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

quirky said:
I'm with lannerch on this, can't really see the point in having more than a tabbard.

I see the 'lit up like a Christmas tree' hi-vizers as being nervous riders, rightly or wrongly, who want to draw as much attention to themselves as possible as they can't cope with traffic coming past at even a reduced speed.
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I have one of the most bombproof horses it is possible to have. And as an enormous Draft horse she certainly draws the eye. She spooks at very little and when she does it's just a little jump 'on the spot'. Apart from the fact that she usually prefers to walk on the crown of the road and knows full well that she has right of way it is very unlikely that anything that she or I do on the road is likely to cause an accident. But I can't speak for other road users.
However I wear a fluorescent jacket with sleeves, fluorescent gloves ( so that hand signals can be seen) and a hat band (so that I can be seen over walls/hedges). The horse wears 4 leg bands (as movement attracts the eye) and a tail guard with lights.
I have been riding for over 40 years and started riding in the days when we all wore hacking jackets and beige breeches/jodhpurs and there wasn't much traffic on the roads anyway. I want my horse to be safe, even if we part company - which is highly unlikely.
So I shall continue to use as much hi-viz as I can get my hands on. I am not at all embarrassed about being seen but would be if there was an accident and I hadn't taken every precaution possible.
 
I for one always go out 'lit up like a xmas tree' but im in no way a nervous rider. Bit of stereotyping there dont you think?

I have a tabard/coat , Darcy has four wraps, exercise sheet, a tail guard, breastplate covers and bits on his bridle.
Over the years iv had so many people say 'sorry i couldnt see you' when slamming on the breaks or clipping my stirrup, that i have now taken that excuse off them, and if they dont (where they can) give me some space or slow down, i can swear as much as i like at them while not feeling the least bit guilty in case they havent actually seen me! xD

I like my horse too much to go out without it, id rather dress in bright yellow than have him rammed by a car. I live near very busy main roads, and the more people who can see me, the better!
 
NAH i got my lightweight hi-viz sheet from aldi or lidl (cant remember which) last year, its fab, its not mesh but a very lightweight nylon/ plolyester fabric, its made by "crane" think it was about 8 quid. Worth waiting until they come back around, im sure someone told me June was equestrian month at aldi- so they might be back in stock soon!:D
 
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Faracat said:
I love the Direct.gov's picture aid. :D

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tangentially, I actually think this is rubbish - yellow hi vis is useless right now round here - every flippin' field is rape seed in flower and you cannot see yellow hivised riders for love nor money against them.
 
Its a bit stereotypical to say riders who wear hi vis are nervous riders. I'm not the most confident, but I'm not nervous out hacking.

I'd rather be seen, and be safe, and the same goes for my horse. Like others have said, if the worst does happen and I fall off, I want both him and me to be visible to reduce the likelihood of an accident. Accidents do happen, and within reason, I want to do everything in my power to reduce the risk.
 
The Mounted Section in Avon & Somerset do night patrols around the suburban areas - better tell them to take off their jackets, rugs and lights - they'll look far too novicey whilst dealing with the tw""s of this world. The author should get some shares in Sports Direct then she'd change her mind.
 
thank goodness for freedom of choice and the fact that we won't all pay attention to H+H.

and yes, yellow doesn't work all the time, we have some orange too :). I also think it depends on pony colour, yellow seems to work better on frank than on mum's yellow pony.

Quantity of hi vis depends on route taken/prevailing conditions so that is where I do my risk assesment. even if on a hill somewhere I will at least have my yellow hat on in case someone needs to find me prone on the ground somewhere!

min is usually hat cover (stays on permanently), tabard and breastplate. If going down the main road/dodgy light we have leg bands, noseband, quarter sheet and a rambo LED tabard to choose from.

Quirky you say that work means that you can now only hack 4 days a week (pain that it is ;) ) work means that I often cannot pick and choose when I can ride, there is only one available slot in the day ;) , so I cannot really say oh its a bit grey/the sun is now low so I best not ride. I do however choose not to go the east/west-west/east route in low winter sun!
 
