Hi-Viz again...spot the horse and rider...

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scroll down to the bottom to watch vids that show the different levels of hiviz & a comparison
v-bandz

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The girl who sometimes rides my horse thinks I'm being fussy when I insist she wears hi-viz. She hates it as she thinks its so uncool. I think she will be taking a look at this!

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she has to understand that she is riding YOUR horse & she must do
(A) everything to protect YOUR horse
(B) everything you say RE: what she should wear e.g. hi-viz/body protector

last weekend i was invited out for an early evening hack with a teenager & her mum so we could trot on ahead (mum walked dog) i wore my jacket/hatband & linx wore his 'neckband' & ex.sheet - didnt have much time so just wacked those on . the girl wore a similiar mainly flourescent jacket & 2 girls on yard 1 i know quite well were chatting with her & said 'what a mean mum letting you go out looking like a banana'

it is not right for anyone to comment on you trying to keep yourself & horse safe on the roads. whenever i hack out (as i always say on these posts) i wear everything in these pics except the ex.sheet if its warm or windy (without rain) but im hoping to get a mesh 1 for the summer/when he's not clipped this year.


She wouldn't dare not wear it when riding my horse - sometimes its handy being the yard dragon
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She rides other horses on the yard and the owners don't mind so she thinks I'm just being fussy, but I've told her the welfare of my horse comes first!

I think part of the problem is other people making comments like the girls on your yard. I've got to the age where I don't care what anyone thinks, but I know its harder for this girl because her friend has her own horse and can do what she likes. Rightly or wrongly, peer pressure is a big influence for teenagers.
 
Interesting videos, just shows the difference, you can imagine how you would not be seen by some driver using his phone satnav stereo or fiddling with his anatomy but they would more likely see the rider with some decent amount of hi viz on.
 
When I used to ride my completely black mare out on a busy road (no alternative) we had;
4 leg bands
2 rein slips
1 browband slip
1 exercise sheet
I tabard
I hatband
And my friend's warmblood (who was always behind us) had a tail bandage, all made from fluorescent material.
I also found wearing lighter coloured gloves helped with hand signals.
S
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True photo taken a couple of days ago after someone hacked past me - to those who say hi-viz doesn't make THAT much of a difference, please tell me you stand by that comment after seeing this photo!

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IMO complete daft NOT TO wear in those conditions, BUT if it was bright and good visabiltity(sp) I wouldn't wear one

AND i will come back to the arguement THAT CAR DRIVER NEED MORE EDUCATION and your licence should be a privaledge not a right and putting on a hi-viz DOESN'T protect you from rude/bad drivers who think horses SHOULDN'T even be allowed out on roads, even tho the road network was original for horses and horses vehciles.
 
I always go out in high vis, regardless of the weather, and even if I'm not on the road. Sometimes, in bright light it's even harder to spot people, especially if the sun is very low. It's all very well saying drivers should be more responsible, but it's never going to happen. At least if you did (god forbid) have an accident, they can't use the excuse that they couldn't see you. I wear mine in the woods as lots of people walk dogs and it means they can see me from a distance.
Sainsburys sell armbands which I put on my horses legs. Much cheaper than equine ones!! These are great as if I ever fell and he ran onto the road.....
 
lillie, your hi-viz jacket looks lovely, mind if I ask where you got it from?
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I've been looking for a new one for ages as the zip has broken on my cheapo one, and I prefer jackets to tabards in case you have to give arm signals
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In the village where i live, you are lucky if they are wearing a hat to hack out, let alone hi viz!

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Whers that then, Royston Vasey, local riders for local people
 
Whether drivers need more education or not is largely irrelevant. As a horse rider you count as a vulnerable road user and I cannot see why people would fail to take simple steps to increase the safety of themselves and their horses. Even the educated drivers can only react to what they can see, the earlier they see you the more time they have to react which is where Hi-Viz comes in.
 
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True photo taken a couple of days ago after someone hacked past me - to those who say hi-viz doesn't make THAT much of a difference, please tell me you stand by that comment after seeing this photo!

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IMO complete daft NOT TO wear in those conditions, BUT if it was bright and good visabiltity(sp) I wouldn't wear one

AND i will come back to the arguement THAT CAR DRIVER NEED MORE EDUCATION and your licence should be a privaledge not a right and putting on a hi-viz DOESN'T protect you from rude/bad drivers who think horses SHOULDN'T even be allowed out on roads, even tho the road network was original for horses and horses vehciles.

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I always wear some form of hi-viz, even on a bright summers day. Yes, drivers should be considerate to riders, but not all accidents are caused by drivers being inconsiderate. Drivers are human and liable to make mistakes. If we can give them more warning that we are there by enabling them to see us sooner, we can reduce the risk of human error.
 
