Dramatic footage serves as a reminder for cyclists to take care around horses

I suspect the horsey sector would go either for the cyclists for not stopping and hiding behind a hedge so as not to spook the horse, or the guy with the push chair for being behind th horse (does seem a strange place to be, I wonder if they were together)

Either way, if the horse is as easily spooked as it seems to be then it should not be on the roads no matter how well she did to get it back under control. If only she had a registration number that could be reported back to the authorities

There's only one way horses get accustomed to things that go along the road. If you can't extend tolerance and a less than sniggering attitude to others don't expect any different for yourself.

Seem to remember you doing decent posts, so I'll assume this is irony.

The bridleway was a bit of humour but I don't accept the equivalence to bikes which is used (inanimate v animate). Not convinced that horses get used to anything and the variety of things which spooks them raises the question of whether something that cannot be controlled in certain circumstances should be on the highway.

(I can see my new hub is going to be an issue, so no coasting for me near a horse).

I have a very loud clicky hub and it's never been a problem (except for me!) I make sure horse an rider have heard me (rather than the bike) from a way off, usually shout hello or something, and switch off flashing light. Older horses are seldom a problem, but young things like this one are always unpredictable - who knows if they've see cyclists before. It would be a sad world if cyclists could not tolerate other vulnerable road users.

hirsute wrote:

The bridleway was a bit of humour but I don't accept the equivalence to bikes which is used (inanimate v animate). Not convinced that horses get used to anything and the variety of things which spooks them raises the question of whether something that cannot be controlled in certain circumstances should be on the highway.

(I can see my new hub is going to be an issue, so no coasting for me near a horse).

Control is an illusion. You should not drive or ride as if everything is going to go as planned. Safety is about identifying the hazards that are present or may be present (but cannot be seen) or may develop - and taking appropriate measures to minimise risk.

If this horse rears up everytime a cyclist passes, then clearly it shouldn't be on the road. But maybe this incident the exception. The risk that a horse will rear up will always be present - just like the risk that an occupant will open a car door as you are passing is always present - or the car that you are following on the motorway will come to a complete stop.

Not sure if you've seen a horse rear up. Certainly you didn't see it here. But I take your point, and certainly cars, doors, and their operators, are a greater theat.

You've swapped it round though. You are now talking about the cyclist reacting to a situation. Take the case of your car door opening, that doesn't happen randomly -  the user has control over the door whereas in the case of horses, it happens on occasion that there is no control.

I thought it was the braking and free wheel noises which spooked the horse rather then the jacket. One of those dammed if you do and dammed if you don't situations. 

I'll always shout hello from a good way off, especially if from behind (for the rider's benefit, the horse can doubtless see behind unless it has blinkers). I do think the voice helps horses know it's just a human, despite appearances.

I'd also go a fair bit slower, but not stopped as bestriding a stationary bike leaves you flat footed if the horse spooks. For a young horse such as this, if I'd read the whole situation, I'd have tried to avoid passing until the horse was well clear of the pram, but that's a big if.

I've known young horses get spooked by a patch of fresh tarmac, but generally they come under control as here. So really you just have to expect it will happen, and plan for good clearances.

Maybe not shout exactly, but I always try to talk to a horse, so it can at least hear a human voice and hopefully associate the weird fast quiet thing with a human being. I say hopefully, cos I think some horses are really not particularly bright, but you can't really blame them for that.

I will always talk to the rider and the horse, "Hello Horsey", something they must of heard of lots.

Never the bell.  And I drop to a lower gear and keep the pedals turning, maybe a bit weird for the huge and dangerous animal, but hopefully not as scary as the 'freehub'.

Talking to the horse sounds fun - I usually just greet the rider. I'm worried what happens if the horse replies, though?

A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And no one can talk to a horse of course
That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed.

Go right to the source and ask the horse
He'll give you the answer that you'll endorse.
He's always on a steady course.
Talk to Mr. Ed.

I have no problem with horses being on the road but I wish horse riders would do one thing. Keep having a glance behind. More often than not horse riders in pairs are chatting away oblivious to what's happening on the road around them.