It may surprise you but one horse bit my face when I stopped to talk to him, fortunately the damage was minimal as the fence was strong enough to hold him.
A farm is a place of work indeed a dangerous place
Walkers have to make allowances for that ,not take risks to gain access where stock or machinery concerned.
My dad used to say that the land once belonged to the people who lived and farmed on it , and the Kings and Queens stole it from them by giving their friends titles and land just because they could , then the titled new owner would either evict the people or charge exorbitant rents forcing the people to work for a pittance or leave .
And so it continued , lords and ladies and royalty continued to take the land from the people that is why over 90% of the land is private
Itâs doesnât surprise me at all .I have been with horses all my life and I know that they are potentially dangerous .Horse get irritated too by people walking by ( especially if they are boxed ) and will bite and a bite from a horse is very serious they can break your arm you were lucky Twink it didnât get your face .Racehorses often bite especially they are colts ( uncastrated males ) itâs natural for them to bite and unless checked it will get worse as they get older not all of course .
Itâs important with horses as with most animals to watch their body language .Ears back in a horse means they are not happy and may bite . Threatening with their rear end is obvious get away before I kick you .
Farmers have to make allowance too walkers have the right to use footpaths most are respectful of animals and are not likely to be putting themselves at risk with farm machinery which should not be on a public footpath anyway .It is illegal to obstruct a public footpath or right of way .
It seems to depend on the horse. I spent 8 years helping to look after a few who were stabled at my place.
My favorite was Buddy 16.2 hands who managed to get injured more than most. He got his foot stuck into a big gate and ripped it from itâs hinges, but he knew me so well that he let me calm him till Anne, his owner, could get a vet out.
Did I spoil him? Yes because he learned that if he put his rear end to his stable gate I would scratch either side of his tail. On Bonfire night I would take him treats and make sure no fireworks got into his stable.
When he managed to get a spike through his leg his owner and I took turns in checking on him every 2 hours⊠even through the night.
He was big enough to harm me , but he never did and I always feel that if you are kind to animals they learn to trust you.
Some will take advantage Twink .
Especially ponies who get lots of tidbits .
Always best to give them treats in the feed bowl .
A horse that bites ( luckily it quite rare ) may not have been ill treated but may have learned his strength and ability to intimidate .
If you donât know a horse itâs always wide to be wary .
Thatâs because itâs not legally a rule Ripple you have to be sensible about these things .
I donât know anyone who allows their dogs to molest stock in any way .
It is however the legal liability of the farmer not to put a potentially dangerous animal in a field where it may do harm to people on a public footpath . Ie cows with young calves who can be protective .
Looking after Buddy for 8 years meant we knew each other well.
I relate well to animals and Mr Grey, the feral cat with the broken leg that I took in, now lives with me & cannot bear to be separated from me. He even follows me to the bathroom. He doesnât get treats but if he sees me with his comb he sits beside me waiting to be groomed.
It takes a while to win an animals trust, but I have found that ,when you do, that trust remains!
This came from my government booklet Iâve also checked on the Gov website to make sure itâs up to date
Dogs on open access land
You must keep your dog on a lead no more than 2 metres long on open access land:
- between 1 March and 31 July - to protect ground-nesting birds
- at all times around livestock
On land next to the England Coast Path you must keep your dog under close control.
There may be other local or seasonal restrictions.
Obviously this doesnât apply to public rights of way or assistance dogs.
What is access land
Access land includes mountains, moors, heaths and downs that are privately owned** . It also includes common land registered with the local council and some land around the England Coast Path. Your right to access this land is called the âright to roamâ, or âfreedom to roamâ.
I canât go on any longer on TRTR itâs doing my head in
Your Dad was right some times landowners would move entire villages if they spoiled the viewing form their great houses
The enclosure acts were responsible for the purloining of common land .
Going back to the original post
Richard Benyon is worth ÂŁ130 million.( 2019 rich list ) He controls the Englefield Estate, a 14,000 acre estate of mainly rural land and property in West Berkshire and Hampshire between Reading, Newbury and Basingstoke. It is the largest private landowner in West Berkshire.He also owns the Glenmazeran Estate in Inverness, Scotland.
He is the Under Secretary of state for Access to nature and Rural affairs
Not much access to his vast acres though .
Oh the irony. Well I hope people continue to tramp and ramble all through âhis landsâ because I am getting very fed up with these sorts of people.