I have put a thread onto Feedback asking TFC to bring this thread to the notice of H&H's editor. I hope that the 'journalist' is asked to justify her stance against a wealth of official advice. I've never heard anything so ridiculous.
 
I doubt that many would call me a nervous novice, but I wear Hi-Viz hat band, gloves, jacket or tabbard, the mare wears Hi-Viz martingale strap, leg wraps, tail guard and I have a summer sheet and a winter exercise sheet. On more than one occaison we have had comments about how the leg wraps (front and back) catch the eye and make sure we are seen.
I can't believe that H&H can be stupid enough to print rubbish like that.
 
I think I can confidently say that I do not own a single piece of hi-viz. Not for vanity - I have just never gotten any.

I'm not riding at the moment until my babys born but this thread has really made me think - I will definitely be investing in a tabard and leg wraps, at least!
 
I'm not a nervous rider either. Maybe it's my age, but I have realised that the sun doesn't shine brightly enough out of my a7$e to negate the need for hi viz
 
Another unfortunate fact at the moment is that it can be fine and sunny with good visibility when you set off on your ride but black skies and hail stones 10-20 minutes later, so even if you do your risk assessment and decide no high vis is needed nature may disagree.
 
quirky said:
Just to reaffirm to those people who skim read. I DO wear hi viz.
Over and out :D
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well presumably so does the author as she suggests that a tabard (which you say you use) may be prudent but I thought the point of the discussion was about the merits of using more hi vis than that and that rather than choosing not to ride in less than great weather you can mitigate it by making yourself more visible.
 
Just caught up with this thread, am very sad this attitude has come out in horse and hound, It's the only horsey mag I read as I much prefere the industry tone of it even though I'm a leisure rider. it makes me sad because I get laughed at enough at my yard for my high viz and now people will be able to quote a respected industry publication to show me they were right all along. very disappointing.
 
What stupid comments from H+H :mad:

If I'm riding on main roads (which I have to to access our bridleways) I nearly always use a hat band, tabard or jacket and leg bands for the horse. I will use an exercise sheet at times too.

To suggest that using hi viz is mollycoddling is quite insulting, I value my life as well as my horse's and also the welfare of my family if I were to be killed or seriously injured for want of a bit of hi viz. I am not a nervous rider either.

Far better a bertie basset 'pansy' than a corpse.

I wonder how the families of those riders tragically killed on the road feel about the comments by H+H?
 
I find it unbelievable that such an ignorant comment has been allowed to go into the magazine - really H&H?

I have always worn a hi-viz tabard and at least two leg bands on the pony's offside - I ride other people's horses and if I don't stick to this my personal rider insurance becomes invalid. I also own a hat band, tail guard and noseband cover. In my BHS R&RS exam (taken over 10 years ago) it was stated that research has proven that moving hi-viz (i.e. on walking legs) can get you seen upto 3 seconds earlier than static hi-viz, so not only is it helpful to the horse if you part company it could get you both seen sooner.

Just to add, my current tabard is one I 'borrowed' from work (construction site) as it is shaped like a waistcoat and looks a little more flattering than the over-head types, so it's definitely worth checking out PPE/workwear providers for cheaper alternatives to horsey hi-viz companies :)

Nah said:
While we're on the subject, does anyone know of any good lightweight sheets? Ned's is a bit thick for summer wear and he gets hot/sweaty easily.
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Nah - if he get's really sweaty have a look at this: http://www.parsonsrump.co.uk/
The lady that designed it has an Icelandic pony who sweated up too much under an exercise sheet so created this instead :)
 
Me and my mister have a tabard, hat cover (crocheted by my mum with fluorescent wool ;) ) leg wraps and a quarter sheet for cold/rain in Yellow and a Pink Lanyard. I am not a novice or nervous rider and my horse is about as bombproof as they get (pigs are far scarier than anything man made!).

I have come far too close to being smacked up the back end by vans/cars etc to take the risk that my horse will be hot by a car because I can't be seen. You can see larger amounts of Hi Viz through hedges etc on country roads. I also find that often people are wearing the Hi Viz vests instead of tabards that don't do up properly at the front and from the front are nearly useless.

