12/13/2025
A sad story today, but one that trail riders need to consider. With the advent of "multi-use" trails, more and more horses are endangered by mountain bikers who are not aware of the intense fear their equipment can induce. Horses are skittish prey animals; their brains cannot be expected to calmly accept a group of mountain bikes flying through the air around a blind curve toward them. Last week, a horseback rider in Massachusetts was severely injured and her horse had to be euthanized after a mountain bike spooked him. The woman on horseback was dragged, then had to crawl for 30 minutes to find help. Her left ankle and right knee are shattered. Her horse ran away with life-threatening injuries and was euthanized while his owner was still in the hospital. And the cyclist? He left the scene, refusing to identify himself and offering no help to horse or rider. He didn't even bother to call for emergency assistance.
If you ride trails, beware. Wear bright colors; I even have a large T-shirt that says in huge letters, "SLOW DOWN." Report any improper incident to authorities as soon as you can, even if you and your horse are not harmed--we need to build awareness of the equestrian danger of multi-use trails. Encourage trail leaders in your region to lobby for equestrian-only riding paths. Tell your mountain biking friends about these dangers and encourage them to stop for all horses and riders until given a cue by the rider to proceed.
Can horses be taught to accept mountain bikes on trails? To a certain extent, yes--at slow speeds, approaching from the side, easily visible from a distance. But even that level of training will require a lot of time and money; further, certain breeds will be more amenable to it than others. And from an ethical standpoint, maybe a prey animal should not be trained to ignore that flashing neon sign in his brain that says "RUN!" We wouldn't think it correct to train a dog to stand still in the center of a fire, would we?
