Riding in the dark

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Erehwemos

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Does anyone here ride in the dark - and by dark I mean not in a school with lights!!

I am faced with a bit of a quandary at the moment in that I really want to get Ellie fit, but I am currently getting home at 5pm or later, so obviously the light has pretty much upped and left by then. There is a lovely big school at our yard but it does not yet have lights. This week I have gone out for a couple of rides in the dusk and returned home in the dark (which the guys on the yard think I am bonkers for!) I have also just bought a headlight...and obviously I make sure Ellie and I are kitted out in full hi viz, even though we're not going on the road (I wouldnt do that in the dark
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Just wondered if anyone else finds themselves having to ride in the dark? What do you do if so - do you hack, or walk around the school?
 
If you have a decent sand school why don't you park your car close to it and turn on your headlights, it will be much safer than going on the roads. I have no school and it is far too dangerous to ride on my roads, so I have to let my horse down a bit in the winter and only ride at the weekend.
 
I have ridden in the school in the part light or dark for years. I walk & trot & do suppling work & lateral work. No canter.
Our school was about 40m from the building, so there was a little bit of light from the o/s lights there, but it did create shadows. Horses have great night vision & i never found it to be a problem.
 
Used to ride in a school that didn't have lights, worked fine
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. No jumping though! Neds seemed okay, though we used to walk the school first just to check there was nothing on the ground that shouldn't be there.

...new yard has lights... and we pay for them via a bottle of wine every now and then....
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tracey01 - I had thought about the car option but the school is approached via a fairly steep slope, and without driving into the school (which YO wouldnt like!) there isnt any way I could get the headlights to shine across, not straight up! I dont ride on the roads - I'm lucky enough we have an off road loop ride around the farm
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Pippipony - ah that's good to hear! Same here, the school would be about 30/40 metres so there would be a small amount of light. I thought if I had my little head lamp on that might help too!
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In the past I have ridden in he dark either in the school or off-road hacking.
To go onto the roads though I think is utter madness, so I presume you aren't saying you are road hacking at 5pm
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Today I got back from a hack at 4pm, it was very grey and drizzly and I wasn't overly comfortable with cutting it so fine on the light.
 
Hack out in the dark every winter, thought everyone on here had seen his lordships headlight, we wear our usual hi viz which we wear all year round plus flashing neon top, the headlight is so we can see where we are going.

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I used to regularly exercise my horse in the dark when I was at school, I could ride from my little yard up a stubble field and down a track into a massive woods and wore full hi-viz just in case. I used to ride out at around 5-6am so it was pretty much pitch black, but my horse always seemed to be ok with where he was going and I trusted him (except for the one time we came face to face with a fox and I was convinced it was a panther, as was he, and he made off at a startling speed which is scary when you can't see where you are going!)
 
Go outside and just walk round for a bit in the dark. Your eyes soon adjust and you can see enough to ride. I've done it and it's fine.
 
Ben and Jerry's - if you had read my original post properly, you would see I stated that I do not ride on the roads in the dark
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I do wear hi viz, which some people may think silly but I do it just so that if anything did happen, we'd be easily found.

Pedantic - cool!!!!
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*decides to make a headlight for Ellie*
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Eeek now I can see Ellie doing exactly the same thing...LOL!

Do you (or anyone else who rides in the dark) worry about personal safety more than when you're out in daylight? For me it's one of those weird things that I get quite scared
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when I'm mucking out on my own in the dark, (and that only involves walking 30 yards to the muck heap) but I'd be fine going 2 miles on a ride....
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Noooo! LOL - at the moment, I get to the yard at 6.15am, and that only just leaves me enough time to muck out and feed before the hour and a half journey to work
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Ask how many of the guys at your yard hack back in the dark after hunting. Many a time we have hacked back by the lights on the quads!
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I have ridden in the school in the dark, we have a security light at one end that lights a bit of it as long as you say with in its range.
I have hacked round the field in the dark once but there are too many things to watch out for in daylight so it was to risky in the dark.
 
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Ask how many of the guys at your yard hack back in the dark after hunting. Many a time we have hacked back by the lights on the quads!
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I'm sure they do....I hadnt thought of that!
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Talking of which, are you going to the meet on the 5th? Ellie wont be remotely fit enough to hunt properly but seeing as its at the yard, I might try to take her along for half an hour
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i used 2 ride out b4 school and now do it before college at 5:30 in the morning (think i may need my had looking at) soo its pretty much pitch black and horses seem 2 be able to see better than me only thing is i take them on hacks/canters i know well in case of holes and stuff plus they can be bit more spockey if normally laid back but interstily have found that my old pony who used to be really spockey was acctauly better in the dark
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Go for it. Folk do at our yard - off road hacking and some in the school too. I wear my headlight on my hat and only really have to put it on to see the way on a very dark bit of track. I don't think horse needs it at all!!
 
No I have to do the yard that day as the other groom is at a wedding so I will be on my own.
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Hopefully there will be a day we are both out, when Ellie is a bit fitter.
 
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