Motorcycle Forum Discusses Horses and Riders

[Mike Matson]

Refreshing to see this discussion. Some good people there.

http://www.hdforums.com/forum/off-to...rom-horse.html

[Plainandtall]

I started a thread on a different motorcycle forum and like the thread you linked- there is a mixed bag. There are an amazing number of people who think that the woman failed to keep her horse under control and that she had no business anywhere near a road if her horse would spook at a motorcycle accelerating straight toward it.

[OneGrayPony]

I took a motorcycle safety course last fall, and the guy running it said that he would never throw a leg over a horse - wayyyy too dangerous. It made me giggle, because I'd been scared to ride a motorcycle before then. Now I love my bike!

I think many motorcycle riders don't genuinely understand horses. They ride something that is generally controllable, and a LOT of the training has an emphasis on "not overriding your headlights". Unfortunately, they fail to understand the equid and how unpredictable they really are.

[hundredacres]

This post cracked me up:
"While at the recent Sturgis rally we rode thru (I believe it was) Nemo and stopped at a little store for a break. Next to the store was a corral with a couple of horses in it. I thought they looked a bit odd and walked closer to see, found that they were wearing some head covers that essentially blinded them to anything more than a few feet away. We realized the purpose for the covers was probably to keep the horses from spooking so easily with all the bikes around."

Yep, we blind our horses to keep them calm. That's what those masks are for.


Fortunately most posts are written by intelligent people but I'm stunned that a couple of them feel like horses shouldn't be on the road. The same argument could be made for motorcycles. Or pedestrians. Don't they realize that?

[up-at-5]

In my area, the motorcyclists are amazing, they always slow down well ahead of us, and well past us before they hit the throttle. Always a huge waive and thanks from us when they pass. Now, the cyclists are a whole other can of worms.

[Anne FS]

This post cracked me up:
"While at the recent Sturgis rally we rode thru (I believe it was) Nemo and stopped at a little store for a break. Next to the store was a corral with a couple of horses in it. I thought they looked a bit odd and walked closer to see, found that they were wearing some head covers that essentially blinded them to anything more than a few feet away. We realized the purpose for the covers was probably to keep the horses from spooking so easily with all the bikes around."

Did someone respond to explain the fly masks? I hope so, and I hope they did it without snarking.

[2horseygirls]

Did someone respond to explain the fly masks? I hope so, and I hope they did it without snarking.

Yes - there was a clear, non-snarky response a few comments later; there are several folks on that forum who appear to own horses as well as motorcycles, so they were able to correct the misperception quickly

Loved this comment!

Grampa was a wise man who once told me that if I was gonna drive a car I had to remember that God made feet before man made motors and motors should always stop for feet. Two or four they're still feet.

[hundredacres]

repeat! delete,.

[downen]

Harley Davidsons suck. They are way louder than any motorcycle needs to be, and they make them that way on purpose. My late event horse used to freak out IN THE TRAILER when one was even alongside!

Just my humble opinion.

[caffeinated]

I haven't ridden my horse on an actual road, just alongside (only even "close" to the road for a very short distance coming back to the barn from trails), and my experience has always been he was fine with the loud motorcycles. On the flip side, bicycles were always worse because he couldn't really hear them coming. If he could hear things coming from a distance and I wasn't freaking out, he was always fine. I always wave to motorcyclists when I'm riding, whether they slow down or try to go quiet or not - I figure we're both out riding and getting some wind in our faces for the same reasons

Impressed with the discussion over there, it seems pretty reasonable. Though I always wonder how people expect a horse to get trained for roads/traffic without actually going out and *doing* it....

[OneGrayPony]

On the flip side, bicycles were always worse because he couldn't really hear them coming. If he could hear things coming from a distance and I wasn't freaking out, he was always fine. I always wave to motorcyclists when I'm riding, whether they slow down or try to go quiet or not - I figure we're both out riding and getting some wind in our faces for the same reasons

We lucked out and had a pasture near the road at my old barn, where loads and loads of bicycles would go by, including one guy who wore one of those really weird wind-proof...stretchy things (does anyone have any idea what they are called?) so my horses never batted an eye.

[quietann]

My horse is pretty used to motorcycles (her barn is at the intersection of two busy roads that have lots of motorcycle, ambulance, etc. traffic), but if some a****** did what that motorcyclist did, I cannot guarantee that she wouldn't spook. The motorcyclist was so clearly in the wrong and I hope they catch him.

We regularly encounter dirt bikes and ATVs in the state forest. I actually do not want them to stop and turn off their engines, because the sudden noise of a loud engine starting up is far more spooky than one just going by. I will step her off the trail and into the woods, perpendicular to the dirt road so she can see what's coming and watch it go by.

[Liberty]

That was a good read! Definitely nice to see that the positive posts far outnumbered the negative ones (some of negatives which appeared to be due to the fact that the poster didn't bother to read the article).

