Flashlight for an equestrian?

[I came to the light...]

I'm looking to buy my sister, an avid equestrian (horse rider), a nice flashlight, as she frequently rides late at night. But not riding horses myself, I don't know what would be best. Would she like a headlamp? Something wide for peripheral vision or something with little spill so as not to blind the horse? Would the horse tolerate something mounted on its bridle? If anybody has experience with flashlights and horses, please comment. Thanks for reading

 

[Toaster]

I thought a flashlight was pretty much a no-no for night riding as it ruins the horse's night vision? Around here I see people strap glo-tubes onto a horse at night for illumination. But I've never seen anyone use a flashlight to light up the way like you would on a bike. I don't ride horses so perhaps someone with experience will give you a more definitive answer.

 

[Kiessling]

What about red light? Do horses see red (deer don't)?

I think for her, a headlight (helmetlight) would be best, but as already pointed out, this would probably ruin the horse's vision, especially when she turns her head and th ebeam is no longer where the horse runs.

What about a NV goggle? They're cheap now, and very cool.

bernie

 

[I came to the light...]

I thought a flashlight was pretty much a no-no for night riding as it ruins the horse's night vision? Around here I see people strap glo-tubes onto a horse at night for illumination. But I've never seen anyone use a flashlight to light up the way like you would on a bike. I don't ride horses so perhaps someone with experience will give you a more definitive answer.

Thanks for the response. Blinding the horse is what I'm worried about. The horse isn't having any trouble, but my sister pretty much has to trust the horse. glo-toobs might be a good idea, but I'm hoping to find a brighter solution. I'm thinking there must be some way to shield the horse's eyes, whether by using blinds or puting the light on its bridle. But I might be wrong.

 

[I came to the light...]

What about red light? Do horses see red (deer don't)?

I think for her, a headlight (helmetlight) would be best, but as already pointed out, this would probably ruin the horse's vision, especially when she turns her head and th ebeam is no longer where the horse runs.

What about a NV goggle? They're cheap now, and very cool.

bernie

thanks for the reply. I think horses can see red, but not as well as humans, so that might work, although my sister might not like it. Night vision goggles are a great idea - if it were me I'd jump on it. But I can't see my sister wearing them willingly...

Maybe a wider zebralight would solve the head turning problem - even if she turns her head to the side the horse will get some light. Or mounting it on the horse, not her head. I guess I need an equestrian to comment on how a horse would react.

thanks again for the ideas.

 

[Kiessling]

But I can't see my sister wearing them willingly...

Ah yes ... I forgot for a second that girls are not like boys ...


The Zebralight does not have the throw/reach you need of the horse is moving at anything faster than slow paces I think. It is pure flood.

bernie

 

[ilLUMENati]

A horse's natural night vision is better than a human's, and they have enough sense not to gallop unto oncoming traffic or charge into a ravine. So I really can't see why your sister would need a light of her own. If anything she might need it occasionally to assess her surroundings and make sure she's not lost.

I'd recommend something not too bright with a tight beam and minimal spill to preserve the horse's night vision. If she's opposed to a head lamp then a handheld with a pocket clip will suffice, or if you're really concerned, do as others have suggested and get her some IR gear, though I personally think that's overkill.

 

[Toaster]

Shielding the horse's eyes will stop you from blinding the horse. But it won't do anything to prevent loss of night vision as the light's output will still be in it's field of view.

 

[coyote]

my wife is a working cowgirl. she day-rides for local ranches, moving cattle throughout the mountains of eastern oregon. some of the work she does happens in the dark and she has been using CPF-quality LED flashlights for the last 8 years. i spoke to her and here's what she said:

she doesn't like helmet/head mounted lights because if she looks at her horse's head, she blinds them. plus she wears cowboy hats and that would make using those lights awkward.

she prefers a very small single-cell light in the 2-20 lumens range.

they are carried and used on a neck strap, usually held with her lips to direct the beam away from the horse's eyes (horses have an extreme field of vision). this also allows her to drop the light when she needs hands for reins/gates/ropes/knife/gun/etc.

she finds AAA lights better than AA lights due to size and weight.

although she has owned some very fancy (read: expensive) flashlights, like the Ion, Millermods Arc, custom Jil and Orb Raw NS, she currently uses cheaper lights so they can be lost or loaned without worry.

her current favorites are the Fenix E01 and the Streamlight Microstream.

the E01 (around $15) is around 8 lumens and has a long runtime (up to 20 hours).

the Mircostream (around $25) is brighter (sometimes too bright at 20 lumens) but is better to find subjects at further distances. additionally it has an easy on/off rear clickie. but runtime is less than 2 hours and is bright enough to damage night vision for rider and horse.

she thinks all the factory Arcs are about fine for single-stage lights, each being between 5-10 lumens, but worries about losing them due to replacement costs ($38-58 including shipping). and other than quality construction, she doesn't think they offer anything over her E01 which has 2-4 times the runtime of any Arc.

