Horse riders in Monmouthshire are feeling less safe now than ever, as the number of incidents on one road have significantly increased in the last twelve months.

Wonastow Road, runs between Wonastow and Monmouth and connects rural communities to the town in the North and the A40 at Raglan further South..

Court Farm Livery has recorded nine near misses on the road in the past year, which it says is the same amount it had accounted for in the previous decade.

A near miss is where a car has come close to hitting a horse or as has happened in some cases, when a driver makes contact with a horse using their vehicle.

“I was riding my young pony one morning when a 4x4 was approaching me quickly from behind,” says Millie, 18.

“I was riding in single file with enough room for the driver to pass but they touched my horse with their car before verbally abusing me when I came to a safe space to pull in.”

She says drivers are becoming more impatient with horses on the road, of which riders must use 100 yards before reaching the bridleway. The experience left her and her horse shaken.

“It is enough to knock the horse’s confidence around cars and it obviously knocks your own confidence as well because you don’t know what is going to happen on the roads,” Millie told us.

“As much as every other driver was lovely, the damage was done and my horse would not go passed another car.”

The vehicle also clipped member, Caroline’s, foot as the driver sped by.

There is already signage at both ends of the road warning motorists that they can expect to encounter horses on their journey.

Since 2020, the Highway Code has stated that drivers should not pass horses and horse-drawn vehicles at any speed greater than 10mph and they must leave two metres between their vehicle and the horse where possible.

The British Horse Society (BHS) reported that 81 per cent of all equine-related road incidents are caused by drivers passing too quickly or too slowly, with 58 horses killed last year.

Its Director of Safety, Alan Hiscox, said: “As a motorist, you may not consider how passing a horse at speed or too closely could affect you.”

“Horses are naturally flight animals, and their instinctive response to danger is to react and move quickly away. Even the most experienced and well-trained horse can be startled by unexpected movements or loud noises, like a car passing at speeds in excess of 10 mph.”

“The impact of a collision can not only cause the horse to be injured, it can also cause great injury to the rider or carriage driver, motorist and any passenger in the vehicle.”

“To help keep horses, riders and carriage drivers safe, we are encouraging anyone who has been involved in an incident to record it via the BHS’s Horse i app. We can then identify hotspots, advise stakeholders, and work towards a permanent change in some drivers’ behaviour.”