Riding in the dark

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dancingbay

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We have a lovely big outdoor arena at my yard but unfortunately there is no lighting. I have not yet been on the yard through winter. I do ride in the dark with fluorescents, flashing lights and a head torch but never had to school in the dark. I have been informed that due to the position it is in we do get quite a lot of natural light. – I was made aware when I moved on that there was no arena lighting however, other than that the yard is perfect.

I am going to look into lighting and see if I can find any battery powered lights that I could dot around the outside of the arena and that would be bright enough to provide enough light.

Does anybody have the same problem? Has anyone got any suggestions regarding lighting? Does anybody ride on the roads in the winter?

Sorry for the wintery post but I want to get prepared. :)
 
I am hoping to get out and about more this winter than I did last, but that really depends on the weather conditions. :) I would be flashing, fluorescent and hi-viz for any road riding, but I don't want to just hack in the dark on the roads. I do have off-road riding (with only short sections of road to cover) and I hope I can find a decent headtorch and it will be fine! As long as it does freak Bilbo out of course. Have to wait and see, else I will just have to make the most of the days I am not at work for riding and save the headtorch for poop-scooping after work!
 
I know of a few people on yards that have lovely schools but no lights.
They get around it by schooling with a head torch :)

I personally couldn't do it though as I've got a 6 year old, reasonable hot headed horse who I don't think would react very well to me riding with a head torch on!
 
Used to school a well behaved pony under car headlights (engine running to conserve battery!) years ago. Wasn't ideal but better than nothing.
 
Yip, we all ride out in the dark at our yard. Go onto eBay a look up 'cree head torch'. It's like riding in the daylight. Just remember and dip your head or you blind people and plenty red lights on tail, bum, legs and sidelights so your seen by others.
 
chased by bees said:
Yip, we all ride out in the dark at our yard. Go onto eBay a look up 'cree head torch'. It's like riding in the daylight. Just remember and dip your head or you blind people and plenty red lights on tail, bum, legs and sidelights so your seen by others.
Click to expand...

Wow, that does look pretty good :) will be buying one for the dreaded "W"!
 
chased by bees said:
Yip, we all ride out in the dark at our yard. Go onto eBay a look up 'cree head torch'. It's like riding in the daylight. Just remember and dip your head or you blind people and plenty red lights on tail, bum, legs and sidelights so your seen by others.
Click to expand...

Do you ride on the roads in the dark?
 
chased by bees said:
Yip, we all ride out in the dark at our yard. Go onto eBay a look up 'cree head torch'. It's like riding in the daylight. Just remember and dip your head or you blind people and plenty red lights on tail, bum, legs and sidelights so your seen by others.
Click to expand...

This looks great - I will be purchasing one of those.
 
I ride in the dark often through the winter, and my spooky hot-headed warmblood is often better for it as there is less for her to see to spook at. We have a small amount of light from a couple of streetlights (arena has a grass strip, big hedge then a country lane with streetlights) but i have never had any problems. We do have a light on the arena but often i cba to go and switch it on!
 
BSL said:
Do you ride on the roads in the dark?
Click to expand...

Yip, but the traffic in our area is very use to us being on the road, so it's not really a problem. Town centres are actually useful for icy days as there always well lite and well gritted. Can still get out for a brisk walk and slow trot even on the worst of days as we've got two towns and a well gritted A road between them and our yard.
 
Horses see better in the dark than we do. We have arena lights in the jumping school but not in the dressage school. As long as you stay on the flat you can school in the dark. I wouldn't jump in the dark though!
 
We have flood lights at our yard so I don't have this problem but a headtorch seems a good idea.

Or have you thought about the sticky LED Lights? They are battery powered and you could stick them to the fence or something?

Like These
 
chased by bees said:
Yip, we all ride out in the dark at our yard. Go onto eBay a look up 'cree head torch'. It's like riding in the daylight. Just remember and dip your head or you blind people and plenty red lights on tail, bum, legs and sidelights so your seen by others.
Click to expand...

Wow - just ordered some!

Wonder if you could clip one of these to the noseband and one to the headband, maybe to boots - both horse and human?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8000Lumen...460374?hash=item3ac662b356:g:fmYAAOSwMNxXbQ29
 
EQUIDAE said:
Wow - just ordered some!

Wonder if you could clip one of these to the noseband and one to the headband, maybe to boots - both horse and human?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8000Lumen...460374?hash=item3ac662b356:g:fmYAAOSwMNxXbQ29
Click to expand...

Tried it but horse doesnt like it as it shines to brightly right down her blind spot. Same goes for flashing lights near head. Better with a plain white bike light on the browband and flashing white on the reins. A white bike light on the centre of a breast plate reduces the shadow cast from the head torch over the horses head if they get spooked by that.
 
I haven't been at my current yard thru winter, but we also have an unlit school. My plan is to wrap some battery-powered fairy lights around the fence planks and perhaps some battery or solar lights at each of the markers. If you don't have to negotiate obstacles, I don't think you need a bright light, just enough to know where you are. I think that'd be better for the horse's night vision too.
 
I have ridden in pitch dark in winter at 5am on otherwise very silly and hot headed horse, with no extra lights at all. I just made sure the arena was cleared of poles etc. Our fence is white which helps us negotiate our way round :) horse went really well as there were no distractions!
 
Horses see perfectly well in the dark in fact head torches etc are likely to interfer with that. Back in my crazier younger days we quite often schooled over birch fences in the dark with no incident if you add fog into the equation it got interesting for the rider.
 
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