00:00Trotting along Kent's roads, as they have done for their entire lives, but these equestrians
00:06now say riding has become more dangerous than ever, as badly behaved motorists and depleting
00:12bridleways are pushing them away from jumping abreast.
00:16Straight forward, one had to be careful, we were always alert and looking around, but
00:21compared with now, there was almost no traffic, nearly all of it was local, so with no people,
00:27no way horses were likely to be. Cars are so comfortable that you sit in there in a little
00:33cosy box with the music on, totally unaware of the outside world, I think.
00:38Between 2016 and 2025, there were more than 19,000 road incidents involving horses recorded
00:45by the British Horse Society. In that time, the number of horse fatalities rose by 180%, and
00:53of the 2,800 incidents in 2025, 22% of riders were also victims of road rage or abuse.
01:01On average, 80.6% of incidents occurred after a driver passed too closely.
01:09Pedestrians are listed as the most vulnerable road user, followed by horses and cyclists.
01:13Horses are fly animals, which means they're pretty easy to scare. That's why loud noises,
01:18sudden movements. That's why following the highway code is so important for the safety
01:23of the driver, the horse rider and the horse itself.
01:26The British Horse Society says drivers should pass horses dead slow, going no more than 10
01:32miles per hour and leaving a two metre wide gap.
01:36The horse is a precious item to me. It's not, I mean, the car is an animal object. I like
01:41the
01:41car, but it doesn't have a character. We don't have that level of trust. We don't have that bond
01:46with the car, as I do with the horse. The horse and I need to keep each other safe.
01:50The good behaviour is slowing down, looking around, giving us at least two metres, and being patient if
01:58we're having a problem. Sometimes horses, as you saw with Ginger coming up the road, get a bit upset
02:03about something or other, and we really want the traffic to just give us a little bit of space then,
02:09and some people don't want to. But most people do. Most people are lovely and patient and kind and helpful.
02:15Anne is 81 and hopes to keep riding alongside her daughters for as long as she can,
02:20as long as cars stop acting like they rain the roads. Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Aylesford.
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