Hacking on side of quiet road - safety tips?

[Serigraph]

This is probably a no brainer for most trail riders, but my horse and I are new at this. I want to get to a nice trail, but it is about 1.5 mile hack along roads to get there. The roads are quiet and have a nice large grass shoulder, some fields too, but I'm concerned about being several feet from the road should my horse spook. I don't have a truck and trailer, so if we are going to go this is the way. Oh and my horse is better alone for the most part then with another horse, so I'd be going alone. I have ridden him on the shoulder of the road for shorter periods and he is pretty good, although we have not met up with deer popping out or speeding trucks yet.

Any tips for riding close to the road? Like I said they are quiet roads, but occasionally the loud, fast, construction truck comes speeding by.

[War Admiral]

When in doubt, school for it!

Pay some kids to buzz you with bikes/4-wheelers/skateboards/anything else you might be likely to encounter.

Ask a friend to drive past you several times at varying speeds, maybe even (if it's safe) hit the brakes so they squeal.

When I was training Mr. Ex-A Circuit, the opportunity even came my way to ground drive him head-to-head with an 18 wheeler on a *very* narrow bridge. I had the guy change gears and roar! When Avery aced *that* one I figured he was road-safe! :D

The more weird stuff you school for, the safer you will be! Good luck!

[beth heffelfinger]

That was all very god advice. Remember horses pick up on our nerves make sure you breath in then out . (slowly) Don't look at the cars if we look the horse could think there is somthing to worry about.

[War Admiral]

That was all very god advice. Remember horses pick up on our nerves make sure you breath in then out . (slowly) Don't look at the cars if we look the horse could think there is somthing to worry about.

Yesyesyes, excellent advice, too. HRH Avery is a TB & so sensitive he's nearly a mind-reader. I've learned over the years that if confronted w/ a scary object on the trail, the best thing to do is breathe deep, sing, and focus PAST the scary object somewhere. It sounds completely stupid but I'm so *nearly* convinced he can read minds that I actually try to focus my thoughts on whatever our ultimate objective is - "visit mares", "barn/food", whatever. :lol::lol::lol:

[Kellye]

Here's a good tip. Always watch what's on the side of the road that may spook your horse INTO the road. A barking dog, kids running up to the fence in their front yard, lawn mowers hitting something that makes a sudden loud noise, etc. Don't only watch what's on the road, but what's on the side of the road that could cause your horse to spook INTO traffic. Also, be aware of what is behind you that could spook him forward.

I once had a guy wait politely to dump his lawn mower clippings until I passed. But he didn't wait long enough and dumped them BEHIND my horse's field of vision, and he spooked forward away from the scary thing behind him.

Just remember to keep your eyes open in ALL directions, not just ahead of you.

[REINRIDER]

Excellent advice so far. Take as much advantage of the wide spaces as possible. I always ride on the left side just because I like for my horse to see the car coming closest to him instead of it coming from behind. If the vehicle coming (especially the one from behind) is not slowing down or is louder or making those god awful flapping sounds, I stop and turn my horse to face it.

I had a reeeaaally close call years ago as a teenager on a main highway. Tractor trailer, curve, no shoulder, and my well meaning but not so bright at the moment friend in her car on the opposite side of the road. The truck came around the curve and saw her on one side, and decided to lock the air brakes. Thank God I was riding on the left side of the road. My horse jumped about 10 ft in the air and was at a dead run for almost a mile & a half before I could or had room to slow him. I was about 15 at the time. The driver didn't know what to do as he passed us so I just waved him on just to get him outta there! I laugh today thinking about how that scene looked! Thank goodness we had the extra space between us and he didn't jump out in front of the truck. We're also lucky there wasn't another vehicle coming from the other direction.

We'd ridden this area a thousand times and my horse was cool with everything. Unfortunately, the combination of squeeling tires, air brakes hissing and downshifting was just a little more than he could stand.

[BarbeyGirl]

I'm in the process of road-training my greenie Arab. I keep a rope halter on him over his bridle, with an 8-foot lead tied around his neck. Usually, we just ride calmly along as cars go by. If a truck and trailer, motorcycle, or other "scarier" vehicle is coming along, we turn to face it (on the opposite side of the road whenever possible). If I or my horse is uncomfortable with a particular approaching vehicle, I calmly dismount and lead him along as if nothing were out of the ordinary. Next time, the same vehicle is less likely to make us nervous. Just remember, better safe than sorry, and there's no shame in dismounting. :yes:

[Gracie]

If you plan to ride alone, be sure to tell someone before you leave what your planned route is and how long you plan to be out on the road. If something does happen and you don't show up, they can put out the alarm for you.

[Huntertwo]

I ride a very short distance on the road also. I always face traffic to see what is coming at me.

Its a pretty horsey neighborhood and you can tell who the horse people are...They are the ones who always slow down. :yes:

I try to pick up on my left rein, just in case she decides to scoot to the road. I don't tighten it, just have it a little shortened.

And I usually try to give people a *hint* to slow down by stopping my mare and glancing over my shoulder. I think I may have trained her too well as we were on the road today, a car came by and she immediately stopped and stood on her own...:lol::lol: Love those smart ponies... :)

[QuzqosMa]

I believe that the law states you must ride WITH the flow of traffic, maybe check with your respective states. My understanding is if you're riding against the flow of traffic, and you/your horse causes an accident, you may be held liable (on top of the unpleasantness of you or your horse being injured or worse). Even on a quiet country road.

I have to do a lot of road-riding to get to our trails, and thankfully my current Arabian is pretty unflappable, but I agree with the advice to keep an eye on the roadSIDE for possible scary events. Something I learned from a Mounted Policeman was, if something possibly scary is coming up behind you on the road (say, a dump truck or a pick-up hauling a big rattley trailer), is to turn the horse's head AWAY from the road...he won't be able to see what's coming up behind him, and it distracts him from worrying if he was. Plus if he's going to spook, at least he's pointed the right direction, lol!

[Margaret Campbell]

I would do the ride in segments i.e 1/4 or 1/2 the ride at a time, until your horse is desensitised to all the scenery -flora and fauna, and you are sure he doesn't mind traffic. It would help if you do this after working him/warming him up for a bit. i.e don't throw the saddle on him and head for the road. I would also invest in a flourescent yellow vest and saddle blanket and anything else to increase the chances of a motorist seeing you. It is not surprising what a person can't see when they are driving and talking on a cell phone/yelling at their kids in the back seat/putting on their mascara etc. Plus if you will be riding anywhere near hunters, you don't want to be mistaken for a deer. :)

[Huntertwo]

An orange vest is a very good idea. Not only for traffic, but now that hunting season is here, I always wear mine.

Plus if you walk through shaded spots it does make pedestrian or horse/rider harder to see.

[ChocoMare]

I also like these: http://blackdogfarm.biz/ModShop/ShowProduct/39667/

They have reflective tape on the side that's really effective. It attaches with little loops of velcro and stays put. Nicest of all: all of the products are hand made and very well done and reasonably priced.

Oh, I LOVE THEIR EAR NETS! In fact, my Percheron, Tank, is the model on her website! ;)

[DairyQueen2049]

There is no way to ride safely down a road, same as there are no safe fences. :no:

Yes, people can and do ride down roads many times with no accidents, but it only takes 1 careless driver (how many do you see every day changing the CD, on the Cell tell, etc), 1 small spook, 1 spin....

It can happen so fast you don't know its coming.

You can not control the drivers, deer, every move your horse makes. Sooner or later if you go down the road an accident will happen.

There are no safe ways to ride roads.

There are no safe fences. :cry: