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As a biker I do not understand why horses are allowed on the road. Horse riders are for ever complaining about vehicles not giving them room, yet they allow their animals to foul the road.
All you can do is hope and pray...
Don't they realise that when other vehicles, which pay road tax to drive on the public highway, hit this crap it creates a major danger. I ride to work 20 miles a day through country villages (the most direct route for me). One of these villages is the home of one of the country's major polo clubs, along the main road through the village there are many blind bends. You are riding along at a safe speed when you lean into a bend and there it is in the middle of the road, worse than ice, where do you go? All you can do is hope and pray.
Why is it in this day and age where people are fined £500 for letting their dogs foul the verges, is it that horses are allowed on the road? Why don't they ride around with a shovel on the back of their saddle so that they can remove their own crap.
On top of this, especially near these polo grounds or hunting sites you have the typical upper class country folk who ride along and look at you as if you were the person who should not be on the road. Not so long back one of these stuck up b*****s decided that a friends car, which had slowed down to overtake her horse passed to close and smacked it with her whip causing extensive damage. Funny she hadn't any insurance and was not taking the blame and the Police don't accept it as criminal damage.
In conclusion, why is it that a horse which is not completely under the control of its rider, has a brain of its own, which does not have to pay any insurance or tax to go on the public highway, is allowed to leave its excrement on the road?
By: Duggy
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" ON THE FOOTPATH !!!!! " eventually some intervention from the parish council did stop that, but she always makes a point of NEVER riding near her own home so does not have to put up with the piles of unpleasant dung all over the road , although it is not as toxic as dog poo, it still contains mites and in some cases WORMS ! possibly even traces of toxic worm treatment.
In some cases Dogs are attracted to it, and if eaten, can make them quite Ill.
There are plenty of Bridle paths and fields in the local area, and feel riders should be legally obliged to use them, as opposed to public roads.
I was in Wentworth several years ago, and witnessed a horse rearing as it was ridden past a soft top sports car, causing the rider to almost fall off but her leg did go through the roof of the car, putting a large hole in it and bending the frame, she made no attempt to trace the owner, and got quite nasty as she realised I had taken a image of her and had dropped a note with my details through the damaged roof for the car owner to get back to me.
The car owner did contact me ( A man in his 70's), and said on the return to his car, the horse rider, her husband and a collection of "Heavies" were waiting, they tried to intimidate him until he told them that he was retired magistrate. It did go to court but at the last minute, reluctantly,paid him cash, but made life so unpleasant up to that point. Time for things to change now....
For that matter I've never seen a diaper for horsession. . Maybe that's another interesting equestrian in the pipeline.
As to how a bridle whip canot cause extensive damage to a car is anyones guess on that obvious lie. I'm guessing the car must of either been made of paper mache or so old it was in fact made exclusively of rust held together by a coat of very thin paint and shouldn't of been on the road.
For me, as a rider of motorbikes and bicycles, it's not an issue of road tax and rights of way, it's a simple matter of respecting others and their choices - And their right to enjoy their preferred past-times safely. I too live in a rural area and have spoken to a number of local horse riders and in every case they were unaware of the potential hazard that manure presents. I'm sure I've not seen any spades carried, but I have seen one or 2 instances of these local riders return to the crime with spades clear up. Not every time, but it's a start, without laws or risk of sanction.
Because of this attitude, I always rev my engine, shout and turn up the wireless set in the car as loud as it will go when I roar past them. Bloody things.
Headblock
It is an offence for anyone to allow any solid or liquid matter to be deposited onto the road surface. Allowing spillages to happen can be potentially dangerous to motorists and pedestrians, and possibly hazardous to the environment.
Where offenders can be identified, they will be instructed to take whatever steps are necessary to restore the road condition. The police may be notified and, if those steps are not taken, the police may consider taking further action.
End of discussion on that, but the clip clops of this world won't acknowledge their responsibilities, or indeed the lack of them.