Hi Viz Wear - To Wear or Not To Wear - Hackers

Ps jnb I have that tabard but it has the chequerplate too! Brilliant aren't they? With that and yellow leg bands, yellow breastplate and yellow sheet when cool/wet, driers def give us a wider berth than before! Doesn't quite work as well on the 14.2 as the 16.2 but hey :)
 
I ride in hiviz on road and off road, as like others have said if you fall off and hurt yourself then you'll be found easily. My instructors horse was pts on the road after being hit by a driver (15 years ago). You hope it'll never happen to you, but at least they can't say they didn't see you. :(
 
At the moment, i've been wearing a hi-viz jacket and my horse a hi-viz sheet and never go out with less. The other day when it was drizzly rain and dull, I wore my full length chaps too so we were very bright! :D Ive been mocked by others on the yard but I really couldnt give a damn. Im so conscious of being seen after hearing about nasty accidents. The roads by me aren't that busy but can be very fast. Others from the yard dont wear any and if I come across them, I often dont see them untill quite late but they dont seem to care and I think it is a vanity thing.
Ive noticed drivers generally seem to give you more respect aswell. Also, when travelling along windy lanes, often I see a persons much futhur ahead bobbing over the hedgerow if they are wearing hi viz. Therefore I know they are around the corner and will have slowed down before I see them fully and it can make a huge distance. I know people blame drivers (and sometimes it is the drivers fault) but if you are riding along a fast road/lane then drivers will go fast so those extra few seconds are vital.
 
Makes me furious seeing riders on the roads without any fluorescent stuff on as it gives all riders a bad name with motorists. :mad:

The ONLY excuse for not wearing something flouresenct on the roads is pure selfishness and vanity. They're not expensive, they're not uncomfortable and they take seconds to put on.

And it IS selfish not to wear something hi-viz out on the roads: it's your horse who will die first if you're not spotted by a driver, and the poor driver will be so traumatised. :(

I ride a lot in poor light (pretty much any day in scotland between october and march :rolleyes: ) and have a vast collection of reflective stuff. Having come off my horse a couple of times, and him gallop home along the roads, he wears a lightweight mesh sheet, legbands, breastplate and a noseband cover. I always wear a cheap flouresenct tabard and a handband, which lives on my hat: if I fall off and need help I'd like to be found easily!

And it makes so so much difference, even in good light: A friend and I meet two horses out hacking the other day: the first one had a tabard on and we spotted them the second they came round the corner in the distance. I didn't even notice the second horse (nothing reflective at all) until they got much closer!
 
Forgot to add to my post earlier (friend was outside waiting for me in car) I fell off on the road yesterday on a horse who is fabulous to hack, very sensible and not the spooky type of horse.
To see her cantering down the hill was the most frightening thing for me, I was just glad that I go OTT with my hi viz so other road users would have been able to spot her. As it was the cob my friend was riding (all covered in yellow) sedately cantered after her as he is protective over her so my friend could catch her.
Long story short, accidents happen to even the most safe hackers so I think that hi viz on your horse is just as important as hi viz on you.
 
I have worn a high vis vest for a few years now. OH has taken alot of persuading to wear it though. He used to ride in a very bright yellow coat which helped but didnt really 'hit the mark'. Last year I downed tools and refused to hack out with him unless he worn the real thing. Had to buy him a blue vest though just to be different.
We have to hack on the verge of a very busy main road to get to any quieter hacks. We also drive around the lanes that we and lots of others hack on. They are very shady and horses and riders disappear into the hedge rows (even though we know the amount of horses about there we can get taken by surprise when we come upon riders without high vis). Wouldnt dream of going out now without high vis.
All the kids have been brought up wearing it, youngest who is 7 likes to wear his around the yard on dark evenings even when he isnt riding.

Have been to Sports Direct tonight and bought some light weight Karrimor high vis jackets for OH and me, he has the orange and I have the lime green, real bargains at £12 each. OH is going to look pretty imposing on his 18.2 + and a bright orange jacket:D
 
I wear a hi viz tabard, or a padded flourescent yellow jacket whatever the time of year/day.

