HOrses and Bicycles on the Road

We have some rural roads. I've been asked to say something about how cyclists can/should respond when there are horses sharing them. I found info on multi-user trails... but they don't quite fit and frankly, I just don't imagine a paceline stopping, dismounting, and yielding to horses.
In fact, our little group came across horses on yesterday's century. Having talked to the person who asked me to say something in the newsletter, I suggested we slow down and I called out so the horses would know we were humans; the horse folks got off the road. I'm thankful that that was during the into-the-brutal-wind time so they honestly had plenty of time.
I know there are horse lovers here... what do you say?

Horses are like 1500 pound rabbits. They are timid and able to leap in several directions.
Treat them with more caution than you would a car. At least cars don't TRY to overpower their drivers.
A horse can leap sideways, dump a rider and kick too faster than you can ring your bell.

They are afraid of things they don't understand, things they are not familiar with, and even tiny pieces of paper on the ground. So no matter what you think horseback riders SHOULD do; you need to be aware of the personality and strength of a horse before you just blow by them and expect them to yield.

I love the metaphor: it's something even a dumb cyclist can understand and conveys that we don't need "rules"... but we need to understand what's going on.

As a horse owner as well as a cyclist, I've found that both my horses never hear bikes coming up behind them when out on a ride..... one minute we'll be wandering on, the next minute they've swung round as they've been suprised to suddenly hear the 'wistling' sound coming up behind them......since horses natural instinct is to run from danger, that's generally what they do ! the art is to stay with them when they swing round or gallop off.....

I think that both horses and cycles should be able to manage to share tracks and trails etc... From my personal point of view i'd rather a cyclist make themselves aware to me before they are right behind me & pass me with caution, so that I can get prepared to at least show my horse what's coming up behind her and to get out of the way so the cyclist can get passed safely without the potential of being squashed by my horse................. In return for being made aware that a cyclist is coming , i'd always get of their track /road to allow them to pass and to allow myself space if my horse decides to take off.......

Just my humble opinion........

although I know plenty of horse riders & cyclist who think that niether should be on their track !:confused:

Also, don't forget that a horse can see behind as well as in front. Eyes on the side of the head confer that advantage.

Now, I have never claimed to know exactly what is going on in a horse's mind, but I would guess that a peleton would look a lot like a pack of something carnivorous coming up far too fast. To a horse, that means it is Get Out Of Here Time. Better to be safe than dinner, and all that.

Neither are horses the smartest creatures God made.

Oh, and one other thing, paved roads don't have good traction for steel-shod hooves.

The Rule, if there is one, is to be very respectful of a horse's space. To do otherwise is to invite a real wreck.

IMIHO (In My Insufficiently Humble Opinion)

I'm going to continue to approach slowly, talking to the horse/rider then either ride slowly by or dismount and walk depending on instructions from the rider/signs from the horse. I'll even remove the helmet/glasses (if dismounted) and keep talking when that's what it takes.

Share the road does not only apply to cars, it means us, too, to cars, horses, joggers, whatever. Not stopping a paceline because of the inconvenience sounds familiar...only insert 'car' for paceline and make the inconvenience 'bike' instead of 'horse'.

I wouldn't want to be responsible for another being's misfortune.






(1500 pound rabbit....I love it....If I'm ever fortunate enough to have a horse I'll have to call him Harvey!)

We have a lot of horses around here. I've also ridden a fair amount, so I know they can be spooky, although the ones I see on the road are generally working horses that are used to traffic. I usually try to call out when I'm two or three lengths behind, and I slow down and pull way out into the other lane of traffic to pass.

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Originally Posted by singletrackmind

(1500 pound rabbit....I love it....If I'm ever fortunate enough to have a horse I'll have to call him Harvey!)

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But, won't he have to be invisible?

I'll chime in as a long time horse rider and short time cycler.

I would never dream of taking a horse out on the road unless I was sure he and I could handle whatever strange thing came down the road. I also make sure I have and "exit" from the road if my horse does spook. Unfortunately not everyone has common sense so be prepared and alert. As a rider I would move off the road so that both me and the cyclist could remain safe.

Definitely speak out and let the rider and horse know you are approaching them. Err on the side of caution, slow down, and if possible move to the middle or other side of the road. I don't feel that you need to get off and walk your bike unless the horse is losing it. Would the rider expect a motorcycle gang to stop and walk their choppers? If the rider is having a hard time controlling the horse as you ride up on them stopping may be the safest option until the horse is under control and out of the way. I love the rabbit theory but remember this rabbit may fight because the rider has removed the flight option so staying out of kicking range is the only smart thing to do.

