Makalu

[rant mode on]
Minding my own business on a country lane, came around a tight blind right hander the other day to find the road almost completely blocked by three horses and their riders.

Fortunatley for all of us I wasnt going fast - but the road was a quiet country lane and it was quite possible that I could have been toeing it a little more had it been another day / time / person whatever... Another 20mph and I would have had a horse on my bonnet to keep the dead flys company and a rider with a Subaru grill badge impression on her pretty jodphured backside!

The riders all looked at me like I had two heads and you could almost hear them 'tutting' as I crept past feeling guilty. I opened my window and suggested that the road they were on was potentially dangerous and that they should think about riding single file. The old wrinkly one snapped back before I could finish at me saying that I should just drive slower and be more observant!!!

I tried being polite and respectful of the fact that horses can be unpredictable but FFS, why cant riders accept that sometimes they are in the wrong too!!!

[/rant mode off]

Mak.

Squizz

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr... [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

Andy McCord

To be honest when horse riders start picking up there horse ****e off the road & stop putting us bikers in danger off binning it then ill respect them & bit more!!!

dnb

It's all because cars can go faster than horses, so therefore MUST be doing so at the time of any "incident"

Going slower MUST also be safer, so if you go slowly everywhere, nothing can be your fault...


BTW I know a few sensible horse riders and some not so sensible, and a few car owning maniacs who provide ammo for the above statement etc.... So I'm not going to generalise!

darkblueturbo

without being horrible you should have dropped into 1st gear and spun the revs up to 7k and slipped the clutch away from them as loudly as possible.

While I don't advocate this behaviour at all, I always go slowly with low revs past horses so as not to spook them, riding three abreast is stupid behaviour, especially where a blind turn's involved. And slow or fast most of those lanes have a 60mph limit so you could easily have been legally going fast enough to have left you and the horses no chance! I wonder if they show as much due care and consideration driving in traffic in their Range Rovers ? (forgive the generalisation, I'm ranting)

And If I want to be horrible and picky, not only were you in the wrong but how dare you suggest to a drive how to operate his vehicle when he's passed a test and paid a road fund licence to use the road. As far as I'm aware horses don't have tax disks, and like cyclists horse riders don't need a licence for road use.


Horrible and biggoted I know, but I've had a BAD day at work so far so it was someone/thing to take it out on.

VIVE LE SCOOBY!

P20SPD

iTrader: (1)

I usually go "fooking horse riders, they have no manners, its always me, me, me"

Then look round to find wife staring at me with an evil look.

**** forgot she has 6 horses.

Her..Whacks me followed by, "i know! They are just amateurs, they should take their horse by road transport to a suitable bridleway or footpath where it is safer for both the horse and car drivers"

me "so why did you hit me then..."

Her "felt like it..."

Me(uttered under breath) "fooking horse riders"

steviep1

On a country main road, where the average non scooby owner Jo bloggs is doing 60mph, rounds a corner to find a couple of horses, well its like finding a parked car on a blind corner.

Ive sh** myself a couple of times going cross country due to this .

Ive also heard a nasty story that a couple of horse riders reported to the police a car going to fast past them, which resulted in the car owner being fined etc just off the back of their report!

But lets not all forget by law they have the right on way!!?

DrEvil

P20SPD - LOL my otherhalf is exactly the same.. usually after my comment "Horses are good for two things - ingredience for glue and pizza topping (in France)!" .. usually results in a various bits of abuse how the government should make sure more bridel(sp!) ways are open... blah blah...

It doesn't seem to matter how slow you go in your car, they nearly always give you the evils for daring to drive a car on a B road which is obviously theirs...

As for the crap on the road - I think like dog owners they should have to clear it up if its on a public road!

Heres an idea - why isn't there a road tax for horses?

