Shocked at H+H advice not to wear too much hi-viz

Pmsl at cc. 'better to be lit up like a Xmas tree & live to see another Xmas'. You should sell it as a marketing slogan to hi viz manufacturers.
 
I must admit I thought there was rather a lot of that in the whole article and it wasn't to be taken too seriously?
 
mle22 said:
Haven't read more than the first few pages of this - but does the original article not involve irony!
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other pearls of wisdom in the article included

if you work full time you shouldnt have a horse because you dont have time for it

the average rider should have an irish cob and not have a warm blood or thoroughbred

your a bad owner if you have your horse euthanised by lethal injection
 
lannerch said:
You know me well sparks :)
The girls at our yard have a lot of hiviz gear different colours different outfits hence the comment :)
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well that is a whole new level of 'matchy matchy' :p, which I find an amusing concept in itself, when I asked Frank he had no concept of fashion or embarassment :p although I do have a pic of him looking less than impressed in a bling browband.. and a james bond suit.. and as puss in boots..
 
As fionaM12 said of ceris comet.
Over 50 posts by the same person in one thread.

Yes and most of them repeating and repeating the question of will H&H make this the thread of the week. Someone looking for their 15 mins of fame I think.
 
Any thoughts that the article was an attempt at humour should be dismissed by Lucy Higginson's post on this thread. Have a read. It doesn't suggest that this article is an attempt at irony.

I sympathised with many of the views in the article, but thought the hi-viz comment was way off message.

Apologies, but even as the op on this thread, I haven't a clue where Ms Higginson, aka HH editor, posted. Think user name is Horse and Hound administration.
 
I asked TFC to bring this thread to the attention of the editor and presumably he did so as she has replied on the thread but I am extremely disappointed with the reply.
My horses (even the 30 yr old) rarely wear rugs, even in the depths of winter, eat very little other than haylage, although admittedly the tiny amount they get in a bucket at around 7.00pm is usually referred to to as 'tea', are expected to behave well in all circumstances and chastised if they don't, so I doubt if even the 'journalist' who wrote the article would consider them to be mollycoddled.
I have been riding, on the roads, amongst other places, for more than 45 yrs and bought my first H&H about 45 yrs ago. When I started riding I wore a cork hat with an elastic chin strap which, frankly, would have done nothing to protect my head if I had fallen off and landed on it. I now wear a Champion hat with the relevant BS number - does this make me a nervous novice? Or does it make me prudent?
I can count on the fingers of one hand, the number of times I've fallen off my own horses in the last 40 yrs but the last time I did was on a road and the horse shot off without me, leaving me lying in the road stunned. Fortunately I wasn't on my own and the driver who was closest stopped to check on me. I was wearing hi-viz as was the horse, so we were both easily visible.
We frequently see low-flying helicopters which can see us because of our hi-viz and so avoid us.
Well over 20 yrs ago, sis and I were riding 2 bombproof R&D mares and were involved in an incident with a car (fortunately neither horses nor riders were hurt). We reported the incident to the police and the constable who came to take our statements was very interested to see the pink and silver Puffa jackets, with metallic threads running through which we had been wearing at the time. The information which we gave, combined with the easily visible jackets, led to the driver being charged with and found guilty of careless driving.
I shall continue to update my riding apparel every time a safety innovation is introduced. I value my own life and health and that of my horses too much not to do so. However, I'm not sure that I shall continue to buy a magazine which ridicules me and other safety conscious riders.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I asked TFC to bring this thread to the attention of the editor and presumably he did so as she has replied on the thread but I am extremely disappointed with the reply.
My horses (even the 30 yr old) rarely wear rugs, even in the depths of winter, eat very little other than haylage, although admittedly the tiny amount they get in a bucket at around 7.00pm is usually referred to to as 'tea', are expected to behave well in all circumstances and chastised if they don't, so I doubt if even the 'journalist' who wrote the article would consider them to be mollycoddled.
I have been riding, on the roads, amongst other places, for more than 45 yrs and bought my first H&H about 45 yrs ago. When I started riding I wore a cork hat with an elastic chin strap which, frankly, would have done nothing to protect my head if I had fallen off and landed on it. I now wear a Champion hat with the relevant BS number - does this make me a nervous novice? Or does it make me prudent?
I can count on the fingers of one hand, the number of times I've fallen off my own horses in the last 40 yrs but the last time I did was on a road and the horse shot off without me, leaving me lying in the road stunned. Fortunately I wasn't on my own and the driver who was closest stopped to check on me. I was wearing hi-viz as was the horse, so we were both easily visible.
We frequently see low-flying helicopters which can see us because of our hi-viz and so avoid us.
Well over 20 yrs ago, sis and I were riding 2 bombproof R&D mares and were involved in an incident with a car (fortunately neither horses nor riders were hurt). We reported the incident to the police and the constable who came to take our statements was very interested to see the pink and silver Puffa jackets, with metallic threads running through which we had been wearing at the time. The information which we gave, combined with the easily visible jackets, led to the driver being charged with and found guilty of careless driving.
I shall continue to update my riding apparel every time a safety innovation is introduced. I value my own life and health and that of my horses too much not to do so. However, I'm not sure that I shall continue to buy a magazine which ridicules me and other safety conscious riders.[/QUOTE
Brilliant post. Anyone listening?
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There has been a lot of mention on here about riders going all 'matchy matchy' with their hi viz and turning it into a fashion statement, not really the route I take, if I brush saddle and bridle area and pick out hooves before I ride I'm hardly going to be concerned that my hi viz looks a bit eclectic. I do however think that these people should not be ridiculed, if turning hi viz into a fashion statement makes the whole idea more appealing to some horse owners and they go out feeling proud of their matchy efforts instead of feeling like a dork on a horse in cringeworthy bright stuff, I'm all for it.
 
