A plea for drivers to slow down around horses was met with vandalism in Foxground when a vandal painted over a homemade safety sign and turned it into an 80km/h speed limit sign.

Foxground resident Olwyn Kale made a sign asking for drivers to reduce their speed when passing horses after a number of incidents involving cars.

Olwyn’s sign lasted one night before it was vandalised - the person went to a considerable effort, painting the sign white and cutting out cardboard stencils, leaving the evidence behind.

Cardboard stencil used to vandalise Olwyn's sign.

“The next day, I went into Berry and I came back and my sign had been sabotaged,” said Olwyn.

Her original sign read along the lines of, ‘STOP! Horses ahead, drive at a walking pace past. This is a country road, not a freeway. Thank you’, but after being vandalised it has since been painted over.

“I'm not trying to tell people how to drive. I'm just trying to let them know that you've got to drive past horses slow,” she said.

Olwyn's sign

Olwyn’s husband Simon, has represented Australia in three-day eventing and has trained riders for the Olympics, and takes their horses onto the road when the ground is too wet from the rain.

“Normally, we haven't been driving out on the road but because the ground is so wet we can't drive in the field. So we have to drive on the road,” he said.

Under NSW road rules, horses have the same rights as other road users to share most roads. Drivers are required to slow down, leave plenty of room when passing horses, and not use their horn or rev their engine.

Road users should be aware that horses can be easily frightened and unpredictable, and it’s not just about leaving enough room while passing a horse, it’s about driving responsibly as scaring a horse can result in a serious accident or injury.

The couple explain that the behaviour forced one local horse rider to give up the roads entirely, going somewhere else to ride his horse.

Simon details an encounter he had on the road with a speeding car where there wasn’t enough room for them to get past and their car hit the shaft of the horse carriage.

“These horses are really well trained, so the horses aren't the issue, the people are,” Simon said.

“Most of the people in the valley are really good, but it only takes one.”

The sign has gained attention in Foxground, Olwyn says many drivers have improved their behaviour and are much more considerate on the roads. With carriage driving growing in popularity in Australia, Olwyn and Simon say it’s important that drivers nationwide understand how to safely share the road with horses.