Hi Viz ..

Montyforever

Montyforever

Well-Known Member
Joined
20 April 2009
Messages
5,706
Location
Kent
Visit site
I think its shocking how bad its getting!!
I always wear hi viz! Generally im just walking out/longreining but i still wear a tabard, and the horse wears neckband or excercise sheet! About 75% of other people i meet hacking arnt wearing any hi viz!!

I think it should be put in insurance, when claiming must have proof hi-viz was worn for acidents on the road ..

Makes me feel sick to think how many close calls ive had even with the Hi-viz!

What do other people think
confused.gif


Oh & im 15, pink Hi-viz definatly not uncool
cool.gif
 
I am a bit of a hi viz freek even when just leading them in from the field. About 3 years ago we were bringing them in for the night just before dusk and my horse at the time spooked and ran off from me and cause she ran off some of the others pulled away from their handlers too. They all went in different directions which was a nightmare in itself, but managed to get 2 back fairly easily but couldnt find the other 2 as it had got dark so phoned police to see if anything had been reported, they informed me that there had been an accident but couldnt tell me what the situation was, so headed towards there and found my big horse running back home so grab her and put her in stable and then went to see what had happened to little chap. Unfortunately he was knocked down by a car and died instantly, driver said he saw big horse cause she of logo on her rug which showed up, shettie was black obviously didnt need a rug so driver didnt see him. I learnt the hard way, instantly spent a fortune on hi viz and am still spending on it cause i see things that are better then what I already have.

Have often wondered why rug manufactures havent put a reflective banding on all rugs instead of just a logo which can only been seen on one side.
 
Thats awful Casanova!
frown.gif


My ponies both wear rugs. Ones grey but ones very dark dun in the summer & bay in the winter (Dont ask :P)
But neither have reflective
frown.gif
 
I have had a horse killed on the road and it wouldn't have made one bit of difference if he'd been wearing Hi Viz or not. Accidents happen. Fact.

I would never ride on the road at dusk/dawn but a lot of people do - which is just as dangerous.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have had a horse killed on the road and it wouldn't have made one bit of difference if he'd been wearing Hi Viz or not. Accidents happen. Fact.

I would never ride on the road at dusk/dawn but a lot of people do - which is just as dangerous.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree it does depend on the situation
crazy.gif

If its a blind bend then hi-viz isnt gonna help much,
But i think its a good idea to wear it, to prevent things that could be prevented
smile.gif
 
Even on a bright day, hi viz helps a driver to pick out a horse, it has happened to me when driving, a long straight road, horse and rider down one end in hi viz I picked them out, the one 200 yards from me I didnt see tillthe last minute, all dressed in dark clothing and looked like a man on a bike.

Doesnt matter what size your horse is, there really is no reason NOT to wear it, and every reason FOR wearing it.

Accidents do happen, but you can reduce the chances of it being you.

I am another one to agree insurance companies should make it compulsory. I cannot for the life of me understand what the hardship is to not put a hi viz piece of clothing on before you go out on the roads. We are all to quick to condem drivers in the case of an accident, however, riders are as bad but not taking every possible means available to them to keep themselves safe.
 
ILoveQueenBeex I am the same even if I am just longreining or walking out in hand my boy has hi-viz boots, exercise sheet etc on and I wear hi-viz too and as much light clothing as possible.

I totally accept that accidents will happen no matter what but at least wearing hi-viz may help reduce the amount of accidents that have happened because the driver 'never saw them'.
PiebaldSparkle's picture sums it up for me and if someone looked at that picture and still chose not to wear it then they need their heads checking imo. IMO not wearing hi-viz is not just putting themselves and their horse's lives at risk it is putting the lives of other road users at risk too.
 
I always wear hi viz I have polo shirts for the summer a fleece when its a bit cooler and a jacket for the winter. I have a 16.2hh the roads round here are single track so I aim to be seen
 
[ QUOTE ]
Accidents happen. Fact.

[/ QUOTE ] Some accidents can be prevented. Fact. Wearing hi viz will give drivers, on average, an additional three seconds to see you. Fact.

For the sake of putting on a Hi Viz tabard or waistcoat, why would you choose to put your horse at greater risk of being hit by a vehicle? And even if you ride in the middle of the day, hi viz still makes a difference - often bright, sunny days are the worst as horse and rider merge into the shadows cast by trees and hedges.