I can hardly see anything never mind a horse!!
There has to be a loophole for someone to manufacture a similar headlight system to the ones mountain bikers use.
They use LED rechargable lights on a battery pack that lasts 12 hours at a time.
The light could be fixed to the headpiece of the bridle and the battery pack worn on the saddle d's. The light is I swear as good as a car headlamp, and it would at least give riders a chance to be seen big time..
Another use of course is for anyone with an unlit arena, the light is bright enough to show the way much as a car does.
I can't be bothered but if some enterprising person wanted to manufacture one?
There would also have to be some sort of rear red light , the flashing waistcoats are good and in conjuction with a big bright headlight it would be hard not to see a horse coming..
Then again, the people who ride now without any hi viz are hardly likely to ever see the light are they? (sorry terrible joke..)
 
i was just saying to my completely non horsey OH how disgusted i was to just, and i mean just see two horses riding up a very dark road, it was only because my mare could 'see' something that made me look, i could barely see them, i think its disgusting, i always ride hi viz and it is infuriating to me that people would ride at dusk with absolutely no reflectives to protect themselves and their horse
I wear hiz viz always when riding!!
 
I can't lead two of mine when I'm wearing my LED Headlamp. They hate it. Surely they'd not particularly like one on their head?

Lights on the stirrups or the rider's feet might work better....but I think you can already get them.

I've just bought the V-bandz H harness high viz. I got it because it's plastic, similar to the browband/rein wraps you can buy. Unlike high viz material vests, this won't lose it's high viz-ness over time.

I've also just bought some leg wraps from v bandz for Patches and I always ride out with my hat band.
 
I remember I used to take the mickey out of one girl on a yard who always wore loads of high vis, but my how the tables have turned - I wouldn't go out on the road without both myself and the horse wearing it and would rarely go out in the forest without it either.

I have been caught out before when dusk has come around sooner than expected, but I always think if for nothing else if you're riding in a rural area and you have an accident you'd
a) want yourself to be easily found if you were badly hurt and couldn't move and
b) want your horse to be easily found and/or seen if he is on or gets onto a road if loose.
 
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I can't lead two of mine when I'm wearing my LED Headlamp. They hate it. Surely they'd not particularly like one on their head?

Lights on the stirrups or the rider's feet might work better....but I think you can already get them.

I've just bought the V-bandz H harness high viz. I got it because it's plastic, similar to the browband/rein wraps you can buy. Unlike high viz material vests, this won't lose it's high viz-ness over time.

I've also just bought some leg wraps from v bandz for Patches and I always ride out with my hat band.

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Fixed up two other horses with a headlight same as mine, both rode fine in them in the dark, obviously not all horses are going to like it but then some horse dont like a blade of grass blowing in the breeze or their own shadow in daylight
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Shocking. It's not just riders either - up our unlit road we often encounter dog walkers wearing dark clothing walking their dogs at night! We all look like Christmas displays when we go out, even to walk the dog if the light is bad.
 
We had a 14 year old riding our pony recently. On several occasions she turned up to hack out without hi viz (I insist on it even in daylight) and her mother just said," oh we have one at home", not a lot of good there is it! Luckily I have a waistcoat here and insisted she wore it. There is a long straight piece of road through an avenue of trees which you can see out of my bedroom window. I have watched my daughter hack up there, in hi viz, with a friend who thinks its not cool to wear it. I was quite shocked, it appeared as if there was only one horse there, and this was in broad daylight.
 
Oooh HiViz, I acctually have so much of it now that I am banned from buying any more.

I keep a HiViz band on my hat at all times, both menages are next to roads that drivers use as a cut through at rush hour. I have reflective brushing boots that ALWAYS get commented on (They are pink!) plus a tabbard, a huge flurescent and reflective quater sheet, plus anything else I can find and adorn my pony with. You really see us coming.

Some people on my yard take the p*ss out of me, and never wear HiViz themselves and always come back complaining of drivers slamming their brakes on when they suddenly spot them, the same drivers that would have seen me coming a mile off.

Instinctively you slow down if you see HiViz up ahead, regardless of weather you can acctually work out what it is yet!
 
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Oooh HiViz, I acctually have so much of it now that I am banned from buying any more.

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Cool a fellow hi-viz addict - I have so much my horse glows
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I passed a woman leading her horse the other day - it was 7am and foggy, the horse was grey in a very muddy TO rug and she was in a long brown coat. I saw them at the last moment and only just managed to stop - bearing in mind that it was a 60mph limit road she was on. I got an earful of abuse from her and she refused to belive she had to wear hi viz stating that horses had right of way on roads. I pointed out to her that it didnt matter who had right of way when a car crashes into them because they didn't see her but she just shouted some more so I drove off. Saw her the next morning doing the same thing. Stupid bl**dy woman
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