his vis RANT!

diggerbez

diggerbez

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now i don't hack out in the dark...i'm in the fortunate position of having access to a floodlit arena...but on old yard i did have to so i do feel qualified to rant about this...when people ride out in the dark, why do they think that a flourescant quarter sheet and a flashing vest are enough?!!!!
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i've come across loads of riders in the last week who i haven't seen until literally the last minute because their hi vis is so crap
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reflective stuff is, in my opinion, pretty crap for riding in the dark (great for attracting attention in the daylight as its bright) as you have to be shining lights directly at it for it to work. flashing led stuff is much better...but please can everyone riding in the dark make the effort to wear more than one flashing vest. when i used to brave dark hacks (even on a well lit road) i used to wear a flashing vest, a cyclists flashing band thing round horses neck, small flashing bands round each of horses leg, flashing things like the police wear round my boot, bike light on back of quarter sheet etc etc. yes i looked like a christmas tree but i was visible!
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thankyou!
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I think that using Hi Viz during daylight hours is a must. My job entails me travelling around lanes most of the time & Hi Viz gives me advance warning & allows me to see horses a lot earlier than I possibly would otherwise be aware of them.

As for riding at night on roads, in my opinion I think it's for people with a death wish. It doesn't matter if you're in the right, you are just as injured or dead in any accident. In the dark winter months either ride in the day on a day off or wait for the weekend. It's not worth the risk.
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I have no problem riding along the bridleway in the dark, or along the river path, no traffic except cyclists, who see me comeing well into the distance, and light from the nearby dual carriagways gives some light, if the full moons out I can get a steady canter, when I come off the river and park onto the housing estate it's well lit with street lights also, never been a problem in the last five years.
 
I do sometimes wonder what goes through peoples' minds at this time of year, and not just riders. The other night we encountered two lots of dog walkers looming at us out of the dusk, and three cyclists with no lights whatsoever, on an unlit country road. Hi viz and reflective clothing are the minimum you should wear when out and about in the dusk and dark, and LEDs are essential for riding.
 
TBH, I don't know what possesses people to go out riding in the dark ever. The latest I would consider being on the road this week is about 6.10pm, and thats on the last stretch just before the stables where they are hardly any cars, and big verges.

I don't think any amount of reflective, hi-vis or flashing stuff is compensation for daylight. If you have streetlights then prob not so bad, but there are none near me.
 
Yup. Quarter past six the other night, getting dark, two horses out in high viz vests only, could hardly see them - hubby slowed as soon as he spotted them, but was muttering. Muttered even more at the cyclist that had all the flash racing gear on and not a spot of high viz or lights
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As for riding at night on roads, in my opinion I think it's for people with a death wish

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I have to agree - what on earth possess people?
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To be honest I do see why anyone would ride in the dark hi viz or not. It isn't safe and car drivers do not expect to come across a horse in the dark. Why risk it? I don't have the luxury of a school so I'm afraid my horse gets ridden by me at the weekends only in winter although my mu hacks him during the week.

If she didn't ride him then it'd be tough he'd be out weekends only and I still manage to compete him SJ and XC over the winter months. Maybe it's not so bad if you have streetlights where you live or can ride through well lit estates but, as Stencilface said we don't ahve any street lights in our village so when it's dark it's really dark!!
 
I ride out at first light in the winter, ie the street lights are still on but its not dark. I have to go approx 1/4 mile on a lane to get to my off road bit.

I wear hi viz/reflective tabard, hat cover, horse wears ex sheet, leg bands and bridle kit.

I also wear a rambo LED red flashing tabard on top and a separate flashing bicycle light.

and its light when I return, I see the same 2 drivers every morning who are going the same place as me to walk their dogs. I wouldnt have any qualms about going down the main part of the village either as very well lit and straight.

IMO I am a damn site more visible than most of the cyclists round here who would have none of the above.
 
Ladyt it wouldn't be possible or fair to ride my boy only at weekends and compete him. partly because he is getting older and would prob stiffen up and partly because being of a more solid sort he needs to have a reasonable level of fitness to do it.

I also lunge/ride in the field at home in the dark in the evenings but as we are on one of the wet bits of somerset there are times when this just isn't possible. I wouldn't go out in the proper dark though and choose morning as the light seems to be better then and you know its only going to get better.
 
In normal daylight I wear a tabard, leg wraps and a martingale strap.

I can't imagine ever wanting to ride in the dark, but if I did I'd be wearing every single bit of flashing, neon, hi viz item known to man!
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scary stuff though.
 
Another person here who can't understand people's desire to ride in the dark. Its dangerous enough on roads in full daylight, why would I put myself and my horse at the increased risk?

As for off road I would percieve this to be even more hazardous. around here there are lots of tree roots and stones to be tripped over, and I think people forget that if they come off and their horse bolted he'd be on the road...

Therefore the thought of flashing lights, neon, infra-red, LED or otherwise simply hasn't crossed my mind!

I would simply rather not ride at all during winter than risk it. If I couldn't for whatever reason only ride my horses at weekends I would ensure I was on a yard with floodlit facilities. Mind you, even schooling on a decent surface in the pitch black would be preferable to me, rather than riding on the roads at night.
 
Cannot understand the logic myself of riding in dark/dusk. When i worked full time and did not have access to a school I just rode at weekends and schooled the horses in the week in the paddock. The roads are bad enough in daylight never mind the dark.
 
