# riding on the road



## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

1. You need a super broke horse that won’t panic when vehicles blast by, honking their horns or revving their engines motorcyclists are great for that.

2. You need to be a confident rider who cN talk the horse down if it does have a panic attack.

3. You need to be a good enough rider to hold your seat if the horse does have a panic attack.

4. Pay attention to where you can safely move well off the road or get off, if any vehicle comes along that may scare even the calmest horse - like a dump truck pulling construction equipment, the garbage truck, a motorcycle, etc. I live on a one lane road and see more of that sort of traffic than is to my liking.

5. I ALWAYS rode with the traffic, never against it. Others may disagree but I never had any issues.


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## Caledonian (Nov 27, 2016)

I agree with the above you need a well trained, safe horse who'll listen to you when things go wrong. Also you need to be able to stay on and remain calm on a panicking horse.

I've always had to ride in very heavy traffic and I'd suggest:

never allowing your mind to wander, you need to be aware of what's happening at all times and never allow your horse to wander, it needs to be under control and listening to your aids;

learning hand signals so that you can 'talk' to drivers, although experience has taught me that they don't always comply or understand, but they're handy to know;

using full tack and not riding bareback/pad in a halter/headcollar;

learning the rules of the road and road signs if you're not old enough to drive ( I was very young when i first went out);

adding high viz clothes for you and your horse, even on bright days;

wearing a helmet but i understand that that's a choice and may not be part of your discipline;

trying to avoid really busy roads and work out where there are dangerous parts, such as blind corners;

riding with the traffic and keeping well in to the side;

if you ride on grass verges watch out for hidden ditches, wire and other rubbish;

if possible, asking a friend to join you for the first time, either on foot or on an experienced horse and have them walk/ride between you and the traffic; and,

always thank drivers who treat you with respect. It makes a huge difference.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

OP, your question is really broad, making it hard to answer. The type of road riding @Caledonian describes above is really different than the type of road riding I do in rural Vermont on dirt roads with limited traffic. Though I've also had the pleasure of riding in the middle of London, and "around the neighborhood" of paved roads in small town New Hampshire. So, there are some universal rules (expose your horse to traffic first, hi viz clothing, no headphones, safe horse, attentive rider, appropriate footwear for your horse, ALWAYS thank polite drivers), but some tips and tricks might depend on where you are. Tell us more about where you're riding, and also the experience you and your horse have with hacking out of an arena, and we're happy to help.

My favorite road to ride on:


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

I like the exercises in this video for helping to "road proof" a horse.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I grew up the same way @Caledonian did, so I relate and completely agree with all her comments.

The tween and teen part of my growing up years, I lived on a farm on a busy state highway in Ohio. I had to ride it to get to the county roads, which would sometimes have a smattering of pickup trucks thinking it was funny to make a horse spook. The Arab/Saddlebred I had raised from birth, got the hang of traffic a lot faster than he wanted and thankfully I was born wearing a “No-Fear” T-Shirt, because we had a few dicey moments with vehicles coming at us, intentionally

One thing we didn’t comment on that we should:

*Ditch the earphones!!!! *Nobody needs to be riding a horse at any time with music stuck in their ears, especially when going down a road.


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## Caledonian (Nov 27, 2016)

walkinthewalk said:


> I grew up the same way @Caledonian did, so I relate and completely agree with all her comments.
> 
> The tween and teen part of my growing up years, I lived on a farm on a busy state highway in Ohio. I had to ride it to get to the county roads, which would sometimes have a smattering of pickup trucks thinking it was funny to make a horse spook. The Arab/Saddlebred I had raised from birth, got the hang of traffic a lot faster than he wanted and thankfully I was born wearing a “No-Fear” T-Shirt, because we had a few dicey moments with vehicles coming at us, intentionally
> 
> ...



Earphones! I forgot about them! 

I've always ridden on a mix of roads as well, either along the main road to reach country lanes and tracks or crossing over.

It's our rural, single track, car width, twisty roads that worry me more than the main roads, as we're on the same line as the cars and there's limited room to get out of their way. Drivers tend to think that they're quiet and don't expect to meet anyone.


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## thepancakepony (Nov 13, 2020)

thank you everyone


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## Fuddyduddy1952 (Jun 26, 2019)

egrogan said:


> OP, your question is really broad, making it hard to answer. The type of road riding @Caledonian describes above is really different than the type of road riding I do in rural Vermont on dirt roads with limited traffic. Though I've also had the pleasure of riding in the middle of London, and "around the neighborhood" of paved roads in small town New Hampshire. So, there are some universal rules (expose your horse to traffic first, hi viz clothing, no headphones, safe horse, attentive rider, appropriate footwear for your horse, ALWAYS thank polite drivers), but some tips and tricks might depend on where you are. Tell us more about where you're riding, and also the experience you and your horse have with hacking out of an arena, and we're happy to help.
> 
> My favorite road to ride on:


Picture from heaven 

Sent from my SM-S205DL using Tapatalk


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## twhvlr (Jul 5, 2017)

Know your states laws for riding on the road. For instance, I live in Colorado and here is one that conflicts with some advice already given:
“Horses should be ridden on the right-hand side of the road, going with the flow of traffic, almost everywhere except Colorado, where riders must ride on the left.”


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

We ride the road daily going out we ride on right hand side. Horses better be used to all kinds of vehicles. And not spooky about vehicles going by them fast. 

My horse is pretty much unfazed by any traffic. Logging trucks, dump trucks an anything in-between. Had trucks go by with flapping tarps. Had ambulance go by with lights flashing an siren blasting. 

We deal with people who I Know hate our horses. An purposely speed up rev up engine or honk horn. 

If we are in doubt we get off and let whatever is scary go by. My horse if I'm on the ground he's usually ok. There are times there is no room to get off. So have to be absolutely sure, you can control your horse in a OH NO situation.


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

Apologize if my comment has been stated. I didn't read all replies as this new format is very uncomfortable. (Personal complaint)

If you are riding on pavement keep in mind that steel shoes slip easily. So jumps and jerks and slips can bring on a more serious situation. You need a well broke horse.
Be safe!


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## Fuddyduddy1952 (Jun 26, 2019)

What I'm thinking would be helpful is practice on a road with very little traffic first, have a friend ride by on a bicycle making noise then car blowing horn a bit. Sack the horse out one step at a time.

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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Adding on @Fuddyduddy1952's good advice about slow, intentional exposure: I started the process of getting my horse road safe not even mounted, but just handwalking with a halter and lead. Then handwalking with tack on, and mounting up somewhere along the way to ride home. Then riding out 1/4 mile before turning back, increasing distance over time and timing our outings around low traffic times (and avoiding garbage pickup day! 😉). 

Another "must have" that I'd add to the list is a horse that is reliable for mounting. I personally don't like to mount from the ground, so my horse has to be willing and reliable to stand for me to get on from any random object- rock, hillside, ditch, stump. I do get off and on somewhat frequently depending on what the traffic does. We have short sections of busy, paved roads with no shoulder that we sometimes have to be on, and I typically get off and walk those because visibility is very limited due to hills, and traffic is moving 40-5o mph.

Much scarier than any type of vehicle or equipment is loose dogs. Pop over to the trail riding thread where you can read a bunch of sobering stories about loose, aggressive dogs causing havoc on peoples' rides. Unfortunately these dog encounters happen way more often on roads than on trails.


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