Horse riders' demands delay cycling reforms

No no no

I do not want  horses anywhere near cycle paths or footpaths.  Having seen the damage horses do to footpaths when the riders get fedup of their animals walking through the mud exetera on the bridalways that they have cut to pieces by being used when to wet (and then lay the blame on 4x4 users with not a tyre track in site).  We would end up carrying our bikes not riding them!

Anyway when you look at the amount of greenroads right of ways and bridleways in the UK to the amount of dedicated cyclepaths as opposed to multiuse footpaths they are doing very well already thank you very much.

And as for horse shit no, no thank you.

Great. We can look forward to great steaming piles of horse shite on our cycle paths.

Personally, I do a 20 mile each-way commute on the back of my pet hippopotamus, Gerald. Therefore I think all bridleways should be flooded.

I don't care what it's made of: it's shit, and great mounds of it are created in each single movement. Whatever its composition, a hobby's side-effect dumping piles of it on public paths is unacceptable.

I'm sure it's great on your allotment. It's less than great on shared-use paths. It's most often dropped at gates, stiles, subways and passings, making it difficult to avoid. It gets rained on and flattens and spreads, covering the path, literally, in shit. I and others commute along these paths, when it has rained, covering us, literally, in shit. And the properties that are great for your allotment also encourage growth on the path, so it quickly doesn't resemble a path anymore.

So yeah: I'll be a bit more tolerant of your hobby that gets shit on me, when mine get shit on you.

Oh dear, so many emotive comments! I commute 100 miles weekly, AND also enjoy horse riding. I drive an ordinary car, rely on horse hire as cannot afford to own one. The main point is live and let live. Some cycle routes are suitable for sharing with equestrians, others are better for one or the other. Rather strange comments about about the mess too! Horse poo is basically partially digested grass, and relatvely odour free and certainly not like dog mess. Again I have dogs and also collect horse muck for my allotment - usually about 1/3 of a ton in bags in the back of the car. It ain't that bad! Mutual tolerance and understanding, and ignore the ignorant people who just have to be objectionable. Their loss. Car drivers though do put horses and riders at risk by passing too close and too fast so we do have a shared objective - safer leisure time.

All new cycle lanes to be installed with additional 2m wide soft track for horses. Preferably between hr road and cycle path.
?

Presumably they'll be willing to concede priority to cyclists on designated cycle ways as cyclists are required to for horses on bridleways? I'm not so sure given some of the horsey types around here.

Not meaning to tar all horse riders with one brush of course. Most that I know are lovely and way above average in terms of consideration for other road users. Unfortunately some of them seem to have friends/fellow horse enthusiasts whose position on cyclists is "run them off the road!" and "they don't pay road tax!" (irony much?) or as one lady put it "give them the same treatment motorists give us!" (WTF?). And I can't count on two hands the number of times I've almost been clipped by Land Rovers pulling horse boxes.

I'm not sure why they'd want to share a path with bikes anyway, horses seem especially freaked out by bikes, but whatever. I'm all for supporting the rights of people to enjoy their hobby safely. Can't help but feel that a better solution is more bridleways or opening up access to footpaths. 

Last few horse and riders  I rode past was actually about 40,  not sure why a hunt is still allowed? What do all the hundred or so dogs do? Never bee that close to the hounds before, really mean scary animals with blood in their eye, of course they wouldn't let them tear other animals apart would they, it's banned isn't it? The hunt hunting that is not allowed. 

Not a fan of horse riders or riding, bit like open road motorsport, arcane and a bit last century.

provide horses with closed circuits, it's seems that is what BC want for cycle racing! Only seems fair

So what about the bridleways that are churned up by horses and un-cycleable? Can't see the horse community agreeing to have them made fit for bikes.  We've all had the icy looks when out on an MTB.

Horse riding is a leisure activity and, whilst a lot of cyclists use cycle paths for leisure as well, if we want to see a big change in attitude towards cycling then these paths have to be seen as part of the transport network ie 'getting from A to B.  Most of the time I'm on a traffic free path, I'm commuting  and pleased that I'm away from cars; I'm not on it for leisure.  Don't see many horse owners riding to work?

Chris Boardman did a piece during the Tour de France on cycling in Holland (I think).  His great line was, "I didn't see cyclists; I just saw people in normal clothes riding bikes".  If motorists think they should just have to tolerate us at weekends in the summer (ie leisure) and we should clear off the rest of the time, then we'll get nowhere.

Looks like Gravel Bikes are going to be everywhere soon then!

Horse riders seem to be an ungrateful bunch anyway. Last time I passed a couple I made an effort to shout a 'hello' ahead, rather than 'excuse me' or 'coming through' or something that could be taken as unfriendly or whatever. All I got was a passive aggressive telling off "don't go down through your gears passing a horse".

Go fuck yourselves then!!! It's a sad say when I've got to upgrade my drivetrain as not to upset a horse with clunky changes.

Oooh, an excuse yo buy a gravel bike...

https://www.evanscycles.com/cannondale-slate-105-2017-adventure-road-bik...

I don't think we should discriminate against horses. Accordingly, I think it only fair that any horse riding a bicycle shoudl be free to use cycle paths.

so just a query when the horses dump their waste products all over the roads where I live do these riders pick it up ?

I think the answer proves who needs to sort themselves out first.

As a responsbile dog owner I off course always take a poo bag with me ! 

Not even sure I find horse riding ethical. Definitely believe horse racing is unethcial. The death toll is too high for me to stomach.

http://www.horsedeathwatch.com

Definitely don't feel like horse riders and cyclists are some sort of in-it-together family. Cycling is an efficient, clean mode of transport. Also a way of keeping fit and reducing the NHS burden. Don't buy that we have to like them because they're 'not cars'.

What percentage of cycle path users are using a horse? It's so small their argument should be instantly dismissed. The horse is not a means of transport for the working masses, elitism has it's downfalls as well. Now stick to moaning at MTB riders on bridleways and being a danger to all and sundry when your horse gets out of control.

Sadly because the average horser is also a moneybag, they have enough money and time to devote to their cause through silly legal challenges.

Horse riding should be banned. Note the number of times the air ambulance programmes show them attending horse riders, it's obviously a dangerous activity and a drain on the NHS.

Does anyone know what the problem is with the UK that arguments like this occur. On the continent it may not be perfect but there's plentiful cycle routes mostly logical and in good condition, horse-ists seem to have plenty of riding opportunities and drivers, for the most part, are tolerant of other road users. Contrasting with the UK, what's the big difference that makes Brits so confrontational.

I noticed in the Netherlands they have seperate automobile roads, bicycle roads (paved), bridleways (unpaved) and pedestrian paths (some paved and some unpaved). It works well and leads to absence of conflict between different types of users. Horse riders don't actually want to mix with other road users, and neither do cyclists. The problem occurs when we only cater for one type of road user (automobile driver). Let's just cut out all the angst and arguing and do what works? The attached photo shows a paved rural cycle road near Amsterdam, with a soft bridlepath on one side and a soft pedestrian path on the other.

Why on earth do horse riders want to share with bikes? I always slow right down when passing a horse and call out but I can guarantee a sizable proportion won't.

Horses really don't like being suddenly passed by a near silent machine that's doing 15mph.

As somebody who has a daughter who rides horses, the reason they want 'soft' paths is that it allows them to gallop. Galloping is fun. Riding on roads you need to take it slow and have your horse shoed.

What soft paths do do is exclude people with disabilities who find soft paths a nightmare if you are in wheelchair and change a route from being usable all year round into one that is only used after a dry period.