It's strange, ive just moved from one part of the county to the other, and in my old village, hardly anybody wore hi-viz out hacking. Yet in the new village, everyone seems to be wearing it!. I spotted 4 riders out today, in brilliant sunshine; all sporting at least a hi-viz tabard.

I remember my first piece of hi-viz was back in the early 90's. It was a yellow tabard with a big explanation mark printed on the back of it. It was made of some canvas like material which was as stiff as new leather and fastened up at the sides with shoe lace. It was stuffy and horrid to wear....thank goodness for the modern breathable versions!!
 
i always wear a hi-viz tabard, jacket, or mesh vest in summer. nothing else hi-viz on the horse though, because the lanes around here are very quiet (2 cars an hour is rush hour), there are hardly any hedges so loads of visibility, and i tend to be on youngsters who would almost inevitably have a knicker attack at being bedecked in dayglo yellow! i have a dayglo waterproof quarter sheet for the brave ones...
unfortunately i don't tend to get people photographing me while hacking out, but if i had any old pics of it, you could have seen me hacking out my totally bombproof advanced eventer in hi-viz... is that Non-happy-hacker enough? ;) ;)
can only echo the sentiments on here already, and add: how the hell can it be 'unfashionable' to try to protect your horse's and your own life...? *boggles*
 
kerilli said:
unfortunately i don't tend to get people photographing me while hacking out, but if i had any old pics of it, you could have seen me hacking out my totally bombproof advanced eventer in hi-viz... is that Non-happy-hacker enough? ;) ;)
can only echo the sentiments on here already, and add: how the hell can it be 'unfashionable' to try to protect your horse's and your own life...? *boggles*
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and why don't people take photos of you when you are hacking out ;) !!

Yes thats non happy hacker enough :)
 
janey said:
and why don't people take photos of you when you are hacking out ;) !!

Yes thats non happy hacker enough :)
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haha, no idea. actually, i did get my pic in the paper two years ago, hacking out here on 1 of my mares (novice eventer, sorry, no dizzy heights) we got accosted by a photographer, but the pic was in black and white... i was wearing a dayglo ski jacket though, so it qualifies... ;) ;)
 
It's the same reason people don't wear hats though isn't it and body protectors?

I did notice that not many people admitted (on a recent thread) to not wearing hats when they rode, on this thread no one has said they don't wear a Hi Viz?? Strange to imagine that everyone on here hacks out in some sort of yellow reflector item?

There are a few that wear them on our yard but the majority don't. On this forum the majority do?

Interesting :)
 
I have a perminent reflective hat band on, as my hacking is around lanes where you can't see a hiviz vest untill you're round the bend, whereas I find if I wear a hiviz hat band drivers can see my head over the hedges slow down well before they see anything else :).
 
kerilli said:
Obviously because you have to be an absolute genius to post here... ;) ;) ;)
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Oh I have noticed and it's become more apparent just lately. I think the majority of people on this forum or competition rides at least, have swallowed the entire BHS book of horse management.

Hat's when leading, clipping, loading and doing the the washing up.
Dayglo when on the roads, hacking in fields and even when not mounted but just walking around their yard?.
Correct footwear when being around horses, no flip flops, no shorts in summer, no tops without sleeves etc etc etc :D
 
At our yard I'm sure there is a comp on who can wear the most reflective stuff, we have raided sports soccer too! I wear dayglow pink jacket and my horse a pink neck band and exercise sheet when it's not too hot. Others have the orange and yellow, I wear it off rd too as we have loads of tractors and sometimes the shoot too, and if I did fall the air ambulance may find me quicker.

I don't care how I look it really brought it home to ne the other week when I was driving there wasva horse coming towards me and a cyclist away the horse without hiviz and I could only just see her the cyclist about half a mile away was wearing a orange jacket and I really couldn't miss him.
 
I have a large selection of hiviz - and going to order more in the summer as my 3yr old will be undersaddle too.

We usually have reflective brushing boots, a quater sheet, a necklace and a motorway approved jacket.
 
