Winter is that horrid time of year when the darkness draws in quick and can ruin many of our riding sessions. Add in you have no arena and only hack you could be in trouble.
There is lots of ways to keep yourself seen and safe this winter which are affordable and effective.
Always tell someone you are going out
There are fantastic apps these days that will track your hack. Some will even alert your appointed person if you are immobile for a set period of time. Others can give you your grid reference to help you tell someone exactly where you are.
White gloves on your hands. I know highly in practical for horses sometimes. But a cheap pair of white or light coloured gloves makes your hand signals to road users much clearer.
Lighting you up like a Christmas tree. Yup in those dark lanes where there is minimal light you need to make your own. LED lighting on you and your horse makes sure even in the poorest light you can be noticed. I use a flashing breastplate and tail light for front and back.
Hi vis is a must for those darker nights and well at any time to be seen. The more items you have the bigger picture you created for the onlooker to see you by. Remember they need to see you from the front back and side, so just having a breast plate is good from the front but when that care is approaching from behind your pooped. A few examples are:
- Jackets – Specific Hi vis jacket to keep you warm and seen right town to your hands
- Gillet’s – Allowing you to wear your usual riding clothing and just add hi vis to your torso. This is cheaper than buying a whole new jacket
- A hat band so everyone can see your noggin
- Led or Hi Vis leg bands for you- worst case scenario you are separated from your hose cars can see every part of you.
- Ride on horse rug – These cover large amounts of the horse and help keep them warm in the winter and breathable in the summer
- Boots – Even your pony can wear hi Vis boots so people can really see if a back leg comes flying at them. These can go over your horses boots they already wear or as a standalone item
- Breast plates or neck straps – You can get so many different varieties but really good to be seen from the front
- Ears – They are even matchy matchy to the rest of your set up.
There is loads of ways to help keep yourself seen this winter. For all your HI Vis needs just pop over to our website and we have you covered. Here
DON’T PANIC if you want something and we don’t have it just give us a shout and we will get it for you. It’s that simple.