Best hi viz for both horse & rider

[Spangles]

What jackets have you found the best, looking for a comfy waterproof lightweight ?
Best sheet for horse? Nothing too warm ideally
Best extras ie neck band, boots etc

Best colour ?

 

[Reri1826]

I like the v bandz combi-brite range. They do a mesh sheet which is fab all year round.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I like the v bandz combi-brite range. They do a mesh sheet which is fab all year round.

^^^ The v bandz two tone mesh sheet is what my horse is wearing in my avatar . Suitable for all year round use. Also their leg bands, ears, breastplate and hat band.

The leg bands are also orange and yellow, and I have been complimented many times on how visible they are.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Bumping the jacket question!
I have a Equisafety which to be fair I’ve had years but the elastic went quite quickly at the wrists so they have to be turned up or swamp my hands, not a huge issue, the zip has gone now though and undoes from the bottom as I’m riding!

 

[vam]

Another vote for V bandz, i've got the mesh sheet and the waterproof one, both great but the waterproof one is warm so i get more use out of the mesh one. I also have their waistcoat, hat band, light up horse bib and tail guard. Bar the bib and tail guard its all in pink and i get lots of comments about how well people can see me.
I think it also depends on time or year and where you ride, I personally think pink and orange stand out the best, yellow can be harder to see in some circumstances like low sun in the winter and against green sunny/shady back drops (not explained very well but you know those roads with trees/bushes at the sides and the sun comes through and yellow just seems to blend in a bit).

 

[tatty_v]

I have the horseware corrib fluoro jacket - good price and good quality. It’s not overly warm but I just layer up underneath as necessary. It is unisex though so you have to be careful with sizing!

For horse I have mark Todd fluoro exercise sheets - a mesh one for warmer days and a waterproof fleece lined ones for the really grotty days.

 

[MarvelVillis]

I recently bought my gelding an orange Masta ride on sheet (MR358) and I'm really impressed with it. It fits well, good quality, waterproof but lightweight, and I like the chest fastening to stop it slipping back. I think it's an older style as I can't find a lot of them for sale online.

 

[Pippity]

Another vote for V-Bandz. I have one of their mesh sheets and one of their waterproof sheets. They fit really well, and I like that they have a loop at the back to fit a bike light.

I also really rate their leg bands. They've got enough firmness to them that they don't crumple up, like a lot of the cheaper ones, and they're well-designed to fit a variety of leg widths, because the velcro straps attach all the way round, rather than just part way like the Equisafety ones.

I did have an issue with their breastplate, though. It just didn't go wide enough for my cob, and the velcro would come undone if she put her head down.

When it comes to my own hi-viz, I just raid the workwear section. It tends to be far better quality and a hell of a lot cheaper.

I use a variety of colours, on the grounds that different colours show up best in different light conditions. My 'standard' hacking outfit is:

Yellow breasplate (or green LED breasplate, depending on darkness)
Yellow legbands in front and orange legbands behind (with blue LED straps, depending on darkness)
Pink mesh exercise sheet, or pink and yellow waterproof exercise sheet (with bike light and red LED tail strands, depending on darkness)
Orange t-shirt/long-sleeved polo/similar
Orange hat silk
Orange whip (or red LED whip, depending on darkness)

I'll usually wear hi-viz/reflective jodhs, too, but that's more dependent on laundry!

 

[chaps89]

V-bandz. Their stuff lasts really well. I've had other hi-vis over the years and it fades and goes tatty, whereas my v-bandz bits are still going strong, well worth the money.
Plus it's a small company and the staff are really helpful - they made a custom neckband for me earlier this year which I'm thrilled with.

 

[Widgeon]

I buy cycling hi-viz when it's on sale. It's much cheaper than horsey brand stuff. I also made a hi-viz hat band out of two elasticated joggers' hi-viz velcro armbands (picked the velcro off one and stitched them together).

 

[Cowpony]

Have a look at Visijax, but the commercial/construction ones, not the cycling ones. They do vests and jackets with lights incorporated in the struture, which works brilliantly. The cycling stuff is £££ though!

 

[Widgeon]

Have a look at Visijax, but the commercial/construction ones, not the cycling ones. They do vests and jackets with lights incorporated in the struture, which works brilliantly. The cycling stuff is £££ though!

Thanks, this is a good tip - I have previously looked at construction stuff but they all seem to be unisex sizes, and as a size 12 woman I am drowned by even a Small. Going to have a look at Visijax now.

ETA - their website seems to be gone and they haven't posted on FB since 2018 - is this company still going?

 

[Cowpony]

They seem to be:
https://ckl.uk.com/visijax-industrial/

 

[gryff]

I've got the Charlotte DuJardin Equisafety Mercury jacket and exercise sheet. They are both fantastic, especially as I have to ride at night at this time of year.

 

[Pippity]

I've got the Charlotte DuJardin Equisafety Mercury jacket and exercise sheet. They are both fantastic, especially as I have to ride at night at this time of year.

My issue with the purely reflective stuff is that it's great if somebody shines a light on you but pretty useless otherwise. I mostly ride on bridle paths, so lots of pedestrians and cyclists around, and nobody uses a torch, so I'd be invisible.

