A horse stamped on my bike!

[tightwad]

- we had hopped over a fence to let the horses past but one spooked and stamped! Riders went off giving us a mouthful and i can't trace them!

In your case think horse insurers would maybe apply it as most motor insurers apply "an act of god "

I find it difficult to understand the horse just stamped on your bike for "no understandable reason" , Why would the riders give you a mouthful ? where the riders aware of you and your bikes presence ? without twisting any words would i be wrong to assume you where probably hidden from view and the horse was maybe unaware of you or your bikes presence , then it jumped and spooked as it suddenly became aware of you or your unattended bike, even the most sedate of horses would spook to some degree at something it was unsure of, that,s their nature. an experienced rider is always constantly aware of potential hazards eg. blowing rubbish litter discarded by fly tippers ( who could you blame or claim from then ? ), unfortunately horses being a prey animal their senses are more acute than any rider so this is why a quiet cyclist should give careful respect and make sure when behind announce their presence carefully in advance , most horses will not even know what a bell even sound like so any overuse which may be necessary cycling up behind walkers would cause alarm ,( don't even start me on that one ) horses always recognize a human voice so calling to the rider would be more appropriate.

You response indicates such a narrow minded view I fear you are on the wrong forum now toddle off to the horse and hound forum there's a good chap.

 

[billflat12]

You response indicates such a narrow minded view I fear you are on the wrong forum now toddle off to the horse and hound forum there's a good chap.

Sadly yours is the type of attitude that gets cyclists a poor reputation and does not belong in any modern society, you need to understand that some dedicated cyclists are horse riders too who quite happily use dual use paths without any problems . try and see things from another prospective ie. other users are entitled to use public rights of way, believe gadaffi is looking for more recruits maybe you should just "toddle off" an join his regime, There,s a good little hitler..

 

[Moderators]

Let's stay civil chaps, eh?

 

[Coco]

Interesting reading about the Mirrahedy v Henley case and the Animal Act. I've learned something new today - always a good thing.


But back to responsibility and being able to control your animal - what if a dwarf owned a Great Dane?

 

[I like Skol]

- we had hopped over a fence to let the horses past but one spooked and stamped! Riders went off giving us a mouthful and i can't trace them!

In your case think horse insurers would maybe apply it as most motor insurers apply "an act of god "

I find it difficult to understand the horse just stamped on your bike for "no understandable reason" , Why would the riders give you a mouthful ? where the riders aware of you and your bikes presence ? without twisting any words would i be wrong to assume you where probably hidden from view and the horse was maybe unaware of you or your bikes presence , then it jumped and spooked as it suddenly became aware of you or your unattended bike, even the most sedate of horses would spook to some degree at something it was unsure of, that,s their nature. an experienced rider is always constantly aware of potential hazards eg. blowing rubbish litter discarded by fly tippers ( who could you blame or claim from then ? ), unfortunately horses being a prey animal their senses are more acute than any rider so this is why a quiet cyclist should give careful respect and make sure when behind announce their presence carefully in advance , most horses will not even know what a bell even sound like so any overuse which may be necessary cycling up behind walkers would cause alarm ,( don't even start me on that one ) horses always recognize a human voice so calling to the rider would be more appropriate.

The police don't seem to have too much trouble controlling their horses during parades, demonstrations and even riots

 

[Arch]

The police don't seem to have too much trouble controlling their horses during parades, demonstrations and even riots

Yeah, and the time and money that goes into training those horses is huge.

 

[skudupnorth]

Dont know where it is now but I posted on here a while ago about some numpty opening a car door on me as I rode past, and my horse, a gypsy vanner with hooves like bin lids, showed his disaproval by almost taking the door off with one kick

Never mess with a critter with bigger feet ( or hooves) than you ! Bet they look over their shoulder from now on !!

 

[billflat12]

I like Skol

The police don't seem to have too much trouble controlling their horses during parades, demonstrations and even riots


Police horses are all carefully chosen breeds with very quiet temperaments which also go through tough intensive training etc. normally well used to a riot situation by the time they are allowed out on public order duties.

Coco
That Mirrahedy v Henley 1971 animal act is quite complex and open to interpretation, don,t know about the dwarf with a great dane though

henshaw11
The link to people selling horse insurance obviously quote their own interpretation of the animal act.


"Just to clarify" every horse is different and can react very differently in various situations.
Typically the horse i ride is well used to bikes, once had blowing plastic bin bag wrapped round his front feet on a windy day without any problem , also dogs have jumped up to grab his tail without any panic or kicking out !!
But "anyone innocently using a brolly nearby " or " drivers that raise their hatchback door to let excited dogs out as you pass " always cause upset . insurers would rightly blame the motorist for causing any accident, but the brolly user although being a cause i would accept as being innocent .


PK99
Appologies for hyjacking the thread , The Whyte 901 looks a good buy . If my horse wasn,t such an expensive liability i should maybe buy one, or give up my trusted kona stinky.

