It is no secret that visibility when riding is of paramount importance; whether you are out on a public highway or bridleway, horse and rider visibility is key. It is therefore advisable to wear high visibility and reflective garments, but what is the difference between the two?
High visibility refers to the colour of the garment: Our
Equisafety and
Horka range offer a choice of yellow or pink highly visible clothing and accessories for both horse & rider. The science behind high visibility clothing dictates that yellow is the optimum colour -which is no surprise considering how often we see it. But why?
With the nights drawing in and normality returning to the working world, most people are now riding early in the morning, or late afternoon: At dusk or dawn, everything looks bluer.
Yellow is the best colour to wear during these times of day, at this time of year: The colour yellow hits the retina at just the right point
and as such is easily processed, ensuring you are visible. Yellow has been proven to be the most conspicuous colour in dull winter light,
and as it is the first colour the human eye notices, it means reaction times are greatly reduced.
You can see from the image above just how much of a difference the colour yellow makes against the dull background of hedgerows in the dark: Now imagine you are travelling at 30mph around a bend in a large metal box on wheels. Reducing the reaction time for drivers is essential to keeping you and your four-legged friend safe on the roads.
Most Equisafety products, like the
MERCURY EXERCISE SHEET, contain both high visibility fabrics and reflective qualities which double your chances of being seen.
Reflective refers to the silver tape, piping or fabric panels which become illuminated under direct light. This ensures high levels of visibility in any light conditions, and the combination of reflective high vis means you are safe night or day, dawn or dusk.
Our new
Lux Reflective range is an innovative new take on reflective clothing which offers both a fashionable
jacket or
waistcoat, which under any direct light source becomes a highly reflective piece of safety equipment. The silver particle clothing remains subtle, grey and stylish until exposed to light – at which point, the silver lights up white and reflects the light brightly back at the source.
We have a range of high vis and reflective equipment guaranteed to meet any requirements; whether you need a snug jacket to wear on the yard or a lightweight layer over your body protector.
Remember to consider where you are, what you are doing and what the weather conditions are like – always remain visible.
