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‘You’re taking your life in your fingers’: medal-winning rider requires change to make roads safer for horses

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  • A number of medal-winning para dressage rider Natasha Baker is backing requires extra consciousness of adjustments to the Freeway Code – because it emerged 68 horses had been killed on Britain’s roads final yr.

    The British Horse Society (BHS) launched its 2022 incident figures on 29 January. They confirmed that 3,552 studies had been made final yr, a 21% enhance on 2021, regardless of the actual fact adjustments aimed toward bettering horse and rider security utilized from final January.



    The BHS stated it’s dissatisfied extra has not been accomplished to lift public consciousness of the Freeway Code adjustments, which rank equestrians alongside cyclists within the new hierarchy of street customers, and state that horses should be handed at a most of 10mph and a minimal of two metres’ distance.

    “I’m very keen about security,” Natasha stated. “Hacking is a giant a part of my coaching, serving to to construct my horses’ health ranges, however heading out on the roads can really feel such as you’re taking your life into your individual fingers.

    “I’m so unhappy to see that this continues to stay the case, and it appears to be even worse a yr after the adjustments to the Freeway Code had been launched. Using helps folks from all backgrounds and walks of life, significantly with regards to relieving tense conditions, and extra must be accomplished to guarantee that each rider feels protected.”

    The BHS says “pressing motion” is required to teach drivers.

    “Horses are nonetheless being killed and injured on our roads, riders proceed to be critically injured and too many drivers underestimate the significance of driving rigorously round horses,” stated BHS director of security Alan Hiscox.

    “Our worry is that pointers aren’t being clearly defined and delivered – this wants to vary. Pressing motion is required to make each street consumer conscious of the Freeway Code adjustments and, critically, why it’s so necessary to move horses with care. Solely by means of working collaboratively to teach and drive consciousness will we be capable of cease these terrible incidents from taking place time and again.”

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