Road Safety
Every time you ride on a road, you are putting your life, your horses' lives, and the lives of other road users at risk. Roads, especially highways, are not designed with horses and riders in mind. Cars are dangerous and horses are unpredictable, and add in drivers that rarely see horses on the road and probably don't know how to react when they do and you have a nightmare combination.
You as a horserider have as much right to be on the road as a car or a bicycle. Australian road rules vary from state to state, but they are all clear: horses have right of way at all times and cars must obey the road rules by overtaking safely, giving way and following the directions of the rider. In theory, this works to keep everyone safe. In reality, few drivers have ever seen a horse on the road, and even fewer will know the actual law.
Make yourself visible - put hi-vis on your horse, especially the pack horse. Don't ride at night, in heavy rain, or misty conditions. High winds also make it extremely dangerous to ride on any road, as neither you nor your horses can hear approaching vehicles.
Use vast amounts of both caution and common sense whenever riding on a road. Stop and turn your horses to face large trucks or strange shaped machinery. Be ready to plunge into thick vegetation or down into a ditch to avoid dangerous situations. Try to avoid highways and major sealed roads. Riding on unsealed country roads is a pleasant experience, with traffic being both less in volume and more considerate in attitude, with the extra advantage that people are usually in less of a hurry and have time to stop and chat. Meeting a truck on a back road is a totally different experience to meeting one doing 110km/h on a highway. People are much more polite on country roads. I found there were often minor tracks and motorbike trails running along the verges of highways which make life so much easier and much safer.
Personally I had no negative experiences of people deliberately behaving dangerously or trying to intimidate myself or the horses, but I have heard it happening. I did have several experiences where this occured through negligence or lack of thought on the behalf of drivers’. A common theme was people overtaking too fast and/or too close. Another somewhat surprising behaviour that would often freak the horses out was when a car, out of politeness and consideration, would slow down right behind us and then proceed to creep along at walking pace right in the horses’ blind spot. This actually caused them quite a bit of anxiety - it is definitely better if cars overtake in a safe manner, or follow well behind.
My personal gripe was the “Good on'ya honk.” This is a little excited toot from a car as they pass you, having no ill-intent and meaning to express surprise and excitement. Whoever thought it to be a good idea to honk your horn at an animal as a way of expressing solidarity…. All I can say is, seriously?!
So remember that regardless of the road rules, whenever you set four hooves to the road, you are firmly in the domain of the automobile, and had better act accordingly!
GETTING YOUR HORSE BOMB-PROOF IN TRAFFIC
Firstly, no horseis bomb-proof. Always be ready for either of your horses to take fright, knowing that one panicking horse will probably cause the other to panic too. BUT there are ways to desensitise horses to traffic.
If just starting out, put your horses in a narrow paddock next to a highway or major road for a few days. Even just take them to a busy verge to graze for a few hours a day. This will familiarise them with the sound and sight of varied traffic, and most importantly, will teach them that they do not need to react to every passing vehicle.
Ride along safe verges beside busy roads to get your horses used to riding with passing traffic. Ride on minor roads, where there will be fewer cars but they will be passing closer.
Horses get used to what they are exposed to rapidly. Providing your horse hasn't had a bad experience, it won't be long before he is confident even in heavy traffic.
