I love riding my horses; with friends, alone, it doesn't matter. I would usually prefer to ride in pastures or on trails in the woods...but, right now, most of my riding options are limited to roads. The roads are little two lanes with large areas of grass on both sides so staying out of the way of traffic usually isn't an issue. However, over the last few months, I have learned that not everyone knows how to behave when they pass someone riding a horse. You have to remember, not all horses are "bomb proof" and not all riders are experienced. No one wants a horse running down the road with its rider on the ground behind it........so, with that being said, here is a list of things NOT to do when you see a horse and rider on the road.
1) DONT HONK! This should be common sense......a car honk can make a person jump when they aren't expecting it....imagine what a horse thinks. If you want to say hi, wave or slow down and talk. Honking will only piss off the rider and potentially spook the horse.
2) Slow down. No, Im not in the middle of the road. At the same time, nobody wants a car flying by them a few feet away. So slow down for second, it won't kill you.
3) Move over if you can. On the rare occasion that we have to walk on the white line or right by the road, move over when you pass if its possible. Most of the roads horses ride down aren't overly populated so traffic usually isn't an issue. On the off chance the horse decides to move or jump to the side....it would be better if there wasn't a car a foot away.
4) Do not dust us out on gravel roads. Obviously, if you fly past someone on dirt.....they re gonna get covered in dirt and potentially have gravel flung on them. Getting dirty doesn't bother me, but the chance that something cld hit my horse does. So please, just slow down.
5) Give us a wave and enjoy your day :)
