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

Lolo said:
My horse was uninsured other than the insurance I had by being a member of the PC and BRC and yet I still rode him. You try insuring a 27yo TB, especially when you have claims on it already. Not financially viable, tbh!

The insurance pays out after you've had your accident. Your point is like saying that it's fine to jump off a bridge because you're on the NHS so can have it patched up again...
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Lolo I believe that meant you had third part insurance though which is the most essential :)
 
I always wear hiviz.
Why wouldnt i want to give me and my horse a bit more "protection" against the road?
Its an easy thing to do- pop a tabard on, stick a sheet on my horse in winter and put her hiviz boots on.
I'm not risking myself and my horse for the sake of fashion.
 
If I hack I wear one!!! Road or not!!!

That's also ALLL Year round, summer/winter rain or shine it does matter it helps a motorist react that fraction of a second quicker!!!

Ergh since learning driving (I'm 17) I realize even more how useful they are honestly when you are driving round a country road and you even get a flash of the hi viz you can slow down where as if you are just driving around and then SUDDENLY see a horse it startles you!!! And you slam on the breaks!!!

I have actually wound down my window before and asked the rider why they don't where I Hi Zi on these lanes and they just said ''I don't need it'' and walked off all smug and snotty!!! Like they are above everyone it's ridiculous!!!

I think if you appreciate your horses life and risk taking them out on the road you should do all you can to make yourself as safe and as visible as possible to other road users!!!

I have come VERY close to being run over, speeding car round bend he caught a glimpse of my hi zi and slammed on the breaks and actually missed us by a mill second scariest thing ever, Tiger spun round and ran the other way!!! He was very very sorry and said if it hadn't have been for my hi zi he would have never of slowed down in time!!! I dread to think and that was on the most beautiful clear summers day!!!

That experience has actually scared the life out of me and I rarely hack now, and when I do I stick to 'wide' country roads!!!

xxxx
 
I used to not bother, but having nearly totalled a cyclist I couldn't see, I decided that people drive too fast, or are the coffin dodger drivers (who cannot see well)

Therefore I'd like to give them that little extra braking time, I just buy tops which are hi viz or very bright (have a lovely bright lime green soft shell that was a bargain)

Even wearing bright colours is a plus
 
My boy is coloured and blends beautifully into the background even on bright sunny days. I always wear at least tabard, hat band, neckband and boots or wraps. In winter I add exercise sheet with flashing light on the back.

Do I look like a christmas tree? - Yup. Do I give a damn? - Nope. Has it saved my bacon more than once - Yes.

By all means, feel free not to bother wearing high vis but make damn sure there is no way I am going to hit you in my car and spend the rest of my life feeling guilty. I get so angry at folk who dont bother wearing it, and cyclists who dont bother - oh, and people dressed head to toe in black who think its okay to cut across the road in front of you.

You would be fined and penalised if you tried to take your car out without making sure it was visible - why on earth should you be allowed to take a horse out on the same roads without making sure its visible? In fact, why on earth would you want to put your horse and yourself at risk for the sake of a couple of quid??
 
Don't see why anyone would chose not to, as people have said, it's not hot or uncomfortable or anything of the sort. I always wear my tabbard, have reflective brushing boots on Phil and a bridle kit. I put a small plait in his tail and put one of the bridle strips in his tail to make do. I've also put it as a clause in my loan that his loaner must put his reflective gear on when she hacks out.
 
janey said:
Absolutely DITTO! :D

Hi-Viz isn't compulsory yet at BD events when warming up in the arena or walking from the lorry to the arena on a foggy morning. Nor is it compulsory whilst hunting....Now there's a thought

People on here hunt and I haven't seen many people hunting in a Hi-Viz on public land and crossing roads!!! :eek:
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Me thinks Janey might be a troll. And I don't like feeding trolls so I'm not going to make her fat!

Tongue in cheek or not :D:D
 
Strangly no one has answered the question re hunting? One person mentioned a foot follower in a Hi-Viz but how often do they make it to the road to stop traiffic when the hunt is roaring across a quiet country lane, not often.

So you see, hunting 'is' about tradition, fashion and wearing the correct attire. No one I've seen hunting wears a Hi-Viz (yes I know you will on PC days etc). The few official foot followers can't be around at every single road. And then what about the fields you are all talking about? Loads of fallers out hunting with no Hi-Viz to be seen by an air ambulance there?

