High viz

Spudlet

Spudlet

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How many people here wear high viz to hack in, even if they aren't doing much roadwork?

I only ask cos of today's H&H talking about dogs and horses - speaking as someone who walks my dog on land where people ride, I spot a rider in high viz sooner which gives me extra time to recall the dog and make sure he is under control to pass the horses:) He has never chased a horse, but I would rather be able to call him sooner than later so I always really appreciate it when riders are high viz-ed up, and say so too:)

I might write to H&H, it is totally wrong for people to allow their dogs to chase horses:mad: but we can also help responsible dog owners by making sure we are easily spotted:)
 
It is my yard rule that any rider leaving the yard wears hi-viz. Saying that my dog also has a hi-viz collar , coat and a flashing collar that you can see upto a mile away in the dark (as she is black and has been known to disappear on me), so I dont think it is just one persons responsibility so both the horse and the dog owners responsibility to have their animals under control and be seen when necessary.

However, I think dog owners forget that they must have the dog under control at all times whilst on public rights of ways, this means on a lead, if your dog will not come when called regardless of distractions, it is not defence to say well he has never done that before, they should be on leads unless you can trust them 100%. Dog owners do assume that it is everyone elses responsibility rather than theirs to keep their dogs under control, everything is a two way street in my mind, hi-vizing your dog up will alert riders to a potential problem as well as the other way around.
 
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I wear hi-viz every time I hack out, road work or not. Something that riders sometimes forget is that if an accident happened, help such as the Air Ambulance can spot you more easily. I had a nasty accident on my horse on a lane a year ago and the hi-viz tabard I had on was soaked in blood. The Air Ambulance were circling overhead trying to find us and my YO - also on the hack - had to offer to take her brightly coloured undies off and wave them in the air!!!!! I think that's a brilliant yard rule that no-one leaves for a hack without hi-viz on.
 
My old yard wouldn't allow you off the yard without hi-viz, regardless of whether you were hacking in the fields, around uni campus, or on the roads. All my hacking at home is done on roads but even if I had the option of off road hacking I would defiantly still wear hi-viz, for other riders or dog owners to see me quicker, if I fell off and needed an air ambulance to find me also my horse would be decked out in hi-viz regardless of road/off road hacking for just incase we parted company I like to think it might save him from an accident and may mean we find him quicker if we hacked in large open spaces/moorland/etc.
I don't think there is any justifiable reason not to wear hi-viz, regardless of where you are hacking out.
 
I always wear hi viz for hacking.

Horse: Boots and breastplate

Rider: Hat band and tabard.

In total I wear seven items of kit. I feel much more confident on the roads that I'll be seen when wearing the hi viz.

I would love to buy a fluorescent schooling whip! I have scowered the internet to no avail. I am currently eyeing up a pair of fluorescent gloves so my hand signals will be visible (and less wear/teat on my Ariats). Also looking at a bridle set (v. price) so horse will be visible when negotiating sticky junctions.
 
Have to admit I never used to wear them, but in the last couple of years I've done a lot of scooting and driving a lot in London (for my sins...) and realised how invisible cyclists can be. After constant rants about that, it seemed a bit hypocritical to ride without hi-vis!

Now I feel a lot more comfortable wearing it, even if it isn't "fashionable". I might go to a cyclist shop and get a better looking jacket than the standard tabard though ;)
 
jesterfaerie said:
My old yard wouldn't allow you off the yard without hi-viz, regardless of whether you were hacking in the fields, around uni campus, or on the roads. All my hacking at home is done on roads but even if I had the option of off road hacking I would defiantly still wear hi-viz, for other riders or dog owners to see me quicker, if I fell off and needed an air ambulance to find me also my horse would be decked out in hi-viz regardless of road/off road hacking for just incase we parted company I like to think it might save him from an accident and may mean we find him quicker if we hacked in large open spaces/moorland/etc.
I don't think there is any justifiable reason not to wear hi-viz, regardless of where you are hacking out.
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Fully agree
 
scally said:
It is my yard rule that any rider leaving the yard wears hi-viz. Saying that my dog also has a hi-viz collar , coat and a flashing collar that you can see upto a mile away in the dark (as she is black and has been known to disappear on me), so I dont think it is just one persons responsibility so both the horse and the dog owners responsibility to have their animals under control and be seen when necessary.

However, I think dog owners forget that they must have the dog under control at all times whilst on public rights of ways, this means on a lead, if your dog will not come when called regardless of distractions, it is not defence to say well he has never done that before, they should be on leads unless you can trust them 100%. Dog owners do assume that it is everyone elses responsibility rather than theirs to keep their dogs under control, everything is a two way street in my mind, hi-vizing your dog up will alert riders to a potential problem as well as the other way around.
Click to expand...

My dog also has high-viz, I wasn't trying to imply that it wasn't a dog owners responsibility to control their dog:)

But as all riders know, animals can be unpredicatable - that goes for dogs just as much as horses so any help we can give each other makes sense.
 
