I remember reading an article once that said the sound of your freewheeling can sound like a rattlesnake and that can be what spooks them. So try and slow well in advance of them and then keep light pressure on the chain as you pedal to keep the cassette engaged.
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Interesting. I always back pedal making my freewheel extra loud from as far away as possible and never had an issue with the horse or rider. Then again, Midwest horses shouldnât know what a rattlesnake is.
I really appreciate all the info Iâve gotten here - thank you!
Iâm actually a bit surprised this is the first time weâve come across horses on a ride, given where I live. Glad to know what to do better should it happen again 
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Came across a couple of horse riders twice yesterday. I always let them know Iâm there from a reasonable distance. I keep on talking and slow right down. I talk to the horse rather than the rider. I wait for as wide a berth as possible before passing or time for the horse riders to pull into ann opening so the horses can see me properly. I let them know Iâm about to come past. Keep talking and respond as the horses look round, saying hello.
Itâs hardly a delay and keep everyone safe and positive views from the encounter.
A spooked horse is very dangerous - and the strangest things will spook them. So dead slow, very wide. If you canât get on the other side of the road, then hang back until you can (or the rider waves you on). The riders around my way are very alert to cars and cyclists so are typically sensible and will have seen you well in advance. The other thing to bear in mind is freehub noise as you pass - I have Cadex wheels that make a real racket so I soft-pedal past horses.
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In our local multi-use trail, there are loops that are marked âNO HORSESâ, and yet people almost literally run into them on a weekly/monthly basis. And people with dogs are becoming infamous for refusing to use leashes, and between the bikes and dogs, Iâm really surprised there arenât more incidents with dog fighting/biting people, and horses freaking out.
So another big question is how does a municipality crack down on the scofflaws that refuse to follow laws and regulations that directly apply to them. One person took to spraying dogs with something if they were running around off-leash, and the anger he sparked in the rule-breakers was really white hot and so incredible. The anger, the rage, the threats, the lawsuits, the lawsuit threats! 
I have never run into a horse there, but when I was a kid I ran into a few horses on a utility right of way on my dirt bike. They seemed totally cool at the encounters. (The raging 4x4 drivers were far more of a threat)
I think we came across a spooked horse on Saturday. When we were about 150m away the rider was facing about 4 or 5 oâclock (the rider facing towards us slightly but the horse nearly perpendicular to the flow of traffic and looking jittery). As we very slowly approached her she was muttering friendly warnings as she brought the horse under control. And it was actually quite calm by the time we got there and she thanked us for our patience. But Lol, unless we fancied a potentially fatal kick we couldnât really go by anyway.
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I usually just do the same thing that I do when coming up on walkers, joggers, or other riders, only with slightly more warning and caution:
- When Iâm about 10 to 15 seconds from a walker / jogger / slow cyclist, I call out âApproaching!â
- When I am about 5 seconds from overtaking, I call out âComing around on your left!â
- As I am going around, I say âThank you, very much, enjoy your walk / ride / etcâ
With a horse, I slow way down and call out in a firm but steady voice âBicycle approaching from your rearâ and watch to see if they heard me or if I need to repeat it. Almost always the rider will manuver their horse to the side and slow or stop. When Iâm about to come around, I say âComing around slowly on your leftâ, then pass as far over as I can while saying things like âgood horse, good jobâ in a low, steady voice.
Really, 90 percent of problems with others on shared-use paths can be avoided by being considerate, giving warning, and thanking those who cooperate. The other 10 percent are usually just people with headphones who are just oblivious, and for them, I wish I had a loud bell.
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This older man I ride with has a bike bell on his bike. I thought it was funny at first but itâs actually a great idea. You can easily hear it when riding in a group and when on a dirt road with pedestrians, itâs easier for him to ring the bell than yell. Makes me want to get one lol
Iâve only come across horses twice in over 20 years riding. Once was a horse that had been spooked and lost its rider, the horse was heading home and stopped with us for a few minutes, but we were all too unfamiliar with horses to do anything but watch it as it scooted past us and went on its way (we met the rider 10 minutes later trying to catch up with the horse). The other was some folks riding on a multi-use trail with not a care in the world, and no way to get their attention from behind until I was right up on them and spooked the horse. They were talking away, completely unaware that the trail was public and multi-use.
Ironically, where I first started biking, the trails were closed to horses, and we (as the club who maintained the trails) had a constant battle to stop the horses destroying the trails in the wet. And now, many of the local trails were built by horse folk, and are open to walkers/runners and bikes. Around here, the horse folks are organized as a group and very effective at securing new trails.