Someone mentions not being able to get insurance for their horse due to it's age? You can get 3rd party insurance. It's this insurance I'm talking about. Not every driver is at fault so it's a 100% must have.
Someone mention about vet's insurance. Now this I don't understand? People have gone on to me about how much they care for their horse and it's safety whilst out hacking comes top of their list. Well how are they going to treat their injured horse with no insurance if a third party is involved, be it dog, person or car?
 
applecart14 said:
Me thinks Janey might be a troll. And I don't like feeding trolls so I'm not going to make her fat!

Tongue in cheek or not :D:D
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Applecart14 I'm far from being a troll :D I'm just having a discussion/debate that's all. I've been a member here a while and troll's don't post pictures ;)

It's rather one sided though this debate, as it clearly is something everyone feels strongly about. Read further back and you will see I've been ''converted'' to the Hi-viz vest/jacket if I ever do road work in the future.
Of course I'm going to pick up on a discipline like hunting. It's true that people on here do hunt and are they wearing their Hi-Viz on that but have posted on here that they always wear it? It's not being a troll, it's just picking up a valid point :D
(and I'm older than you by the way ;))
 
At the end of the day, its down to personal choice. And its my personal choice to wear hi-vis. Its also my opinion that it SHOULD be made compulsary for horses & riders on the roads - be them main roads or country lanes.

I do not want to be responsible for my horse being seriously injured or PTS, killing a driver or seriously injuring them OR the same to myself. I dont think i could live with the guilt knowing that if i had just put on that reflective tabard/exercise sheet... then it might not of ended up the way that it did.

BUT like i said.. it is personal choice and everybody is entitled to their own opinion on the matter :)
 
Lets face it- when you're with lots of other people the need to be found/ spotted is less. If a car driver doesn;t notice 40 people trotting down a road, he's got some issues...
 
When I was 13 my best friends pony refused to walk down a lane due to some building work so she had to go a longer way round and got caught out at dusk not far from the yard and the driver did not see her and the pony ended up on the roof of the car with hind legs through the wind screen.
We heard the commotion and I will never forget the sight (and sound) of that poor pony untill the vet got there and PTS. The driver was shocked but ok and my friend broke her collar bone and a leg.
I would not be able to forgive myself if I wasn't doing anything to help drivers see me.
I have a fleece lined ex sheet for winter and a mesh one for summer, a hiviz padded coat for winter or a thin vest for summer, a flashing tabard. Horse wears ww hiviz brushing boots, neck strap, flashing tail guard and new addition of a hiviz "ears"
 
Lolo said:
Lets face it- when you're with lots of other people the need to be found/ spotted is less. If a car driver doesn;t notice 40 people trotting down a road, he's got some issues...
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exactly this. would you put hi-viz jackets on the hounds too? ;) ;) tbh it's usually very evident, from the amount of foot-followers blocking up the roads with their 4x4s, that something's going on...

I think RAF pilots definitely notice hi-viz, for that alone it's worth wearing, let alone all the other excellent reasons.
 
Ok to address the one-sidedness of this post...

I HATE HI VIZ. HATE HATE HATE IT! I just think it's massively tacky.

BUT.... I moved back home about 3 years ago having not really ridden round here since my childhood and was amazed at how much more dangerous the roads are. I would hack out WITHOUT any high viz (hope no-one has had a heart attack from that statement) and it was pretty terrifying. I eventually found I was just becoming more and more confined to staying on the farm to hack which gets pretty boring. So in the end I bit the bullet and bought a "please pass wide and slow" hi viz bib.

The difference was amazing. I would say 95%+ of drivers slow right down and also pass wide to boot. I still don't hack out that much partially because I still loathe hi viz, and partly because I do a lot of schooling etc at home most the time and can get a decent enough hack on the farm. But when I do venture on to the roads I always wear hi viz now... albeit reluctantly.

Disclaimer - this post is not meant to offend anybody, just give my totally 100% honest opinion, and I totally agree how wise all you high viz wearers are, but I do wish we still lived in a world where it wasn't necessary!! That's never going to happen so I stand a reluctant convert. Please don't be too mean to me on the back of this, I understand completely why it makes sense, doesn't mean I have to like it!! :D
 
Hels_Bells said:
Ok to address the one-sidedness of this post...

I HATE HI VIZ. HATE HATE HATE IT! I just think it's massively tacky.

BUT.... I moved back home about 3 years ago having not really ridden round here since my childhood and was amazed at how much more dangerous the roads are. I would hack out WITHOUT any high viz (hope no-one has had a heart attack from that statement) and it was pretty terrifying. I eventually found I was just becoming more and more confined to staying on the farm to hack which gets pretty boring. So in the end I bit the bullet and bought a "please pass wide and slow" hi viz bib.