Alex

TBMeech

Andy,

Thats a good comment m8, I've hit Horse ****e when I had my RC30 and nearly binned a £10k superbike cos of it, plus they don't have to have insurance yet they 'own' the road and complain when they ride a 'wild' animal on 60 mph roads......durr

Andy McCord

Agree TB
What frightens me is that if you look at the size off these walking kitekat tins & then clock the size of the rider whos usually about 4ft2 age 6 3/4 & called Hayley , how the flook are they going to control these things when they start turning into bucking broncos!!
what cracks me up is there hats, like there going to make a difference whilst your doing a McCloud down the road!! at mach3

GaryK

exactly,

no tax, no mot, no insurance....

..get 'em off the bloody road!

Gary

nadger

I agree as well get them off the road until they are at least insured!
There is plenty of county paths e.t.c for them to ride on round here but insted they prefer to use the road causing problems for everyone.

TAZMAN

I slow down for horses cause they make a bloddy big dent in the bonnet if ya hit em to fast!!

DJ Dunk

iTrader: (5)

I intend to drive everywhere at 10mph just in case a horse is round the corner.














Yeah right

Three abrest is just plain stupidity. Clean up after yourselves, pay road tax or taste armourfend. Mind you, I'm currently driving the other halfs VW Lupo which in my book puts me in a more dangerous position than them !!

Tommy 2000

...country roads were specifically designed for rallying Subarus on, what are these idiots doing using other modes of transport on them???

David Williams

While we're at it...why do they always insist in wearing dark coloured Barbour jackets and black skid lids at dusk ?
Their like an accident waiting to happen.
DW

Grottbags

Speaking as an ex-horse rider, their behaviour was not what is recommended in the highway code so you have every right to be upset.

I get angry too when I come across horse riders who aren't wearing reflective stuff, riding poorly on the public highway and generally not giving a stuff about the other road users. Whenever I rode on the road it was always no more than 2 a breast on main roads, single file down anything without a white line down the middle and around any dodgy bits of road like twisty sections and where possible we rode on the verge (as long as the grass was short enough to see where any hazards were). And we always acknowledged thanks to any driver who slowed down and considered the fact we were riding something that did have a mind of it's own too.

Some horse riders are not like that though. I get quite hacked off when I've slowed right down for a horse and the rider doesn't even nod.

Quite where you'd stick a tax disc I'm not sure.

DJ Dunk

iTrader: (5)

. . . . . Nah, far too easy

[Edited by DJ Dunk - 8/29/2002 3:33:56 PM]

scoob_babe

I tend to slow down for horses cos I don't quite trust a thing that size which doesn't have brakes and has a mind of its own!

The Most Incredible Car

**** it. Run 'em over [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

Brun

Too right.

Any horse rider who refuses to give a nod or a wave, when i have jusr knocked 40+mph off me speed gets the "**** em" reaction. This involves one fully decatted scoob and a heavy right foot. Childish i know, but when they a least start paying insurance, i might grow up!

ScoobyJawa

There are bad horse riders just as there are bad car drivers.

If they are on the road then it should be in the appropriate clothing and no more the 2 abreast. They can do this as the horse on the inside may be in training.

Also as for coming round a blind bend - well, you shouldn't be travelling at speed if you can't see round the corner - you should drive to the point where you would still be able to stop if need be. What if there was a walker or a child in the road, or a car parked up? That fact it was a horse is irrelevant. (although 3 abreast is out of order)

As for waving at you because you slow down - so you want them to relinquish their control of the horse just so you can get a wave? If you're so busy looking for a nod or wave because you feel you need one then you aren't concentrating on your maneouvre round the horse or the road ahead. Riding a horse with on hand while the other is waving is very different to waving at someone in a car.
Be assured that when you slow down and pass a rider they are very appreciative of you passing them slow and wide even if they don't show it - they often nod but this gets confused with the movement from the horse........

Finally - cleaning up after themselves - in an ideal world yes, but say a horse lets rip just after a blind corner, you want the rider to get off and sit in the middle of the road cleaning it up on a blind bend with traffic coming flying round the corner - thats the reason they don't have to - its just far too dangerous.