It's a huge pet peeve of mine when people take their horses somewhere they cannot safely handle them. A horse on the road should be able to handle all sorts of strange things.

Lora

Believe me horses can be very unpredictable. My daughter owns two. One mature and calm (14 year old Buck) nothing can phase him and the second one, Buster (4 year old), young and used to be very skittish at times. I remember one time at the stables Jackie was leading Buster to his stall for the night and someone was pushing a squeaky wheelbarrow outside and the noise scared him. He bolted and Jackie immediately dropped his lead rope and let him go. If she would have held on he would have dragged her out the barn with him. Or ripped her arm off! It took us 20 minutes to get him calmed down and back into his stall. We know a bike would have set him off too. But that was 2 years ago. Jackie has been working with him and along with her patience and Bucks maturity and influence Buster is becoming a calmer and more pleasant horse.

Whenever Joe and I approach horses while we are out mountain biking we always stop and speak to the approaching riders and horses. We never take any chances of harming ourselves, the horses and their riders as we know from experience how skittish some horses can be around things they are not sure about.

Here are Jackie's two horses, aren't they cuties?!

This is Buck the mature one (smart and cool as a cucumber!)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...247/buck04.jpg

and this is Buster (young and more calm this year and always into mischief with the older horses!)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...247/buster.jpg

aaaww, I'm missing my horses :( I haven't had a horse for 15 years, but still I get a pang for them sometimes.

I pass horses sometimes on my bike. Based on my own knowledge of horse psychology, I try to be visible, slow down to a speed horse can understand, and make a steady noise which will signal that I am approaching, if that makes sense. Steady gentle braking, for example, rather than a sudden squeal, or gradually clicking through my gears, or I start speaking gently. "Hiya, horse, I'm coming up beside you, everything's fine, who's a lovely horsie then" :p .

Horses out on the road should be able to handle a bike approaching, but they do spook at things that startle them. And when they do they can plunge off with the rider, (which isn't necessarily that dangerous) or worse, kick you. If the horse starts to act up it might be best just to get past it quickly if you think you can.

I think they react more to sound and movement (and smell) than to the sight of you, so I don't think removing helmet or glasses will make much of a difference. PS. And I'd only use a bell at a good distance.

btw, Buck is a beaut!

me too LPH,
i had horses as well, and I really loved everything about them (except for all the hay they required)

when i have the opportunity to "meet" a friend's horse these days; the first thing i do is rub them, to get the horse smell on my hands.:p

Speaking as someone who rides motorcycles in Amish country - public roads have completely different issues from unpaved shared use trails. Someone who rides a horse on or near a public road has a responsibility to make sure the horse can tolerate the situation, IMVHO. The Amish all use blinders so the horses aren't spooked by the vehicles approaching rapidly from behind. We give them LOTS of room - slow down and keep the engines quiet - if there's oncoming traffic, stay behind the buggy until there's room to pass them - and stay alert for those little low-traction gifts the horses leave us. The same applies to bicycles. Essentially, on a public road, two-wheelers pass horses in the same way that we bicyclists expect motorized traffic to pass us.

When you're on a shared use trail, it's a whole 'nother thing. The trail may not be wide enough to give the horses much room, for one thing. For another, bicycles are the fastest traffic on the trail, and neither horse *nor* rider may be prepared for those closing speeds. Having no actual experience with this, I would be inclined to give a holler so the rider can prepare themself and their horse for the cyclist's approach well ahead of time.

Alrighty, I see both sides of the coin, for I have had horses most of my life, and have ridden both mtn and road bikes. Now, when I was a lass... read stupid and young, I would go galloping down roads blindly and nearly killed a few bikers... similarly, bikes are quiet and super fast, and, to a prey animal, they are potential monsters. Horses do see nearly behind their heads, but they haven't evolved to deal with things like bikes, and their genes tell them that if something coming up fast and quiet behind them, it is probably to eat them. Horses, are big and we need to remember that they can move in all directions very quickly. Non-horsey people frequently fail to recognize this and get within strike range very readily. This makes the riders (of the horses) understandably nervous. If my horse kicks you even if you invaded her space and scared the #$%^ out of her, I am liable. For this reason, horse riders tend to come across as grumpy with bicyclists. Aside from crazy teenager equestrians (there's no helping them), most horse riders and cognizant of what is going on and they want to avoid dangerous situations. Trail ettiquete is to dismount or just stop so a horse can go by. Even if you are in a pack. This is just how it goes... sorry. Though, I as a rider, if I am riding a solid mount, will either move off of the trail or to the side so a bicyclist can calmy and quietly go by. It's good if the bicyclist talks to the horse so the animal can understand that it is a human on the bike. It's just a difference in language... we can all get along if we all try ;)

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Originally Posted by TsPoet

But, won't he have to be invisible?

