Bikes vs. horses: Who has the right of way on Colorado trails?

PARKER, Colo. (KDVR) —A video is making its rounds on social media of a heated exchange between a horse rider and a cyclist over trail right of way .

In the video, you can see a heated exchange between the rider and cyclist.

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"I am not going to stop and wait for a horse," the cyclist can be heard saying at the beginning.

Julie Lurz, who was riding her horse Henry in the video, says they were walking back and forth on the bridge to acclimate the horses.

"We were going across the bridge and coming back, just to desensitize the horse to the bridge, because bridges are loud and hollowing sounding and horses don't love that, they don't understand it and horses have trouble with depth perception," Lurz explained.

"A lot of horses are afraid of bridges, and so we were trying to go over the bridge and back," Lurz continued. "A cyclist started tailgating me on the way back and he was less than two feet from behind my horse, which is bad because horses have a blind spot back there."

That's when they finally fully crossed the bridge and stopped. Lurz tried to speak with the cyclist and that's when the video starts.

"He had no interest in a conversation, he immediately started yelling at me," Lurz said. "Ninety-nine percent of the cyclists are very polite and receptive, he was not one of those."

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Her friend and fellow rider Debbie Kodra was there too with her horse Dex. She's the one who took the video. She told FOX31 that she just hopes people understand the reason why horses have the right of way statewide on trails is simply for safety.

"Everyone yields to horses, they're a prey animal, they spook easily and everyone was trying to explain to him and Julie was so calm and just trying to explain it was for everyone's safety," Kodra said.

Thankfully, the horses weren't spooked, but it does serve as a reminder.

"They could go sideways, backwards, forwards, whatever and that's why it's 'yield to horses.' It's not to upset people, it's just for everyone's safety, they can be spooked. Even the most seasoned horses have their moments," Kodra said.

Kodra and Lurz say the best thing to do is stop, talk to the rider, and ask them for the best way to pass safely. On trails in Colorado, horses always have the right of way over hikers or bikes. Don't get caught up in the confusing yield signs about who yields to whom: All just stop for horses, to ensure the horse doesn't spook and the rider can proceed safely.

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A few things to remember: Horses can't see directly in front of or directly behind them, so approaching fast on a bike from behind can startle even the best-trained horse. Horses may be used to hearing things like ATVs from being on their farms. However, the sounds of an e-bike may be foreign to them.