 

[david1701]

Never mess with a critter with bigger feet ( or hooves) than you ! Bet they look over their shoulder from now on !!

lol I had a shire stand on my foot once, gotta love soft bark floor

 

[Ticktockmy]

The best thing when around horses is to let them see you and hear you, also let the rider know that you are about, it takes no effort if approaching a horse and rider from the rear, is to call out "Coming Bye" when about 50 feet from them. If horse and rider are approaching you it best to stop, if the horse and rider has not already done so, and stand quietly with your bike so the horse can see a human and not what in his mind a wild beast is, remember horses are fear and flight animals, and silly things can spook them.

One of mine was bomb proof until he would see plastic sacks blowing around the fields or tracks then we would be prancing around because he was thinking it was a crocodile or something, the other one hated cyclists, and I would dismount and calm her down if she got skittish if they got too near to her.

Always remember that horses understand what humans are and associate well with us, but they don’t always understand what bikes or other man made objects are and will prefer to take flight or stamp on the object LOL.

But I have had cyclists ride right up behind me and I neither of us have heard them, then they either speak out or tinkle the bell and watch in wonderment as we are jumping all over the track because they have startled my horse.

In PK99 case it was wrong of the riders to not stop and sort out the details, let alone ride off giving verbal abuse. Most riders have insurance, to cover damage caused, and if they don’t they should have. But the problem is that contrary to what some people think, most horse owners are normal working people who struggle to keep the horse and feed it and shoe it, so insurance become low priority . which is no excuse.

 

[Yellow Fang]

Pity PK99's not been back to give some more details. Not that he seems that bothered about the loss of his bike. He seems to regard it as an opportunity for getting a better bike. The Whyte 901 looks like a pretty good bike, but then they all are for that money.

What sort of trail was it? It sounds like it must have been quite narrow. Were you going quite fast? How far in advance did you see the horses?

I must say, horses bother me. My experience is that they are easy to spook. I usually call out hello and then give them as much room as I can. I was marshalling a running race once at a crossroads in some country lanes when a spooked horse ran loose. It passed me by inches and then knocked over another marshal before coming to a stop.

 

[PK99]

Pity PK99's not been back to give some more details. Not that he seems that bothered about the loss of his bike. He seems to regard it as an opportunity for getting a better bike. The Whyte 901 looks like a pretty good bike, but then they all are for that money.

What sort of trail was it? It sounds like it must have been quite narrow. Were you going quite fast? How far in advance did you see the horses?

I must say, horses bother me. My experience is that they are easy to spook. I usually call out hello and then give them as much room as I can. I was marshalling a running race once at a crossroads in some country lanes when a spooked horse ran loose. It passed me by inches and then knocked over another marshal before coming to a stop.

Seeing the way the thread was going I decided to let it flow without interference.

We ride up over the downs most weeks and have never had a bad experience with any other horses or riders.

Three cyclists (55,66,73: old gits out on bikes!) heading up hill @ walking pace. Three horses walking down hill on a narrowish bridle way, wooden open rail fence and gappy hedge to one side, hedge to the other.

One of the riders immediately told us to turn round, go back and get off the bridleway, in a verbally aggressive manner.

We propped the bikes against the fence, climbed over and stood in the field, riders came through, horse spooked and kicked bike, one rider again verbally aggressive. All three returned up the track not answering request to tell us which stable they were out of.

When i reported it to the police i made plain that i was less concerned about my bike than i was about riders being out on a public path with a horse that was clearly unsafe. We quite often pass elderly ramblers or dog walkers on such tracks.

No doubt the riders would have a different view/interpretation of the same events

 

[Lisa21]

Just my two pennorth worth as a cyclist, and as a horserider with a very large, easily spooked and unpredictable boy(which does limit where i ride him) It seems obvious to me that the riders attitude is at fault here, and its a shame she could not be traced as people like her continue to give horseriders a bad name. Common courtesy and manners cost absolutely nothing, and sadly my experience has made me realise that the horsey world can be very bitchy and attract some right characters (always female) and before any female riders on here slate me this is just my opinion, formed from my experience.
The horse is not at fault here, there instincts are so much more finely-tuned than ours and as the saying goes "whats in the brain goes straight down the rein"....he was probably picking up on the noutiness of his rider

 

[billflat12]

sorry ladies , it does now sound just a little bit like bitchy females in a state
which would of course wind up any poor horse ,
classic case of riders being "over-horsed"

jokes apart
I would just express your concerns at any local stable yard, could be the horses were hired out to inexperienced riders by an unscrupulous yard owner ?

 

[Baggy]

sorry ladies , it does now sound a bit like bitchy females in a bit of a state
which would of course wind up any poor horse ,
classic case of riders being "over-horsed"


Joking apart, If possible i would express your concerns to any local stable yard, could be the horses were hired out by an unscrupulous yard owner.

Joking apart, did he mention anywhere that the riders were female?

Given the location of the incident, it could take quite a long time to get round all the stable yards in that area...

I agree they should have stopped, but the rider sounds like the type of person who automatically assumes they're in the right.