CURSE YOU TIME CHANGE!

[One_Two_Three]

I’m sure there are many posts on here about night riding, and upon searching I just find really outdated ones that aren’t worth commenting on.

The sun sets at 5:45 right now. I get to the barn at 5:20.

NO outdoor riding lights (argh)

What works? (cheap)

Suggestions have included head lamps and garden solar lights.

Anyone actually use any of those techniques?

I’ve just spent all summer getting my horse conditioned and muscled up, and the last thing I want to do is have that been for nothing and only getting to ride her twice a week. Show season is during winter here in Florida.

:mad::mad::mad:

[Appsolute]

I feel your pain! Luckily I have lights this year (being as I can’t get to the barn before 7 pm its handy!)

But I have gone YEARS without any decent lights. I tried headlamps - wasn’t really into it.

Honestly for me, I started carefully watching the moon schedules (but I ride later in the day than you, always later than 6:30). I found that on “good moon” nights, meaning it would be up, and of decent size I could go for trail rides! Decent moon - I could do arena work.

Horses see better in the dark than we do, and I found if there was any moon out at all - even if it was back lighting clouds my eyes would adjust enough to ride.

I didn’t like headlamps because they didn’t allow my eyes to adjust - so I only saw what was in the beam of light - and everything else was BLACK.

Beyond that - if I REALLY needed to ride on a particularly dark night - I would park my car at the arena and shine my headlights!

[One_Two_Three]

That’s a good idea! I can ride my girl in the paddock that the cars park up to; only downside is, how long do car lights last before the battery dies?! I would only do about a half hour ride, but I worry when I’m tired and ready to just go home, that my car won’t start :lol:

I had mentioned riding with my eyes adjusted at night to my BO, and she said to give it a try, but reminded me that it’s pretty darn dark out there. I’d have to do a few test rides to ensure I can really “see”.

I was hoping they would stop it with the daylight saving time changes and just leave the time how it was, but I guess I need to move to Arizona for that!

[Appsolute]

Oh - and I don’t know how far your arena is from a power source - but at one place they allowed me to put up a single pole - and I would then run a stupid long extension cord from the barn to the arena and would set up a single flood light.

It got the job done - and I would coil up and put away the cord after every ride.

But honestly - I like riding in the dark! Right now I still hack out on the bridle trail around the property before and after my arena rides - and its a good hour after the sunset.

[One_Two_Three]

I had thought about that! I couldn’t run it all the way to the arena, too far, but the first paddock is ride able and about 700 ft from the barn. I had seen those neat construction lights that are on a nice stand and have two LED lamps on them.

They don’t have lights because of the cost to run them (the power company would have installed them for free, but apparently the electricity on them is outrageous)

Running an extension cord shouldn’t cause too much a jump in their bill for half an hour of riding, right?

[trubandloki]

[QUOTE=One Two Three;7840002]

Running an extension cord shouldn’t cause too much a jump in their bill for half an hour of riding, right?[/QUOTE]
That is something to ask the barn owner.

[o0rxkxrox0o]

[QUOTE=One Two Three;7839953]
That’s a good idea! I can ride my girl in the paddock that the cars park up to; only downside is, how long do car lights last before the battery dies?! I would only do about a half hour ride, but I worry when I’m tired and ready to just go home, that my car won’t start :lol:

I had mentioned riding with my eyes adjusted at night to my BO, and she said to give it a try, but reminded me that it’s pretty darn dark out there. I’d have to do a few test rides to ensure I can really “see”.

I was hoping they would stop it with the daylight saving time changes and just leave the time how it was, but I guess I need to move to Arizona for that![/QUOTE]

Leave your car running in park with the E-brake on. Idling for half an hour should be fine as long as it’s not an enclosed area (depending on the car, of course).

[One_Two_Three]

[QUOTE=o0rxkxrox0o;7840016]
Leave your car running in park with the E-brake on. Idling for half an hour should be fine as long as it’s not an enclosed area (depending on the car, of course).[/QUOTE]

not a bad thought, either!

[kasjordan]

Line the arena fence with white christmas lights they shouldnt take much of anything to run.

[arapaloosa_lady]

Learn to groom & tack up fast

I never found a good solution to riding in the dark, but I did get good at being on my horse within 5 minutes of getting to the barn. It helps if your horse is wearing a blanket (so he’s clean) & let’s you pick all 4 hooves from the same side while standing in the stall. I don’t think it’s so bad riding at/just after sunset since your eyes adjust as the sun sets.