[beowulf]

sad to say, i've never met a respectful motorcyclist.. which is bizarre to me, because all the bike-enthusiasts i know in person also own horses..

when i was a teenager i was riding my horse along the trial and there is one part where you have to cross the road to get to the other side of the trail. in recent years the road has gotten busier, but back then it was fairly quiet -- used mostly to get from out of town to the town center, very woody area with not a lot of residence. i used to cross it no problem, would halt the horse and "listen it" out -- and then walk calmly across.

well, once, my horse became unnerved because a tractor trailer (which has no business on a residential road like that anyway) with chickens on it came screaming by - we had never encountered a trailer and he just froze up and gave it the googly eyeball as it passed. we would have been FINE, if it was not for the a$$hole in the bike behind the trailer. the man on the bike slowed down to about 5mph for about 200ft and elected to watch us as my horse's confidence clearly and obviously left him (so was now slowly approaching us) saw my horse who was in a tittering fit (who was now eyeballing the bike like it was a holy terror) and then REVVED his engine (i dont know how he didnt blow the transmission) and FLEW past us.

horse and i parted ways, a van behind the bike that saw the whole thing picked me up as my horse went galloping down towards the center of town and the interstate.....

needless to say, we found a few things we needed to work on!

[SarEQ]

I feel bad that some of them have run into disrespectful riders... But at the same time, I wonder if some of those riders "yelling" at them to turn off the motorcycle were riders desperately trying to control the horse and make themselves heard over the engine.

Or the person asking why riders don't wave back... They probably don't want to take hands off the reins, or perhaps some are jerks.

I don't get those blaming the horse rider or defending the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist PASSED A LINE OF CARS and crossed the double yellow. That's illegal!

And if someone reved an engine behind me, I'd jump, and I'm not a giant prey animal.

[OneGrayPony]

I feel bad that some of them have run into disrespectful riders... But at the same time, I wonder if some of those riders "yelling" at them to turn off the motorcycle were riders desperately trying to control the horse and make themselves heard over the engine.

I had to yell at a truck one time that came screaming up the lane. A good deal of it was just to be heard over his engine. Of course, the fact that he didn't respond made me think that he couldn't hear me...so I yelled louder...which then made me look like the screeching idiot. I did apologize though.

[PRS]

My horses are absolutely fine with motorcycles. My son races sports bikes and his shop is right next to my barn. The noise doesn't bother them. They aren't bothered by passing cars, trucks or motorcycles usually. What bothers them is the car or motorcycle creeping past realllly realllly slow. I realize that the driver is trying not to spook my horse and I really appreciate the effort but it creeps them out

[Sandy M]

Well, let me see. A few years ago, a rider heading back from a trail ride, alongside a two-lane residential road, leading into/out of the nearby state park. The speed limit close to the Park gate is 15 mph, and after a couple of miles it goes to 25 mph - still fairly slow. A couple of asshats came down the road from the summit at speeds in excess of 55 mph, lost control coming around a curve, and one biker laid his bike down...taking out the horse and rider in the process, knocking the horse off the trail along the shoulder into a ditch. The rider managed to get clear. The horse had two broken legs. There was some delay trying to get a vet or even CHP/Police to the accident (accident! hah!) site. Local rancher located within the Park came down with a rifle and did the deed. So...motorcycles. Well, I'm sure some riders are considerate and thoughtful, but there are a lot who are not, ones who think spooking horses is an amusing pastime. This horse - an experienced endurance horse - did not spook - he was taken out from behind while quietly walking along the shoulder trail. Youngish horse, too - 9, 10, 11 years. I won't use that Park access any more. It leaves you too vulnerable to idiots, even if your horse is quiet and experienced.

[SarEQ]

I'm also laughing at the "if she was a good rider, she wouldn't have fallen" thing.

Olympic riders get tossed. Everyone falls. Perhaps this lady was a crap rider. Perhaps she was good but not paying attention. Perhaps she was good and paying attention the entire ride but for one moment her attention slipped. Perhaps she was good and paying attention but when 1000 pounds of horse left she had no chance.

I think we've all had times where we've seen riders stick major spooks and times where suddenly the horse and rider are fifty feet apart and no one is quite sure how it happened.

[beowulf]

My horses are absolutely fine with motorcycles. My son races sports bikes and his shop is right next to my barn. The noise doesn't bother them. They aren't bothered by passing cars, trucks or motorcycles usually. What bothers them is the car or motorcycle creeping past realllly realllly slow. I realize that the driver is trying not to spook my horse and I really appreciate the effort but it creeps them out

this has been my issue too!! the horses are fine with things when they mind their own business.. ie, a bike going down the road, a carriage going past, two adults in a baby stroller with umbrellas waltzing past.... but good god, if they stop and gawk i'm on my way to embracing the dirt and my horse is already in another county..