Anyone seen the appalling article on Horse and Hound mocking hi-viz gear?

[Booboostoo]

This week's Horse and Hound magazine includes a seriously ill-advised
piece of rubbish article, which amongst rubbishing people who work full time and 'happy hackers', mocks those who wear more than a hi-viz tabbart for looking like Bertie Bassett.

Words fail really. I can't see how anyone would see fit to publically ridicule a totally harmless practice that may save someone's life in a popular magazine with such a wide circulation. I wear as much hi-viz as I can lug on myself and my horse (as well as a hat and a BP) and couldn't care less what others think of me, but surely the editor should have stepped in here and taken a more responsible approach. All we need now is kids thinking it's silly to wear hi-viz!

Kids already think this, it seems to be the default setting however, having put in all the work so that even my teens automatically put it on, I would be pretty peeved if they or their friends came back with "but horse and hound think it is silly"

Do you have a link? I wouldn't mind a looksee and judge if it is worth a proper complaint.

Its ridiculous isn't it, can't believe they published it. There is a HUGE thread about it on H&H forums - runs to 61 pages! Waiting to see humble pie eaten in this weeks edition.

No link, it's not available online, but the HHO thread has an official response which pretty much says "We're a great magazine, this was a fantastic article, go out and buy it". They seem to have misjudged not just the article but the response to it.

I really don't get the "I look silly with hi-viz on" approach. Does anyone really think they look their best with a hat and jodhpurs on anyway?!! Is the shit-stained-clothes-hay-in-hair look so flatering to begin with that it's spoiled with a bit of hi-viz?

Does it really matter to you what a magazine publishes?

Are you looking to be offended?

Yes, why wouldn't it matter to me what one chooses to circulate in the public domain?

I am not offended by their comments, I am annoyed because this is really stupid, unsafe advice and I think they gave it in order to make the article sound more interesting. Given the general debate about safety when riding and some people's reluctance to wear basic safety gear (hats, BPs and hi-viz) simply because it looks silly, unflattering or it's not in fashion, I think those in the public eye, like journalists, top riders, etc. should lead by example.

That's really odd. I can remember seeing a poster by, I think, the BHS, showing what a wonderful difference hi-vis makes (obviously).

What's wrong with 'happy hackers'?

here it is. Scroll down a bit.

Be warned, there's a picture at the top of the link on a loop. One of the pics was horrible.

I haven't read it yet, but I'm disgusted in advance! How any horse related magazine can take the piss out of anything as important as hi viz, is totally beyond me! Living in a leafy rural area, I regularly meet riders out NOT wearing hi viz they are practically invisible! Hi viz is terribly important. According to the Bhs, it makes you visible to the average driver 3 seconds earlier. At 40-50 mph, 3 seconds is a considerable distance.
It's not a fad, it's a MUST! Dd does not EVER leave the yard without a tabard, hat band, martingale and boots for the horse!

HeatherRobinson: nothing wrong with "happy hackers" as far as I am concerned! The term is sometimes used to mean someone who enjoying hacking and has no interest or aspirations to compete, but it can also be used in a derogatory way to mean an infrequent, nervous and novicey rider who rides a very ploddy cob and is scared everytime the horse puts one foot in front of the other.

The article suggested that "happy hackers" should not buy warmbloods, thus confirming all sorts of idiotic prejudices about what is involved in hacking, what different breeds or types of horses might be like, etc.

The Daily Fail school of journalism...

Saggy: my feelings exactly. The HHO thread is full of people who had car accidents, fell off and their horses took off on the road, or even as drivers they had trouble seeing horse riders on the road.

Thanks. Probably the sort of rider I'd be, then, if I ever managed to buy a horse.

at my DDs yard, no one is allowed to hack unless they are wearing hi vis

The children all accept that as being normal and would challenge anyone who said any different

Bloody hell! That pic with one in hi-viz and one without is certainly an eye-opener!

That pic at the top is horrible :(

I don't ride, but my school run is on narrow lanes where a lot of people do.

