Do you take your phone when you hack?

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domane

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Or do you tell someone where you are going/how long you are likely to be when you hack? I'm ashamed to admit that I do neither :o I do have a little pouch that I can clip onto the D-ring of my saddle which carries my phone but I'm always in the dilemma of "If I keep it in my pocket and come off, I'll land on it and smash it! vs "If I clip it to the saddle and I come off and he runs off, I'm left without my phone" so I tend to leave it behind so that I don't have the mental anguish of wondering which is the better of the two options. We have 500 acres of farmland hacking around my yard so I don't actually leave the farm's premises, but I do sometimes wonder that if I came off and lay unconscious, how long it would be before someone noticed.....
 
I always take mine with me, in a little bag so its attached to me. I also tell someone when I am going and when I should be back, I have two kids who need to be picked up from school so someone needs to know if I go incase something happens and I am not there to pick them up (one of my biggest worries)!! I also say which route I am going to take so I am easier to find if I don't come back!!!!
 
I always carry my mobile. I ride on my own alot of the time and if I come off I know I can get some help. I feel safe with my mobile as well as there can be some nutters out there !!
You could always put it down in your boot, I do. The other day I did two rounds of showjumping with phone in my boot, i forgot it was there lol.
I also take my phone to events as well.
 
You should always always take a phone. I learned that the hard way, when I dislocated my shoulder while riding and didn't have my phone on me. Thankfully I was near enough to a house who knew me to shout for help. I couldn't get off the horse myself, and every movement of the horse was agony.

I can't believe that vanity about your phone means you put your life at risk to prevent damaging it!! I'd suggest getting a second, cheap pay as you go phone to either take with you, or to change the simcard into. Always carry the phone on you, and have "mum" or "dad" in your phonebook so that a stranger knows who to contact..
 
I do now....About 3 months ago I left home for an early morning ride - realised i'd left my phone at home halfway and thought...nahhh it'll be fine...anyway all was not fine, stupid horse decided to have a stoppy spinny bronchy session, I came off, he galloped on to main B road, and had NO PHONE to tell anyone - had to run about 2 miles (no mean feat when winded!) got back to yard, got in OH car - found horse cantering merrily back towards me with about a mile of traffic behind him, god knows how he isnt dead....got home collapsed and had to go to an ambulance for concussion and shock...

So no, now i ALWAYS make sure I have my phone on me - although it is a HTC and the battery life is RUBBISH!!!!
 
In the day and age where you can buy a mobile phone on PAYG for £10, its plain stupid to risk not taking a phone, particularly if you hack alone.
 
Hell yes, horse riding is a dangerous enough sport as it is without taking into account how dangerous it can be going on the roads or being a woman/child riding out alone in the countryside.

It only takes the wrong driver or the wrong weirdo and one of us riders to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, every horse rider needs a phone.
 
I always have a phone on me and TBH, of all the times I've come off not once has the phone been damaged in any way. I've fallen on concrete a couple of times.

I also always write in the diary what time I left and am due back as well as the route.
 
Always take my phone with me and always wear high vis too. And after last weekend, i now realise even more how important they both are.

We had an incident that involved 3 horses bolting, and a friend needing an ambulance. If it hadn't have been for our mobile phones and high vis, we would have been in a right mess, as we were stuck in the middle of fields.
 
Yes I do, I have in the past had the need to use it and I do tell folk where I am going and how long I should be. I also have address etc on a tag on his bridle and saddle and my ID and health instruction inside my hat.

Can You tell I speak from experiance !!
 
Always make I have one, even if someone else doesm they might end up in a different place! It goes in the pocket of my hi-vis and I don't give two hoot sof it gets smashed as it's insured and having fallen off on a hack and used it, I'd rather be safe than sorry :)

(did contemplate buying a cheap one for hacking that was smaller)
 
Yes always take it with me. YO has a little pouch attached to saddle but I didn't like the idea. Doesn't help me if I come off and horse runs off. So far I just had my phone in my pocket but today wandering through town I went into a charity shop and found a really handy little bag called "body glove". It's similar to a old fashioned "bum bag" but out of neoprene and very small and skinny. I thought perfect for hacking out or when I go for runs. For £2.99, a bargain and lifesaver :D
 
joeanne said:
In the day and age where you can buy a mobile phone on PAYG for £10, its plain stupid to risk not taking a phone, particularly if you hack alone.
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Ditto - I would also add make sure your horse is ok with the ring tone or put it on to silent. I would also make sure you dont have a password and have your ICE number on in case you realy come unstuck and someone needs to find out who you are
 
Yes of course - I don't know anyone who doesn't.

