Poor judgement, big consequences
15-year old Ereti and her two friends had to shift their horses into a new paddock. The paddocks weren’t very far apart. It was late in January 2025 and her Pāpā was waiting for her as she got the job done. She saddled her friend’s horse and they all headed out single file down the quiet road. It wasn’t long before they heard a 4WD ute approach from behind, revving its engine. They recognised the young driver, and at first no-one thought too much of it. The vehicle passed. But a s...
October 25, 2025Keeping your pets safe while travelling
Brake heavily with an unrestrained dog in the back of your car, and a canine missile will be projected into you, your passenger, or through the windscreen. This is not good for the pet or the passengers.We strap children into child car seats, but often leave our pets without any restraint at all.A dog can be transported in the boot of a station wagon if there’s an appropriate cargo barrier that fits between the top of the rear seats and the roof. This doesn’t completely protect the dog from ...
October 25, 2025The road code and sharing the road
Just over 50% of people in New Zealand live in one of the seven major cities. The chance of coming across a horse on the road in the city is fairly slim - in my 30+ years of living here, it’s only happened once for me (on Waiheke Island which, while technically part of Auckland, is an anomaly). However, when I have driven out of Auckland, it has happened more times.Are we preparing our drivers in cities for dealing with horses on the road? Are we taught much about sharing the road with horses ...
October 25, 2025When a safe crossing isn’t enough
Not many horses hit by a car live to tell the tale. We thought it would be one of the safest intersections in Auckland – beside Meadowbank Pony Club at the top of St Heliers Bay Road. But a driver in a sports car who ran a red light proved us wrong. He said he didn't see the large 16.1hh grey horse being ridden on a controlled pedestrian crossing in broad daylight.Thank goodness my horse is a solid boy and the crash caused more of a dent in the sports car bonnet than it did in him. But it stil...
October 25, 2025 Posts 26-29 of 29 | Page prev