For people who ride and wear glasses

[hunting mad]

My eye sight is gradually getting worse,so have to wear my glasses riding.
I really struggle when its raining as rain drops land on my glasses then i cant see!!!
What hats do glasses wearers use....is there one better for the job of keeping glasses clear???
I think the most difficult time is when im hunting.
Any tips for making wearing glasses easier?

 

[BigRed]

have you tried contact lenses, they are very cheap now and super comfortable. I hate it when my glasses steam up. My ears can also get a bit sore.

 

[hunting mad]

have you tried contact lenses, they are very cheap now and super comfortable. I hate it when my glasses steam up. My ears can also get a bit sore.

I have never tried contacts.....but the thought of putting them in turns my stomach.........i cant even put cream in my eyes!!

 

[jsr]

For the first time in years I had to wear my glasses on friday while riding and remembered why I got contacts!!!! I'm blind as a bat without them and they kept slipping off my nose and while trying to hold him back because he wanted to gallop and I was attempting a lesson in 'just because we are on grass we don't have to go like the clappers' so couldn't push them back up!!!!

If you cannot bear contacts I'd suggest some racing goggles for hunting because personally I would be very very nervous to ride in just my glasses without something protecting them.

 

[quirky]

No magic cure I'm afraid. I have been riding in glasses for 20+ years and I tend to use my hand as a windscreen wiper when it rains. TBH, it's not so bad when it's raining, it's when you stop and start steaming up that's a pain.

The only mishap I have had was when I fell off hunting and one lense popped out of my glasses and I rode half blind for the rest of the day .

I much prefer riding in glasses than contacts, I feel as if my glasses give me protection from branches and bugs that lenses don't .

 

[ruth83]

Putting in contacts is very different to eye cream. Most opticians will give you a contact lens fitting and some contacts to trial for free. (I haven't worn contacts for over 5 years, last week I went to specsavers and they did a fitting plus gave me 5 pairs of daily disposables to try for free)

I wear glasses, either with a velvet peaked hat or with a slik pulled down low if it is raining. If it is really bad I ride without glasses, I can see enough to do this - it's just all a bit blurry!

I used to wear contacts when I hunted.

 

[pinklilly]

JSR can you put lenses in racing goggles? I'd be interested if you could... I won't wear glasses for riding and I'm not great with contacts either.

 

[Kokopelli]

I can't deal with contacts at the yard as any bit of dust makes them hurt really bad.
I wear glasses all the time except xc and when its raining, at times like this I just go blind. Not ideal.

Would you not look incredibly stupid in racing googles? And would they cost a fortune to get lenses?

 

[Kenzo]

Surely if your hunting it's better off that you can't see at all

I just tend to manage, sometimes I use contact lenses, well most of the time actually for riding on weekends unless I ride after work, can't be bothered faffing around putting them in then, contact lenses are good for when it's raining but when your grooming it can be a nightmare, all that dust that blows into your eyes, so sometimes wearing specs can be good thing!

If your hat has a peak and fits a little lower then that it can help with the rain if it's coming straight down, I tend to get the drips on my nose rather problems with my glasses which i find equally annoying

 

[jsr]

JSR can you put lenses in racing goggles? I'd be interested if you could... I won't wear glasses for riding and I'm not great with contacts either.

Oh I don't know, you can wear them comfortablly over glasses but would be useful to have len's in but I'm guessing not possible as goggles are made of softer material than glasses frames.

I'm too much of a wimp for laser treatment but find contacts really easy, couldn't bare the thought of glasses all the time and would worry about breaking them and honestly with my sight I couldn't ride without them! Lol have to laugh my horse is blind in one eye and I'm legally blind without contacts so imagine the upset!!!

 

[pinklilly]

I have been whacked in the side of my head a time or two for I am blind in my right eye so prefer not to wear glasses around horses. Having just looked at the design of racing goggles I don't think it would be possible to fit lenses in them. Will have to attempt contact lenses again if I want to do x-country.

To the OP if your sight is getting worse have you had an eye check lately? I have glaucoma and I am in my thirties.

 

[moana]

Ask your Optician about a special lens coating that helps remove rain fast without sitting as droplets. I thought I couldn't wear contacts, as am very squeamish about eyes, but have worn them for thirty years with no problems. I tend to wear glasses a lot again over the last two years.

 

[Booboos]

You can definitely put lenses in racing goggles, in diving masks, in anything your like really!

Hope you find a solution!

 

[pinklilly]

Boo boo do you know how to go about that? Will my optician be able to adapt some? I only want them specially for competing. Contacts are a bit of a faff for I use drops several times a day and can't put them in for half an hour afterwards.

 

[Maesfen]

I tried contacts once - optician had to fish them out as I fainted!

 

[Cazza525]

I've worn contact lenses for 17 years....have had all types, hard, soft, gas permeable and for the last few years have had daily disposables.....

They are really simple to put in and out and i don't feel them at all.....i urge you to give it a go, riding in glasses is a pain in the a***!!