Always, always, always put my tabard on to hack out- even if we are just going around the farm tracks (easier for rescue team to spot you in case of bad fall).

Don't really give a damn if people think I am a happy hacker- would rather be thought of as that than splatted across the road or lying unconcious in a ditch for hours because people can't find me.
 
janey said:
It's the same reason people don't wear hats though isn't it and body protectors?
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Not exactly the same though is it?

If you don't wear a hat and fall off and kill yourself that it something that will really only cause a major impact on your family/close friends.

If you don't wear hi-viz and you get hit by a car, firstly you have knowingly caused your horse injury, pain and possibly death- not something I could ever do.

Secondly, what about the poor driver?
You could cause them injury or death or even 'just' the mental damage from knowing he has hurt/killed another human or a horse.

Why not help your horse and the drivers out by giving them an extra 3 seconds to see you and react?

All because you don't think something is fashionable...!
 
I always wear a Hi Viz coat but that is mainly because it is very warm and windproof :) In the darker days of winter he has a HV exercise sheet and leg wraps. The roads round us are narrow and people drive like maniacs.
 
janey said:
Strange to imagine that everyone on here hacks out in some sort of yellow reflector item?

There are a few that wear them on our yard but the majority don't. On this forum the majority do?
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I hack out in high viz, my daughter hacks out in high viz and I think the vast majority of people with horses in our area hack out with some item of high viz on (even the point-to-pointers who can't really be described as happy hackers).

You said you only hack off-road because of the traffic problems, so presumably the same for others at your yard, hence they don't use high viz?
 
I do find it astonishing that in this day and age that there are still people who hack out without high viz. It makes no difference whether you are on a hairy cob or an expensive competition horse. You still put your life, your horses life and other road users lives at risk by going out without one.

I don't go OTT on it and toddle out looking like a christmas tree but I always have a high-viz jacket/waistcoat on irrespective of if I am on or off road.

A freind of mine got dumped on her head in the middle of nowhere (off road) a few years back. Horse came home alone. It was the high viz jacket that allowed the air ambulance to locate her ....
 
Having been unfortunate to come across the aftermath of an RTA involving a horse I have a rule that no horse is allowed off the yard without at least the rider wearing Hi Viz.

I was driving home from work, very quiet lanes, 25 years ago, went round a corner the see a police car and behind it a large blue mound which was a tarpaulin covering a dead horse, it had 4 hooves and a tail sticking out. My horse had an extra hug that night.

A good friend of mine was nearly killed 35 years ago when her horse was hit (horse died) and a horse I was riding 30 years ago was hit by a motorbike that 'didn't see him' whilst we were riding on a bridleway!

More recently when my children were small they were riding their ponies along a quiet lane, both wearing Hi Viz. A car squeezed through at speed causing one to jump a ditch to escape, I was leading the other (wearing a very bright fleece) I was hit by the car who then drove off!

Most of our hacing is on bridleways and farm tracks. I find that if wearing Hi Viz dog walkers at least make some eeffort to recall the dogs, also farmers, the shoot and most importantly paramedics and the air ambulance can find us.

Wear it for your horses sake, he would prefer to live!!!!!!
 
always wear a vest / tabard thing no matter what the conditions. if its particularly yucky a hi viz quarter sheet too.

I always wear one even when I'm hacking out round the fields to to be honest, gives dog walkers more of a chance of spotting you and getting their dogs on a lead quicker and also if I happened to come off whoever comes to look for me will find it easier to find a fluorescent yellow blob on the floor than my navy coat!
 
janey - do you drive yourself?

I am always telling the teenagers on our yard that as soon as they start to drive they will start thinking more about hi-viz. They grump and groan but once it is on they forget it is there :D The usual *Godddddddd, I hope no one sees me* gets a retort of *I hope they DO, at least you are advertising that you have brains in your head, and if they give you gip just blame us and say we made you*.

HOWEVER, I admit to not wearing hi-viz when I hack around the farm, which is stupid really as we are next to an RAF base and if they can see us they don't tend to fly over our heads...
 
