{"id":1284,"date":"2014-07-10T15:37:03","date_gmt":"2014-07-10T22:37:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/?p=1284"},"modified":"2022-08-01T15:35:46","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T22:35:46","slug":"and-along-came-a-rider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/2014\/07\/10\/and-along-came-a-rider\/","title":{"rendered":"And along came a rider"},"content":{"rendered":"

When humans and horses collide, problems can arise<\/strong><\/p>\n

Source of this article: The Thousand Oaks Acorn, July 10, 2014<\/a><\/p>\n

Gorgeous weather and longer days bring outdoor enthusiasts in greater numbers to the city\u2019s many trails, streets and pathways. Skateboarders, bicyclists, hikers, dog walkers and horseback riders alike all have to share the trails, but not everyone is aware of how to do so safely.<\/p>\n

Aubree Conklin of Thousand Oaks<\/span> was walking her mare to the Conejo Creek Equestrian Park<\/span> recently when a passerby gave both her and her steed a surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cA skateboarder thought it would be really fun to slap my horse on the butt. It didn\u2019t go well,\u201d Conklin said. \u201c(The horse) flipped out. She spun around . . . and then stood there staring at him, wondering if he was going to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NOT<\/a>

NOT SUCH A STRANGE SIGHT\u2014It\u2019s not totally uncommon for drivers to encounter riders on horseback at some locations in Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park. Here, Aubree Conklin and Natalie Hill ride along the bridge over the 23 Freeway on Avenida de Las Flores.<\/p><\/div>\n

A member of the local Equestrian Trails Inc. chapter and Conejo Riders Drill Team, Conklin said people whose main exposure to horses are at parades and other public events often don\u2019t realize those animals have been extremely welltrained, \u201cor bomb proofed, if you will,\u201d but many horses haven\u2019t had the same type of sensitivity training to loud noises, sudden movements, little children and other things that could spook them.<\/p>\n

To that end, she said, practicing a little courtesy and common sense can avoid harm to the horse, rider and third parties.<\/p>\n

Conklin said one of the main things to keep in mind is speed. Whether someone\u2019s in a car or on a bike or skateboard, they should slow down and give the horse space, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a 1,500-pound animal. If you were to collide, you wouldn\u2019t be happy, the horse wouldn\u2019t be happy. There\u2019s no situation where it\u2019s a win-win,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Christine McQuaid, vice presi- dent and activity chair for ETI Corral 37\u2014a nonprofit dedicated to equine legislation, acquisition and preservation of riding and hiking trails\u2014said she\u2019s been mere inches from being hit by a car while she was riding on the street preparing to make a left turn after signaling.<\/p>\n

\u201cA driver sped around me and almost hit me,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if drivers know the right of way for horses, but they should basically treat them like they would a pedestrian.\u201d<\/p>\n

Small children and off-leash dogs can also be a problem for horses and their riders. Dog owners who take their pets to the dog park next to the equestrian center sometimes forget to put leashes back on their dogs when they\u2019re done at the park and, on occasion, the dogs wander over to the horse area, which can scare the horses, Conklin said.<\/p>\n

Sudden movements by children can do so as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it\u2019s really fun for children to run up and say hi to the pony or pet the pony or hug the pony. It\u2019s cute,\u201d Conklin said, \u201cbut kids have really small feet and it\u2019s easy to get stepped on.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said most horse owners are happy to let children pet their horses, but the youngsters or their parents should ask before approaching. That allows the rider to remind them to approach slowly and speak gently. Or riders can explain that the particular horse doesn\u2019t like strangers to approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cHorses are like dogs,\u201d said Matt Kouba, Conejo Recreation and Park District superintendent. \u201cEach one\u2019s got its own personality and its own comfort zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the district is proud of its multi-use trails that hikers, bikers and equestrians all share. He said a trail advisory committee made up of all three has helped to get everyone to share the trails and \u201cplay well together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kouba said on trails, horses have the right of way.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone should yield to a horse. If you\u2019re on a bike and a horse should be coming toward you, you should stop until the rider tells you to go ahead. That goes for hikers, too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

If bicyclists or others are coming up behind a horse, McQuaid said, calling out to the rider will help the equestrian to prepare to let them pass.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe horses will always know they\u2019re there before the rider, so they\u2019re more apt to spook,\u201d she said. \u201cBut if you say, \u2018Hey, coming behind you,\u2019 the rider can turn the horse so it can see the bicyclist\u201d and be less likely to spook.<\/p>\n

McQuaid said riders themselves also should extend courtesies, both to other riders as well as non-riders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m heading up a steep trail with lots of switchbacks and a mountain biker is coming down, I always yell, \u2018Horse ahead of you!\u2019\u201d she said, explaining it gives bicyclists the opportunity to start to slow down early.<\/p>\n

Often, riders will carry bells or other things that make noise so others can hear them coming.<\/p>\n

McQuaid said riders who are on open trails where they can canter or gallop should slow down when they approach others. This is important etiquette for horse-to-horse interaction as well as for hikers and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you gallop up behind another horse, they could go into fight-or-flight mode, especially flight because it thinks the other horse is running from something threatening and it should run, too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In her 15 years riding in T.O., McQuaid said safety has been an ongoing problem, but what it comes down to is simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would think common courtesy is always the bottom line,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When humans and horses collide, problems can arise Source of this article: The Thousand Oaks Acorn, July 10, 2014 Gorgeous weather and longer days bring outdoor enthusiasts in greater numbers to the city\u2019s many trails, streets and pathways. Skateboarders, bicyclists, hikers, dog walkers and horseback riders alike all have to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,18,20,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bicycle-riding","category-conejo-valley","category-health","category-horse-riding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1284"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3579,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions\/3579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venturacountytrails.org\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}