Thoughts On - Road Riding
Quite a few years ago we used to ride on the road quite often. In the spring when the ground was to wet and in the winter before we had access to indoor arenas. Most people in cars in those days seemed to be quite horse conscious and gave us a wide berth. Cars would slow down when passing and many times the roads we were on were very rarely travelled on. These days though things have changed and riding on the road has become much less relaxing for horse and rider. Many more cars are passing by at high speed seemingly unaware of the skittish nature of the horse.
I was wondering if it was just my imagination that drivers were less horse conscious these days but I have decided that it is not. Twenty to thirty years ago our roads were populated with drivers who remembered seeing horses pulling carts and wagons. They remembered horses getting scared of the new horseless carriages! They remember the milk wagon on it's rounds. Today though, most of the drivers have never seen a horse on the road and only have seen horses at the racetrack or in parades. They have no idea of the nature of the horse and it would never occur to them that this animal walking along the side of the road just might jump into their path because a plastic bag flew in front of it's nose, or the pavement is a darker colour in one spot!
Therefore as riders we must realize that the cars will not slow down because they have no idea that there could be a problem. Although you can try to educate folks there are just to many drivers out there who just don't know. Unless you are in a really rural area you are probably best to stick to the fields and trails and leave the roads to the cars. That is just my opinion but I sure don't feel comfortable on the road any more.
November 1999.
Quite a few years ago we used to ride on the road quite often. In the spring when the ground was to wet and in the winter before we had access to indoor arenas. Most people in cars in those days seemed to be quite horse conscious and gave us a wide berth. Cars would slow down when passing and many times the roads we were on were very rarely travelled on. These days though things have changed and riding on the road has become much less relaxing for horse and rider. Many more cars are passing by at high speed seemingly unaware of the skittish nature of the horse.
I was wondering if it was just my imagination that drivers were less horse conscious these days but I have decided that it is not. Twenty to thirty years ago our roads were populated with drivers who remembered seeing horses pulling carts and wagons. They remembered horses getting scared of the new horseless carriages! They remember the milk wagon on it's rounds. Today though, most of the drivers have never seen a horse on the road and only have seen horses at the racetrack or in parades. They have no idea of the nature of the horse and it would never occur to them that this animal walking along the side of the road just might jump into their path because a plastic bag flew in front of it's nose, or the pavement is a darker colour in one spot!
Therefore as riders we must realize that the cars will not slow down because they have no idea that there could be a problem. Although you can try to educate folks there are just to many drivers out there who just don't know. Unless you are in a really rural area you are probably best to stick to the fields and trails and leave the roads to the cars. That is just my opinion but I sure don't feel comfortable on the road any more.
November 1999.