New statistics released by The British Horse Society (BHS) show road incidents between horses and vehicles remain a problem, with 1,010 incidents having been reported to the equine charity over the past year.

While the number of incidents decreased by 3% compared to the previous year, the number of incidents is still worryingly high, especially considering the periods of lockdown which prevented riders from getting out over the last year. However, the number of horses that died on Britain’s roads almost halved during the same period.

The BHS has collated statistics to understand the rate of incidents involving horses on UK roads. Of the 1,010 reported, 80% of them occurred due to vehicles passing by too closely to the horse, and close to half were subject to road rage. The charity has launched a new free safety app, Horse i, to allow riders to report incidents. It is urging drivers to adhere to its ‘Dead Slow’ campaign consisting of four key behavioural change messages. If you see a horse on the road then you should:

1. Slow right down to a maximum of 15mph;

2. Be patient – do not sound your horn or rev your engine;

3. Pass the horse wide and slow (if safe to do so) - at least by a car’s width if possible;

4. Finally, drive slowly away.

Alan Hiscox, Director of Safety at The British Horse Society, said: “The number of incidents involving horses on Britain’s roads remains far too high. With 80% of the incidents having occurred due to vehicles passing too close, it is evident there is still a great need for better education on how to safely pass horses.

“It is also deeply concerning that close to half of riders were subject to road rage. We all have a right to feel safe on the roads and no one should face abuse for exercising this right. Only 1 in 10 people report incidents to us and we hope the new BHS safety reporting app ‘Horse i’ will encourage more people to report these incidents to us.”

The new BHS safety app ‘Horse i' is available to download for free from the apple store and google play. Equestrians who do not use smart phones can record incidents via an online form at horseincidents.org.uk