As the nights are drawing in...Hi Viz question!

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Jingleballs

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I can't believe how quickly it has started to get dark in the evenings.

It's now pitch black by about half 8 and won't be long until I have to switch the floodlight on to ride.

As the horses are still living out 24/7 this does mean I'm not turning out in the dark.

To access the fields that they are currently in it require walking about 100 yards down the road - perhaps not even that far.

We have lights on the yard and light that we can shine down on the field gate but the road itself is not lit - it's a narrow, twisty, single track country road and generally has very little traffic.

I've never been a fan of leading a horse down the road in the dark but when i do I wear my hi viz.

Last night I was decked out in my yellow hi viz jacket (it's actually an old police jacket), my flashing tabbard and my head torch. Because pony is rugged his hi viz gear (tail bandage, leg wrap, bridle attachement etc are all useless.

Despite being lit up like a Christmas tree I still had a close call with an idiot driver who came racing down the road - luckily I was at a spot where I could move off onto the grass verge but still that's not the point and the driver got a proper tongue lashing and was very sheepish and apologetic about it and admitted that he hadn't even spotted the horse (who was happily munching on the grass verge oblivious to all of this)

I wonder though what else should I be wearing/using to make myself and pony more visible as we're going to have at least another month of this and then when they come in for the winter I'll be bringing in when it's dark so want to make sure we are fully visible regardless of how dark it is!
 
This just occurred to me and might be totally stupid- but have you considered lights*?

You could use bike lights- they often have a sort of clip on the back- there must be some way of putting one on the back end of a horse.

*for the horse!
 
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Stick a hi vis exercise sheet with reflective strips over his actual rug -clip it on somehow to make sure it's secure? Also leg bands and a nice fluo headcollar?

Bike lights or flashing light armband things you can buy will help too, surely?
 
I've seen hi-vis headcollars for sale, and could you pop a hi viz exercise sheet over his rug for the walk along the road? I also have a flashing HV tail guard- you could maybe use one of those?
 
Have to ask, and am posibly being dim, but why are the leg wraps useless as he's rugged?
What about putting a refelctive strip on the headcoller (across the noseband)
Theres those funny reflective hat things for horses too. Also if you have a reflective exercise sheet you could put that on over the turnout rug and whip it off when you get to the field.
 
sheep said:
This just occurred to me and might be totally stupid- but have you considered lights*?

You could use bike lights- they often have a sort of clip on the back- there must be some way of putting one on the back end of a horse.

*for the horse!
Click to expand...

As I was driving in the dark (5am!) to our designated parking place for autumn hunting earlier this week I saw ahead of me two very oddly positioned flashing red lights. I thought "what on EARTH is that" and as I got closer I realised it was a horse and rider hacking to the meet! I was in the box so driving very slowly anyway but the odd positioning of the lights and the flashing certainly got my attention - I think she had one on her collar on the back of her neck and one on the stirrups. Also high viz but I saw the lights first, by a long way.
 
You can get hi viz waistcoats with little battery packs and flashing lights that could help they flash white at the front and red at the back. I bought one on e-bay a few years ago. I would also throw an exercise sheet over his rug, and could you put some of the bridle attachments on his headcollar - or lead him in his bridle? Hi viz gloves are also a good idea so that you can stick an arm out to ask drivers to slow down and they would be seen more easily. Leg bands would also work if he'll stand to have them taken off again once you're in the field?
 
Suziq77 said:
As I was driving in the dark (5am!) to our designated parking place for autumn hunting earlier this week I saw ahead of me two very oddly positioned flashing red lights. I thought "what on EARTH is that" and as I got closer I realised it was a horse and rider hacking to the meet! I was in the box so driving very slowly anyway but the odd positioning of the lights and the flashing certainly got my attention - I think she had one on her collar on the back of her neck and one on the stirrups. Also high viz but I saw the lights first, by a long way.
Click to expand...

Yeah I was thinking they would get attention because they certainly wouldn't look like a cyclist or anything from behind!

I think lights + hi vis exercise sheet / tail guard could be the thing.
 
I have the hi viz flashing tabbard which I was wearing last night and I also set my head torch to flash so that it's more likely to catch attention.

The leg wrap things I have are really multi purpose leg/tail wraps and you honestly wouldn't see much of them when he is rugged - his tail is covered by the back of the rug.

I've got a hi viz sheet that goes under my saddle when I ride - I'll try to see if I can make something to attach that to the rug (it doesn't have a surcingle just a fillet string). Will also look out for hi viz head collar.

