Caution; Horse and rider

Having not lived in the UK for 12 years, I’ve got used to the small amount of traffic on French country roads and taken it for granted – until a situation makes you aware of it again and you realise how lucky you are.

As I’ve previously blogged, "Ras"- my young Arab horse - can now be ridden, and he needs to get out and about to see new things.  I was slightly apprehensive about taking him out on the roads, as although most people slow down, a lot of locals know my other big bay horse ‘Sunny’ and that he isn't bothered by anything.

So I decided to wear my hi-viz vest with an 'A' stuck on it. In France, newly qualified drivers have to have an ‘A - apprentissage’ decal on the back of their car, so I doubled up and had one on the front and back.  Of course this made all the locals laugh, and when out on Ras they’d stop me (which is what I wanted) and ask why I was wearing my learner plates, not realising that Ras was not Sunny (both being bays) – though Sunny is actually taller and (much!) wider.

After chatting about why we need an ‘A’, I explain that even if the car doesn’t scare the horse, a bird zooming out of the hedge at the same time might make the horse might jump sideways into the road. For good measure, I add some other comments about how fast drivers from other departments go and how they don't understand that horses are unpredictable. This of course get lots sage nods and tut tutting of agreement from our locals – you’ll find the French very loyal to their departments!

Obviously word got around - "look out for the mad English lady with apprentissage stickers and her little brown horse". Our locals have been great, sometimes pulling over into a ditch when barely in view, turning the engine off and waiting and waiting and waiting. I then pull up alongside, thank them profusely and tell them how grateful I am - and how clever they were knowing which horse I was on (of course I do have a gigantic red A on my vest!).  ‘It’s nothing’ they reply, then tell me how they’ve told their neighbours and the postman (who got informed about ‘the situation’ at least a dozen times).  In return I thank them yet again, tell them how kind and thoughtful they were and off we wander.

When I’m out on Sunny they still slow down, but make a gesture to indicate that they have seen that it is the BIG bay - (well I assume the gesture with the hand held high means this!) and they are safer to pass.  And I now have a guardian in the form of our new horse dog ‘Lola’. The proud owner of a hi-viz pink vest of her own, she runs ahead, rather like the man running in front of a motorised vehicle with a red flag.

I think it’s our responsibility as horse riders to explain to drivers what could happen - and how easily it’s prevented by stopping and letting the horse go by. We always need to be grateful for any driver’s understanding and in these small communes word gets around. I can now proudly say our commune and its surrounding neighbourhood is suitably horse trained - although there’s room for improvement. I still need to explain to one elderly gentleman that whilst slowing right down is good, beeping your horn at the same time as a greeting is less so!