Be Safe out there !
We all know the importance of safety when it comes to enjoying our horses, however how many of us understand what we are buying and if it meets certain safety Criteria ?
Why I hear you cry, Life is short, surly a reflective jacket is a reflective jacket !
Ah i'm afraid not and as for why you might want to look a little closer, apart from the obvious safety issues of some "Less reflective" products. You could end up invalidating your insurance should you be involved in an accident, costly in more than one way.
So lets take a quick uncomplicated look at what you should be looking for in the most common safety products out there at the moment.
Reflective Products-
EN471 is represented by an aqua-colored label. This is
suitable for professional use,such as by grooms exercising horses out on the roads.
EN1150 is represented by a royal-blue label.
This is suitable for non-professional use by leisure riders.
EN13356 is represented by a navy-blue label. This is suitable
for hi-viz accessories, including detachable belts, arm and hat
bands.
CE Mark
The CE Mark is neither a quality mark nor a standard in itself but is a mandatory declaration under EU law by a manufacturer to show compliance with essential requirements of all relevant EU Directives.
BETA High Visibility Certification Scheme Members
Safety helmets
BSEN 1384 1997 with CE mark- This is the basic minimum standard for almost all forms of riding.
PAS015: 2011 with BSI mark -This stands for Product Approval Specification and deals with new areas of protection than the last one, such as crush resistance and protection against injury when landing on
an edged surface.
Snell E2001 -This is the newest standard, developed in America by the Snell Institute. It is a higher
performance standard which includes all aspects of ASTM (A lower standard american classification) and PAS 015 but with a sharper
horseshoe anvil
The Kitemark -
The Kitemark is the registered trademark of the British Standards Institute and
can only be affixed to products certified by them. As well as complying with
the requirements of the relevant standard, e.g EN1384 or PAS 015, the mark
indicates that the company complies with a rigorous system of regulation
and testing. Companies are required to provide the BSI with unrestricted
access to their offices and factories and allow regular testing of randomly
chosen samples through batch and audit testing. Hats are only released for
sale once batch testing is completed, thus avoiding product recall.
Legal Requirements
By law children aged 14 years or younger must wear a riding hat to at least EN1384 when riding on the road.
Thank you for reading.
Stacey Dunne
Hartpury Saddlery
01452 700 800
www.hartpurysaddleryshop.co.uk
