Does anyone else ride in the dark?

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FairyLights

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I dont have anything rideable at the moment , but
i used tolove riding in the dark, not the twilight but the real deep dark.
i just love hacking out then , round the quiet lanes,at 7 or 8 pm at night. I hope to be able too again in time to come when my weanlings become of rideable age. Is it just me? am I wierd? or does anyone else do this?:D
 
My horse can't see where he's going in broad daylight, so er.. no.

Presumably reflectived and hi vizd up to the eyeballs and with flashing lights on every extremity?
 
There was a girl who was briefly on our yard who did.
Personally, I thought she was bonkers. If we were in a lit up area, I could understand but we are in no lighting, twisty turny lanes area. She was asking for trouble imo.

Bizarrely, she seemed to think it was something to brag about!!
 
skewbald_again said:
Presumably reflectived and hi vizd up to the eyeballs and with flashing lights on every extremity?
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yes,of course! and I go where I am unlikely to meet any vehicles. Its to solitude and the great comforting enveloping dark blanket that is the night that I love, just hearing the clip-clop of the hooves,the horses breath , the creaking leather,its just fabulous. Something I miss muchly at the moment.
 
i dont like it in the dark as the horse cant see where she going and she panicks but i do like riding in the indoor school when theres noone else in and the doors are closed with my eyes shut.
 
Hacking on quiet lanes at 7-8pm in the pitch dark on my lovely horses is right up there with my other favourite things to do, including playing with electricity pylons, playing on railway lines, jogging up and down the motorway and going for late night swims in the reservoir with my lead diving suit...
 
RunToEarth said:
Hacking on quiet lanes at 7-8pm in the pitch dark on my lovely horses is right up there with my other favourite things to do, including playing with electricity pylons, playing on railway lines, jogging up and down the motorway and going for late night swims in the reservoir with my lead diving suit...
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Hell Fire :eek:, I read that and thought noooo, not Rosiie, she always comes across as sensible.
Glad I read on :D.
 
quirky said:
Hell Fire :eek:, I read that and thought noooo, not Rosiie, she always comes across as sensible.
Glad I read on :D.
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Ha, no, if I weren't hit by a car in the process of hacking in the dark, or the horse hadn't put its foot down a hole and decked us both, I'm sure my OH would strangle me for doing something like that.
 
Must be just me then! I never thought about the hole thingy. I just trust the horse to know where its going. They do ok in the field. We do stick to a well known route. I wouldnt take the horse anywhere it wasnt used to going.
 
Of course, doesn't everyone :p


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i love it how everyone saying horses cant see in the dark... they live on carrots man :rolleyes:

No, but in all seriousness... how do you think they cope out in the feild at night without having a traumatised night being 'got' by the electric fencing?
 
bigboyrocky said:
No, but in all seriousness... how do you think they cope out in the feild at night without having a traumatised night being 'got' by the electric fencing?
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If I was driving a car along a country lane in the pitch black and I slammed into a ridden horse, I'd be more than furious.
Seeing the ensuing carnage is something an innocent driver shouldn't have to live with because of some mentally challenged individual 'enjoys the dark'.

Think on is what I say!!

Horse riders manage to pi** many drivers off at the best of time, without pulling stunts like that.
 
no reason to be hit by a vehicle as I ride on very quiet lanes where its unusual to meet a car in daylight never mind at night, and also am covered in hi -vi and lights on stirrups. more visable than a cyclist i'd say. unless the car doent have any lights on theres no reason at all why I shouldnt be highly visable.
 
I don't because I'm scared of the dark but I see no reason why not to.

people walk their dogs and ride their bikes in the dark. Sounds like you make yourself pretty visible so you're probably safer than most of the morons out there on foot staggering home from the pub!
 
I wouldnt purely based on if I'm driving along at 7/8 o clock at night I dont expect to come across a horse and rider... and I doubt anyone else would.
 
I also don't because I am scared of the dark :)

But I also see no reason why not so long as you are high-vized, lights, head lights etc!!! At my uni house we used to hear 2 people riding past at about 11pm nearly every night. A few times I was driving home and nearly hit them coming round a bend....they were not wearing a singly bit of high viz or any lights AT ALL!!!!!
 
I haven't this winter as I haven't needed to but I usually go out first thing in the morning while it's still dark, I only have about 5mins lane hack until I get to our bit of off road riding that I can go up and down and know that its safe then it is light when we come back. I normally meet 2 cars.. both guys I know who are going the same place as me to walk their dogs.

get up includes all of the following.
Bridle kit
breastplate
fluorescent hat with reflective strip
headlight (on me, pony doesnt like it so much as pedantic's).
leg bands (on horse)
arm bands
exercise sheet
fluorescent waistcoat
LED flashing vest like pedantic's
rear clip on bike light.