Unfortunately the angle of the road doesn't help with visability - we have to go down a short steep hill that sort of curves round to the right so anything coming from the other direction tends not to see you until they've started climbing the hill.
 
I tend to carry a torch or head torch in my hand...when you hear a car approaching wave it about on the road ahead of you and the drivers will see it first and slow down a bit...dont wave at the drivers, but keep it on the ground pointing down.
 
You really need reflective strips rather than hi viz in the dark, as this catches in the headlights and really lights up. The best leg bands I have ever come across are the V-Bandz as they are hi viz and reflective, and even when they are hanging in my shed and my head torch catches them they light up. If they are on the horses legs, and the legs are moving, it really does make the driver notice them.

Good luck - and please be careful. It sounds like a very dangerous manoeuvre to me! :(
 
Does he wear a headcollar wholst in the field? If not then why not just take him down the road in his bridle if it has reflective strips on it. Does he wear one of those reflector/hiviz things that looks like a breastplate? If not then why not get him one of those as it has velcro at the top and can go over a rug.

Means drivers will see you and you and your horse wont get injured.
 
I think the exercise sheet idea is good, you can get ones with reflective strips over them and down the sides too.
You could attach a reflective strip for a fillet string too to add some reflection at the back end and not just on the sides.

If possible/allowed, you could maybe have some sort of lockable container or plastic box at the field (poss. chained to a fencepost too?) to keep the sheet in. Then you can whip it off while he's out and it's already with the horse for the walk back to the yard in the morning :)
 
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Thanks for the suggestions!

I'm going to order a couple of flashing LED key thing things that I can attache onto his bridle and also ordering some of the hi viz tape to sew onto his rug! Will also make him easier to find in the dark field in the winter.

Hopefully they will move into their proper winter fields in a month or so and we can access those straight from the yard.
 
magichorse said:
I've seen hi-vis headcollars for sale, and could you pop a hi viz exercise sheet over his rug for the walk along the road? I also have a flashing HV tail guard- you could maybe use one of those?
Click to expand...

or use one of the bridle pieces on the nose +/- sides of the headcollar
 
The bridle attachements I've got are flourescent (sp?) but I don't think they have reflective strips. I'm going to have a look tomorrow to see if they do and if so I'll be attaching them to his head collar.

He has a hi viz tail bandage with a reflective strip but you can't see that when his rug is on and it's quite long and annoys him when we wear it hacking (so I have a smaller one I use) so I'll probaby butcher that to make something.

Flashing LED light is ordered (it's supposed to be for dog's but should be fine for him) and a metre of reflective tape that I'll use to stitch some strips onto his rug.
 
http://www.parsonsrump.co.uk/

You could make something like this yourself out of the many Hi Viz vests that are left around or buy a few in the Poundshop just cut them up and tie them together as they will be going over the rug.
Sounds a bit daft but you can wear two head torches . One facing forwards and the other facing backwards .

How about getting a couple of those road lights on cones and put them out before the bend before you take the horse out ?http://www.ehmltd.co.uk/iqs/rp.1/road_lamps.html
 
Today I bought a hi-vis fly veil with reflective strips, which should work a treat :D

Why not arm yourself with lots of reflective strips and sew them onto headcollar, tail flap etc. and perhaps clip a load on to rug/yourself?

Hmm, I have to hack about 100yrds to the school, which is normally a no go in the winter but this might do the job! Having driven up behind riders with reflective stuff on in very poor visibility, I can say I certainly see them a long way off! Perhaps even more so than hi-vis in good visibility?

J&C
 
What about getting one of these flashing neck bands/belts that you can just sling around his neck once you catch him?
http://www.derbyhouse.co.uk/Equestr...ety+Flashing+BodyHorse+Neck+Band_320-0027.htm

I used to have to bring my horse down a mile of road from her winter field to the yard. I put her exercise sheet over her rug with a surcingle and clipped a red flashing bicycle light to the filet string. I put her reflective boots on and put the reflective attachments for her bridle onto her headcollar. I put a white flashing bicycle light onto the chest straps of her rug (she is pretty calm). Then I wore a tabard and lights on my arms and legs.
 
I walk my boy down the road, and he wears a hi-viz rug we made. He wears it all year round, any time of the day, as it can just be thrown over his rug.
It's an exercise sheet, with a hi-viz vest to fill in gaps, sewn over a cooler I wasn't using.
DSC00435.jpg


The ponio modelling it:
edit.jpg
 
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