Cyclists and horse riders urged to look out for each other after girl's pony spooked

my solution; slow down, free wheel down, let the whirring of the free hub inform the riders that there's someone coming up slowly

i'm slow and audible, everyone is happy

Always slow down and let horse riders know I'm there, in my experience they're some of the nicest people you meet on your ride.

I've never had problems with horse riders. If approaching from behind I pass wide and slow and let them know what I'm doing and where I'm coming from i.e. "Passing on your right" or whatever. I don't shout, I just speak in a calm, firm voice. This has been OK so far, and I've generally been thanked by the riders. At most I've been asked how many other cyclists are following in my group, presumably so they know what to expect in the next minute or so.

soooo we've got some horseriders saying bells are good, some saying they're bad. This is confusing!

I do, no matter how careful I am/the group I'm with is, worry when passing horses. They're big and heavy and not under 100% control of the human on the back of it, who's not 100% predictable either.

There's a lot of horses around these parts- heading north east from Cambridge you hit Newmarket and surrounds, but even in all other directions they're just common in affluent rural areas. Rather hope that the riders though are all pretty used to cyclists though

It is often a case of warning the rider, in my experience the horse is always aware of the bike before the rider is. Don't need to make much noise to make the horse aware.

Cyclist failing to act considerately are a problem for walkers, and horse riders. I have sometimes felt uncomfortable cycling in a group due to the militant attitude of some of the group members.

The horse riders I come across are absolutely lovely - they always say thanks for slowing down and good morning etc. If they're blocking the country lane they always move to single file once I make my presence known.

It embarrasses me when I occasionally see moronic cyclists speeding past them without a second thought.

Funny that if a motorist spooks a horse then the horse should not be on the road but if a cyclist spooks a horse then riding a horse on the road is acceptable and the cyclist should not be on the road. Just an observation.

As another horse rider / cyclist I'd just like to add.

'Horses shouldn't be on the road', is the equine equivalent of 'you don't pay road tax', so please drop it, as the only way for me to get my horse from its paddock and onto the local bridleway is... on the road.

Second, the only way for a horse to get used to all kinds of traffic, cars, lorries, busses, cyclists etc, is to expose them to those things until they get used to them. In order to do that, I have to ride on the road.

I have bells fitted to most of my bikes, a quick 'ping ping' 20 yards out, along with slowing down has always done it, although I did have to stop once on my mtb for a ride, as the biggest horse in the group, a Shire, was terrified of bikes. I was happy to stop and spoke to both the rider and the horse as they walked past.

IMO, vulnerable road users should be sticking together. We've actually had an email from a horse riding teacher who has people out on our regular club run route saying how good we were around horses.

If approaching from behind, speaking/shouting "bikes behind" lets the rider know you're coming and the horse know that it's people. Try to keep talking to reassure the horse that you're people. Pass wide and slow. I have heard that horses don't like loud freewheels but I've always been on Shimano so not an issue.

Oncoming horses, again slow, plenty of space, verbal communication.

Me, I've only ridden a horse once in my life and never intend to again. However, those above saying that a horse is skittish or the rider inexperienced - well that's like saying that young kids shouldn't ride bikes on the road. Be nice.

I would also like to add that some bike riders and drivers should not be on the roads too, I'm not doing a holier than thou thing, just that sometimes common sense needs to be applied....unfortunately not everyone has common sense

Imo some horses get spooked way too easily and shouldn't be on the roads with a young rider on them.
On Saturday I was on a chain gang ride (15-20 people) and there was two horses around 100m infront of us. One of the horses had a young rider on it and it got spooked when we were still 100m away and going up a climb so we weren't moving too quickly.
This horse and/or rider was clearly not ready to be on a public road, what if a car had been approaching significantly faster around a blind corner...
luckily the young rider managed to stay on but even so, some horses and/or riders should stay off the roads until they are safe..

It's funny how groups of cyclists are always "5 or 6 abreast". Presumably from grass verge across the white line to the other grass verge...

Mountain biking down a narrow Dartmoor lane as a teenager, my two younger brothers both sped past a girl on a horse. Following them, I slowed down, the horse backed towards me and kicked me in the thigh. I fell off. Rider then said to me "He got scared." I was to busy moaning in agony to dispute this. My leg was black for over a week.

However much I understand that I spooked it by my actions I stand by the principle that horses are unpredictable and I give 'em a very wide berth.

I think vulnerability is key here, we don't wish to appear as the car driving bullies in the way the collective 'we' are viewed by horse riders.

However, the language directed towards the cyclists is again provocative. If when running up the road he didn't stop to count the cyclists why did he feel the need to pick an arbitrary large number? Also, the word pack when referring to cyclists on narrow roads, it's hard to determine whether he sees the pack as aggressive or he just anticipates that we should stick to the A roads and battle the cars...

Good advice, but as a horse rider and cyclist would like to add:
Horses have a much wider field of vision than we do - due to the position of their eyes they can see to the side and slightly behind, so they are often aware of something approaching from the back before the rider is.
Also, horses are naturally prey animals whose instinct, in a situation that they perceive as potentially dangerous, is to run off at great speed (We, meanwhile, are predators so we don't necessarily react quite as quickly!). Training and breeding help keep this equine instinct in check - but the potential is always there.
If I see a horse and rider when I'm cycling I slow down, and say hello as I approach. My theory is that the horse recognises a friendly human voice and is more likely to understand that its a person approaching (familiar, nice thing who sometimes brings dinner in a bucket) and not just a fast, chasing thing who might want to eat it.
It also pays to know a little bit about their body language: I've never (touch wood!) had a problem while riding past a horse because I can tell how they're feeling from the way they are moving. You need to look at the rider too: a child on a pony is always going to be vulnerable and needs special consideration.
Cyclists and horse riders share the same spaces and we are all vulnerable: understanding a little about each other's chosen activity goes a long way to helping everyone feel safer. :0)

I've read that shouting a warning, even from 50ft away, can spook a horse. Seems counter-intuitive though. I'll always warn of my approach, steer clear, give as much room as poss but there are some horse riders that can act like selfish twats. This they have in common with drivers, cyclists, motorbikers, etc...

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.994468,-2.048037,3a,75y,292.56h,65.5t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sdtWA64D9poA9lNpSfxtrGA!2e0!6m1!1e1!10m1!1e1?hl=en

This is where it happened the grass on the left is where the girl ended up

I should also mention that Mr Burton was not there and did not see any of the incident! This detail is what has provoked things,

We weren't coming from behind, the group of riders, 4 i think were coming towards our group we were on one side of the road they on the other. For whatever reason the pony carrying the girl turned i believe her foot got caught in the stirup and this i suspect is what caused the knee injury. She was thrown and landed in the mud just off the road. At this point the pony then bolted and headed for the main road.

I always give a warning to horse riders when I'm approaching them from behind, I'll slow down until I'm confident enough to know that the rider has the horse under and knows that I'm there. I do this out of self preservation and a bit of respect.
I say a bit of respect as I believe that a horse that might be spooked by normal traffic should not be on the public highway.
The other side of this is, of coourse, to give horse riders as much respect as they give us when the hunt comes through.