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

Another one here who was shocked when I read that. I do agree with some other aspects of the article, over rugging and feeding for example, which can be detrimental to the horse.

But the hi viz comment... Just stupid and highly irresponsible. I feel naked and vulnerable if I go out without any. We should be encouraging the more 'old school' to wear hi viz, and that comment is not helping.

Has anyone written on their Facebook wall about this? Might a good way to bring it to more peoples attention and get a response from h&h. *toddling off to have a look...*
 
What a ridiculous thing to state !!!! H&H need to think long and hard about that comment !!!!


I have bought an Equi-safety 'Polite' tabard, hat and high viz exercise sheet, the difference it has made to passing traffic has been HUGE !!!

Having a young horse was problematic when idiots came flying past at 60+ MPH on our narrow country lanes. Since High Viz-ing up we`ve had no more problems, car slow down more readily and pass a darn site more carefully, at first glance yes they think we`re in the 'Mounted Section' but i couldn`t give a rats ass wether they slow down beacuse i`m lit up like a christmas tree, or that they think i`m a copper, either way it has the desired effect and they slow down ... It works, and i wouldn`t ride anywhere with out my gear now ... !!
 
lannerch said:
I agree with h&h you certainly can get too much hi viz!
A tabbed is usually enough anything more excessive and looks ridiculous to the motorist encouraging them not to take you seriously eg when clothed all over in high vid Barbie pink!
Those here that do it certainly get mocked by the neighbours ( non horsey ) and yes they do mollycoddle their horses!
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I actually quite like the pink...and don't care what colour someone else wears... I also don't give a flying monkeys if my pink choice offends eyes/brain cells or the neighbours find me so interesting they need to spend their valuable time mocking me... What I do care about will have been achieved...
 
Oh my I'm not sure what is worst the fact I have a pink exercise sheet or the fact I normally team it with yellow hiviz brushing boots!!:eek: (so unmatchy matchy)!!:D

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Even the dog doesn't escape!! - Mind didn't stop another liveries vet almost running him over, there are still tire tread marks on the coat to prove how close it was!:eek:

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Can't believe that H&H would be stupid enough to post something like this! :rolleyes:

I wear hi-viz every time I ride out as all my hacking takes me onto roads at some point and these are narrow country lanes. My neighbours certainly don't mock me for going out in Hi-viz and many have commented on how they see my flourescent yellow hat cover over the hedge way before they see me. My horse has 2 yellow brushing boots & a exercise sheet for winter, I also have a yellow "workman" jacket, a yellow running jacket, and a orange t-shirt.

I hadn't thought about the rapeseed & yellow hi-viz luckily we only have 1 field by the road though and I can avoid that route which I generally do when the rapeseed is in full bloom as it makes me sneeze & stinks!

I am planning on investing in extra orange/pink/yellow tops that are currently selling in sports world. I brought an orange jacket the other day but was keeping it for cycling (horse always gets it dirty!). I will also keep an eye out in aldi for a mesh sheet.
 
There are some eventers near me who never wear reflective gear, from what I can remember they have lost one in an rta, and still don't. Stupidity doesn't even come into it.
I'm currently working in oz, in WA we have to wear reflective vests on the race track for exercise, as well as a light, and people are so much more visible. They don't over east, which is a bit strange.
Riding through the bush, the people who are wearing fluro are so much more visible, and we are much less likely to have a head on with them (racehorses cantering in both directions) than with the ones wearing all black.
I did look around for some better fluro gear for my horse, its on the list before I start riding her again on my return, and I hardly ride on the roads. The lowflying aircraft and the tanks can see me so much better though!
 
Definitely agree with having hi-viz on moving parts (leg wraps etc) to be seen quicker. I also like to wear a hi-viz hat band/hat cover so I can be seen over the hedge tops- on windy country lanes anything which gives the drivers extra time to spot you before you actually reach each other has to be a bonus.

