Hacking out - Hi Viz?

Wearing Hi Viz out hacknig

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I just have a standard workmans hi viz jacket I use around the farm. Wear it when doing a lot of road work when the roads are busy, and in the evening. Most of the time we just ride through the forestry and fields so dont need it then.

One thing interesting here coming out is where people ride in high traffic areas and some in the middle of nowhere.
 
I am literally in the middle of nowhere and I still wear it.I am almost always alone. I've gone with orange as I think it shows up better in the landscape I am in (moors and forest)-I wear a tabard/jacket, hat band and equines wear boots/wraps.

When I was dealing with traffic by far the most effective thing I had that seemed to make drivers slow down was a tabard with a caution sign on it-I dont much care for writing on hi viz.
 
Mike007 said:
The traditional fluorescent yellow Hi viz is now a thing of the past in many industries ,as it has been found to make the wearer LESS visible in certain circumstances . Red and yellow is the way forward folks.
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MotherOfChickens is right; orange is the most visible on the spectrum to the human eye, hence why Highways Agency and rail workers deck out in that.

Yellow's still good but more of a seasonal thing, i.e. not as useful in late spring and summer.
 
I don't always wear official hi viz. If it's broad daylight and sunny, I often wear a bright pink or bright blue t-shirt, and I'm still pretty visible - seeing as neither colour is exactly prevalent in my local environment. I watched two people hacking mine out last summer - one in a bright pink t shirt, and one in yellow hiviz, and I could see the tshirt longer than I could see the hi viz.

I wear an orange hi viz fleece on winter days, and a mesh tabard in summer if i'm not in a bright tshirt. Our local roads are all very straight and open without trees, so I don't ride in dark, shaded places much - and I do wear hi viz if i'm heading anywhere like that.

Horse has a mesh sheet, and it works rather well as a fly sheet, as well as making him easier to spot.
 
benson21 said:
We were hit by a car a few years ago, the car was speeding, the Police said that if we hadnt been wearing hi-vis, the driver could say he didnt see us and get away with it. But as we were wearing hi-vis he had no excuse, and got done for dangerous driving.
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That's very interesting B21.
 
benson21 said:
We were hit by a car a few years ago, the car was speeding, the Police said that if we hadnt been wearing hi-vis, the driver could say he didnt see us and get away with it. But as we were wearing hi-vis he had no excuse, and got done for dangerous driving.
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I'm not sure how watertight this argument is - if I hit a pedestrian, whether he was wearing hi viz or not, a driver driving with regard for the road and weather conditions should have seen and avoided him, the fact that he was wearing hi viz would just make him easier to avoid.
 
Always wear hi-viz for hacking, even if I'm just going round the fields and not on roads. I figure that if I come off, I'll be easier to spot if I'm out cold on the ground!!!
 
Haven't read other replies but always wear hi viz when hacking, in fact I recently moved H and realised just how much of a hi viz collection we now have. I have lightweight running gilets in pink (good for summer) and yellow, lightweight running jackets in pink and yellow, an equisafety thick winter jacket in yellow (the one with the please pass wide and slow triangle on the back), yellow hi viz trousers and a yellow jockey skull cover. H has a hi viz exercise sheet in yellow and a pink hi viz breastplate cover..
 
RunToEarth said:
I'm not sure how watertight this argument is - if I hit a pedestrian, whether he was wearing hi viz or not, a driver driving with regard for the road and weather conditions should have seen and avoided him, the fact that he was wearing hi viz would just make him easier to avoid.
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Depends were the pedestrian was we're they crossing the road? Walking on the road. As already said if your on the road whatever your doing you should make yourself as visible as possible. The police were fining cyclists in the winter in low light for no lights or hi viz.
 
Only if the visibility is poor due to rain or poor light. i.e. based on a risk assessment. I don't wear it on warm sunny days, but then again I ride a 16,2 600kg large white blob, I would probably wear it if I was on a dark bay.