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:rolleyes: Oh yeah, there's that......in that case I'm pretty sure I already have a horse somewhere in the back yard. Now, if I could only find him......:p

Wow, thanks for starting this thread Geonz.

I was riding with my sweet partner on a rural road of the Interior BC (Apex Mountain road, for Kelownagirl) and we saw a couple of horses on the road, just standing there, chewing away at something. We had no idea what to do, so we approached really slowly, talking the whole time, complimenting the horses (they were beautiful creatures). They never really seemed to even notice us, but I preferred to err on the side of careful.

I'm glad to know we did the right thing, and I'll know what to do now if I see some during a club ride...

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Originally Posted by ibcycling

It's a huge pet peeve of mine when people take their horses somewhere they cannot safely handle them. A horse on the road should be able to handle all sorts of strange things.

Lora

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Lora, I agree with you that a person who takes a horse on a road should have a horse that handles strange things - and that is the best case scenario, but since I used to train horses, you have to realize that some horses need to be trained to handle strange things and the only way to do that is to take them into those situations so they get used to them. So, if I were out training a young horse to be a good road horse, there is going to be a time when they will not act like they should! Of course, it is your responsibility as the rider to be 1 a good rider so you don't get ditched at the slightest problem, 2. have your ears and eyes out for unforeseen problems.

It would still be nice if people were courteous and gave a little warning. If you can just get your horse to look at what is coming at them, they often time will react quite differently than if something spooks them from behind. They are fear and flight animals, so if something frightens them, they run. If you can get someone to give you a holler and slow for just a second, you can turn your animal and let them see what is coming.

Even the best trained horse can spook some if something startles them so have a little courtesy and we expect cars to have a little courtesy for us and all will be well.

spoke

I hate it when I biking down the road and suddenly another cyclist just zooms past me without so much as a warning. I don't always hear them, and they often don't give much clearance for if I was to suddenly swerve for some reason. It also startles me sometimes. One time a guy on a bike did this when I was in the middle of a busy intersection, going straight. He almost gave me a heart attack because at first I though he was a car coming up around me to cut me off. As he flew on past me I only had time to shout out "You SCARED me!" Like he cared.
I ALWAYS call out something when coming up behind someone who might not hear me- whether a jogger, another biker, whatever. I think it's common courtesy and common safety as well. A horse is sometimes unpredictable, just like a small child in the road- you just don't come flying past them with no warning, it would be inconsiderate AND dangerous. I call out a cheery Hello way ahead of time when I see horses up ahead- best to let riders and horses both know well in advance if I am coming up behind them.
When we have a choice, why not do the safer thing??? :confused: :confused:

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Even the best trained horse can spook some if something startles them so have a little courtesy and we expect cars to have a little courtesy for us and all will be well.

spoke

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Absolutely! We both have some responsibility to make sure everyone is safe. The horse rider needs to have a plan if the horse acts up or spooks and the cyclist needs to make their presence known and give the horse a chance to deal with the situation instead of just appearing out of nowhere.

What kind of riding did you do? We have 2 Quarter Horses that we ride western (ranch work and pleasure) and my daughter is taking dressage lessons on a 17h warmblood. I'm dying to rider her instructor's Lusitano. He's such a beautiful animal and moves so nice!!

Lora

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Originally Posted by ibcycling

What kind of riding did you do? We have 2 Quarter Horses that we ride western (ranch work and pleasure) and my daughter is taking dressage lessons on a 17h warmblood. I'm dying to rider her instructor's Lusitano. He's such a beautiful animal and moves so nice!!

Lora

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Started out in dressage as a youngster, was an exercise girl on the thoroughbred race track as a young woman, jumping, dressage, etc. later. Also, taught English lessons.

For a while worked on a ranch in Montana in my earlier years as well.

