Research has revealed riders on coloured horses are less likely to be hit on the road.
‘Concerning’
The study, which was carried out at Duchy College in Cornwall, found riders who rode piebald or skewbald horses had “significantly less near misses” than other riders. Riders wearing lights were also less likely to be hit.
In addition, the research found wearing fluorescent or reflective equipment did not necessarily make riders any safer.
“The results of this study are concerning; those riders that have taken precautions may not be as safe as they think,” said Dr Hayley Randle from the International Society for Equitation Science (ISES) who worked on the project.
The study, which aims to look at ways to reduce the number of incidents on the road, received over 350 responses via social media websites and forums.
Coloured tabard
More than two thirds of respondents had experienced a near miss while riding on the road.In terms of contributing factors, it looked at horse colour, hi-viz clothing (for horse and rider), the use of lights, location, time of day and time of year.
As a result of the findings, the team – led by research masters students Rose Scofield and Hannah Savin – have designed a tabard with the pattern of a coloured horse on it.
“The design is now pending patent,” said Rose. “We plan to extend this to other equine equipment such as exercise sheets, but first we need to secure some funding.”
PieBOLD designs
This summer the team will continue its research, filming horse and riders wearing various hi-viz equipment, as well as their new PieBOLD designs.
“We will run atest programme with drivers to discover differences in timing of their first sight of the various equipment,” said Rose. “We hope to have this research completed by September in readiness for the next ISES conference.”