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thatâs good advice, I think. Make some noise just to let the horse know youâre back there. Watch their ears to let you know they knowâŚkeep an eye if the horse gets prancey or lays their ears back or gets light on one back foot.
Also, as well as talking to the horse, engage the rider in pleasant conversation because your interaction with the rider can go a long way to setting the animalâs attitude toward you. Keep the rider calm, youâll probably keep the horse calm. But just the same if the animal is getting prancey, laying ears back, ducking the head as you approachâŚI meanâŚjust go the other wayâŚkeep everybody safe.
Bells are required in NYC and other cities. Canât argue with the idea, itâs just finding bells that fit flat top bars is too difficult. Or handlebar manufacturers need to make accommodations for local bell requirements. The local bike shop suggested one of those âbar extensionsâ that allow people to mount more stuff in front of the stem, but that would mean changing the Edge mount.
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Not if they are panicked.
Prepandemic I was golfing at a course where they use horse drawn carriages to haul golfers and their stuff around, and a commotion started as a 2-horse hitch cargo rig came barrelling up the road, unaccompanied by a human. There are a lot of big trees around the club house, and right in front of me/us, the horses split the width of a tree and ran the cart nearly headlong into the tree. One of them appeared to stagger a little after that, and several employees swarmed the scene, many of them attempting to herd us away from the area.
The next year, in the carriage I was riding in, a few were discussing the previous seasonâs collision with the tree, and the driver turned around and said that both horses were hurt, one severely, and had to be euthanized shortly after it happened. Nothing takes the feel of an outing like hearing that you watched a gruesome scene, finding out one was killed because of it. Yikes⌠The other horse was âretiredâ, and lived at the stables of the owner, unable to haul cargo/golfers any longer. Who knows what spooked them, but itâs a real thing that everyone needs to be aware of. I try to be as quiet as I can when passing a horse, but do announce that Iâm coming up, about to pass. Others seem to be completely oblivious to anything but themselves. And on runners/walkers, I really hate the ones who are blaring music so loud that I can hear it before I pass them. Hitting such idiots might keep them off the trails, if it doesnât take us out tooâŚ
But there is no easy way to deal with these issues: You canât legislate intelligence, or empathy. I just know that if I somehow spooked a horse and it resulted in its demise, I would feel horrible.
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I donât recall where I saw this, but I read that sunglasses can add to the tension. The claim was that the horse canât see your eyes. Even when hiking, when I come upon a horse, Iâll stand to the side and take off my sunglasses. The riders always seem happy for the courtesy.
Horses canât see directly behind themselves (Vision in the Equine | Equine Science), and instinctually react when something approaches from behind or from the flank, especially something moving relatively quickly. This is how predators attack. Interestingly, this also why jockeys use crops to hit their horses on the flank. The horses instinctually try to outrun what could be a predator.
Be careful when approaching horses from behind and give a very wide berth.
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Spircycle bells will actually work pretty well on some flat top barsâŚâŚthe band just bends and conforms to the shape.
The other options for Spurcycle is to mount it around a spacer on your stem. Not as convenient, but workable.
I have the Specialized Hover Bar, and the LBS says itâs not going to fit. I had thought about mounting it on the stem, but itâs too big too. (I have a limited edition model, looks great)
I wonder how hard it would be to make a custom mounting strap. I havenât look at it in quite a while. If some cities/municipalities are going to require bells, will they also require manufacturers to support more bar types? (HAH!! SO not likely)
Maybe bar companies need to leave a wider space to each side of the stem? (Thatâs not likely to happen either, and doesnât address existing bars) At least I have options, itâs not an âintegrated cockpitâ.
What have other Hover Bar owners used for bells? Why doesnât Specialized have a bell for their bars?
Spurcycle does have a âlargeâ band, that fits âup to 36mmâ, probably still not large enough for the Specialized Hover. Has anyone tried it? Wonder if itâll fit the stem. I really like the look/style of their bells!
Incredibell has a bell that has an o-ring mount. That might work with a longer o-ring.
Iâve a bell on my gravel bike - seems more effective than a call. If you call âcoming through on your leftâ too often the person only hears âleftâ and moves that way. I have it on my stem as bar was getting a bit cluttered.
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Can you send a link or picture of the bell you have?
Crap, my badâŚ.i meant to type âsteerer tubeâ not âstemâ.
Brain lockup. 
ETA - I bet you could get the Spurcycle to work on the Hover bar. I use one on an ENVE AR bar, which has a wider, flatter profile than the Hover bar.