125 comments Add a comment
I would like to gripe about people who complain about horses being ridden on our roads (and those even smaller-minder citizens who have complained about what they leave behind. My answer to them is as follows.
Pause for a few moments and consider the fate of Homo Sapiens without the helping hoof of his friend The Horse.
There would be no roads or cars
A pretty pointless task really, because you wouldn’t be reading this in the first place, but for the existence of The Horse. There would have been no roads, no cars, no industrial revolution, no modern farming (kicked off by the horse-drawn plough). Mankind without the co-operation of The Horse would be so far removed from where we are today that it is barely conceivable.
Some might argue the world would be a far better place without the internal combustion engine, but that still doesn’t detract anything at all from the importance of The Horse – indeed it adds to it because, just as in pre-motorised vehicle days, The Horse would have remained the only form of transport.
Ipso facto I think it just a tad unreasonable to moan and whine about horses being present on the thoroughfares of Great Britain. No Horse, no Great, just Britannia – doesn’t quite have the same ring does it? Without The Horse, there would BE no roads. An interesting fact, but one I was unaware of until told by a police officer, is that horses actually have Right of Way over motorised transport.
Strictly speaking, when a horse is being ridden along the road, ALL motorised traffic should halt until the horse has passed. I think therefore it speaks volumes for the reasonableness of horse riders that they do not insist on this procedure, but go to some time-consuming and expensive lengths to ensure that they are highly visible on the road and that they, their horse and other road users are safe.
The Horse, quite frankly, has earned the right to a little respect don’t you think? Is it too much to ask to take what are literally seconds out of our busy schedules to slow down and pass horses wide and slow when you meet them out on the road? If your answer to this is along the lines of “yes, why should I?†then can I suggest that you read an excellent little book by Jilly Cooper called “Animals in Warâ€. It describes in horrific and graphic detail how, in times of war, The Horse has laid down his life time and time again for us in battle. The culmination of the “warhorse†in this country was WWI. Anybody reading what happened to these noble beasts left behind to die slowly of starvation, thirst and suffocation in the mud and horror of the Trenches will, I promise, move the hardest heart to tears.
Just remember, when you next curse some law-abiding citizen for holding you up on the road for a few brief seconds, or your gas guzzler is spattered with horse droppings, or even if you skid on a pile on your motorbike because you were racing round the country lanes too fast to be able to negotiate it and have come a cropper. Just pause, take a deep breath and thank God not only for those hundreds of thousands of brave men who laid down their lives for us their forebears, but for The Horse who bore them into battle, pulled their guns and carted their rations.
And unlike the lucky men who came home, there was nothing like that for The Horse; he was left to die alone, cold and hungry in the mud, wondering why The Man to whom he had been so loyal had deserted him in his hour of need. Makes you think, doesn’t it? So please, when next you pass a rider, slow down, if it looks safe to do so, then pass wide and slow; if the horse is obviously nervous, then wait patiently behind, not revving your engine, until either the horse has calmed down, or the rider signals you to pass.
Following this courtesy and kindness, should you fail to receive at least a smile and a nod from the rider (remember horses can be a real handful, and it is often not safe to let go a rein to raise a hand in thanks), by all means berate that rider and point out that the noble beast he/she is riding deserves better. A nod or a smile costs nothing, as my old mum would say!
Leave a comment
I am really peeved though that after an already stressful morning I passed a horse and rider, with what I perceived as plenty of room between us, slowly, making sure my engine was as quiet as it could be, then receiving hand gestures of abuse from the rider - so much so that I thought they were going to fall off the horse! Obviously I didn't leave as much room as would have been liked, but it was certainly unintentional on my part.
I am sure there are as many riders with road rage out there as there are drivers, and this particular rider has changed my previously highly positive attitude to horses and their being ridden on our roads to a not so positive one. (It was actually very negative this morning until I read your article!). There are many car drivers on the road that really don't care about anyone else on the road, whether they are drivers or riders, and I'm sure they give cause for frustration, anger and accidents for riders on the road. I am not one of those people.
In future I will ensure that I leave even more room for the horse if and when I pass one on the road, but the point I will make here is that the annoyance that I caused this rider this morning was certainly not intentional and their aggression towards me has changed my opinion greatly.
My husband has been riding motorbikes since he was a nipper, he is now 60, and he has never ever come a cropper through horse poo. Oil, yes, diesel on the road yes, but never horse or cow poo, and he has lived in the country all his life. And is a horse rider like myself. He does not tank along country roads so fast that he cannot see a ruddy great pile of the stuff on the road, he drives such that he can take evasive action if necessary.
I'm not saying what you have written isnt based in fact, the truth is that its a vaguely interesting, if slightly spurious in places, summary of the history of the horse in the UK. However, this rationale simply doesnt stand up to scrutiny. Anyone can justify anything by saying its been going on for years; see bear baiting, burning witches and cock fighting. All perfectly legal not so long ago during the very same period you hark back to in your article. I don't think that the argument 'horses should be allowed to foul the public highway, not pay tax and not have to have insurance, because....they always have done!!" really stands up, do you?
I suspect you are railing against 'small minded' people (like me) who object to being thrown from my motorcycle after going through a non-tax paying animal's excretia, perhaps you should actually read the article in question properly and try riding a bike through your horse's dumps, so you really know what you're talking about.
That article is NOT calling for horses to be removed from the public highway, nor is it in anyway disrespecting the glorious history of the horse, it is asking horse riders and owners to pay road tax and insurance (for the same reasons everybody else has to) and that they should be discouraged from leaving lumps of manure on the road for safety reasons. That's all.
I am afraid that you have just read whatever you wanted to read, not what is actually written.
Well, maybe ... if you keep trying ...
Every word you say is totally true, of course !
This site won't allow me to post this, and I can't think why ... I haven't sworn, or been rude. Hopefully, this will work !
Whats your excuse!!!
Very drole. Very original. I am busting my breeches here (chortle chortle chortle).
Most tasty!
I was left feeling a little hoarse though! (chortle chortle)
I think the taste for anything dead, within reason, dates back to the ancient times. There were never any horse graves after a great battle; the reason being that most were either used for food or for other perposes.
Regards,
Graham.
I would like to introduce you to the Bit bank international company www.Bitbankpk.com
We are manufacturers of very high quality Veterinary instruments & equestrian products including German silver horse bits, saddle ,Bridle, Halter, Stirrup, spurs, etc We would be pleased to send you a sample from our extensive range of equestrian products on request. Simply go to our web site and fill in the request form with your full address.
I am confident that you will be surprised at the quality of all our products and their competitive prices. We look forward to establishing a lasting business relationship with your highly respected company.
Kind regards
Ikram
( Bit Bank international )
www.Bitbankpk.com
Then they turned away going back to another part of the field. Next thing we heard, for a good 10 seconds, was a loud fart. I blamed the horse, my friend thought it was me! We laughed and we laughed 'til it ran down our legs. One of the funniest moments of my life. So thank you the 2 shire horses, you filthy creatures!
zeddy