds like BS to me and she was just up for a moan.
dirtyrider - Member
never seen one going faster than walking pace and pissing off traffic
Can you imagine the daily mail reports of horse riders if they Rode on B roads like this? Probably wouldn't do the horses feet much good either. Hehe 😉
Perfect timing to post this from the mighty fine Glossop chronicle today. Shows that it is not only dirty MTB'ers who are the scurge of bridleways!!
https://glossopchronicle.co.uk/2017/05/slow-down-plea-to-drivers/
this is very impressive to see in the flesh !
Perfect timing to post this from the mighty fine Glossop chronicle today. Shows that it is not only dirty MTB'ers who are the scurge of bridleways!!https://glossopchronicle.co.uk/2017/05/slow-down-plea-to-drivers/
I'm not a horse rider, but surely bounding along a stony uneven Bridleway would be really bad for the horses health?
dirtyrider - Member - Block User - Quote
never seen one going faster than walking pace and pissing off traffic
I saw some travellers having a 'trotting' race down the A127 a while back at rush hour. Not sure it's brilliant for the horses (or the drivers stuck behind them) but it was quite an impressive sight.
Is it because they don't know what might be round the next corner, and don't want to risk running into a child or something?
Because they don't need to catch a bus
1) Need good ground to go fast (too hard/rocky/slippery/uneven/steep/hidden rabbit and badger holes etc)
2) Most riders won't gallop past horses/walkers etc, and will only go for it when the way is clear. i.e you are not there to see!
3) Confidence of rider/inability to slow the horse down once it gets excited! So riding is limited to walk/trot.
4) Risk of injuring horse.
The thing that amazes me about horse anatomy is that their fore legs don't have a 'shoulder joint' as such- there is no ball-and-socket, like there is with the hind legs (hips). The top of the fore legs (which terminates in a bone that is homologous to our shoulder blade) is held tight against the rib cage using just fascia and muscle. Incredible!
I see horses run every day, but I pass a couple of racehorse training stables ,and they're out and galloping at 7:30am. All weathers too.
Not on hard pack or tarmac /concrete at a guess.
I dunno but [url= https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1069675/bears-can-t-run-downhill/ ]bears can't run downhill[/url]
Have you tried running with a plump farmers daughter on your back?
My wife has an endurance horse
What wheel size? Does she have a pub horse, road horse and gravel horse too?
My wife has an endurance horse
So you need a special horse?
Why don't you ever stoop down and eat grass?
I'm not a horse rider, but surely bounding along a stony uneven Bridleway would be really bad for the horses health?
Shirley it shouldn't be necessary to point out where the 'Bridle' bit comes from in the word 'Bridleway'?
And no, it doesn't mean where a bride walks on her way to her wedding, either.
Horses traditionally have right of way over motorised traffic, they were using the roads for many hundreds of years, before roads were metalled to allow motorised vehicles to use them.
This much should be patently obvious to a bunch of people whose chosen mode of transport off-road takes full advantage of the legal right-of-way over bridleways, a right that isn't enjoyed on footpaths.
Thank you for colourfully pointing out my typo, count zero.
6.5 out of 10 on the pedant scale!
I went pony trekking when on a camp with my school. They told us the horses wouldn't gallop (or "run" in OP speak). But I got left behind for some reason and my horse decided it wanted to catch up with others. Shit, did it run. Hi bleedin ho Silver. Scared and thrilled me all at the same time.
Never been on one since though.
thestabiliser - Member
Have you tried running with a plump farmers daughter on your back?
errrr, 😳
How did you know? But she wasn't plump, just finely filled out and somewhat unclad.
And it was a long long time ago. 🙂
I've certainly ridden on horses which "ran". Quite a fun experience doing that along a beach - which seems to be the sort of surface they're happy to "run" on. Was taught by somebody who appreciated I was quite confident and didn't have much fear, so rapidly moved on from the plodding beginners horse to a retired high level show jumper - boy that thing could shift when it wanted to. I've only been on horses "running" in places where there were few to no people around to see though - not surprising that you don't see them in passing.
They get tired very quickly, then they die.
I kind of know what you mean. We have a stables up our road and they are constantly riding horses up and down the road. We are surrounded by fields and god knows why they don't ride in them. Isnt riding a horse up and down a road just bloody boring.
before roads were metalled to allow motorised vehicles to use them.
http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/
There is a lot of confirmational bias in this thread. If you go to places that are good gallops you'd see plenty of people riding fast. Bit like standing on a push up trail for a downhill run commenting why people can't ride their bikes up hill.
My wife has an endurance horseSo you need a special horse?
Not for normal riding, but if your horse spends all day grazing then taking it out for a 4 hour canter at the weekend might not be the nicest thing to do.
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The fact you haven't seen a horse running probably means the riders are being sensible towards other users.
A horse going at full tilt can be quite scary and is erm very fast !
See it all the time round our way on 'the Gallops'
The answer from my horsey friend was re run on yer average bridleway, higher chance of losing shoes, higher chance of horse injury, higher chance of rider injury, blacksmiths and vets are bloody expensive. so, you generally stick to runs on specially prepared surfaces, places where you have permission that are suitable ie farmers field or the odd bridleway sections that you know are suitable.
Come to the Ash/Pirbright open ranges most summer weekends and you'll see our four ex-racers being given a flat-out gallop on the appropriate sections...
I kind of know what you mean. We have [s]a stables[/s] cyclists up our road and they are constantly riding [s]horses[/s] bikes up and down the road. We are surrounded by fields and god knows why they don't ride in them. Isnt riding a [s]horse[/s] bike up and down a road just bloody boring.
😉
In the eyes of most drivers, cyclists and horse riders are both second-class citizens and an inconvenience, rather than vulnerable road users who have a right to be there. Let's stick together, eh?
https://steemit.com/sports/@boloyang/braking-distance-of-horse-gif
The breaking distance for a horse on tarmac is probably about 4 times that distance.
Steel shoes on smooth tarmac, similar to slick tyres on mud.
The breaking distance for a horse
Why would they break on tarmac? they're not that brittle surely.
Yes well done .
Horses are brittle.
But maybe braking is the right word.