I always wear hi-viz when out on the roads when hacking. I just cant understand why people dont [maybe another fault of mine] .... but hey ho each to their own.

Regards

Happy hacker of Staffs :P
 
I don't normally come in here, but this caught my eye. I was unfortunate enough to come across the aftermath of a car vs horse last summer. The car was a write-off, the family that had been inside it were white as sheets, and the noise the horse was making - it will haunt me until the day I die, the poor thing was screaming. It was just fortunate that there was a vets surgery just down the road, and a vet was able to come and euthanise it very quickly.

This was a 30mph road on a bright sunny day.

The horse in question was actually a foal that had strayed onto the road - I dread to think what the results might have been on a fully grown horse. At least the police officers there were able to pin the foal down until the vet arrived.

It's not something I want to see again, hence I wear hi-viz to reduce the chances of this happening. If this causes snooty 13 year olds to look down their noses (well, up their noses really since I am quite tall:p) at me, I shall just have to try and live with the shame, somehow...:rolleyes:
 
I didn't use to wear it in my younger days but as you get older, get a car and start driving about you notice other riders (not wearing hi viz) and it really hits home how wonderfully disguised they are against the hedges/trees etc and how easy it is not to notice them until the last minute, specially if they are on bays on a dull day, also tractor drivers tend to see you through bushes when coming round blind corners so they know to slow down and motor bikes can see you in the distance so they can slow down too as a lot tend to use the lanes near us like race tracks, but if they can see you (least the ones near us) most of them always slow right down.

It also concerns me that if I was to come off and one of my horses was to escape from me onto the roads, if they have some hi viz least motorists are more likely to see them and slow down to hopefully prevent a futher accident.
 
I was working it out and it was 2002 when I last hacked my previous horse out along any type of road. It was a small village which had no through traffic and to be honest no one wore one then and we never thought about it as the village had no through traffic. We hacked out through fields etc but still never wore one.

The last time I actually hacked on a road with traffic was in 1998 (!!) and then no one including myself wore one either.

So perhaps I don't wear one as I have never seen the need? I don't think they are fashionable and won't be wearing one around the land I hack through.
Perhaps with all your horror stories of traffic accidents and horses if I ever had to ride on the roads then I would wear the Hi-Viz jacket. Converted :D But no flashing lights, head bands or leg wraps

It seems if the roads are such a dangerous place there should be more access to bridleways and places to ride off road.


We have over 40 horses on the yard and out of the possible 30+ liveries there are only a handful that wear a Hi-Viz when going around the liveries private land, in fact I can't remember when I saw the person wearing one?
 
janey said:
We have over 40 horses on the yard and out of the possible 30+ liveries there are only a handful that wear a Hi-Viz when going around the liveries private land, in fact I can't remember when I saw the person wearing one?
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To be honest, it is less of an issue if you aren't going on the roads. Yes, it will make you easier to find if you fall off and are knocked out, but that is just an issue that is only of benefit to you. When you hack out on the roads without high viz then you are putting both motorists and your horse at greater risk, not just yourself.
 
Weezy said:
janey - do you drive yourself?

I am always telling the teenagers on our yard that as soon as they start to drive they will start thinking more about hi-viz. They grump and groan but once it is on they forget it is there :D The usual *Godddddddd, I hope no one sees me* gets a retort of *I hope they DO, at least you are advertising that you have brains in your head, and if they give you gip just blame us and say we made you*.

HOWEVER, I admit to not wearing hi-viz when I hack around the farm, which is stupid really as we are next to an RAF base and if they can see us they don't tend to fly over our heads...
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I do drive myself, for the past 26 years to be exact :eek: scary! However there is no horse traffic where we are based as the roads around us are main 'A' roads. Towards Sherwood Forest I see the one or two riders on the country lanes, but to be honest again I can't remember when I last saw a horse and rider on the roads?
We box up to go the the forest, you can't hack there from where we are.

So perhaps we are a Hi-Viz less wearing yard is due to road less hacking? As to wearing them around our land, well that's up to them I suppose but there isn't many that do, myself included.
 
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