Do you slow down for horses?

[Good Skin Day]

Two weeks ago, my friend's horse was crashed into by a Clio, suffered broken limbs and multiple heart attacks whilst remaining conscious, before finally being put out of his misery by the vets when they arrived at the scene.

The girl who was driving was 18 years of age and had only passed her test about six months previously. The accident happened on a country lane, on a blind bend. The girl approached the blind bend at over 65 mph (deduced by the police who measured her skidmarks), saw the group (my friend, along with her husband, leads her three horses down to pasture every evening) at the last minute, slammed into the chestnut gelding, bounced off him and landed in the hedge.

If she had been driving a bigger vehicle she would have killed both people and all horses.

Yet still people are taking the blind bend at ridiculous speeds and ragging past myself and my friends when we are out on our horses.

I hope sharing this story with you all and whoever you recount this story to, will make everyone more aware of how vulnerable horses and riders (and even horses when they are being led) are compared to the vehicles people drive.

 

[*Han*]

this is awful to hear hun, I dont drive myself but i everyone i know slows down for horses. xx

 

[CadenceAlex]

how horrific!!

i most certainly do slow down for horses and even cyclists... but i am wary of horses as they are impulsive and easily frightened...

.. i remember on a country lane though the 3 or so cars in front of me sped past doing national speed ....

 

[Tars]

How sad.
I always slow right down for horses as I used to ride as a child as my aunt kept them.
They have recently been showing the tv ad about drivers and riders/horses but you wonder if people take any notice. They would if they were thrown from a bolting horse spooked by a car or indeed if they were involved in a tragic situation your friends were.

 

[mandy121060]

I slow down SOOOOO slow the horse overtakes me.
If people would only realise that to spook a horse even, is really dangerous.
Personal experience.

 

[Good Skin Day]

how horrific!!

i most certainly do slow down for horses and even cyclists... but i am wary of horses as they are impulsive and easily frightened...

.. i remember on a country lane though the 3 or so cars in front of me sped past doing national speed ....

Drives me nuts when cars do that. Drives me even more nuts when you see a car approaching at speed and wave your arm up and down slowly (the recognised signal for asking vehicles to please slow down) and they just 'wave' back at you, totally taking the mick, and continue to razz past and put you in the hedge.

Thankyou Hannah, Caroline, Tars and Mandy for your replies, I couldn't post about what happened straight away because I was crying everytime I thought about it....

 

[ValencianNails]

that's sad Amy :hug:
I always slow down for horses, it goes back to when I was out riding down a lane one day and some kids came speeding past on motorbikes, the horse I was on decided to go 'loopy' as he was so scared, crushed my leg into a telegraph pole, badly bruised and swollen leg and foot, boot had to be cut off and the horse was easily scared from thereafter!

 

[pazzy]

I always slow down as I used to be a pony owner...but recently I came around a corner on a country lane and there was 2 horse & riders and I did think at the time had there been a car coming down on the other side I may have crashed too...I got such a shock...
it also made me realise when I was younger riding along roads - actually meant I was also dicing with death...

 

[cabinkel]

Having owned horses all my life, I find it very distressing that peope will still drive like maniacs near horses. I too, (like most horse owners) have had a bad experience at the hand of an impatient/moronic motorist. I do not think that I have MORE rights on the road, but I do expect EQUAL rights! I would give other motorists the courtesy and time to pass/turn etc, so why not give a horse and rider time and space. I will never understand it!!

 

[Lellipop]

Yep I always slow down and if playing the radio will turn it off untill I have passed

 

[*Gina*]

Oh how sad and horrific for your friend and the horse. I wish these young people that learn to drive (not that i am knocking that, good for them) would realise that they are in control of a killing machine and that it takes months if not years of experience to read the roads and other obstacles on them.

I live quite near Dartmoor and I was out walking with a friend and my dog today and cars were speeding past at horrific speeds and some then had to break suddenly as the foals were crossing the road at their leisure. I am soooo glad that we did not have to walk on the road.

