On horses and hikers

[flick]

There's a thing that hikers and dog walkers tend to do when they see a horse.

They get off the path. I know why they do it, but it is Wrong.

Horses are prey animals, and even the most relaxed of them is constantly on the lookout for predators.

If they see a person, with or without a dog, standing on the path in front of them then they go "Ah, a person."

If they see a person, especially with a dog, lurking behind a tree near the path then they go "Ambush!"

Please remember this and pass it on to walkers of your acquaintance.

(We didn't have an oopsie this morning, but only because Benny is a good lad. He was, however, frightfully nervous of the three walkers plus dog that he'd spotted on a cross path several hundred yards before they saw us and who then who kindly stayed in the undergrowth until we'd passed. Even more so when, when we were only a couple of hundred yards away, another horse went across our path at speed close to where they were lurking, in what was *obviously* a sensible reaction of running away from the ambush.)

Comments

[vicarage]

I'll stay in the middle of the path, and the horse can push through the bushes then! I think walkers need to move out the way, but I can see why its better to have them in plain sight.

[flick]

[g] No, please do move off the path *so the horse can pass you*. Just don't run and hide in the undergrowth as soon as you see it and then lurk there for five minutes until it's gone....

(Those people yesterday, if they hadn't waited, wouldn't even have crossed paths with me!)

[redbird]

I wouldn't be stepping aside primarily for the sake of the horse: if I moved aside, it would be because there was a very large animal that I couldn't keep an eye on coming up behind me. I don't want to risk being stepped on or jostled if I stop for some reason, or slow down when the rider isn't expecting me to.

"Don't make the horse think you're lurking" is a request I will try to remember. However, paths aren't always well laid out for that. I won't lurk behind a tree on purpose, but if the path isn't wide enough for me to stand both on the path and safely out of the horse's way, there might not be anywhere reasonable to stand that wouldn't put a tree between me and the horse at some point.

[flick]

Assuming that the horse is coming at walk, it is much safer for everyone if you wait until the horse is only, say, a dozen feet away from you before you move off the path, particularly when you're going in opposite directions. I agree that if it's coming up behind you at speed then you want to get out of the way! Also, no sudden movements if possible!

It's the people who're coming towards you and run to hide in the undergrowth as soon as they see you, even if you're not actually going to cross paths for several minutes more, who're (inadvertently) dangerous.

[much_of_a]

I hadn't thought of the "lurking" thing.

As an occasional rider of a recumbent tricycle, I was told years ago that if a horse is being ridden near by, it is important to stop and stand up, since someone riding a recumbent is an odd thing which is Probably Dangerous, whereas a person standing is recognisable as just a person. I also try to say hello after I've done so, and mention why I'm standing there.

I was talking to a rider the other week who said yes, she'd felt the horse tensing up as they were approaching, and it stopped when I stood (which meant it reacted somewhat further away than I expected - useful information).

I'd earlier deliberately not come up behind the same horses, but gone a different way - I've no idea how far back a horse would notice something odd, but didn't want to risk it (and I wasn't particularly caring which way I went).

[flick]

Oh, gosh yes: recumbents would be very strange and terrifying things.

Good for you for being so considerate. Thank you!

[damerell]

Upright tandems are also somewhat notorious for this. As I approach a horse I say "Hello, I'm talking in a human voice to let the horse know I'm a human and not some weird mechanical thingy", and this seems like as good a place as any to ask if that's even a good idea.

[flick]

It certainly won't hurt, and will make sure that the rider knows you're there!

(If you're coming up behind a rider, it's worth a shout of 'Bike!', as well.)

[damerell]

I'm not so worried about the rider [1] who cannot stave in my ribcage with a single kick... or, at any rate, would find it more difficult, especially from the top of a horse, and is more aware of the social conventions that preclude such an act.

[1] yeah, I know really the horse's state is strongly informed by the rider.

[flick]

More from the point of view of warning the rider that you're coming up behind the horse, so that she can get ready for Potentially Scary Thing.

[birguslatro]

Noted! And reminded of a horse's reaction when noticing me working among some shrubs once.

[flick]

Person in shrubs with sharp object? AMBUSH!

[birguslatro]

You should carry lances when out riding. That'd make your horses feel safer and be useful too for dispersing the hunt when they make a nuisance of themselves.

[clothsprogs]

I had no idea!

In future I'll just step off the pasth as the horse draws near... not that I recall ever stepping so far off the path that I was hidden in trees and undergrowth - just enough to leave the path clear for the horse(s) to pass. But that's probably more in order that I cn get a look at the horse than any other consideration.

Teddy

[flick]

I had a horrible one a couple of weeks ago, when I cyclist stopped, got off his bike and then hid behind the only tree in the area. Benny'd seen him do it, and got steadily more and more nervous as we got closer, until I was near enough to shout 'my horse thinks you're waiting to jump out at him, could you come out where he can see you?' which the bloke did, as fast as he possibly could in his attempt to be helpful. Benny, predictably, went 'See! I told you it was an ambush!' and span around to run off the other way. Fortunately, he calms down quickly!

(It turned out that the cyclist had stopped and gone behind the tree to take a photo of the sun rising through the mist on a frosty morning. It was a very pretty morning.)

[clothsprogs]

Sometimes you just can't win....

Teddy