Horse Riding Incidents Rise 29% On Roads

When out riding your horse, it’s important to be wearing high visibility clothing especially in an unlit area, as more horse and rider accidents are being caused due to careless drivers according to the BBC. 

Riding coach Stephanie Faulkner, who teaches at the Valley Farm Equestrian Centre, asks that drivers on the road take more care when approaching horses and slow their vehicles down.

A lot of drivers don’t realise that speeding past quickly can spook a horse and put  the horse and rider’s life at risk, by driving up slowly behind a horse you give it a heads up that you’re coming past therefore avoiding a potential accident.

There have been various incidents whilst the riding school have been teaching pupils out on the roads, for example on one occasion whilst out with a group of 10 students on horses, a motorcyclist didn’t slow down - instead driving past whilst holding his horn down the whole time.

Luckily in this situation, none of the horses were spooked, but if they had it could have been a very different situation. What drivers also don’t sometimes understand is that by speeding past they could be putting their own lives at risk says Faulkner. If a horse was to turn and hit in their car or motorcycle and go through a wind screen, it would undoubtedly cause unmeasurable damage and possibly prove fatal to the driver.

The British Horse Society has launched a campaign to tackle this dangerous issue and say that accidents on the road involving a horse and rider have increased by 29 per cent.