For those who wear glasses...

Alice25

...is now horseless :(
Feb 18, 2005
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... do you ride in them? I usually ride in contact lenses, just because I find them comfier with my hat, but sometimes I just can't be bothered and ride in my glasses - today for example. Back at home I was reading one of my horsey books and it said that you should never ride in glasses, which suprised me. I'm presuming this is because it could cause an injury if you fall, but also because if they slip off you're in trouble!

Now it's never even occured to me that I shouldn't ride in glasses. But now I think about it, I can only ever recall seeing one other person riding in them. Have I been missing something? Or is this just being ridiculously over-careful, as lots of people can't wear contacts?
 
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I wear contacts to ride in most of the time, but I do occasionaly ride in glasses. I know several people who ride and compete in glasses.
I suppose the advice comes from the risk of falling off, lesser of two evils if you can't see when your on;)
 
Nope - They're really uncomfy, and sit at a random angle if I put a hat on them! 'Cos I can't see the letters very well without them (I know where they are, but I get a little confused!) I've learnt the 'rhyme' so I just find the nearest one and go through it.

Plus I'm paranoid they'll slip off/shatter in my eye if I fall. I'm very sensitive about my eyes!
 
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Im the same, i normally ride in contact lenses but sometimes i do ride in glasses. The only time i find any problems with riding wearing my glasses is when it rains! I think if you manage to fall flat on your face so that your glasses cause an injury you will be particularly unlucky!!!
 
i wear glasses all the time (or at least I did until I had my eyes lasered 2 weeks ago now I am spec free yipee!!!). I have never had them fall off but they are useless when I have a lesson as they steam up.

or did... ...whoo hoo!
 
DITZ said:
i wear glasses all the time (or at least I did until I had my eyes lasered 2 weeks ago now I am spec free yipee!!!). I have never had them fall off but they are useless when I have a lesson as they steam up.

or did... ...whoo hoo!

Would you PM me with some details on who you used as I am considering having mine done.
 
i normaly ride in contacts, but have ridden in my glasses, however i do have the flexi metal (metal with memory) glasses with plastic lenses! so my glasses are more inclined to bend then brake
 
I ride in glasses all the time, they never bother me! I have also fallen off in them 4 times and have had no problems they never fall off.... Even when I hit my head!
 
I can't stand my glasses, so nope, don't ride in them.
I only wear them when I'm driving my vehicle.
I have a stigmatism so my glasses, of course have prism in both lenses. When I walk around with them on, the depth perception is weird. I can't seem to adjust.

Besides the optometrist said not to wear glasses when doing sports unless they're glasses for that purpose (sport glasses) & I can't really afford those.

I wasn't too sure about contact lenses for riding as I thought the sand would be an irritant (arena or trail). After reading all your posts so far, it sounds like contacts are pretty good.
 
are you going to be rolling in the sand on a regular basis??
I wear my contacts most of the time, never had a problem at all, sand and dust doesnt seem to affect them, mainly because if the sand is enough to irritate your contacts it would be enough to irritate your eyes anyway. i use softcontacts, i dont like the hard contacts
 
I always ride in glasses, I am far too short sighted to consider riding without. I used to wear contacts but found them terribly uncomfortable in hayfever season so gave up on them. I have fallen off while wearing glasses lots of times, including a couple of quite nasty falls at speed, but my glasses have never come off.

Mine are not special sports glasses and they are not flexible frames, just bog standard glasses.
 
I had a fall a while ago that was just a normal tumble, but since I was wearing my glasses, they pushed into my face and fractured this little bone between my nose and eye and let in air behind my eye!

It was nothing serious, but my eye got soooo huge! It looked like someone had bashed me! When I got to the after hour's doctor I was like ooh ooh look at my eyeball, it bulges when I blow my nose! Hehehe, poor doctor :D

They were my old glasses though, I have flexi glasses now that are lighter and bendier. Haha, not sure if I want to test them to see how fall-proof they are though! :rolleyes:

I haven't ridden for a while, so it hasn't been an issue since.

Grace :)
 
I wear glasses and ride in them, can't be bothered putting my contacts in unless I'm going for a long ride or jumping, then half the time I still can't be bothered. I've never managed to break my glasses falling off so far, but then I am very good at landing on my well padded a*se :D, if I did break my glasses they are plastic lenses so unlikely to do me too much damage.
 
I have ridden wearing my glasses for over 25 yrs, only broken them once when I was much younger, fell off the horse and cracked my shoulderblade at the same time but was far more worried what my parents would say about the specks.

Liz
 
I used to never wear my glasses while riding, not because they're uncomfortable, but because I would get bad headaches in the bright sunlight. So I'd still wear cheap sunglasses while riding. Now, I have new glasses with transition lenses, that go like sunglasses when outside. I love them! I ride in those because I usually fit my ride in on the way home in the evenings, and don't have a chance to put my contacts on.
I competed at the last show in my contact lenses on the Saturday, but didn't have my sunglasses, and got a migraine. So on the Sunday, I just competed in my normal glasses, and it was fine, they looked like sunglasses though!
I don't know, with the whole falling off thing and glasses, agreed, lesser of two evils, would rather see where I'm going first!:p
 
This comes up every so often on NR, and each time it amazes me how many people dont wear their glasses when riding for fear of accidents. I wear glasses or contact lenses and have never thought twice about it. When people question it, I point out 2 things:

1-Has anyone actually known someone who has damaged themselves due to riding in glasses? That's know them personally, rather than a friend of a friend (less chance of Chinese whispers!!).

2-If glasses were so unsafe, riding organisations such as the Pony Club and British Eventing would impose rules about wearing them.
 
I ride in glasses. I took a bad fall with a head bash and lost the glasses temporarily (horse stepped on them), but I was not hurt by them. I have had them fall off a few times, but ('knock-on-wood') never had them destroyed:) I do have safety glass (they cannot shatter) as it is required over here. I would be more afraid to not wear them. I ride out in the mountains for the most part and it is important that I see what is happening around me.
 
I think the discouragement from professionals for wearing glasses while doing sports stems from similar incidents like NZhorserider & probably for the fact that just because the glasses have a limited waranty on them doesn't mean they want to replace them for you when they know there's a good chance they will have to!

Anyhow, I'm not as blind as a bat and can cope without them, which is why I only wear them when I drive (that's if I don't forget where I put them) but... sometimes I would like to wear something when my eyes are strained.

Kanuma: you mean sand baths are out of the question? Oh darn!:D

Add: Cross posted with Greentchr. Must be a North American thing regarding the safety glasses (or sport glasses as I call them).
 
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i wear contacts and the worst thing that ever happens is that my eyes can start to water sometime, but I've never ridden in glasses, wouldnt want to really:eek:
 
LMS well i must admit, sand does nothing for the complexion and is absolutely foul to taste, and is murder to get out of your bra in a dignified manor! !!
i have often landed in the sand when jumping, must admit cotacts were a god send!
 
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