It should be pointed out that after lighting up time it is illegal to ride or lead your horse on the road without a lamp(not LED a lamp) that shows white to the front and red to the rear. This should normally be worn on your arm or boot if you are riding.

So if you might be out after dark go and get yourself some proper lights to suppliment the flashing LEDs.
 
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As for off road I would percieve this to be even more hazardous. around here there are lots of tree roots and stones to be tripped over, and I think people forget that if they come off and their horse bolted he'd be on the road...



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True and I guess you cannot see a shard of glass or wire as well as you could otherwise. It's not for me, personally. Can't stay on in daylight
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My only extra point will be that everyones hacking situations will be different. I love being out first thing in the morning when everything is quiet.

We are very lucky to not have to go far to permit access some environment agency land which we use on a regular basis, it is a half mile straight, flat, wide stretch of turf with a laid gravel path to one side for walkers which we can use if wet, no rabbits.

My main hazard is I can't canter back towards home because it faces directly east and so am completely blinded by the sun and I can't see dog walkers coming.
 
I wish I had somewhere nice to hack like that Ester! My offroad hacking is stunning by day but too potholey and unever for night lol I'd be out the side door quicker than you can say "Ed's a goner!" lol
 
its the only nice bit we have, we don't have any bridleways but it certainly does the job trying to keep him fittish as we don't have any hills.
 
The thing to take in is that as a rider you are going slowly and YOU can see perfectly well. A car driver is going so much faster and will not see you.
Even under street lights I think a horse and rider would be invisible until almost into them.

Don't think about what YOU look like, think about your poor horse who would take the impact if a car driver didn't see you in time to stop.

I once nearly drove into the back of an expensive local dressage horse in the fog, although luckily I was going slowly enough to stop (not always on that stretch of road). It was OK for the rider, and with enough visibility to
ride, but the rider hadn't taken into account the cars coming up behind her.
Also it was a bay horse and she was in dark breeches and green jacket (so cool) and a very good to blend into the road and hedge.

There is a local livery yard situated on a lane which is used as a cut through by staff from an industrial estate. The Policeman who lives at the other end of the lane called into the livery yard and said he would prosecute any rider he saw riding in the lane after dusk (I think he probably meant without the correct lighting, but the message got through).
 
why is it any different to a car driver seeing a cyclist?

I dont wear the dayglo and lights so I can see they are for the car drivers to see me so we aren't invisible, I think I would be hard to miss and I have asked those car drivers who do drive past me.

Forgot on my list- I also wear a headlamp even though the time I ride might be questionable lights on/off but I know as a car driver I would at that time be looking for lights rather than hi vis.

fog is a complete no no. I wouldnt go out in that.
 
When I used to ride out after dark I used to go out as a pair always and never alone.

We had had exercise sheets with relfective strips all over them, plus flashing LED lights on the bums and sides, a flashing light on the chest of the horse via a high viz neck strap. They had reflective strips on their bridles and reins, and leg bands and tail strips.

I wore a high viz vest with reflectors, a hat with high viz over cover plus a flashing band, stirrup lights, flashing arm bands and bright hiz vis whip. My mate also had a battery powered camping strip light on his back.

You could see the glow moving down the road and into the forest a good couple of hundred yards away.

One vest and exercise sheet after dark on roads is not enough, you need lights and plenty of them so you can be seen from all angles and directions.
 
I wouldn't consider riding out when it's dark, I worry enough in complete daylight. I don't know how i'm going to get through this winter as my horse is only supposed to be walking out while 'recovering' from an injury, it's dark when i start work and dark when I finish!
 
Maybe I am lucky my mum can ride mine during the week but then she doesn't exactly do fittening work as such. My sister's horse won't get ridden as much and, back in the day our ponies would have only been ridden at the weekends in winter. They still competed.

My horse is now 18 and will still compete this winter. If I feel i NEED to school I will book a nice indoor arena an box there. He doesn't have issues with stiffness as is out from about 6am til 6pm during the winter months in a nice big field with hills - seems to keep them all pretty fit!

I just wouldn't risk me or my horse riding out in the dark even with flashing neon on!!!

I have come across horses our in poor light/late at night when I'm driving and it's terrifying to be honest. Same with cyclists. Sort of heart in your mouth moments when you come across one and I never drive particularly fast along country type lanes. Other car drivers DON'T think about what may be round the corner and are bad enough driving when it's good visibility!
 
I'm another who just wouldn't contemplate riding out in the dark.

In daylight, I'm a complete hi-viz/reflective anorak - won't hack out without it and have hi-viz for every occasion. But lights or no lights, even if me and horse were decked out like a Christmas tree and flashing like a belisha beacon I just would NOT ride out after dark.

As someone above rightly said - drivers don't expect to see you at that time of day.

And no, I don't have the luxury of a floodlit school either. So this time of year I am purely limited to riding at the weekends. But that's the choice I made (helped along of course by the fact that I rent my own land, so the horses can live out 24/7, so there's no desperate need for them to be exercised every day). I appreciate that not everyone has this luxury - but if I didn't have my own land, I'd still be looking extremely carefully about where and how my horses were kept rather than resort to riding out after dark.
 
As for the cylist v. horse - lots of cylists wear high-viz, and if they get hit by a car that is up to them. It is an innocent horse I am worried about.
 
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