Why not wear it all the time ? I find that the frissant of reckless rebellion at defying my wife's constant nagging to wear one all the time adds greatly to the enjoyment of my ride ;-)
 
On the roads yes, we all do (riders not horses) but not riding round the fields/down the lane on private land where there is no traffic of any kind.
 
very few pople us ny hi viz here in most area of cornwall. madness and it rives me mad, especially as a driver. my donkey wears plenty of hi vis too. i am looking at getting jodhpurs and gloves to add to my yellow collection. i won't wear pink, although it has been proven it is more visible than yellow. if i did not have yellow it would be orange
 
Don't ever go on the road without being decked out like a christmas tree with hi viz! If I'm just going round the cross country then I don't bother, any other hacking involves roads
 
I am one of the only riders around us that wears a Polite tabard, Shy has a yellow tail wrap, my boots have velcro yellow straps, and when Percy the dog is with us, he has a hi vis vest on.

There are two professional dealer/ schoolers near me who obviously think their horses have a safety barrier around them. And BOTH TEACH FOR THE HUNT PONY CLUB. Also hunters returning ride at night and are invisible. Good going, guys.

NEWSFLASH -- horses will not survive a car crash if they brake a leg !!! Be seen !!
 
Donnie Darco said:
Always - why would you not ?
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Two reasons for me:

As I said earlier, you get a big difference in reaction to you from dogs out walking in hi viz. The number of times I've heard 'oh, you look like a workman, he doesn't like the fluorescents they wear' when a dog has gotten upset at us in hi viz. Doesn't happen nearly so much without it. Yes, it's the dog owner's fault for not socialising their dog properly, but it makes me safer not to be luminous.

Secondly, I hate putting my sheet on my horse if the weather is very hot, as it makes him sweat a lot, and likewise when it is warm and wet, the waterproof sheet is too thick, and using the non-waterproof one means he is in a soaking layer for two hours. I have hunted high and low for a THIN waterproof sheet without a blooming fleece liner, and I cannot find one. I can find thin summer sheets that are non-waterproof (Scottish summer NEEDS waterproofs!) or that are waterproof but have thin fleece or neoprene layers inside, which cook him to death (I do own both types)! So therefore in summer, I try to avoid the use when possible in exchange for my dark navy thin waterproof sheet (which does have a reflective strip) if I am off-road and the light conditions are ok.

Also, on my last yard, the roads were very twisty, and single track. Any car coming round the corner was on top of you, but moving slowly. I met horses many times on those roads, and honestly unless it was misty or dusky then hi viz made no difference to visibility times. So I stopped bothering, especially as I tend to wear lots of bright pinks, purples and blues anyway, so am easily noticed.

So there are SOME genuine reasons not to bother with them IN CERTAIN SCENARIOS.
 
Donnie Darco said:
Always - why would you not ?
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on a bright sunny day I do not think they are necessary - I hack out in a very bright red gilet and do not believe reflective strips are going to be beneficial in good daylight. I also think the woman at the local livery who hacks out every single day even in the height of summer with a waterproof fleece lined Hi Viz exercise sheet on is a moron and I feel very sorry for her evidently overheating horse.
 
Always on the roads whatever the season. I try to do all I can to make it safer for me and others to hack on the roads. I have had cars stop and thank me as my yellow waistcoat had alerted them and they slowed down. I can not see why you would not try to protect you and your horse, you are always going to get people saying otherwise though. Each to their own.
 
No roadwork necessary at my yard - direct hacking into miles of private woodland, fields and farm tracks. I don't wear HiViz as standard but, if we are doing roadwork, or even just crossing a road to get to more woodland, I do of course wear it - a waistcoat for me and boots for my horse. I am the only person to do so at my yard and get laughed at for being so 'bright'. I have stated the reasons for wearing it but, they don't buy it. It's their choice though...
 
Always, but often I lie about it. My tabard says 'CAUTION Young Horse' and I am hanging my head in shame and admitting they aren't always young horses. ;) Just find it is more effective at getting road users attention.

Horse always has minimum of reflective yellow leg bands.
 
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