It wasn't that long ago when no one had mobile phones though. We did survive without phones! Although even I had a few nasty incidents which involved more stress, and having to wait longer for help to arrive than if similar incidents were to happen now :)
 
I don't, I just tell someone where i'm going when I leave. I thought the same, didn't want it to break if i fell off.
However after the reading the comments above, i think i'm going to start taking it with me just in case. Have never needed it, but doesn't mean i won't in the future
 
I always have my phone on me when I'm hacking, and normally when I'm schooling too if I'm on my own. I don't always let someone know exactly where I'm going though as often i am the last one at the yard. DH knows that I have gone down to the yard though and knows our normal hacking routes. A few times he has text me "are you still alive?" when I have been late back.

I keep my phone on me incase the horse and I get separated. If I'm not wearing a coat/fleece I wear a gilet as my phone doesn't fit in my jodhs pocket. I'm considering getting a PAYG sim in an old phone just for hacking as my phone is pretty big. I'm not to worried about it getting damaged as it did once fall out of my pocket while i was schooling and it was fine, it also survived when I dropped it onto the yard whilst getting on.

For those of you who put your phone in your bra or boot, please reconsider. Your phone needs to be somewhere you can easily get at if you are injured and/or trapped, it also needs to be somewhere a stranger or the emergency services will check if you are knocked out. You also need to be able to get to it without getting off or putting yourself at risk in case you need to call the police or something due to say being accosted by a nutter.

Whoever puts their id and medical stuff in their hat, bear in mind that any first aider will not remove your hat until they are sure they have stabilised your spine so they may not get the information straight away.

All makes you think though, must improve my safety measures. I need a saddle tag in case horse gets separated from me, and something with my contact details on to attach to my person...... Must also put ICE details on my phone, currently just have mum and husband as VIP contacts.
 
i almost always take my phone with me.

before i moved to a yard it was just me and the horses, i used to phone my OH up and tell him i was going for a ride (just about to get on etc), which ride i was doing and roughly what time i would be back. if i didn't text or phone him within 15mins of the time i said then he is phoning me to make sure all is ok. i did it mainly for the kids peace of mind though rather than anything else.
 
I do make a point of taking my phone with me, but do worry about where to put it.

I recently attended an Equine Specific First Aid course and the guy asked where we all carried our phones, someone said 'in my jods pocket' he replied 'ok, so when you fall the phone could break your hip or get impaled in you. :o ....'in a special pouch that I attach to my arm or leg' he replied 'ok, possible broken leg or arm', so it seems where ever you put your phone your risking injury to yourself...but I guess at least you have your phone on you which means you can call for help ;)

No way would I attach it to the horse...by bye horse ~waving as horse canters of into the distance~

One other point, I got laughed at by YO teenage daughter the other day for daring to wear Hi-Viz whilst hacking with her...Why? Is it not better that I can be seen and therefore perhaps save my life or my horses life??
 
Magicmillbrook said:
Ditto - I would also add make sure your horse is ok with the ring tone or put it on to silent.
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That’s actually really sensible advice. Not the same but I took a lovely scenic hacking photo a couple of weeks back on my mobile and as soon as the shutters went I was left with a hooning snorting mare and both reins in weak hand. My fault completely and shows you’re never too old to learn.
 
I always take my phone. I pretty much always ride on my own and there is very often no-one around as well as this I don't tend to decide exactly where I'm going, I tend to head out in a certain direction and go so I couldn't tell you exactly where I was going :o
 
I always have my phone with me. Its just something I always do as part of my tacking up routine... Actually, I always have it when I`m schooling. I think that comes from riding late at night or early when theres no one else around. I actually feel a little vulnerable if i havent got it......Like when you realise you havent put your hat on, half way up the lane!
 
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