The New Forest is a beautiful place - that is why you have come here, possibly on holiday. Its wide open spaces, gentle lawns and mysterious glades are a magnet for visitors from all over the world - 21 million of them each year in fact. The excesses of modern life - building, population explosion, increased mobility, these have all added to the pressures on the New Forest, and the horse has had to adapt to new conditions in a way that would not have been envisaged even 20 years ago.
The number of cars and cycles visiting the New Forest have increased dramatically in recent years, and now that cycles are allowed on the Forest itself there is no-where for the horse to go to get away from wheeled traffic. Most horses make every effort to adapt to modern living and it is to their credit and the trust they have in their riders and owners that accidents are not even more common. The following may be helpful so that we can all live and enjoy the New Forest in safety together: -
An equine cannot see directly in front or behind. He has bilateral vision; that is he sees to either side of him. If you approach from behind or in front, the first he will see of you is when you cross the angle of his vision.
Modern cycles are very quiet; please call out from some distance away to announce your presence and ask if you can come alongside to pass.
Many groups of cyclists pass a horse and rider to both sides, - if he is alarmed there is nowhere for the horse to escape to. Please pass to one side only, stay together and give as much room as you can. If need be, let the rider get into a safe place before passing. You know what it feels like when riding your cycles in traffic - imagine what it would be like
if your cycle were alive and felt threatened by everything around it!
Please stay together in your group, at least whilst passing a horse. He may be happy at 1 or 2 cycles swishing past, but 3, 4 and 5 and more can trigger the flight response.
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Innocent actions can spook horses!
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When riding on the Forest gravel tracks be aware that a tyre can throw up a stone very easily and can cause cuts and bruises and even blindness if it hits the eye of horse or rider.
The advent of cycles onto the Forest itself has become an additional hazard for all Forest users. Walkers and children too are alarmed by cycles whizzing past as top speed. Please keep to the designated tracks and allow horses the time to adjust to this new danger.
In a vehicle, when passing a horse, please use brakes and gears to slow down to no more than 15 miles an hour. Give as much room as you can and pass only if it is safe to do so. If the rider asks by word or signal not to pass, it may be that he or she can see a hazard further down the road or feel that the horse is not settled.
Please be patient - it would be better to be a few moments late than to damage your car or kill a horse.
Please be aware that you can hardly hear a car engine from the cocooned safety of the inside of a car - outside it is very different and brakes can squeal very loudly. Tyres too can sound very different from the back of a horse, especially in wet weather.
If you are towing a caravan, never forget that caravans are wider than the towing vehicle and even if you have given enough room for the vehicle to pass, the caravan will be closer to the horse.
Caravans are usually a bright white colour. It can upset a horse to have a wall of white suddenly move alongside. They are also usually built on one axle which means that they appear to sway, even if the towing vehicle feels steady. A horse can feel threatened by a car closely followed by a rocking, shiny, white caravan and his reaction could possibly be to back away at speed or to turn and bolt into the path of oncoming traffic.
Driven horses are usually blinkered to prevent them seeing their own vehicle. This means that they can hear but not see. When overtaking a driven horse, please allow sufficient length before moving over. A horse and cart is always longer than you think, especially if you are towing a caravan.
Do not accelerate away as soon as you are level with the horse. The sudden change in engine sound can frighten. No matter how well trained or placid the horse, he is not a machine and his reaction is likely to be to run away from a perceived threat.
It is for safety that riders ride two abreast along a road; a driver is more able to see two together more clearly than one which may not be so visible in the shadows at the side of the road. A driver approaching around a left hand curve or bend in the road will see the outside horse from further back giving more time to brake or slow down. It may be that the inside horse is young or nervous.
A vehicle in collision with a horse is quite likely to suffer extensive damage - to be a write-off and movable only on a breakdown vehicle. The horse, if it breaks a leg, cannot be put in plaster like a human, indeed it cannot be mended at all. Even a collision where there is little outward sign of damage can injure internal organs beyond repair. The only option is to destroy it. This, whether by a vet, agister or local slaughterman, will be with a gun as it is the most efficient method of administering death. If your car is immovable, and you cannot leave the scene of the accident, you will probably have to witness the horse's (and its rider's) distress and its cries and its death.
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There are on average 3,000 horse related accidents each year –
that’s a lot of anguish, grief and misery.
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Please don’t you be the cause of someone's beloved companion ending its life on the roadside, or being too frightened to be safely ridden - enjoy the Forest, but have a care for the equine population.
The NFEA and its members would always wish to acknowledge courteous drivers and cyclists, but please do not be offended if an acknowledgement is not immediately forthcoming. It may be that the rider does not
wish to take a hand from the rein, or is concentrating on their pony's body language.
It is also possible to miss a rider’s nod or smile because of the angle at which drivers observe a horse.
Please continue to be courteous, because the next rider may have a young, nervous or inexperienced horse - or be young and inexperienced themselves.
The NFEA has campaigned successfully for many years to keep the unrestricted use of New Forest free of charge. If restrictions are introduced, it will inevitably force many riders onto the public highways with its attendant risks. No rider takes their much-loved animal on the roads for fun and if there were a choice, would always prefer on off-road place to ride.
This information was compiled by the
New Forest Equestrian Association. The Association was formed in 1993 to resist proposals to charge horse riders to ride in the New Forest and to restrict access to many areas. These proposals would, in turn, have opened the floodgates for charges for everyone including walkers and cyclists.
Please support us by joining the
New Forest Equestrian Association
Download Membership Application Form MS Word Doc
Download this page MS Word Doc
For more details please contact either of the secretaries:
Hilary Doe,
Brackenmead,
Wootton Farm Road,
Wootton, New Milton, Hants BH25 5TS Tel: (01425) 619161, or
Ros Gibbins
14 Danehurst New Road,
Tiptoe, Lymington, Hants SO41 6FW (01590) 682856.
New Forest Equine Directory
www.nfed.co.uk
Ros Gibbins March 2000 – Drawing by Chris Aldhous
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