Any Other Broke Horse Owners Out There? (merged)

Freebie_Hunter_2

So does this insurance pay out if a horse on a public road goes mental and damages a car???!!!!!

I know someone going through a legal battle in reference to this.

Here goes:

Nice sunny day, out for a drive. Driver in question VERY sensible and slows right down, giving horses plenty of space (although roads are meant for MOTOR VEHICLES and there are lots of places to go for horses round here).
Young girl in charge of horse didn't look like she was controlling it very well. Horse went mad, hopped about and kinda ran in a circle causing car in the other side of the road to swerve to prevent an accident. Horse rears up and stamps on side of car leaving the door totally buggered.
Older woman on other horse has a go at driver calling her a 'maniac' and blaming her for the incident.
Horses and rider CONTINUE along the road, ignoring driver.
Driver pulls over and police are called. Police turns up, stops riders and takes statements.

These riders have no insurance and the legal battle has been going on for nearly a year now. Door replaced at car owners expence and apssenger is now petrified of horses and has nightmares about being trampled on.

How do I know this?

Car driver= VERY good friend of mine
Passenger (who was in the back seat strapped in)= Her 5yr old daughter
Driver of car who had to swerve=ME!


It's good to see that there are some responsible owners who take out insurance and I hope it covers this.
Anyone else who has to use a public road by LAW has to have insurance ..... everyone but horse riders.
For the sake of the honest ones who DO have insurance, make it legal and bring the premiums down!

lisyloo

Anyone else who has to use a public road by LAW has to have insurance ..... everyone but horse riders

Cyclists and pedestrians do not have to have any insurance and CAN cause accidents (although mostly they are the victims rather than the other way round).

However there are occassionally cases where drunk pedestrians have caused accidents.
They can of course be sued through the courts for negligence as everyone is responsible for any negligent behaviour but of course you have to able to stop them, identify then and they have to have a means of payment as well (you won't get much joy sueing a homeless person with no means).

System

Try Karen Bush's 201 Handy hints for horse persons.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/187211900X/qid=1090001888/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_10_1/026-5905045-7988469

Going for £2.50 on amazon.

Avoid the 'more' bug if you can - we've got 10 horses here now and 2 more arriving from Spain tomorrow... Oops.

Also, I know for small animals especially, the supermarket sort of insurance is not recommended by vets (I am one). Usuallly much better with petplan or a reputed animal insurance company like that.

Regards

Freebie_Hunter_2

Cyclists and pedestrians do not have to have any insurance and CAN cause accidents

I agree, loo. Cyclists should also have SOME sort of insurance.
There are loads of them around here (again plenty of cycle paths but they choose the road) and the council have been really pressing the 'bike to work' thing.

They say that if you take your cycle then you cut down on pollution (true\) and ease traffic congestion (false). How many times have I been in a slow moving queue of traffic due to a cyclist being in the middle of the road!
There are lots of hills here, ya know!!

I nearly hit one the other day when pulling away from traffic lights. Checked both my side mirrors (I also ride a motorcycle so am extra vigilant) before moving and this cyclist came out of nowhere and cut right in front of me, causing me to swerve (no room to brake, had to get out of the way quick!).

Think I might build a flying machine!

lisyloo

again plenty of cycle paths but they choose the road

I have to say I don't think it's that easy for most.
I drive 15 miles to get to the local canal as I don't want to cycle on a major road.
That involves a lot of commitment i.e. getting up early, driving some distance and having the ability to carry bikes on the car.
I don't know of anything closer.

I'm sure it's different if you live in London or somewhere but cycle paths are not that common.

How many times have I been in a slow moving queue of traffic due to a cyclist being in the middle of the road!

I sometimes cycle in the middle of the road to block cars when I think it's not safe for them to pass (they may of course have different ideas).
I do move over as soon as I possibly can but I think I have as much right to be there as the car drivers and if they have to go slow for 20 seconds then I will assert myself and not let them pass.
Usually this is literally a matter of seconds and I don't see that as a big deal compared to my safety.

Cyclist and pedestrians have a right to use the roads as well (horse owners as well IF they can control their horses amongst traffic).
The fact that other road users are not going as fast as you does NOT mean that they don't have a right to be there.

this cyclist came out of nowhere and cut right in front of me, causing me to swerve

I agree that some cylists are total nutters.
I see lots going through red lights which is madness.
But there are also irresponsible motorcyclists and drivers and even pedestrians.

It certainly woudld be better if we had more cycle ways but at the moment it isn't in place.

Freebie_Hunter_2

We have loads of cycle paths, marked out cycle routes on the road and cycle tours that are all in walking distance here.
We are very lucky but they are frequently overlooked.

I was just pointing out the irony that the local council want to cut down traffic congestion by encouraging people to take their cycles yet it seems to cause more problems!

As for me, I don't care for either. I ride my motorcycle so I have the best of both worlds! ;D
(but my mate wasn't impressed after skidding on horse !!!!!! and ending up in the hedge! They were going at a sensible speed but hit it on a corner)

lisyloo

I was just pointing out the irony that the local council want to cut down traffic congestion by encouraging people to take their cycles yet it seems to cause more problems!

Yes, ideally it would be better (for both) if the cycle paths were not on the roads.
I use the canal towpaths.
We have to watch out for dogs, pedestrians and ducks but much safer and nicer than cars.
Disused railways, canals etc make great places.

kittengirl

Think its now compulsory to have public liability insurance on horse insurance now. Seems to be cover for 2.5m on these.

Makes sense, cos horses are unpredictable and if your car is damaged then its only right that the rider should pay on their insurance. Only if the driver wasn't being a total prat at the time though.

Travelqueen

We got an old horse for free through the blue cross - worth checking out if you have somewhere suitable to keep it as they WILL check frequently that you are looking after him/her properly.

Also, don't keep horses on their own, as pack animals they need company whether this is a donkey (though some horses really don't like donkeys!) or even a goat, otherwise they can get depressed and develop bad habits to amuse themselves when they're alone. 12 might be excessive though... (12 Rick!?)

TQ

Travelqueen

http://www.bluecross.org.uk/content/services/3_2horses_loan.html