PLEASE, Pleases, Please wear your high vis clothing!

Dark clothed riders, on dark horses are exactly the same colour as the hedge in winter. I know it seems crazy, but on a damp dull morning you can be halfway round the last bend to school before noticing a horse coming the other way.

Our lanes are full of lunitic delivery drivers and idiots on their mobiles. Please don't give them any excuse to say the accident was your fault and they didn't see you.

Both the Daily Fail Happy Hackers and the H&H article make my blood boil. If someone commented that I looked stupid in Hi Viz not that I give a flying shit they'd get (and have been given) a very caustic response - and my boy is a 16.2 big strapping grey, so slightly more easily seen than a bay or black. I'm a HUGE fan of the "Polite" range - and find it really effective. because DHorse looks like a police horse.

As for the "happy hacker" insult - Dhorse and I might plod out a couple of times a week, or he may be in the field for a month. Because his work is so sporadic and he's 23, I'm not going to charge about the countryside "competing" and risk him injuring himself, when he has arthritis in his hocks and has soundness issues that are made worse if he charges about the countryside or competes at the level of dressage he was capable of in his youth.

Does that make me less of a "horsewoman" than someone who competes every weekend? No, it means I enjoy my riding at the level I am happy with at the moment and frankly if someone things less of me for it, they can fuck right off and it means my horse is happy doing what he is "able" to do.

Just think that H&H represents a stubborn minority - most people completely understand the need for hi viz. Also, H&H represents the crowd that take themselves terribly terribly seriously and as a result there is so much mickey taking out of 'ordinary' riders it's ridiculous! 'Ordinary' riders generally spend money on their horses, take their welfare seriously and provide an on-going income for vets, farriers, riding schools/teachers etc, not to mention fuelling the research and development of new medication, equipment, techniques etc which all riders benefit from. There are some important things which H&H don't mention - including the fact that in such a litigious society, if you are NOT lit up like a Christmas tree a driver could claim that you were negligent in riding your horse on the road as you could be more likely to cause/get involved in an accident - your insurance company could claim the same thing. There can't surely be such a thing as 'too much hi vis' though I do wonder about wearing exercise sheets in roasting hot weather - especially as there are lightweight alternatives (a thing called a parsons rump!). I think it is only a matter of time before the law has to require all cyclists/walkers/horseriders to use a basic level of high vis when using the road - very sadly around us at least two walkers have been killed on rural roads because they were not seen. They were not wearing any hi-vis clothing. I would be furious if I hit anybody or anything if I thought they could have done something to prevent a tragedy. As a rider and car driver I always appreciate the difference Hi Vis makes and always just put the hi-vis on. On a lighter note, my hi vis kit is probably the smartest part of my riding wear when I am hacking and I think I look quite smart!! Sorry for long post but blood has been boiling since I read H&H article.

Are there any links yet? I haven't got my hands on H&H this week.

Apparently they have printed a couple of letters of concern about the article but made no other mention. The list of the top 4 forum threads for the week does include the 900 plus posts on this topic but the title has been changed to a mundane "Hi-viz clothing"

I will not hack out or let anyone on my yard hack out without highviz just as I would never ride without a hat.

Right, I've dug this thread out, because I've just got my hands on that issue of H&H, and read the article.
Although I was 'disgusted in advance', Now I have read it, I've got a different comment. I thought the article was very sensible. It took issue with people who throw money, and quick fixes, at their horses, mainly through ignorance or inexperience, or to compensate for their own shortcomings. Who aim higher than their abilities, and whos horses suffer for it. It didn't mock happy hackers, it commented that people end up over horsing themselves, aiming higher than they need, and then can't cope with their horses, the high viz comment was in reference to people using it in excess, as a defence against feeling unsafe on the roads, and that hacking should be happy and enjoyable.
The article made many IMO valid points about over rugging, over feeding, under exercising and anthropomorphising their horses. Leading to suffering of the animals. All in all, a sensible article from H&H.