Queenbee said:
There has been a lot of mention on here about riders going all 'matchy matchy' with their hi viz and turning it into a fashion statement, not really the route I take, if I brush saddle and bridle area and pick out hooves before I ride I'm hardly going to be concerned that my hi viz looks a bit eclectic. I do however think that these people should not be ridiculed, if turning hi viz into a fashion statement makes the whole idea more appealing to some horse owners and they go out feeling proud of their matchy efforts instead of feeling like a dork on a horse in cringeworthy bright stuff, I'm all for it.
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I like to match, but that's just me. I don't only do it when I ride, but in day to day life too.

I'm doing a little doodle. I wonder if I post it here, they'd publish it ;) haha
Hopefully it'll be done tomorrow and I can honestly say it's the weirdest thing I've ever drawn....and I did commissions for Furries!!! (If you don't know, google...and be warned)
 
Here's a little taster ;)

IMG-13.jpg
 
Aw how cool! When its done I say we write a collective open letter to the editor enclosing that doodle!! Xx
 
Just caught up with the H&H response, what a faux pas!!! Being prickly and passive aggressive with your readership over a safety issue in an open forum (even more ironic when it's "your" forum!) - what school of journalistic ethics is that from then??? Come Monday, when the IPC Media PR department is back at work, Ms LH will be falling on her sword while whispering "Mea culpa" as her last words, while simultaneously the H&H Editor will be anouncing the new H&H Hi-Viz campaign in conjunction with BB!
 
true dragon said:
other pearls of wisdom in the article included

if you work full time you shouldnt have a horse because you dont have time for it

the average rider should have an irish cob and not have a warm blood or thoroughbred

your a bad owner if you have your horse euthanised by lethal injection
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I read the article yesterday and I felt that it was a little condescending TBH. Especially as I am an average rider with a warmblood! LOL The hi-viz comment was the author I think trying to be humorous in her distorted and old fashioned opinions of hacking out. This is 2012 not 1978! In the 8 years I have had my horse, hacking out has become more perilous and you need to be seen, whether you look like Bertie Bassett or a Xmas tree....I think H&H should take a bit more time over their proof reading and have someone cast an eye over their remarks also.
 
ozpoz said:
:D:D:D

Not completely, not quite yet.
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Funny enough, as an American I cam over here and was shocked to see how pampered the horses were!

Put it this way, our show horses lived out all winter, shoes off, no rugs. They weren't overfed, rarely did I see an obese animal. Okay, some might say we're daft for not wearing hats back in those days - and never even heard of hi=viz unless it was deer hunting season and I do appreciate that things have changed re hats over there since I was a younger rider - but I told my aunt about putting on hi viz and she was wondering if I'd lost MY head? Clippers came out only if they were still really hairy in April just before teh show season commenced. Mind you, I'm from New England and winters are a helluva lot harder there than they are here. Hay fed from the floor or outside on the ground is mostly what they'd eat - sometimes a wee hard feed if they were still in work. Carrots and apples added to feed? Pshaw...why?!

Beds in stables over here look like thick mattresses. Ours back home were a deep bed of sawdust usually. None of these bales of lovely large flake stuff unless at a show (which is all you could get). I was really amused that you could look in any stable and just about see people using a spirit level to get the perfect shape to the banks and the front edge looked like it'd been done by an architect.

And yet now that I've been keeping a horse here in the UK, that's the done thing and I just do it....just because...well I don't know. It's just the way it is.

So...saying that you thought it might be an American thing - think again - or perhaps go and visit sometime. ;) Or if you have, and you've seen more pampering there than you do here....then WOW, I have been away from home a long time. Cos most of the folk I know back in hte US are still "roughing it" relatively.
 
Hi CC
Nope I don't but it annoys me when everyone chooses to "look the other way" in dressage .
The H&H comment was stupid I agree and you have every right to be annoyed with them and the Editors response was a standard letter with no thought as to it's effect. All in all they buggered it up.
What I am getting at is no one threatened to never watch or compete in dressage until
It was made mandatory to wear a hat even when working in and certainly if the top professionals did it first it would have much more of a positive effect on impressionable youngsters.
I wear hi vis and sniggered at the BB reference as I do with there occasionally added page filling nonsense.
 
I do think that is a totally different situation though, someone riding without a proper hat is putting themselves in danger, not their horse and not the many other road users (although they may well inconvenience those that have to care for them.)
 
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