With the mornings getting darker and the nights drawing in as an animal owner you still have to care for them. This can prove more challenging in the darker months with the limited daylight. So, we have come up with some top tips for animal night-time safety to help you, your horse and dog stay safe when the sun goes down.

Animal Night-Time Safety for Dog Owners

With winter fast approaching and dog walking more likely to happen after work. You and your canine friend will become very hard to spot even in well-lit areas of your neighbourhood. Car headlights may not be enough to illuminate you, especially if you live in a rural area where streetlights are limited or non-existent.

If you are a regular night-time walker, it is important for you and your dog to be safe and seen.

Top Tips for walking a dog at night

• Hi-Viz clothing and accessories – from reflective jackets and vests to collars and leads; these will instantly make you more visible to motorists.
• Light up products – now easily available on the market are light up collars perfect for making your dog glow in the dark.
• Carry a torch or wear a head torch – this not only makes you more visible it also ensures you can see what lies ahead in poorly lit areas.
• Keep your dog on a lead – even if your dog is well behaved and stays close, you can’t predict when something may startle or catch their eye. This can cause them to run off making it difficult to keep an eye on them in the dark. This is when your torch will be helpful in this instance. Keep your dog on a short lead this will help increase your control.
• Walk towards the traffic – if you must walk on the road when no footpath is available, walking towards the traffic allows you to see what’s coming. This will enable you to position yourself in a safe place. Oncoming traffic will be able to see you better this way too.

Animal Night-Time Safety for Horse Owners

Many of the same rules for dog owners also apply to moving your horses around at night-time. From turning out or bring in your horse in the dark to getting caught out on an evening hack. It’s important to keep your hands as free as possible to deal with any situations. Lighting can be invaluable when in twilight conditions, so familiarise your horse with any lighting you choose to have with you.

Moving horses in the dark should ideally only happen in exceptional circumstances. However you may need to turn out/ bring in later in the evening or get caught out on a hack. Therefore it important to know how to deal with these situations.

Top Tips for horse owners at night

• Wear the correct clothing – Hi-vis and reflective clothing is a necessity for optimum visibility for you and your horse. There are hi-vis boots available for your horse as well as other hi-vis essentials. These include ride on exercise sheet, reflective martingale, saddle pads and bridle bands. And don’t forget to kit yourself up with a hi-vis jacket and hat band. Wearing a hat when not even riding can also be a good option when turning out in low level light. There seems to be a lot spookier scary things at this time of day! A riding hat can help offer protection should a situation arise.
• Light-up – wearing a light, preferably a headlight to keep your hands free. The Equi-Light products are perfect for this! An excellent item to illuminate any tracks in the dark. Familiarising your horse with a headlight if your horse is not used to them would be a good idea before you go out.
• Avoid main roads – car headlights may dazzle and disorientate your horse, especially if it is a drizzly night. These may cause your horse to react possibly causing danger to you, your horse and other road users.
• Choose a known route – a trail that is known to you and horse should make a big difference. Horse's instinctively follow a route that is known to them in the daytime. This can be less challenging compared to an unknown track.
• Never ride alone – in theory it might sound like a nice idea to go off alone for a quiet evening hack. However in reality should something happen to you or your horse it’s always better to have company. Not only for the immediate assistance, but you may not be easy to find in a rural, unlit place.

How to be safe in the dark

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…Remember – to ALWAYS be seen!

Make sure you check out our how to be seen when horse riding blog