So important to wear hi-viz all the time though, even when only doing off-road hacking. I remember a couple of years back a member of another forum (and maybe this one too?!!) having a horrendous accident whilst hacking alone off-road. I can't remember the details, but she came off, was very seriously injured and lay in a ditch for several hours. She was eventually spotted by air ambulance simply because she had hi-viz on, so she was visible from the air. Without the hi-viz she would have been all but invisible from the air, and with such serious injuries the accident could well have proved fatal if she hadn't been been found when she did.

I used to do lots of off-road running over the fells and always wore hi-viz for this reason!
 
The fire brigade were glad that my son was wearing hi viz when his horse got trapped in a ditch after a massive spook as it made them easy to find.
I've had a (very horse friendly) farmer friend comment that if riders wear hi viz it gives him time to plan where to stop his tractor so that he doesn't scare the horses.
I've had dog walkers comment that hi viz means they can call back their dog early without feeling flustered & panicky.
 
I have to wonder if Police Horses and their riders, are included in the 'Nervous Nellie' brigade?

My yard is a Shire Horse stud, and the police were there yesterday, trying out a horse as a potential police horse.
He was taken out on the busy roads. Emma who showed him off was head to toe fluorescent and was seen. The officer got on and guess what, she was wearing Fluorescent yellow as well except hers had POLICE written across as well. It's amazing how much space and respect she was given on the road.
 
I think this all boils down to what you look like when you hack out. Unfortunately gone are the days when you can hack out on our roads with your brown hacking jacket like you did in the seventies. Unless you are lucky enough to ride on a country estate or endless fields and woods, hacking on our roads is unavoidable in this day and age. Traffic is so hazardous out there now that hi-viz is vital to ensure safety all round, for your horse, yourself and the car drivers. It is not a fashion parade H&H but a matter of safety that is mentioned in the Highway Code.

What will the H+H anti-hi viz clique and author of this article do if it ever becomes law to wear hi-viz while riding out on the roads. Cringe in their pink day-glo I hope!
 
everyone should wear hi viz. First of all if you fall off whilst hacking and have an accident it helps the air amblunce find you. Secondly hats with his viz can been seen over hedges of roads, thirdly yellow hi biz isn't the best as it blends in but it's better than nothing. Having written to watchdog last year to say those two guys on the motorbike should be wearing hi viz only to get no reply. It's everyone's responsibility to be seen. Was also watching a police program where a boy was knocked off his bike and killed. The woman driver was not charged with murder as it was dark and she couldn't see him no hi viz.

Agree with leg wraps and tail as they are at eye level for motorists. Cyclists as well should wear hi viz.
 
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quirky said:
Are you for real?
I choose when I ride out. I won't ride out in a low winter sun, if visibility is bad, if the light is failing, if there are copious tractors about. I risk assess every time I hack out. I do not and will not put myself in unnecessary danger. I am content that my hi viz tabbard is a sufficient warning to motorists.
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With all due respect, you are presuming you have control over the situation simply by risk assessing. What about the things which we have no control over? I was very nearly hit last year by a woman who hadn't bothered de-misting her windscreen. Luckily I was wearing a flashing cycle light attached to the back of my tabard and she noticed me at the very, VERY last minute. Had it been just the tabbard, I really do not think for one minute that she would have seen me in time to violently swerve to avoid me.

I do appreciate what you are saying, but to say that you do not and will not put yourself in any danger, but then go on say that a single tabbard is sufficient, is dangerously niave.
 
Whatever ;)
Have been riding 26 and have never had what you would call a near miss. Maybe I am very lucky, but it takes no time to decide whether it is a good day to hack out and I shall carry on naively doing that :D. I am surprised other people don't assess the conditions to ride tbh :eek:.
If conditions aren't good, I go in the school. I'm lucky in that I don't have to hack out, I and my horse enjoy it immensely though :)
 
Quirky and Llanerch - it is up to you what level of hi viz you use to hack out on your own horses, but I think what people are getting up in arms about is the ridicule you are directing at those who choose to wear more than a tabard.

