Almost forgot to mention:
At the weekend, returning home from a blat up the mountains, I was approaching a roundabout and saw two horses with riders. I immediately backed off the throttle and slowed down, keeping the revs low to avoid scaring them (I have a stock can BTW). One horse was coming around the roundabout on the road, the correct way, almost like a cyclist, using the outside of the roundabout to get round. The other one was going counter clockwise, on the pavement around the roundabout, crossing the roads as it came to them. I had just gotten clear of the first horse and switched my attention to the second one as I got near to it. Without any indication of anything being wrong, it suddenly leapt into my path. I had to swerve to avoid it (cornering and proximity of it to me ruled out harsh braking, even at the 25-30mph I was doing) and had to change into the lane nearest the roundabout, without time to look. I knew I was reasonably safe to do this as I'd been approaching the roundabout fairly quickly and was well clear of the fairly thin traffic. However, had it been busier, it's entirely possible I could have swerved into the path of a car overtaking me on the roundabout (I know they shouldn't, but we all know they do).
I'm not exaggerating when I say 'leapt', it was a real, all four legs off the floor jump into my path!
On the same stretch of road, I've had a horse rapidly sidestep into the path of my car, causing me to swerve into the oncoming lane to avoid hitting it.
On another occassion, a few miles away, a (riderless) horse lept into the path of a school bus, smashing it to bits (front of the bus was wrecked, horse was dead, thankfully no one was hurt).
There's also the issue of horse crap on roads being a hazard to bicycles and motorcycles.
Most horses typically weigh in excess of 700kg and even under the control of an expert rider are far more prone to 'mechanical failure' (ie doing something the rider didn't tell it to) than most cars/bikes. Why aren't they (to my mind, rightly) targetted as nuisances/dangers to even the same degree we, as bikers are?
What would be the insurance position if that horse had had me off? I know they're not road taxed, am I right in assuming they don't need to be insured on the road either?
I have nothing against horses, I have a couple of friends who ride and even know some bikers who do. I just don't feel the road is the right place for them...