 

[JLD]

JSR can you put lenses in racing goggles? I'd be interested if you could... I won't wear glasses for riding and I'm not great with contacts either.

probably - you can get lenses in skiing and swimming goggles. - ask your optician

 

[pheline]

Daily contact lenses I would recommend.
I used to be squeamish with putting things near my eyes, but they are so comfortable and you get used to them quickly.
I do get dry eyes sometimes, so I use eyedrops but theyre perfect for at the yard and so practical.

 

[blood_magik]

I'm having LASIK a week on Friday and I can't wait
only downside is not being allowed to ride for two weeks after to let my corneas heal

I cant ride in my glasses - they get in the way when I have my hat on - so I wear contacts or go without

 

[hunting mad]

I have been whacked in the side of my head a time or two for I am blind in my right eye so prefer not to wear glasses around horses. Having just looked at the design of racing goggles I don't think it would be possible to fit lenses in them. Will have to attempt contact lenses again if I want to do x-country.

To the OP if your sight is getting worse have you had an eye check lately? I have glaucoma and I am in my thirties.

I have just had my eyes checked and collected my new glasses today.....think thats why im feeling a bit more miffed than usual!
I really dont think i could do contacts.
I have a champion ventair skull cap,but it doesnt really protect the glasses from the rain.
I carry a glassescase in my hunt coat pocket,and have many times taken my glasses off when i can no longer see out hunting due to rain......then i cant see when i have taken them off.The amounts of times ive nearly been ripped off the horse backwards by branches.

 

[FairyLights]

Now I remember why I dont ride in the rain! I am very short-sighted and have quite thick glasses, terrible nucience in the wet. I used to have contacts but they became unafordable when I gave up work to be a full time housewife.

 

[Jesster]

Have laser surgery! I can now ride in the rain, swim, surf, get up in the middle of the night for a pee without crashing in to stuff, log flumes at theme parks! The list is endless!

Failing that (as it is expensive) contact lenses are great and they have come a very long way since the early days of weeping, sore eyes and hard lenses. just dont pass out drunk in 'em!

 

[Piglet]

Hey mrs, I recommend contact lenses, they are great, I wouldn't be without mine. Ever so easy to put in but it does take a while and practice before you can do it without blinking. When I first started using mine, the language which was coming from the bathroom would make anyone wince but with perseverence, I can pop them in within seconds and - presto - everything is much clearer.

 

[Apricot]

My little sister rode in glasses and struggled in the rain too! She now has contact lenses and although it took her months to get brave enough to actually put them in, she wears them every day now and thinks they're fantastic! (also doesn't have to worry about breaking glasses when she falls off/gets whacked by pony's neck!!) She's very squeamish and overdramatic p) so really didn't want contacts to start with, but just took it slowly and now has no problem with putting them in or taking them out.

 

[EPRider]

I cannot wear contact lenses as allergic to them but you can get skiing goggles with prescription lenses.

 

[Vixen Van Debz]

I can't help with the prescription goggles bit... However while I'm not a generally squeamish person there’s two things that turn my stomach – eyeballs (any poking around, infections, ops etc) and breaking bones. (I am forever haunted by the sound of my mate’s leg snapping in two places during a rugby match when he was stood on). Despite my reservations however, I tried contact lenses and I love them. I have NEVER touched my eyeball while putting them in/taking them out, and as they’re daily disposables they’re comfy and soft. After a couple of blinks I don’t notice they’re in: I couldn’t be without them for riding now. I’ve ridden in my glasses a few times in recent months when I’ve run out of time, or have forgotten about putting them in and made some chilli-based concoction beforehand. My glasses are a nuisance though, and I don’t fancy them becoming part of my face if I get whacked about the head.

Contact lense fittings/trials are free: the first time the optician put mine in and then turfed me out for an hour to go into town to see what it was like wearing them. When I got back, she trained and let me put them in/out myself. My stomach didn’t turn once!

My friend at school though had her own pony and she rode in glasses for years. I’m pretty sure she had a spray she bought in the opticians to help keep them clear though…

ETA: I've been given this comparison before - contacts are to tampons what glasses are to Sanitary towels – lots of people are put off by the idea of them, but in reality they’re actually not uncomfortable at all, you don’t realise they’re there and they do a wonderful job.

 

[peaceandquiet1]

Brave it and go for the laser surgery. Complete freedom from glasses and contact lenses, neither of which are great around horses.

 

[vallin]

I ride in glasses (can't have laser eye surgery and the only contacts I can get are yearly one which would be a disaster ) and play hockey etc. in them and the best thing I found was getting a pair of oakley sport glasses, they curve round your face so you get good prerifory vision as well and wont smash if you have an accident (didn't like the idea of normal glasses and hockey balls!) and they don't seem too bad in the rain, possibly because they seem to sit slightly closer to your face than normal glasses.

 

[merlins-mum]

I wear glasses the whole time including at the yard and while riding. I wear a standard hat with a peak, and don't have a problem with rain. The two issues I do have are when I go from the cold outside into the nice warm stable and find that they suddenly steam up, and the fact that they get really mucky.

 

[Sugar1987]

I really would consider contacts as other posts say they have come a long way in the last few years, i now how have night and day lenses that last a month, so no fishing round in my eye twice a day. Ideally take them out for a clean once a week........when i remember! Couldn't go back to riding in glasses way to annoying for me.