There are very valid reasons why people may choose to wear more than a tabard:

* A hi viz hat band or hat cover allows motorists to spot riders over hedges down winding country lanes.

* Hi viz boots obviously move with the horses legs, and apparently studies have indicated that this movement catches the motorists eye quickly and alerts them to the fact that it is a moving animal.

* As others have said, hi viz on the horse itself is a wise precaution in case horse and rider become separated due to a fall.

So please don't be irresponsible and poke fun at those who are making sensible and valid choices for the safety of themselves, their horses and the general motoring public.
 
quirky said:
Whatever ;)
Have been riding 26 and have never had what you would call a near miss. Maybe I am very lucky, but it takes no time to decide whether it is a good day to hack out and I shall carry on naively doing that :D. I am surprised other people don't assess the conditions to ride tbh :eek:.
If conditions aren't good, I go in the school. I'm lucky in that I don't have to hack out, I and my horse enjoy it immensely though :)
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Yes statistically you HAVE BEEN lucky, no guarrantees that you ARE lucky and will continue to be in the future.

Out of interest do you carry out the same risk assessment guidelines when you drive (I assume you are also a driver), i.e. if conditions are poor do you walk to avoid hiting with your car other road users who are not visible?
 
TGM said:
Quirky and Llanerch - it is up to you what level of hi viz you use to hack out on your own horses, but I think what people are getting up in arms about is the ridicule you are directing at those who choose to wear more than a tabard.

There are very valid reasons why people may choose to wear more than a tabard:

* A hi viz hat band or hat cover allows motorists to spot riders over hedges down winding country lanes.

* Hi viz boots obviously move with the horses legs, and apparently studies have indicated that this movement catches the motorists eye quickly and alerts them to the fact that it is a moving animal.

* As others have said, hi viz on the horse itself is a wise precaution in case horse and rider become separated due to a fall.

So please don't be irresponsible and poke fun at those who are making sensible and valid choices for the safety of themselves, their horses and the general motoring public.
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Sensible advice as usual TGM :)
 
quirky said:
Whatever ;)
Have been riding 26 and have never had what you would call a near miss. Maybe I am very lucky, but it takes no time to decide whether it is a good day to hack out and I shall carry on naively doing that :D. I am surprised other people don't assess the conditions to ride tbh :eek:.
If conditions aren't good, I go in the school. I'm lucky in that I don't have to hack out, I and my horse enjoy it immensely though :)
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You have been very lucky Quirky. Perhaps if you have had to deal with a screech of brakes and a car inching beside you with the wing mirror catching your stirrup irons, you may think twice about popping on a little bit of hi-viz....
 
TGM said:
Quirky and Llanerch - it is up to you what level of hi viz you use to hack out on your own horses, but I think what people are getting up in arms about is the ridicule you are directing at those who choose to wear more than a tabard.

There are very valid reasons why people may choose to wear more than a tabard:

* A hi viz hat band or hat cover allows motorists to spot riders over hedges down winding country lanes.

* Hi viz boots obviously move with the horses legs, and apparently studies have indicated that this movement catches the motorists eye quickly and alerts them to the fact that it is a moving animal.

* As others have said, hi viz on the horse itself is a wise precaution in case horse and rider become separated due to a fall.

So please don't be irresponsible and poke fun at those who are making sensible and valid choices for the safety of themselves, their horses and the general motoring public.
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Super post. You should send it in to H+H and win your self a bottle of Moet! :)
 
quirky said:
Whatever ;)
Have been riding 26 and have never had what you would call a near miss. Maybe I am very lucky, but it takes no time to decide whether it is a good day to hack out and I shall carry on naively doing that :D. I am surprised other people don't assess the conditions to ride tbh :eek:.
If conditions aren't good, I go in the school. I'm lucky in that I don't have to hack out, I and my horse enjoy it immensely though :)
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Don't assume that riders who take the sensible and courteous decision to wear Hi Viz 'don't assess the conditions to ride'. Where did you get that assumption?

