ATVs and Horses on Shared-Use TrailsATVs and Horses on Shared-Use Trails
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Who gets to play on a shared-use trail is usually a landowner decision.
There is a tendency to prohibit motorized use on trails used by equestrians.
However, if the motorized use is minimal, there should not be a major
conflict. Neither the equestrians nor the ATVers ride every single day. If
this is private land, it is unlikely that ATV users will trailer their
machines to ride on your property. If they do, simply posting it as private
property should do.
The equestrian user group itself is divided over sharing trails with ATVs. Many horse farms use ATVs (or ATV-like equipment such as the "Gator") on the farm. Very often the machines are used to do heavy chores such as delivering bales of hay to horses in remote pastures, or pulling the manure spreader. They are a less expensive alternative to buying a tractor. Those equestrians who use equipment on their farms usually don't object to seeing ATVs on trails. Their horses are "desensitized" to the machines, that is, they are not at all afraid of them and in fact start looking for the hay bales when the ATVs pass by. |
| The other contingency may also use the machines on their farms (or their boarding stables use them) but they have an "environmental objection". They claim the noise and smell of the ATV (or other motorized vehicle) destroys their outdoor experience. Unless you have very heavy ATV use (more than one machine per minute passing by), again, this should not be a problem on a shared trail.
"Safety" is sometimes cited as the reason for prohibiting ATVs from shared trails. "Fear" is more accurate. Riders are afraid of what their horses will do when the ATV comes around the corner at them. The truth is, the rider can hear an ATV coming long before it arrives, and so can the horse. If the rider tenses up anticipating trouble, so will the horse. I guess the riders need to be "desensitized" too. Perhaps a local ATV rider or club could help. Sometimes just knowing more about the other person's sport is all it takes. In summary, I hope you will reconsider, at least at first, closing your "shared use trail" to ATVs. |
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