Risks of riding horses and motorbikes

[Mosser]

I nearly had my first off sliding on horse crap !

Came round a bend, giant horse turd in the middle of the lane and i couldnt avoid it, my front wheel hit it and i slid towards the centre of the road, but luckily i did a huge stamp as i wasnt going partucularly fast and managed to recover it, if i hadnt, i would have ended up crossing the oncomming lane, and i dont like to think what would have happened if there had been a car comming

Horses dont have any reason to be on the road, their owners dont pay road tax, dont clear up after their animals, and cause huge tailbacks, but the worst bit is that they are only ridden for fun, no one uses to a horse for transport, so they have no reason to be on modern roads anymore.

Its about time someone started a petition to get horses off the roads, and back onto the fields where they belong !

[Bonnielass]

I'm gathering none of you have ever ridden a horse and therefore not experienced the exhilaration of galloping across the country side or the relaxation of ambling down a country road. I absolutely agree that there should be some sort of test before you are allowed on a busy highway but you have to agree that it is a 'public highway' and therefore anyone should be at liberty to use it.

The poo can be a problem but there are riders who will go back with a shovel and get rid of it!

It is a problem for riders to get anywhere without going on the road because they keep closing bridleways!

I think we should respect different peoples hobbies, we are all here to enjoy life, there are a lot of bike riders who ride like the wind and put the fear of god into me.

I guess as a previous rider of horses and now of bikes I feel there's an argument for both.

[Scotty]

It is a problem for riders to get anywhere without going on the road because they keep closing bridleways!

Blame the Ramblers! > It's the red-socked rambling nazis who want ALL the off-road tracks in the entire country for themselves and nobody else, it makes legal green-laning more and more difficult :-/ At least (for the time being anyway) there are plenty of By-Ways around here - enjoy them whilst you can kids, the Ramblers (boo!hiss!) will take them away from you as soon as they can :'(

[Mosser]

I used to ride horses, never on the road though as i always thought they were too unpredictable, but i had fun riding around the paddock and doing a few jumps (got thrown off a few times too!), but at the end of the day, i still dont see why a horse needs to be on the road, they arent essential transport, no one uses them to get somewhere, the horses damage the roads and dont pay any road tax or anything towards the upkeep of the roads, and i always had the feeling that horses didnt like being on the road anyway, they are happier in a field

another angle, is that if horses or riders dont have to pay road tax as road users, why should motorbikes have to pay road tax ?

[StreetHippo]

Why is motorcycle tax so high when "green" cars can have lower tax, even though their mpg is higher than a bike, use more resources to produce than a bike and therefore have higher lifetime costs than a bike?
Bit off topic, but I fealt like a gurn!! >
Stu

[Jon_W]

I'm gathering none of you have ever ridden a horse and therefore not experienced the exhilaration of galloping across the country side or the relaxation of ambling down a country road. I absolutely agree that there should be some sort of test before you are allowed on a busy highway but you have to agree that it is a 'public highway' and therefore anyone should be at liberty to use it.

The poo can be a problem but there are riders who will go back with a shovel and get rid of it!

It is a problem for riders to get anywhere without going on the road because they keep closing bridleways!

I think we should respect different peoples hobbies, we are all here to enjoy life, there are a lot of bike riders who ride like the wind and put the fear of god into me.

I guess as a previous rider of horses and now of bikes I feel there's an argument for both.

May I hasten to add...

My piece was a poke at the goverment and OTT testing plus the rediculous statistics people find to justify things, not horse riders.

I have riden a horse and agree it is great fun. In my expierence as a motorcyclist and a cyclist, most horse riders on the road are considerate and sensable. There are as ever a few who f**k it up for the rest. (a bit like motorcycling) I have come off in horse poo but equally I have come off on diesel and I hear no call for motorists to clean up after themselves.

I agree about the closing of bridleways... some of that though is due to thoughtless cars and motorcycles... as ever the few f**k it up for the many.

[Bonnielass]

Absolutely!!

[BB]

Does that include pedestrians

It should include everybody!

People forget that when they are behind a wheel or handlebars they are a driver or motorcyclist but when they park up and get out/off they become a pedestrian!

People should think more about what they would do or how they would react if they were in the other persons place. Be it on wheels/hoof or foot!

Basically people should just simply think more about what they are doing and possible repercussions!

BB

[igbell]

I have riden many a horse when I was younger and hated it, to the point a horse bolted and I was hanging around it neck, until I let go and was stomped on, so I HATE horses, I Love donkeys but HATE horses.

It also didnt help that when I was working at Wallingford they have a few stud farms around abouts and they used to ride all over the road and not care who was coming or going, also they used to take horses out on the roads that shouldnt of been allowed, as it states in the Highway code that you can take a horse out that is not used to the road if it can be controlled, many of the horses shouldnt of even seen the road let alone been on it.....

But still like I said this is my view and I am not saying it should be all of yours just mine...

[benobiker]

aaahh.. well I ride bikes and horses though not at the same time. I find the horse is better over hedges and across fields than the gixer to be honest! And getting one knee down on a horse tends to lead to the other going down too.

If i take up something safe like tiddlywinks or beetle drives can i reduce / offset my more dangerous passions?