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

[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.