Even on the roads, if you're riding in gloom, rather than pure darkness, a lot of motorists won't have their headlights on so, again, you're not visible. And if you're riding during the day, the pure reflective just looks grey.

I'd always opt for a bright colour with bits of reflective, rather than pure reflective, and add some LEDs. A yard friend drove past me hacking at dusk one evening, and mentioned that she saw my LED whip and tail strands long before her headlights hit anything reflective.

 

[gryff]

Its not purely reflective. It's a lovely red orange high viz, absolutely perfect for the very tree dense area that I ride in.

 

[Pippity]

Its not purely reflective. It's a lovely red orange high viz, absolutely perfect for the very tree dense area that I ride in.

Oh, fab! The only stuff I've seen that reflects like that is silvery-grey. I'm glad they've expanded/developed further.

 

[TotalMadgeness]

Vbandz in the main for mine (leg bands, neckband, ear veils & quarter sheets) but I also have the orange waterproof masta ride on rugs. I have a natty selection of tabards from various places and a couple of Slow Down jackets from Archers. Also use hi viz hat covers, gloves and whips for good measure!

 

[TotalMadgeness]

Archers https://www.archerssignsandgraphics.com/shop

 

[Sprig]

Ears, you need ears! I have always worn a tabard and horse has an exercise sheet but since adding ears the difference has been amazing. It clear that approaching cars can see us from much further away as they slow down earlier. I have even had car drivers stop to tell me how brilliant they are.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Ears, you need ears! I have always worn a tabard and horse has an exercise sheet but since adding ears the difference has been amazing. It clear that approaching cars can see us from much further away as they slow down earlier. I have even had car drivers stop to tell me how brilliant they are.

Ears are great, plus breastplates.

A horse and rider came towards us on the road a few days ago while I was walking the dog. Rider was wearing a hi viz tabard. The tabard was easy to see initially, but when the horse spotted us it raised its head and neck up to suss us out, and that completely covered up my view of the tabard from the front until the horse lowered its head again.

 

[TotalMadgeness]

Ears are great, plus breastplates.

A horse and rider came towards us on the road a few days ago while I was walking the dog. Rider was wearing a hi viz tabard. The tabard was easy to see initially, but when the horse spotted us it raised its head and neck up to suss us out, and that completely covered up my view of the tabard from the front until the horse lowered its head again.

Yeah tabards are not enough - they're too easily obscured. I think the hi viz hat covers are great for you being spotted by drivers too.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I’ve shown these dash cam stills before, but IMHO they are worth another look. It was a gloriously sunny late January day, just before 1pm.

OH driving, I spotted the two riders first. They were mostly hidden in the shadow of the hedge, but I could see the riders’ heads bobbing about and their shadows on the road well before I could make out the horses.

The front rider was wearing a tabard, but that was the only hi viz. The riders were doing nothing wrong, they were in full control of the horses, but they were incredibly difficult to spot in the lighting conditions. NSL road.

 

[Annagain]

Breastplates are good on bigger horses as their chests are at the drivers' eye level. We have the Equisafety wraparound rugs with the detachable breastplate. They're quite well made and they've lasted years but the sizings are weird. Archie and Month both have an XL but M's is a summer weight and A's winter. M's fits him front to back but is way too deep (goes down to his hocks and he's not small!) while A's is the right depth but a bit short front to back. The hole for the saddle is too far forward so you have to put it over the top of the saddle and sit on a bit of it rather than around the saddle The breastplates are made up of two pieces that do up with velcro at the front. We've had to put one piece of Monty's and one piece of Archie's together otherwise M's is too big and A's too small! The idea of the breastplate is really good though, it's much wider than others I've seen and much more visible. In the summer we attach them to their saddles rather than the rug so they're useful in their own right. I think you can buy them without the rugs.

 

[jnb]

For horse I have mark Todd fluoro exercise sheets - a mesh one for warmer days and a waterproof fleece lined ones for the really grotty days.

I haven't seen a mesh Mark Todd fluorescent sheet, I have the fleece line one as it fits a cob so well, where did you get the mesh one please?

 

[MollyFell]

^^^ The v bandz two tone mesh sheet is what my horse is wearing in my avatar . Suitable for all year round use. Also their leg bands, ears, breastplate and hat band.

The leg bands are also orange and yellow, and I have been complimented many times on how visible they are.

How is the sizing on the mesh sheet? I'm leaning towards Cob but worried it might be too long. Pony is a tank of a Fell, 13.2, relatively short backed though so maybe Pony would be better?

 

[holeymoley]

I have a Hy hi vis jacket which is really bright. And it’s about 10 years old.

For horse I use Lumi products- he has a browband and neckband which can light up if it gets dark early and you need a bit extra. I also have tail lights but I’ve never used them. Legacy hi vis brushing boots and leg bands.

 

[TotalMadgeness]

In the first pic this rider was virtually impossible to see on a bright day... The horses spotted her first in fact! God knows how drivers saw her.... In the 2nd its me and my Archer's jacket waving down a driver (my friend was on a single track bridge behind me and the van was approaching at speed)

 

[AFB]

I have an Equisafety gilet and it's fab quality - wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again.

 

[Griffin]

Another vote for V-Bandz (both for horse and rider). @MollyFell I will try to have a look at my mesh sheet later, I have a long backed 13.2 who uses it.