Used to take my thoroughbred to do cattle penning a little. Trust me, he was not very well behaved the first couple of times - he hated those cows!
While we were waiting to go in for the first time (I was teamed with a girlfriend riding a paint stallion who was used to cattle penning) my horse tried to kick the boards of the arena right off the posts! Guess I should have ridden him a bit that day before loading him up and taking him out at night to the cattle penning! LOL

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Speaking as someone who rides motorcycles in Amish country - public roads have completely different issues from unpaved shared use trails. Someone who rides a horse on or near a public road has a responsibility to make sure the horse can tolerate the situation, IMVHO. The Amish all use blinders so the horses aren't spooked by the vehicles approaching rapidly from behind. We give them LOTS of room - slow down and keep the engines quiet - if there's oncoming traffic, stay behind the buggy until there's room to pass them - and stay alert for those little low-traction gifts the horses leave us. The same applies to bicycles. Essentially, on a public road, two-wheelers pass horses in the same way that we bicyclists expect motorized traffic to pass us.

When you're on a shared use trail, it's a whole 'nother thing. The trail may not be wide enough to give the horses much room, for one thing. For another, bicycles are the fastest traffic on the trail, and neither horse *nor* rider may be prepared for those closing speeds. Having no actual experience with this, I would be inclined to give a holler so the rider can prepare themself and their horse for the cyclist's approach well ahead of time.

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In the state parks where I live, cyclists are required to get off the trail and wait for horses to pass.

All I could find online was stuff about trails, and it makes sense you have to be ten times as careful there. The roads here are on the prairie... there's generally a field on either side so the horse would even have some place to bolt - and the roads are ten times as wide as a trail.
All the horses I've encountered have been cool, calm and controlled (but that's about 5 all told, not counting Amish buggies). It helps to hear things from teh horse peoples' mouths, though :)

There's nothing better than the sight of the trail between two ears!!! :D I agree with everyone that stated to make it known you are there-on a bike or on a horse! I have also owned and trained horses for as long as I've been walking and I can tell you this, it hurts REALLY, REALLY bad to be dumped from a horse and drug or stomped on b/c the horse was spooked by a bike rider! And, yep it happened to me :eek: and on a "safe" horse :rolleyes: . I must admit, I was VERY surprised by this mare's total freak out! I've seen people shoot off of her, do a drag bag of cans, rope cattle and completely ignore flags!

You'll all love this....the owner told me after we wrapped my bruised ribs "I forgot that she is terrified of bikes!":eek: That little bit of info would have been very welcomed about 4 hrs earlier!

The point is this, a biker is safer than the horse rider so keep up the good work on letting your presence known and wait to know what the horse rider wants to do.

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Originally Posted by Tuckervill

In the state parks where I live, cyclists are required to get off the trail and wait for horses to pass.

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:confused: horses are traveling faster than bicycles?

As a rider, what I would want the cyclist to do is start talking when they are still quite a distance away from me - no bells, no air horns, just your voice. Continue talking until you are past.

Move away from the horse as far as possible as long as it is still safe for the cyclist - try moving towards the center line. Slow down some - ie don't go flying by at 20mph, but you don't have to slow down to 5mph either.

Don't make a big deal out of it. Just let us know you're there and give us (and yourself - you want to be OUT of kick range) some room. As a rider, one or two cyclist close together won't be a big deal - my horses are used to bikes, mopeds, golf carts, cars, all that fun stuff. A peleton will be a bigger deal, but as long as you are respectful to the horse and rider, we should be responsible for ourself. (think what you would want as a cyclist with a car approaching, and use that as a guide - plus kick range, of course)

Hope that helps (says the owner of a couple of flighty horses who can jump at their own shadow)

Oh, and those horses sure are cute ;)

Oh, and since we are showing pics, here is the latest addition - Maia. she is now 5mo and is withing half a hand of being the same height as her 3year old half sister (same dam). She's about 1day old in this pic.


The next is of my last show horse, Chance

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Originally Posted by btchance

Oh, and since we are showing pics, here is the latest addition - Maia. she is now 5mo and is withing half a hand of being the same height as her 3year old half sister (same dam). She's about 1day old in this pic.


The next is of my last show horse, Chance

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Too cute ;)

I'm waiting very impatiently for my horse to foal..... she was due on 17th September, but in her true style, she's calling the shots and I'm still waiting...... :) Maybe tomorrow will be the day .....

Since we're sharing piccies, this was her last month with her baby bulge :)

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

:confused: horses are traveling faster than bicycles?

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No, when they are approaching each other. Obviously, it wouldn't be an issue of the mountain bikes are in front of the horses.

Karen