A hi viz hat band or cover is also particularly useful if you ride on narrow lanes with blind bends, as often the drivers can spot your hat over the hedges before they turn the corner.
 
its compulsory in my insurance to wear hi viz when doing anything with annie that isn't being done on the yard. not sure wether just because shes a youngster though
 
I always wear mine when going off the yard. Not only will it help car drivers see me earlier even on a sunny day but if I fall off in the woods anyone looking for me is much more likely to find me. Sounds morbid I know and it hasn't ever happened to me but you'd be amazed how hard it is to find a casualty lying even a few feet away if they are wearing dark clothing. I have done expedition first aid training and its very difficult to see people in amongst the undergrowth.
 
I'm going to confess to having got to the field last week and forgotten our hi viz vests, but daughter wanted to ride, so out we went. It was a bright sunny day and a quiet road with a humpbacked bridge which goes over the canal. Most of the way was a narrow road so we rode on the path, but on the road to the canal we rode on the road. We went over the bridge, stopped for a while and turned round to come back.

The bridge is narrow meaning only one car can go over at a time, so we stopped, checked for traffic and over we went, behind us was a blind bend. As we got to the hump on the bridge a merc appraoched to the front of us, saw us and stopped to wait, I then heard a loud car approaching from behind, looked, couldnt see anything... next thing this sports car had raced up, must've suddenly seen us and anchored on his brakes, afterall, if he swerved he'd have hit the merc. he narrowly missed us as I shoved pony and child into the hedgerow....
He was speeding, fact, but I feel terrible thinking maybe, just maybe if we'd had our Hi Viz on we'd have been spotted sooner...

I'm passionate about always wearing Hi Viz, and I thought this once, on a bright day, we'd be okay... am angry with myself for being so damn stupid.
I decided it was high time I purchased new hi Viz anyway, wanted brightr and better, but guess what? Neither of the tackshops in my town sell it...
confused.gif
in fact the local feed store only sells hi viz jackets designed for men.

I now have two ponies, two children and one adult to bling up as much as possible. i will never risk it ever again, no hi viz, no hacking, simple..
 
[ QUOTE ]
Says it all............

be_seen_be_safe.jpg


[/ QUOTE ]

Excellent example
wink.gif
imagine some arsehole driver on their phone/texting/satnav/music system/map reading/misty windows/scratching their privates or whatever, one glance upwards and your spotted if your wearing viz, if your not..................
 
I think every horse rider should wear it out hacking, but that's my personal opinion, quite clearly a high % don't bother for what ever reason. I always wear it out hacking, I do not understand why it is not warn to be quite frank
 
I wear a hi viz jacket and hat band and I also tie a hi viz strip on the end of my schooling whip. It just keeps cars that bit further away! That said, I still had a car so close that it knocked my stirrup last week.
mad.gif
My mare is grey and I wear hi viz. I want to keep her and me as safe as possible.
 
I believe that wearing hi-viz when hacking, at any time of the day/year, should be a part of horse insurance, and possibly a legal requirement like wearing a hat, although I am quite sure the latter will never happen!

When I was in my 20s I used to take a care-free approach but now I am in my 30s, (not that age necessarily has anything to do with it, before I get leapt on!), I won't hack without hi-viz. As a minimum I wear a pink hat band and I hi viz tabbard. My horse has hi-viz leg bands.

I agree with TGM that visibility can be just as poor on bright sunny days as dull ones. I also think that if a driver is distracted (irrespective of the weather/time of day) catching something bright in the corner of her eye might just save an incident.

I am one of a few at my yard that wear hi viz and there are plenty others who don't use it. It has actually started to make me quite angry.

I have someone hack my horse out occasionally (I pay her to walk him out). I INSIST she wear a hi-viz tabbart though she doesn't normally wear one on other horses, and I can see that she is not keen. That's the rule on my horse I'm afraid, or no mounting!!!

As an aside, I am wondering whether people might notice or think about pink rather than yellow? It's just that yellow hi-viz is so well established everywhere in society that perhaps we become a little de-sensitised? Maybe I am talking baloney!
 
The lesson I learnt was that when leading in from field its not just the leader that needs to have hi viz but the horse/pony needs to have something too, cause in my case when they got spooked and ran off me wearing hi viz was of no use to them, I now have little flourecent rugs and a band that goes round their necks with flashing lights and also dog leads with flashing lights, if my little chap (31" black shettie) has this on him then driver would have defo seen him.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top