High-Vis tabard for me and if my mum walks with me, she wears one too. I also put a high-viz breastplate and tail thingy on Belle and sometimes high-viz brushing boots. We have pink so that it stands out against her grey coat.

The arena for my lesson is just a 5 minute walk up the road so in that instance I just wear my tabard.
 
I wear hi-viz and my daughter does too..I've lost count of the times I've driven around the lanes, to the yard when there's poor light, only to come across riders almost blending into the background in dark clothing.

I have noticed a faster response by drivers, spotting us sooner and being able to stop in a more controlled manner.

I don't give a monkeys any more about if we look daft in hi-viz, I'd rather be seen sooner and get home in one piece, not in a body bag.
 
Tharg isn't there little woolly gloves you can get that are flurorescent yellow ..... I was thinking rave gloves LOL !

I also bought a couple of flurorescent armbands out of halfords and bung them on my arm for added affect when giving hand signals to traffic .

I actually bought more hi viz yesterday from a hardware store . Was long reining madam on a main busy road and bunged a jacket onto her back and was wearing one also . No excuse for not wearing hi viz . A certain person I know is all safety concious and yet has hi viz at the yard and she goes off on her young horse and does not bother to put it on .

Fashion or not fashionable is no excuse .
 
Yep, always, even on bridleway as it helps oncoming riders see us quicker too. Its a twisty track and not many passing places!
I also hang a hi viz exercise sheet on the back of the shetlands trap when we drive, especially as we are so much lower and smaller, and wear tabards and armbands then too as we do when riding. And if its not too hot we ride in hi viz full chaps too.

I need to find some flourescent mesh material to make some hi viz full chaps for summer so I don't melt and also mesh ex sheets, as I don't seem to be able to find them very easily in the shops. :rolleyes:

Mind you, I think I might have a fetish, as the dog wears it, I wear it, the horses wear it and its on my motorbike clothing too..... :o ;)
 
I always wear hi viz without fail - bought a coat for winter and think is defintely increases awareness - am thinking of investing in the t-shirts for summer too. I would rather be unfasionable but be seen.
 
I wear it anytime I'm off the yard. We have a nice safe bridleway but it can get quite overgrown in the summer so I think it's good that pedestrians, dogwalkers, cyclists and other horse-riders can see you coming. And while motorised vehicles are banned we still get the occasional idiot on a scrambler going at a ridiculous speed. Also should an accident happen, you would be spotted more easily hopefully on the ground. I'm going to get some fluorescent bits and bobs for horse too as while he's easily spotted colour wise if we parted company I'd want people to be able to find him as well.
 
Always hack out in hi-viz, for that couple of minutes extra doing that you can save yourself or someone else. Maybe a bit ott at times, in the colder weather: hi-viz excersise sheet, boots and I wear a hi-viz jacket. During summer I just wear a hi viz jacket and shove some hi-viz boots on the ponio :)
 
If it is rainy and bad weather, my mare wears fluo pink ride on sheet. If I am just riding on the estate i don't usually wear any. If out on roads i wear the sort of cycling thing that crosses over your body and round your waist. can't think what it is called. having read all that has been said here, i will def re-think it and start wearing it a bit more and a bit more of it.
 
I always wear Hiviz when I leave the yard. Its one of the only rules I have for my sharer too, no matter what she wants to do, the horse goes out in his hi-viz, no arguments :D its common sense, in my mind.
 
I always wear hi viz. Today I have been out and had to cross 3 very quiet roads, two of them were single track lanes, and the rest of my ride was on bridlepaths. I still had on a tabard and hat band, and the horse had leg wraps on.

Sometimes I wear hi-viz chaps too, and have tried the gloves but they don't last long!

My opinion on this is that if you want to act like an idiot and go out on a dark horse in dark clothing and something happens and you get hurt, then that's fine - you deserve everything you get if all that matters to you is "looking cool". However, you have absolutely no right to put your horse in a situation where it could be seriously injured or killed because you are a stupid, vain @rsehole.

It is often said that hi-viz gives a driver an extra three seconds to see a horse and rider. That three seconds could save your horses life, and no-one should have to think twice about that.

K.
 
I dont always wear hi-viz stuff.....I judge it on whether I would turn my lights on when driving tbh.....

I have a coloured cob with a big white bum though and am generally in a bright pink coat, so if a driver doesnt see me, it wont make a bit of difference if I am in hi-viz or not.....

It isnt because I dont think it is 'cool' and perhaps if I rode on long bridlepaths away from roads I would for the sake of an air ambulance. Unfortunately, I dont have those kind of bridlepaths near me....
 
I wear hi viz when riding on roads which doesn't happen very often these days as no longer have share horse. When I take Bella for a walk on the roads near our yard I wear a hi viz tabbard. Not that the idiot drivers take much notice :mad: Although to be fair the bus drivers slow down when they see us now after one of them had the baggage dancing around by coming too close too quickly :eek:

When she is backed and we do road work then she will be decked out like a Xmas tree as she is dark with a couple of white socks
 
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