Equine charity the British Horse Society is calling for greater education following a rise in reported incidents on Wales’ roads.

Three horses were killed on roads in Wales and the Channel Islands in 2022, according to the society.

Overall, a total of 289 equine related road incidents and three horse fatalities were logged in Wales and the Channel Islands via the British Horse Society’s ‘Horse i’ app last year; this equates to six incidents every week.

Carmarthenshire was the most affected area with 63 incidents logged; this figure has almost doubled since 2021.

The second most affected area was Powys, where 30 incidents were recorded in 2022.

Ceredigion recorded 22 incidents in 2022, double the number recorded in 2021.

Gwynedd recorded nine incidents.

Across the UK, the equine charity received details of over 3,550 equine related road incidents in 2022, which is a notable 21 per cent increase on the number reported in 2021.

The new guidelines, many of which were a direct result of the BHS’s significant involvement in the Highway Code review’s stakeholder group for vulnerable road users, include setting the advisory speed for passing people riding horses or driving horse-drawn vehicles at 10mph, and advising drivers to allow at least two metres of space.

Another key change was the new Hierarchy of Road Users, with horse riders now, alongside pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, recognised as road users most likely to be injured in the event of a collision.

While the new Highway Code guidance is an essential step in the right direction to protect horses and riders, the BHS is disappointed to see that not enough is being done to reinforce the behavioural messages and to make the public aware of the urgent importance of driving carefully around horses.

The BHS is committed to informing drivers and creating awareness about how to safely pass horses on the roads through their Dead Slow campaign. The equine charity is calling for more succinct information and awareness of the changes in the Highway Code.

Alan Hiscox, director of safety at the BHS said: “Horses are still being killed and injured on our roads, riders continue to be seriously injured and too many drivers underestimate the importance of driving carefully around horses.

“This is detrimental to the safety of equestrians. You only have to look at the 68 horses who were tragically killed across the UK in 2022.

“Our fear is that guidelines aren’t being clearly explained and delivered; this needs to change. Urgent action is required to make every road user aware of the Highway Code changes and, critically, why it’s so important to pass horses with care.

“Only through working collaboratively to educate and drive awareness will we be able to stop these awful incidents from happening over and over again.”

The charity is urging equestrians, and the wider public, to log any equine-related safety incidents using the Horse i app. The more incidents that are logged, the more the BHS can do to protect the rights of horse riders on our roads, they said.