[PlanB]

Pick up 4-6 solar powered floodlights; they should be just enough, placed around the arena, to give you a bit of light.

Headlamps are not helpful for riding, imo.

Now that it’s dark early, I can’t wait for the snow to brighten things up a bit.

[IPEsq]

Sunset here today is 4:54pm! I wish I had your extra 45 minutes!

[jawa]

Either go with NO light, and let your eyes adjust, or go with the solar garden lights (that is if you are only doing flat work).

[RedmondDressage]

What time do you go to work? Here it’s getting light enough at about 6:30 so on the days I don’t haul to the indoor I’m riding before work.

[One_Two_Three]

I had debated riding before work. Unfortunately, I start work at 8:30, the barn is about 35 minutes from my home, and work is smack dab in the middle. So I can ideally, get up and get to the barn by 6:30, spend an hour, but by the time I get home, shower, and change, I’m late. If I can nix the shower, it would work out swimmingly well.

Might have to practice NOT getting dirty at the barn. At least sweat isn’t going to be an issue for winter.

[Horseychick87]

For the not getting dirty part, I wear looser fitting sweat pants and a light coat or thin long sleeve shirt over my good clothes. This keeps me dirt and hair free.
I also carry a small bottle of perfume in the car, lotion, and baby wipes. I can wipe down my face, hands and whatever else needs it. Lotion up my hands and arms if they need it and then apply a tiny amount of perfume. I’ve never had anyone say anything and I’ve flat out asked a few people if I smelt funny, no one noticed if I did.

If you have to wear makeup carry a small travel sized kit and apply it before you leave the barn, but try to keep it simple if you do so it doesn’t take too much time, and if you use waterproof mascara just apply before you ride.

Also, if you do self care prep everything ahead of time on the weekends, have hay nets filled and ready to go, a spare set of clean empty buckets so you don’t have to scrub dirty ones until later, and as suggested groom and blanket or sheet up your horse overnight to keep him clean. Also you can get away with only grooming the areas where the tack sits and do a better grooming later on.

As for the light, all of the suggestions are great. I like small solar lights or those that mount on fence posts. You could also bring a tiny generator and a portable light system with you if you have the ability to do it.

[beowulf]

Just a caveat… as a ‘moon-rider’ myself (so I’ve been called because there were years where I did not ride at all during the day because of work schedule) horses do not actually see that much better, if at all, than humans do in the dark. They are much slower to adjust to light/dark, and do not see anywhere near as well as humans when it comes to depth perception. .

So if it is dark for you, it’s dark for the horse too…

What has worked okay for me is parking my car somewhere nearby. Otherwise, trail riding with a LED flashlight strapped to my helmet has worked great.

Helps if you have a horse that can take a joke or two.

[RedmondDressage]

Horseychick87 does pretty much exactly what I do. I have everyone at home now (as of last weekend!) so obviously I can shower really quick before I leave now… However even when I was boarding I rode frequently before work as it was the only time my instructor for a working stiff like me. I kept a pack of baby wipes in my drawer and a little essential oil perfume in the car. I just made sure I did absolutely everything before I changed into my work clothes so I didn’t get anything dirty. I’m lucky because I’m in the tech industry so I’m always in jeans and a hoodie rather than the nice office clothes that many people have to wear

[Blume_Farm]

When I was in vet school I would ride before class at 8am as there were no lights where I had her boarded and it was 45 minutes from school. I kept my mare blanketed to keep her clean, kept a change of clean clothes in my car, after riding I would wash my face, arms, etc in the bathroom before changing out of barn clothes to clean clothes. I didn’t have to worry about hair on my clothes as I was in vet school:) but I didn’t want to be stinky for my classmates sitting right next to me all day:) Worked out fine!

Forgot to add that for a few years when I bought my place I had a little makeshift outdoor riding “arena” with no lights. We would park the car at the edge of the arena and turn the lights on. Worked OK, but at times would be blinding when riding towards the lights. We then bought two sets of those construction lights at Lowe’s and mounted them on fence posts. That worked relatively well.

[trubandloki]

[QUOTE=beowulf;7840633]
horses do not actually see that much better, if at all, than humans do in the dark.[/QUOTE]
This is the opposite of what my vet told me very recently.
Horse’s eyes are better designed to see in the dark than ours are.