What to do if you encounter a horse on the road

On average 80% of incidents occurred because a vehicle passed by too closely to the horse, while 43% of incidents occurred because a vehicle passed by too quickly.

The BHS works closely with the police, MPs, road safety partnerships and more to improve the awareness and safety of horses on the roads.

As the number of vehicles continues to increase resulting in busier roads, this means these routes are becoming much more dangerous to use, especially for vulnerable road users like horse riders and carriage drivers.

The BHS aim is to reduce the number of incidents and fatalities involving horses and riders on the road by educating all road users and campaigning to make drivers aware of what to do if they encounter a horse on the road.

The BHS issued the following advice to drivers:

Slow down to a maximum of 10mph

Be patient, don’t sound your horn or rev your engine

Pass the horse wide and slow, at least a car’s width if possible and safe to do so

Drive slowly away