The difference was amazing. I would say 95%+ of drivers slow right down and also pass wide to boot. I still don't hack out that much partially because I still loathe hi viz, and partly because I do a lot of schooling etc at home most the time and can get a decent enough hack on the farm. But when I do venture on to the roads I always wear hi viz now... albeit reluctantly.

Disclaimer - this post is not meant to offend anybody, just give my totally 100% honest opinion, and I totally agree how wise all you high viz wearers are, but I do wish we still lived in a world where it wasn't necessary!! That's never going to happen so I stand a reluctant convert. Please don't be too mean to me on the back of this, I understand completely why it makes sense, doesn't mean I have to like it!! :D
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Now it's good to hear about the difference of the 'before' and 'after' Hi-Viz :) I would say this is really good that you noticed so much difference in the driving.
Your place sounds pretty much like ours. I school a lot but the land around our farm is enough too.

And your comment on it being massively tacky....:D it is and it looks cheap and nasty, but I know it saves lives etc etc etc
I have said I will wear a jacket if I ever ride out on a road though so they have converted me :)
 
I wear my tabard when I hack all the time, not just for traffice but incase I fall off and people are trying to findme and because we have a lot of helicoptors that do practice manouvers in the area we ride in so it gives them more of a chance to see me too. I have a hat band but the estate we have permission to ride on requires us to wear a certain hat silk so that the keepers can recognise us. I have leg wraps but generally only put those on in poor conditions.

Personally, I think when a horse and rider are decked out in matching yellow hi-hiz, they look quite smart.
 
i agree it's not the nicest looking stuff, i wouldn't wear it for xc for instance, but it's worth it. i can't stand the daft accusation that it's not "professional" though, as if wearing dark colours and camouflaging yourself and your horse is so much more professional... :( :(

btw, i used to work for someone who thought that me wearing a bright hat cover for exercising eventers on the roads (in the days before hi-viz) was very unprofessional... *rolls eyes*
 
If you are trail hunting, drag hunting or following bloodhounds then the lines are predetermined, you know where the riders will stop and easy to arrange to have someone to man a road crossing.

As for vets insurance, that is not a prerequisite for having a horse treated - lots of people don't have vets insurance but they still manage to get their horses treated and the bills paid!
 
Thats precisely why I buy the fleece hi vis from equafleece - far form tacky imho, and they wash so well, mine is years old and is still as bright as ever.

I have no desire to look like someone who works on a motorway when I am riding (and I do work on the motorways sometimes ;) ) but I am tempted to buy one of those jackets with POLITE written on it. I also need to get one for my mum that says - 'Caution OAP rider - I may not be paying full attention, and I likely won't thank you as you drive past' :rolleyes:
 
tacky? wtf?! i cringe inwardly every time a local semi-pro eventer rides past my yard without high vis sporting a dangling chin strap. the same person wont ride xc without his point 2....go figure. i would find his blatent vanity amusing if his yard weren't full of kids that hang on his every word.
 
I hack out in hi-vis -it really does make such a difference!

I use a flourescent orange wrap around sheet with no lining but water proofed fo rthe winter and a mesh yellow one for the summer.

I have a light flourescent coat and waistcoat too.
 
I'm on the same yard as Lui23456 & she is right about the competitive hi viz wearing! We keep saying we must get a photo to post on here but OH won't take it - reckons the glare would break his camera! Not only do we all (well apart from 1) have hi viz but we all have orange or pink to wear early summer as we realised that yellow is camoflage when the rape is in flower.
I like the look of the parsons rump for my cobs that get too hot in an exersize sheet. Having a problem deciding as I prefer orange but have pink for rape season - now that could be a combination that gets a wide berth!
 
What? You mean we don't look super cool?
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(Both horses now have full sets of leg wraps and other stuff)

And just to highlight the difference it makes against a woodland background (I may have forgotten to take it off before doing the CR :o :p and please no comment on awful riding!)
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Meant to add, our yard has a rule that no one leaves the yard without hi-viz and even the 27 yo competition rider (has done advanced if I remember correctly...) who before she came to the yard didn't wear hi viz now hacks out with a tabbard without complaint. There was one person who wouldn't wear hi viz so no one would hack out, needless to say she now does!

To me it just seems silly not too, then again I was always the uncool kid who liked her brain the way it was so would always wear a helmet when cycling and now at 20 I still wear a helmet and hi viz, it really makes a massive difference!
 
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Very good illustration of the high viz against the woodland setting, v, that's why I always wear a tabard (probably ought to wear more). It is just as essential in bright sunlight when drivers can be blinded by a low sun as in dim light conditions. It's a no-brainer :)
 
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