Horse licence?

[Blackthorn]

We have quite a number of 'horsists' in this part of the world and it frightens me when I see a young kid, maybe ten years old, trying a control a large horse in traffic. Agreed, drivers should take more care but, round here, I see riders doing the stupidest things with no regard whatsoever for the rules of the road. Recently a young rider was severly injured and a horse had to be destroyed following an accident, apparently the owner is insisting that a particular driver was responsible and will not accept that the rider was at fault.
My point is, is there any legislation to rule who can ride a horse, i.e those with a certain level of competence, or a minimum age?

[TCL-MUMPING]

What about joggers or cyclists, they pay no tax for the use of the road, do they have no rights?

[flip_flop]

You could use that argument BOO, but then you'd be wrong.

I happilly accept the fact that my comment about the road tax is wrong - it was initially made because I mis-read sigmas original post, believing, mistakenly, that he/she was saying horses had more right to be on the road than cars.

I accept I was wrong and therefore retract it.

I do however stand by my comments made in the second and third paragraphs of my post timed at 11.21.

[flip_flop]

That should be my comments in my third paragraph - the second paraprah of that post was a copy of part of sigmas post.

[saxy_jag]

Having been a rider in the past and having come across good and bad riders as a driver, I can see both sides.

There are some very good, polite, riders out there (like the chap I passed a while back on a country lane, riding one horse and leading a very skittish youngster, who still managed to thank me when I slowed for them). There are, sadly, some very ignorant ones, too - such as the pair who insisted on riding two abreast even with a line of cars behind and a wide verge beside them.

But the plain fact is that there are becoming fewer and fewer places to ride horses safely off-road, or that don't involve getting to them via a road. There's a limit to how many hours can be spent cantering around the same paddock before you and your horse get bored out of your brain.

Everyone has a right to use the road in a legal manner (it's not just road tax that pays for them), and has the right to be safe whilst doing so. But with rights come responsibilities and so we should all take responsibility for our own safety and that of others. The law dictates, for instance, that pedestrians shouldn't use motorways. Anyone trying to cross a dual carriageway on foot must be a nutter. But we try our best (I hope) not to hit them in either case.

If some of the more ignorant riders bore this in mind when encountering other road users then perhaps the more ignorant drivers might be more inclined to give them a little more space. And that can work two ways.

[horselady]

Exactly Saxy-Jag, I have been astonished sometimes by very selfish riders and can understand how some drivers think "to hell with it, why did I bother" We should try to allow for each other.

[beso]

In New South Wales, Australia at least, drivers must give way to horses and stop when the rider signals them to do so.

Unfortunately some riders (in my experience, a certain teenage girl) abuse this right by unnecessarily signallling every car they pass to stop even when the car is moving very slowly and the driver taking great care. It happend repeatedly to me with the teenage girl who was engaging in a stupid power play as the horse was completley undisturbed by being close to cars.

I have also experienced driving around a bend on a rural road to meet a dismounted rider trying to control a horse. The rider glared at me and signalled that I should have been driving more slowly.

I knew the horse involved as it belonged to a neighbour. It should not have been on the road at all. It was almost uncontrollable even in a quiet paddock and lacked any traffic experience let alone being suddenly confronted by cars travelling at 60 kph on a winding road.

I believe the rider was grossly irresponsible and endangered others.

Unfortunately this kind of arrogance by some riders does nothing to build rapport between riders and drivers. Ditto the arrogance and lack of consideration exhibited by some drivers.

[horselady]

That's exactly what I mean beso. A number of horse riders have a real arrogance about them and don't do themselves any favours. There is just never any need to act that way. I can just imagine the girl you refer to, I've certainly come across that type, hand up to stop traffic, superior look on face as if to say "look at me up here on this huge beast that only I can control" Those of us that are riders just look at her and think "silly cow"

[terambulan]

Most roads are built & developed on past horse tracks. The horse has right of way as the road is an old bridle path.

Since riders have their hands on the reins controlling the horse they cant release their grip for signals. A machine (car) is easier to control than an animal. Riders must ride on left on highway & wear hats.

Motorists all have brakes and should pass the horse with a wide berth & cautiously.

[tigwig]

I can see both points now.
As a young teenager I was one of those riders whose horse was occasionally having a fit in the middle of the road. Luckily I only encountered nice drivers who waited for me to sort the horse out patiently.
At the time I didn't think anything of it and I fell off a few times and the horse simply cantered off up the road all the way home on its own! I suppose it was rather foolish looking back! I also had an encounter with a driver though who was whizzing down the road at quite some speed, came round a corner and saw me at the last minute. He was going so fast he skidded, swerved and managed to avoid me. Luckily there was no car coming the other way. That wasn't my fault.
Now I'm an adult the thought of my daughter riding alone on the roads and then into fields completely alone and with no mobile like I used to would scare me to death.
Blackthorn in answer to your question I'm not sure about the legislation but even the most excellent of riders cannot be in control of a horse at all times. They simply have a mind of their own and can be easily spooked and if they don't want to do something they won't.