 

[JackieMc]

Absolutely, I slow to a crawl when approaching horses, having ridden in my younger years (and hoping to take it up again in the near future), I know how scary it is for riders on the road.

Your poor friend and her horse - what a terrible experience for both to have to go through. Was the driver prosecuted? I hope so. I feel very middle-aged saying this, I know there are some responsible young/inexperienced drivers around, but young drivers scare the life out of me these days, I don't mean to lump them all together, but around here, if a car drives by at excessive speeds or overtakes recklessly, you can guarantee it's (more often than not) a boy (and sometimes, girl) racer.

I'm sitting here raging now, thinking about that poor horse, I hope it didn't suffer for too long.

Jackie
x

 

[Tammy BTN]

That's terrible! Is it even covered in the highway code anymore?
Now people just read and and cross their fingers for the touch screen test!
(god i sound old!)

Not only do i slow down, i turn my stereo down too!
Probably over cautious... but i don't ride horses so i'm never sure how sensitive they are....

 

[Tiara]

that story is heartbreaking amy, i got choked up reading it. i am really sorry to hear about this
just passed my test last tuesday but i can give u my word any time i drive past a horse i will be going very slow.

tara x

 

[pips]

How sad amy, i fully understand your anger.
It amazes me how fast ppl drive when they pass a horse (and rider) i slow right down to a crawl and then pass slowly giving a wide berth, only once im way in front do i accelerate so as not to frighten them.
Seeing horses & riders is an every day occurance for me as where i work there is alot of stables, infact at least 7 of our clients own horses and their daughters and friends can be seen passing the salon on them.

heres a :hug: just for you

 

[Peter Pan]

oh my god - thats terrible. i ALWAYS slow down for horses no matter where i am, and if i slow the traffic down in the process.............TUFF

 

[Good Skin Day]

Thanks so much for all the supportive replies, guys :hug:

It broke my heart because the horse was 21 years old, just retired from work, and was looking forward to a good 10 years retirement out grazing with his two friends. My friend had owned him since he was two. It really hit a nerve because my older mare is 18 and I have had her since she was four, so I could imagine what I would have felt like if it was her that had been killed

Tammy - I think horses and their rights are hardly covered in the Highway Code any more. My other friend was so traumatised seeing this horse slowly die on the side of the road, that she won't go riding on the roads any more. I think some sort of proper campaign that sticks in everyone's minds needs to be put into action. At the minute, only the BHS (British Horse Society) fund the campaigns and they have limited resources. Instead of showing near-misses on the TV ads, they need to show pictures of the actual result when tonnes of metal machinery plough into equine and human flesh and blood.

Loads of aggro drivers question me about my right to ride my horses on the road, usually along the lines of riders not paying road tax. It is a simple reply I give them - "Horses use the road by ancient right. But those who wish to drive a car on the road must obtain a license, one of the conditions of this license is that you must respect other road users and pass horses wide and slow"

It is so good to hear that even those of you who do not have any experience of horses, treat horses and riders with the respect and kindness not often shown these days :hug:

 

[pennijar]

I am so sorry to hear of this tragic needless accident. I hope the police are going to throw the book at the driver. I don't drive but my hubby does and we always slow down for horses as they spook very easily and we would hate to be the cause of anyone getting hurt.

My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with you and your friend at this terrible time.

Joan

 

[lynseyloo]

oh my god - thats terrible. i ALWAYS slow down for horses no matter where i am, and if i slow the traffic down in the process.............TUFF

I second this as I do this aswell.
Even if the poor love :hug: hadn't been out that night, what the hell was she doing hurtling around a bend at 65mph??? she crazy?????????
I hope she gets a licence taken away until she can respect the road and people/animals that use it. I hope the horses owner is ok :hug:

 

[kateyork1]

Horses are one of my favourite animals - I have been riding since the age of 4. I'm sat here in tears just thinking about it. Yes, I always slow right down for horses. There really does need to be something done about it as I have seen so many near misses in my life - so many drivers out there don't have a clue which just goes to show its not something that people are made aware of when learning to drive. Thoughts hun! :hug: :hug: xxxxxxxxxxx