Why drivers should pass a horse slowly

On Saturday January 20th Meg Worrell-Hart's worst nightmare came true. After a lovely hack with her pride and joy, Dave, they were on their way home when she heard a car coming from behind her far too fast.

She signalled for the car to slow down however it did not listen and as they approached, her horse Dave spooked and was hit by the car at approximately 45 mph, Meg was thrown over the car and on to the road. Dave ran off, luckily he went straight back to the stables but he could have a possible hairline fracture to the shoulder. 

Over the following days (after being checked out in A&E and being given the all clear) Meg devoted her time to Dave checking on him every hour which even meant sleeping in the stable to make sure he was ok. 

With the stress caused by the incident Dave has understandably gone off his diet and struggled to get the fluids in that is needed on a day to day basis. Dave has needed to be sedated in order to get fluids/electrolytes into him as well as supplying him with strong painkillers to ease the pain of a swollen shoulder and throat. 

She wanted to share a message to all the careless drivers on the road:

"I cannot stress enough how important it is to pass horses wide and slow. Next time you see a horse and rider on the road please think. There is a person aboard that horse who has a family and is cared about. That horse is everything to them. That person cares for his needs twice a day. Every day. All year round. He is their family, their friend, their teammate, their everything. 
That horse and rider on the road may be an inconvenience in your busy life but they are real people and animals who feel fear and pain who are loved and cared about and they deserve your respect. Please slow down. "

Meg has now set up a Facebook community "Kill your speed. Not my Horse" to help raise awareness of the current dangers that face riders who are out on the roads. Fortunately for Meg she had a suitable riding helmet which helped prevent her from getting any serious injuries but what can you do to prevent this happening to you?

• Wear fully protective clothing when out riding, this includes a helmet and body protector.
• Wear Hi-Viz clothing especially when out riding at dawn or dusk.
• Have a safety light attached so motorists can visibly see you in the road.
• Wear a Hack-Cam to document your ride

We will be following up with the progress of Meg and Dave in the coming weeks but would love if you had other tips or suggestions as to how to keep safe while out riding. If you could post them in the comments section below.

Do you have experience with this happening to you?

Is this a major a problem that needs to be addressed?

let us know in the comments!