My horses owner calls us the 80's pair and shields his eyes :) though he does sppreciate that I am keeping his boy safe.

I am also a big fan of the idea that both should have some hi viz in case you become parted (though I have been told in jest by some people that if their horse dumps them they deserve what they get!)

That is my piece, I too am very disappointed that H+H would allow this mockery in their magazine.
 
I am in no way a nervous rider and I would class myself as a comp rider rather than a "happy hacker" (not that there's anything wrong with that). I however have to do road work for fitness and I always wear a tabard and a hat band plus horse wears breastplate, leg bands (these are particulary good I think as the movement is eye catching), sleeves on noseband and reins and 98% of the time an exercise sheet as well. I only don't use the exercise sheet if very windy as I risk assess my sharp event mare is much more likely to dump me if it flaps than I am to get hit by a car!

I also don't go out intending to fall off and have only ever come off on the road once when my pony slipped over with me whilst being an idiot years ago but there's a first time for everything. I have to cross a main road with fast moving traffic to get to the majority of my hacking and the thought of my horse running back across there on her way home if we parted company makes my blood run cold at least if she is wearing Hi-Vis there is more chance of the traffic seeing her.

I had a scary incident a couple of years ago when I nearly drove straight into the back of a bay horse being ridden by a rider in dark clothing. It was summer and bright sunlight but she was under a hedge and I never saw her. I only missed her as her hacking companion who was ahead of her was wearing Hi-Vis I was preparing to pass the one I could see and in the process nearly hit the other.

I too think this is very irresponsible of Horse and Hound shame on them you would have thought there would at least have been an editors comment at the end of the article to state that it was not the magazines opinion. Just to add most of my Hi-Vis is a horrid green colour as it came out of a bargain bucket at Burghley a few years ago I couldn't care less what we look like as long as me and my girl are safe.
 
I am a total believer in hi-vis, I wear a tabard or a jacket (that looks like a police one), a high vis hat cover and my horse has hi vis leg covers (I can't think of a better name for them but I'm sure there is one).

I think its worth making sure you and the horse are as visible as possibe.
 
I had a sobering experience a few years back when I was driving down a narrow unlite lane in our village in the dark, it was dark enough to have headlights on and they were dipped. I wasn't driving very fast as the lane is full of bends but it wasn't till I was almost on top of them that I saw the horses. They did have high viz jackets on but did not catch the headlights beam as they were dipped. If they had on hi-viz leg wraps they would have been much sooner.
Having tried driving a small pony and cart around our village on quite Sunday mornings with all the warning signs on the back I gave in as even on a Sunday the abuse I got was unbeleavable and the pony almost had his head bashed in with a driver cutting in.
I no longer ride as our bridleways are not that good and there didn't seem to be any fun with dicing with death every time you went out. Oh for acres to play in.
 
Me again! :D just another thought that sprang to mind, tabards are designed to be seen front and back which is great, but we all turn our horses to go down other roads thus running the risk of being 'side on' to traffic, a tabbard alone is not so visible when the rider is side on to a car, and a split second is all it takes, boots as a minimum on the horse and in winter a great big bright exercise sheet. I'd never ever give any driver the chance to say he/she didn't see me or my horse but then perhaps I care more about her than my fashion sense... I couldn't live with myself if I lost her because of 'under dressing' her.
 
I am not a rider that falls off. Part of my whole identity as a rider is "doesn't fall off". Nevertheless, I have on several occasions fallen off, and the pony has gone home alone, across a busy road. Accordingly, he now wears at least a hi-viz breastplate when we ride out.

On Endurance rides, riders were hi-viz number tabards. My pony also wears his hi-viz breastplate then. There was an occasion last year, when people had to spend many hours looking for a horse that had ditched its very experienced rider on an Endurance ride (they were both fine). I'd rather give my pony every chance of being found quickly, and am seriously considering getting one of those pet-locator devices for in his saddle bag.
 
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