I should think I am a damn sight more visible on F than when I am ever on my bike though I dress up for that too!

I wouldn't do it in every area but I decided to weigh up the risks and benefits to us in our situation and where we live and decided that it would be an ok thing to do. If I didn't have the off road riding we have a 30mph straight A road through our village which is lit and generally wide I would have to have more of a think about that one but I probably would use it if it was that or not exercise him in the week at all.
 
I used to, many years ago simply cos if I didn't for various reasons I wouldn't have been able hack at all in the winter......BUT.... We were very lucky in the fact that that our yard was close to the beach and the only section of road we had to ride along was very very straight and long and was lit. Pony wore hi viz cape, with flashing lights on tail flap, hi viz leg straps, hi viz neck strap, hi viz on bridle and reins, lights on my ankles and upper arm, hi viz waistcoat and hat band.....riding on the beach in dusk and sunset is wonderful and we could come back via bridle way and farm track. Lots of us used to do it. I think some still do. But I would think very carefully about doing it, it really depends on where you are based and if it's something you can do safely. Oh once (bearing mind Sooty is a 14.1 dales pony) an bunch of kids once asked if he was a police horse! Bless....
:D
 
I deffinately wouldn't do it. The horses are much spookier at night, as well as sensing our own nerve. Imo it's risking the horse and both your own life, as no matter how much hi-vis gear you're wearing, if a car came speeding round a twisty-turny lane (not expecting to see horses) doing stupid mph, you'd never stand a chance. Not worth it.
 
Nitro mouse.. Frank, 14.2 welsh.. got asked while hacking past the school the other day if he was a police horse :) I said he was a tad short.

he is also less spooky in the dark :) random I know. frequently ride/school in the dark in our field and much better behaved.
 
I love riding in the dark..just in the moonlight..but I don't go on roads at all & I wouldn't just of fear of being hit by a car or my horse freaking out on a road..but yeh I get why you enjoy it..
 
Unfortunately, not all people are as aware as they should be and there are many drivers out there that are very idiotic and will speed around country lanes. If everyone was as sensible on the roads as they should be, there'd be a hell of a lot less accidents.
 
I ride in the school with the lights on - does that count??!

I would never never ever ride on the roads in the dark. I have had a few hairy experiences with idiot drivers too fast / too close etc in daylight which have been bad enough, wouldn't dare do it in the dark.

I also once also saw the aftermath of a road accident in twilight where a horse got hit by a car. It was awful.
 
I rode past a school last Thursday at picking up time, cars everywhere, it wasn't the cars that were a problem, it was the stupid turd err child which ran up behind and smacked my pony causing him to leap forward, obviously my language wasn't very good when I turned and told "it" what for, the shaved shapes in it's hairstyle said it all, I'm sure someone will want to moan about that as well, anyone got their finger on the button ready, maybe we should just not ride at all at anytime, somebody else might have to "think", and we know how difficult that can be for most that reside here.
 
quirky said:
If I was driving a car along a country lane in the pitch black and I slammed into a ridden horse, I'd be more than furious.
Seeing the ensuing carnage is something an innocent driver shouldn't have to live with because of some mentally challenged individual 'enjoys the dark'.

Think on is what I say!!

Horse riders manage to pi** many drivers off at the best of time, without pulling stunts like that.
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I didnt say i would ride in the dark! Just that horses can see in the dark! I think its pure dangerous!
 
Alot of people replying to this with so much negativity are just funny to listen too.

Nothing wrong with riding in the dark if you are somewhere where the likelyness of a car or bike is 0-1, forestry etc, with a headlamp and lots of hi-viz so as not to frighten potential dog walkers etc.

Just because the moon has come up and the sun has gone down, doesnt mean you cant enjoy a ride. Although riding along roads is very dangerous, short journeys on the road to get to some open land would be okay, but wouldnt do any late night road work :)

Horses are spooky at night but at the same time, you know your horse better than anyone, for all these people who chuck all their eggs in the same basket, they are just silly.
Be safe, plenty of lights and hi-viz, if people can ride bikes at night, why cant you horse ride. As a driver you should be just as vigilient!(sp?)
 
I love hacking in the pitch black, but I don't have to go on any roads to get to the forest tracks round us, and also have a very sensible horse. If we ever meet a cyclist in the woods they are generally much more freaked out when they spot us than we are when we spot them!
 
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