Rider Lights - where to buy?

[cowgirl16]

Does anyone know where we can buy these LED lights that the BHS is recommending we use when riding on the roads? I've looked in the usual places - but they all seem geared towards cyclists, joggers and construction workers.

 

[abbijay]

I use a lot of LEDs for hacking. I buy small bike lights and attached them to an elastic tail band or hang them off a neckstrap of breastplate. Then I buy "runners bands" from Aldi (£2 for 2) and use them as leg bands on the horse, arm and leg bands on me and attach 2 together as a hatband. I can go out like a Christmas tree for less then £10, much cheaper than the equestrian LED hat bands you can buy. It is also worth looking in pound shops as they sometimes come in too. I wouldn't worry about them being intended for another purpose, if you can be ingenious about where you place them they will do a job and hopefully save your life.

 

[GirlFriday]

Agree - lots of non-equestrian sourced ones will do the job very well. If you're a driver or cyclist etc have a think about what you look at when driving - it is probably actually the road itself more often that you'd think so anything that will go around a horse's legs is going to be surprisingly good value as it will be in the eye-line of other road users. For you anything that fits around your ankles will similarly be good value.

 

[Keith_Beef]

I would think that reflective bands for runners and cyclists would work well braided into a horse's tail, fastened around your own ankle or your stirrup-iron or around the bottom part of your horse's leg.

LED lights sold for runners and cyclists are lightweight, small and powerful, and these days, being so small, are made to be instantly detachable to be carried away in a pocket. (When lights were big, bulky and often dynamo powered, they'd be semi-permanently fastened to the bike.)

I would definitely advise using a combination of lights and reflectors; lights are great until they run out of juice. Then you're really glad of the reflectors.

A head-torch is useful. I got one that takes two 18650 batteries and has a recharging circuit; either connect with a micro USB cable to a cell-phone charger, or take the batteries out and use an external charger. The elastic head-band is just about big enough to go over my hard-hat, it has a red lamp on the battery box at the read and the main front lamp has four modes: steady white, flashing white, steady red or steady red plus steady white. And you can use the head-torch around the yard and inside the stable when there's not enough light.

 

[abbijay]

These are what I use https://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Run-H...8&qid=1513266333&sr=8-10&keywords=led+running
However if you can find them in aldi they're much cheaper. Because they're a bit elastic they fit a huge range of sizes.

 

[chaps89]

I have a couple of sets of these, they're fab
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0...36_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=led+cycle+light

Less fab for visibility in terms of giving off light to see by but still useful to be spotted by are the lights from this set
https://www.tesco.com/direct/cycle-lock-light-set/362-3242.prd?skuId=362-3242

 

[Alibear]

Does anyone else wonder where we're going to end up with all this? Firstly we had to wear hi-viz, then it had to be the "right colour" of hi-viz and both on horse and rider; and now we need lights too.
All the time the number of accidents is still increasing.

 

[little_critter]

I had a cycling Fibre Flare light attached to my stirrup, a head torch round my hat (also had a rear red light) and a flashing mini led light attached to my stirrup keeper when I was having to rehab in dusky mornings last year.
Saved me once when I mis-timed my evening hack and ended up getting home in the dark.

 

[albeg]

Does anyone else wonder where we're going to end up with all this? Firstly we had to wear hi-viz, then it had to be the "right colour" of hi-viz and both on horse and rider; and now we need lights too.
All the time the number of accidents is still increasing.

Part of the problem is awareness all around I think. Everyone needs to be aware of others around them on the road. I'd say lights are a good idea though. If you're in shade and the driver doesn't have lights on, lights on horse/rider will increase visibility. Or if sun is in their eyes they may see lights before fluorescent.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Does anyone else wonder where we're going to end up with all this? Firstly we had to wear hi-viz, then it had to be the "right colour" of hi-viz and both on horse and rider; and now we need lights too.
All the time the number of accidents is still increasing.

It would be nice if we could live in a world where there was no need for all that stuff. I didn't know about requirements for hi-vis garb (not being in the UK, and not riding alone anyway, I just abide by whatever the qualified instructor or guide tells us). I don't have figures for accidents, but I definitely have a personal impression that drivers of all motor vehicles are less and less vigilant and more and more arrogant and aggressive. I try to keep in check any bias for my increasing age and traces of nostalgia...

But we live in the world that we've got, not in the world that we wish we had.

Part of the problem is awareness all around I think. Everyone needs to be aware of others around them on the road. I'd say lights are a good idea though. If you're in shade and the driver doesn't have lights on, lights on horse/rider will increase visibility. Or if sun is in their eyes they may see lights before fluorescent.

I was out on a three day ride a while ago, and at one point we were crossing a dual carriageway to get from one field to another. I was signalling to a driver coming uphill towards us to slow down as he approached us, while at the same time moving my horse to make sure we were not in the path of the car if it didn't slow down.

In the end, he did slow down, to a stop, even, but he left it very late before beginning to brake. As he drew level, he lowered his window and said "I couldn't see you!"

I looked around and behind me to the crest of the hill, with the sun just above it. The problem was the sun being low in the sky behind me, the driver coming uphill had the sun in his eyes and was dazzled. Or maybe he had just looked away, to avoid being dazzled, and was no longer looking at the road ahead of him.

Oh, well, nobody as injured, the horses were not even scared, and I learnt another lesson.

Now, when I was learning to drive, the rule was "you only go into a space that you can see is free of danger". Following this rule, you don't run into an unseen danger.

The attitude today seems to be "you only stay out of a space when you can see there is a danger". Following this rule, you easily run into an unseen danger. Ninety nine times out of a hundred, there's no danger and you shave three minutes off an hour's journey.

I also started learning the highway code and defensive driving from being about five, from my Mum. The first lesson was "drive as if everybody on the road is an absolute idiot; if they're not, it does no harm, and if they are, it might save your life".

 

[Gazen]

As someone else has said, the Aldi reflective bands with LEDs cannot be beaten for price. We have 12 of them for 2 horses. One on each of the horses legs, one on the tail / back of the exercise sheet and one either the outside arm/leg of the rider or on the browband (depending on how long and thick the forlock is!!!)

Along with a hi-viz vest there are no excuses for any driver to say that they cannot see you. The LEDs are visible from about a half mile away. We have had drivers stop and to say how visible we were, even if initially they couldn't tell 'what' we were until they were closer, they knew that 'something' was there. 'Closer' is where we would normally have been visible, so it gave them extra time to see us.

 

[Fjord]

These are what I use https://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Run-H...8&qid=1513266333&sr=8-10&keywords=led+running
However if you can find them in aldi they're much cheaper. Because they're a bit elastic they fit a huge range of sizes.

Three or four of these connected together make a great flashing neck strap.