You can make a sensible risk assessment and that can include an item of Hi Viz on your horse as well as yourself. I actually happen to like all my horses, so I do wish to keep them safe, as well as myself.

I think I have been riding a wee bit longer than 26 years;)
 
We are very lucky in that our livery yard has access straight onto Forrestry Commission land with no roadwork so many liveries hack out without hi-viz . . . until one of the liveries' horses bolted and came home (at a gallop) down the road that bisects the forest . . . a busy road frequented by HGVs!!! Some tunes were changed sharpish.

I haven't read all of the comments but must say that I am baffled by the article . . . why would hi viz ever be a bad idea?

P
 
I too have been very lucky and I have been riding 33 years and most of that without high viz at all!
( no so daft now ).
Poke fun me?
Does that not make me a troll again?
I just am very suspicious those lit up Christmas trees are doing it more for a fashion parade than actual safety .
Police do it as a deterant they want to be noticed as large as loud as they can!
Not all Christmas trees are nervous riders I did not say that although many are.
Although those that mollycoddle are often nervous personalities too they wrap everything up in cotton wool, without letting a horse be a horse.
If you want to look like a Christmas tree that's fine by me better than no hiviz but IMO totally unnecessary and probably highly uncomfortable for the horse.
 
quirky said:
Whatever ;)
Have been riding 26 and have never had what you would call a near miss. Maybe I am very lucky, but it takes no time to decide whether it is a good day to hack out and I shall carry on naively doing that :D. I am surprised other people don't assess the conditions to ride tbh :eek:.
If conditions aren't good, I go in the school. I'm lucky in that I don't have to hack out, I and my horse enjoy it immensely though :)
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You have been so so lucky. I've had too many.
Also, I don't hack out if the conditions are bad, I've been avoiding taking Ned out because it's been rather windy. Had I a friend to ride out with, we would have gone out as the horses I ride are very good in pairs or larger groups, whatever the weather. I've no idea where you got that people did assess whether it's safe to ride :S I'm sure 99% of people here are capable of thinking "Doesn't look good, I shouldn't risk it"
 
lannerch said:
I too have been very lucky and I have been riding 33 years and most of that without high viz at all!
( no so daft now ).
Poke fun me?
Does that not make me a troll again?
I just am very suspicious those lit up Christmas trees are doing it more for a fashion parade than actual safety .
Police do it as a deterant they want to be noticed as large as loud as they can!
Not all Christmas trees are nervous riders I did not say that although many are.
Although those that mollycoddle are often nervous personalities too they wrap everything up in cotton wool, without letting a horse be a horse.
If you want to look like a Christmas tree that's fine by me better than no hiviz but IMO totally unnecessary and probably highly uncomfortable for the horse.
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Most of my riding has been without Hi Viz - of course it has, riders never used to wear Hi Viz (or hats, or chin straps etc).

Times change, knowledge moves on. We now have far more effective riding hats and know that Hi Viz on both horse and rider is an easy way to assist visability in a range of circumstances.

Why does is matter if some people are doing it as a 'fashions statement'? It is assisting car drivers, farmers etc in seeing them and protecting them and their horse. What is not to like:)
 
quirky said:
Are you for real?
I haven't got an agenda, unlike you :rolleyes:.

I choose when I ride out. I won't ride out in a low winter sun, if visibility is bad, if the light is failing, if there are copious tractors about.
I risk assess every time I hack out. I do not and will not put myself in unnecessary danger.
I am content that my hi viz tabbard is a sufficient warning to motorists.
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Honestly, I think most of us risk assess before we ride out - but none of us are psychic and, ultimately, the only things we have control over are ourselves. I can't guarantee that the sun will go in (or come out) and create those harsh shadows that make it difficult for drivers to see. Nor can I predict precisely how many and what sort of vehicles I might meet either in the forest or on the road. Horses are flight animals. Accidents happen. Hi viz is simply a matter of mitigation and I, for one, am all for anything that reduces the risk of us not being seen . . . and increases the probability that we can both be found by emergency services should the unthinkable happen.

P
 
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