she wishes there was a readily available, inexpensive 2-stage light with a Low around 2 lumens (my Fenix LD01 SS-LE has three stages but the Low beam is too bright at around 10 lumens, plus it requires scrolling thru the Medium beam to get to the Low beam... not good). my Millermods R2-WC XRE 2-stage is almost perfect but too expensive for her. the work can be rough and gear can periodically be lost.

in most cases, starlight is enough to navigate a trail so she usually only uses the lights intermittently.

she'd be happy to offer any additional info if requested. email her at:
patti (at) pattihudson.com

 

[Kiessling]

Interesting indeed. And great offer on her part :thumbsup:
bernie

 

[Tiff]

Crazy thought here, but why not mount the headlamp on the horses head? That way the horse can see better and she will be able to see where the horse is going? Something with a lot of flood might work best.
It can't blind itself unless it has a mirror.
I know nothing about horses.... obviously.

 

[coyote]

tiff, here's why:

i have used a gen 3 ITT night vision scope while horseback on some of the darkest nights, just to see how good the horse's vision is. i could barely make out my hand against the skyline, yet the horse can make out every log, bush and tree.

they don't need any help at all. they have amazing night vision. it's humans who need the light now & then to make decisions on where to tell the horse to go.

and a horse can see almost 360 degrees in all directions so even a horsehead-mounted light is likely to blind them.

and patti says her main reason for using a light now and then is to periodically dispel the sense of vertigo she sometimes gets from sitting on a moving animal in near total darkness.

 

[coyote]

deleted... double post
(due to snow storm interrupting my satellite connection)

 

[I came to the light...]

my wife is a working cowgirl. she day-rides for local ranches, moving cattle throughout the mountains of eastern oregon. some of the work she does happens in the dark and she has been using CPF-quality LED flashlights for the last 8 years. i spoke to her and here's what she said:

she doesn't like helmet/head mounted lights because if she looks at her horse's head, she blinds them. plus she wears cowboy hats and that would make using those lights awkward.

she prefers a very small single-cell light in the 2-20 lumens range.

they are carried and used on a neck strap, usually held with her lips to direct the beam away from the horse's eyes (horses have an extreme field of vision). this also allows her to drop the light when she needs hands for reins/gates/ropes/knife/gun/etc.

she finds AAA lights better than AA lights due to size and weight.

although she has owned some very fancy (read: expensive) flashlights, like the Ion, Millermods Arc, custom Jil and Orb Raw NS, she currently uses cheaper lights so they can be lost or loaned without worry.

her current favorites are the Fenix E01 and the Streamlight Microstream.

the E01 (around $15) is around 8 lumens and has a long runtime (up to 20 hours).

the Mircostream (around $25) is brighter (sometimes too bright at 20 lumens) but is better to find subjects at further distances. additionally it has an easy on/off rear clickie. but runtime is less than 2 hours and is bright enough to damage night vision for rider and horse.

she thinks all the factory Arcs are about fine for single-stage lights, each being between 5-10 lumens, but worries about losing them due to replacement costs ($38-58 including shipping). and other than quality construction, she doesn't think they offer anything over her E01 which has 2-4 times the runtime of any Arc.

she wishes there was a readily available, inexpensive 2-stage light with a Low around 2 lumens (my Fenix LD01 SS-LE has three stages but the Low beam is too bright at around 10 lumens, plus it requires scrolling thru the Medium beam to get to the Low beam... not good). my Millermods R2-WC XRE 2-stage is almost perfect but too expensive for her. the work can be rough and gear can periodically be lost.

in most cases, starlight is enough to navigate a trail so she usually only uses the lights intermittently.

she'd be happy to offer any additional info if requested. email her at:
patti (at) pattihudson.com

Thank you! Just what I was hoping for. I guess I was going a bit overboard thinking about a new, superbright flashlight . So it sounds like I should be buying a AAA light. The E01 sounds great. I would want to buy something nicer, but I'm thinking about it, and I think she'd prefer the colors and instant low mode to something more expensive. Well, thanks again - I guess this is question closed

 

[coyote]

hey I Came:

glad we could help. sounds like you have a good plan.

you said: "...I guess this is question closed..." but i must say in response that is never the case. the search continues....

 

[tebore]

Maybe she should get a new horse with a red nose.

By the sounds of it a headlamp would be best, gotta keep those hands free. Then again some have mentioned it blinding the horse.

The other thing I can think of is taking something like a Zebralight and attaching to the horse's neck or 2 of such lights mounted very low in the saddle providing almost 180 degrees of flood around the horse.

Or a bunch of fauxtons (green or red) hanging around off the saddle to give a bunch of flood lighting around the horse. Cheap enough to use a bunch and to lose.

 

[I came to the light...]

thanks for the replies.

Maybe she should get a new horse with a red nose.

lol, very true

I actually asked her about attaching something to the horse, and she said the horse wouldn't tolerate it. I don't think it would even notice, but it's her horse...

As for the saddle, it just seems kind of unwieldy to have multiple different lights.