{"id":1025,"date":"2019-08-07T09:06:45","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T08:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/?p=1025"},"modified":"2019-08-07T09:06:45","modified_gmt":"2019-08-07T08:06:45","slug":"hold-your-horses-how-to-pass-horses-safely-on-the-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/?p=1025","title":{"rendered":"Hold your horses! How to pass horses safely on the road"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You will probably see more horses on the road during the summer months, and more than likely they\u2019ll be on a country lane.  Here are IAM RoadSmart\u2019s tips on how best to pass a horse safely  on the roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> Horses are powerful animals and have extremely heightened senses.   They are also \u2018flight\u2019 animals so if they become scared, they will revert back to their natural instinct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/icm-tracking.meltwater.com\/link.php?DynEngagement=true&amp;H=btYXC68syxnIlVIaW0qBweEUHWPFwuN5EgnqFgPj0oiC1OMl9zi1RhN4qi9lHv983VD%2FSZqy8L3rBgFstW2%2F3VA244fV6NsafvLWmVb7faHFnr9ixbgsGFYKFVXbuaf8&amp;G=0&amp;R=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhs.org.uk%2Four-charity%2Fpress-centre%2Fnews%2F2019%2Fmarch%2Fdead-slow-2019&amp;I=20190807040118.00000317ebee%40mail6-113-ussnn1&amp;X=MHwxMDQ2NzU4OjVkNDliNGVkODE2NmRhY2YxZmU5OWU0YTs%3D&amp;S=PUnIXowz7ZJ4svrTX5QsvZk8dwx1pThmL700Un_M614\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The\n British Horse Society<\/a>&nbsp;has reported that nearly two horses are killed each week on UK roads. In last year alone, 87 horses and four people have been tragically killed.<br>\n<br>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<strong>If you\u2019re approaching a horse from behind:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li> Slow down and hold back. The rider will indicate whether it\u2019s safe to approach and overtake.  If they don\u2019t, make sure you stay at least three car lengths behind and be careful to not move into this space.  Be prepared to slow down further or even stop to protect yourself and the horse and rider.  Avoid any sudden movements and loud noises such as revving the engine and playing your music loudly.<\/li><li> Most riders, and occasionally their horses will be in hi-vis so you should see them and be able to slow down in good time.  Remember in the countryside they could be around any corner.<\/li><li> When passing the horse make sure you give plenty of space.  We recommend at least a car\u2019s width, and ensure it\u2019s done slowly.  Remember to always pass \u201cslow and wide\u201d and stick to 15mph or under.  Take a look at this video explaining it from the British Horse Society:\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/icm-tracking.meltwater.com\/link.php?DynEngagement=true&amp;H=btYXC68syxnIlVIaW0qBweEUHWPFwuN5EgnqFgPj0oiC1OMl9zi1RhN4qi9lHv983VD%2FSZqy8L3rBgFstW2%2F3VA244fV6NsafvLWmVb7faHFnr9ixbgsGFYKFVXbuaf8&amp;G=0&amp;R=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DVJfZM41oUOE&amp;I=20190807040118.00000317ebee%40mail6-113-ussnn1&amp;X=MHwxMDQ2NzU4OjVkNDliNGVkODE2NmRhY2YxZmU5OWU0YTs%3D&amp;S=v2XErfxcf5lihZtwsR5mg_TAbtNepZEqhX-TdXqO8Lc\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VJfZM41oUOE<\/a><\/li><li> If you\u2019re on a country road and there\u2019s not much room to manoeuvre around the horse, the rider may decide to trot towards the nearest lay by or grass verge.  Do not speed up to match their trot;  stay back and allow the rider to get to safety before overtaking.<\/li><li> Often when you see two riders it is for safety reasons.  This could be an inexperienced rider or nervous animal being coached along by a more experienced companion.  Give them some consideration.<\/li><li> Keep an eye on the rider.  They will often give signals asking you to slow down, stop or overtake.  They will acknowledge you and assist you to pass, but their main priority is keeping themselves  and the horse safe, so they\u2019ll be trying to keep their hands on the reins at all times.<\/li><li> Always accelerate gently to pass the horse and when moving away.  Both rider and horse may be inexperienced and nervous in traffic; do your bit to keep them safe.\u00a0<\/li><li> If there are grass verges, many riders will take the option to move themselves up onto them and allow you to pass.  Please continue to pass slowly as the noise of your engine can still spook the  horse.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<strong>If a horse is approaching on the other side of the road:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li> Slow down completely, and if you come to a stop consider putting on your hazard warning lights for anyone that may be behind you.  You may need to stop to allow the horse to pass you safely if it is safe to do so.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> Horse rider and IAM RoadSmart\u2019s digital content executive Jaimi McIlravey said: \u201cPlease continue to be careful when driving close to horses.  From personal experience, it\u2019s not always a car that will spook a horse.  You may be driving safely with enough gap between yourself and a horse and rider, however, something else may scare them, so be sure to stay alert.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\nIf you see any incidents involving a horse and rider please contact the police with any information you have.&nbsp; You\u2019re also able to report an incident through this website:&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/icm-tracking.meltwater.com\/link.php?DynEngagement=true&amp;H=btYXC68syxnIlVIaW0qBweEUHWPFwuN5EgnqFgPj0oiC1OMl9zi1RhN4qi9lHv983VD%2FSZqy8L3rBgFstW2%2F3VA244fV6NsafvLWmVb7faHFnr9ixbgsGFYKFVXbuaf8&amp;G=0&amp;R=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhs.org.uk%2Four-work%2Fsafety%2Freport-an-incident&amp;I=20190807040118.00000317ebee%40mail6-113-ussnn1&amp;X=MHwxMDQ2NzU4OjVkNDliNGVkODE2NmRhY2YxZmU5OWU0YTs%3D&amp;S=jriUEZLYaJxEXk7VBDRIShzztxSvZrYx6-P9QnN-cv8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.bhs.org.uk\/our-work\/safety\/report-an-incident<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You will probably see more horses on the road during the summer months, and more than likely they\u2019ll be on a country lane. Here are IAM RoadSmart\u2019s tips on how best to pass a horse safely on the roads. Horses&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1025\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guildford-iam.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}