Don't get me wrong - I drive a scoob and enjoy my drives like the rest of you but there is some very unthought out gripes being posted, and wanted to clear them up.

Peace

Brun

See your point.














Still
**** em.

DrEvil

ScoobyJawa - perhaps they could have a similar concept to nose bags - but for the other end!

Brun

Don't think there will be many people who are going to slow down, jst in case. For instance, i go round the same blind bend every day. This blind bend could be done at 8o mph+, but i generally do it at 60mph. Fair enough there may be something with four legs around the corner, but i'm not about to do 40 mph while i'm in a sixty limit, and pi55 the BMW off behind who's been on my bumper for the last five miles.

ScoobyJawa

lol Brun BTW - I agree about the bend bit, I'd be the same, not often I slow riiiiiiiight down although I do ease off normally but in the same respect if you do hit something it is your fault & no use complaining - you have to accept it as you could have done something about it The police would also hold you in the wrong (speaking from experience ) LOL @ BM drivers - I hear ya

LMAO Alex - yeah - that would be a handy thing - surely someone must've thought of it!!!

bashful

I can't help remembering what Paul Ripley says, to the effect that a blind bend is called that for a reason. If you can't see far enough ahead to stop safely, you're going too fast.

Okay, so Subes have superior brakes & grip, but the fact is that in town or country there can be unexpected hazards. So far, I've found riders in control of their horses to be less unpredictable than kids on bikes. I've seen people come off horses on the road, and it isn't pretty!

The responsibility is always on you to think for the other person.

P20SPD@Home

Right theres alot of sensible and daft comments there.
Insurance, alot of horse riders have insurance, this is largely down to the fact that the horse cost alot of dosh and they would not like to lose out. These policies often come with public liability cover, so alot are insured.

Having been on a police driving course, due to an accident, they said that they actually recommend horse riders to ride abreast, albeit sensibly.

Eg if on single track road and just rode round sharp blind bend, then do not ride abreast, as you are effectively a mobile hazard, on straights ride abreast as the driver should see you in time.

Now being a farmers son, and having a wife that rides horse, and living in the country where there are loads of single track roads, i still go steady round corners taht i can not see round. The reson for this is that i am putting my life at risk let alone the fooking horse riders.

There have been quite a few people killed around here by hitting horses at speed.

Brun, if you cant see round the corner and Mr BMW is begining to get pissed off, let him past, then cath him up on the straight after the corner, its safer, and its more fun. If he has been wanting to get past you for 5 miles, let the idiot go.

No doubt i am going to get flamed here, but as someone said there are good horse riders and bad horse riders, just like car drivers. So take what you come accross with a pinch of salt, life goes on.

If they really are a danger, ie dark clothes etc at night, then ring the police and tell them there is a loose horse on the highway. When they arive and find some lunatic riding it they will receive a bollocking, etc, etc.

By the way, i myself hate horse, just cant get the wife to get rid of them. They are way too intelligent, and no matter how good a rider they are they can still cath the rider out.

My wife says this also, and she can ride seriously, she has riden race horse, point to pointers, hunters, show jumpers, etc, etc, and she instructs, yet she still does not trust them 100% as they have their own brain.

Just my 2p worth.

<I'll put my flamesuit on now>

Fuzz

FFS people, has no one ever heard the saying stop in the distance you can see to be clear.
Now don't get me wrong I live in the country and I drive the scoob like I stole it round my lanes.
Don't rant at the horse riders when you have come round the bend at mach 2 and then slam the anchors on so that the tyres are chirping with the ABS (yes I have done this).
Could have been a JCB digging up the road (then you'd be in the ****)

Andy

boomer

"stop in the distance you can see to be clear"

This really should be stop in half the distance you can see to be clear in case another Scooby is coming the other way!!

Indeed it probably needs to be even more than this, as the other driver may not have brakes that are as good as a Scooby


As for the horses, selfish riding is every bit as bad as selfish driving, walking or whatever [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] . Sadly the GATSO is not enabled to detect such activities

mb