Are we silly for not wearing body protectors EVERY time we ride?

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alpha1

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I was reading a previous thread and someone mentioned they wore their body protector everytime they rode.

I personally, like many others, dont wear mine other than when going XC but are we silly for not wearing them all the time?

Horse riding is supposed to be the most dangerous sport there is, so do you think that we should take more precautions, especially ones like wearing body protectors every time we ride?
 
I wear my body protector everytime I ride, just like I always wear my hat.

My thinking behind this is - I own a body protector, so why not wear it?

How much would I regret it hanging in the wardrobe if I took a tumble and got an injury that would have been prevented if I had been wearing it.

Not evangelical about BP's, just thought I should get my moneys worth :D
 
yes probably. I have a body protector and wear it when Spot is fresh, or if im doing something I think I will need it for. But seem to have got out the habbit of wearing it all the time. Its funny we wouldnt get on a horse without a hat, but we will without a body protector! madness if u think about it! lol :)
 
I've never really thought about it but I suppose we are! I hardly ever wear mine - only usually wear it if I really have to (e.g. it is a UK Chasers Rule when you go cross country schooling at one of their courses.)
 
I dont own one! :s I really need to get one though, my horse is still a baby and does stupid things, got offered a Air Jacket to borrow today. But really should get my own jacket.
 
Mine was fitted properly, but is still a bit too long, so can catch the back of the saddle, and under my chin. It also makes it very hard for me to remount when out hacking if I need to get off for a gate. So I don't wear it for hacking. I also feel that it makes me ride less well.
 
I wear mine everytime i ride and it paid off yesterday! My horse was a total witch . spooked badly spun around and dropped me on the tarmac road at speed. My body took most of the impact as I landed flat out on my back. I heard the wallop of it hitting the tarmac. I was winded and shaken up. Today I am SO stiff!!! I feel like i have been beaten up! I hate to think what injuries I would have had were it not for the body. And I was walking slowly down my road!
 
I just get too hot!! I used to wear it for SJ XC and hunting.

Don't hunt anymore and don't wear it for SJ as I said I just get too hot

However you are probably right, we should really wear them all the time.

I know I won't though
 
I guess you could say we all are 'stupid' yes but then i don't put full armour on when i get in a car either.

There are risks in life whatever you do and its each to their own I guess. There are many falls and injuries where a body protector won't actually protect you. My horse fell on the road a few years ago - I broke my collar bone. A body protector wouldn't have helped me.

I guess there's pros and cons for wearing them in all instances and if you have a horse that is more unpredictable than most then maybe it is sensible to wear a BP.
 
I wish to God now I had mine on when we went out for our last hack. I was riding the most sane, calm, trustworthy horse you could find, but that didnt stop the idiot driver hitting us, and me breaking my back!!
 
Everyone has to decide what risks they are willing to take for themselves, but personally I wear a hat when handling, plus BP when riding, plus hi-viz when hacking. Not doing so seems completely counter intuitive to me, but each to his own!
 
benson21 said:
I wish to God now I had mine on when we went out for our last hack. I was riding the most sane, calm, trustworthy horse you could find, but that didnt stop the idiot driver hitting us, and me breaking my back!!
Click to expand...

Gosh how awful! Hope you're making/have made a fully recovery!

Hearing stories like Bensons and lynseylou1's really makes me think about how much I could be risking by not wearing one....

....but when you're used to not wearing one I can imagin its going to be a difficult habit to break in to!!!
 
I have to say I never wear mine even after breaking my back from a fall. My friend broke her collar bone falling due to her body protector (was fitted to her) and I know I should probably wear a body protector but I find it hard to ride in and uncomfortable and its still sligtly too long and too hot!
 
I wear it every time I ride my youngster.
Luckily I have a KAN which is super comfy, so doesn't really feel a hassle to wear it.
I also wore it for 600 miles this summer (across Mongolia in the Mongol Derby) in temperatures up to forty degrees C in the desert!! I was very fortunate not to fall off once, but was grateful for it all the same since the horses there are not like ours - and despite being only small, can be extremely 'fresh' to say the least!
 
It seems so silly now, I wore a hat every time I rode because of the danger of coming off, but only wore a BP when XC. But I am now paying the price, as I will never ride again.
 
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I wear mine all the time, I choose to because of the horses I ride, it would be silly of me not to wear one, I don't judge others however, only they know if they think its silly not to.
 
I wish I'd worn mine all the time then I'd still have a spleen, wouldn't have spent 2 weeks in hospital, 6 weeks laid up, be on antibiotics for life and have to pay for the priviledge and seriously dented my confidence! My husband and dad insisted I was never to get back on a horse without an air jacket which my dad bought me for christmas so now I always wear that and its much more comfortable than my BP so no reason not too. I know it won't protect against everything but it gives me more confidence.
 
I don't have a body protector but I have recently been toying with the idea of buying one. The vast majority of the riding I do is out hacking with schooling on the flat once maybe twice a week. Because of the recent bad weather more of my hacking has been on the roads, hence my consideration of a body protector. The thing is I can't help but think that they only offer such limited protection from very area specific injuries are they actually worth it? I fully expect to be shot down for this and advised to the contrary but when you read the BETA standard for level 3 BP's it does make me wonder??

Level 3 (purple label) is considered appropriate for general riding, competitions including eventing and working with horses. Level 3 body protectors should prevent minor bruising that would have produced stiffness and pain, reduce soft tissue injuries and prevent a limited number of rib fractures.
 
Its such a shame though that these things happen before we realise what we should be doing. Hindsight is a wonderful thing as the saying goes!
 
I wish they would invent one for use with western saddles. The normal ones are too long and get caught on the back of the saddle. I was wondering about the ones that inflate when you leave the saddle?? they are expensive but what do you all think. I only hack out but having said that most accidents happen when out hacking and you never know what you are going to come up against.
 
never wear one. i dont XC and TBH find im far more likely to stay in the saddle without one, i ride some seriously asbo horses and need to be able to move quickly to stay with them.
BP get in the way of keeping close to the neck on a rearer and catch the back of the saddle on a bucker.

my own horses are very polite and im in no danger of being dropped by them.

to each their own, do what makes you feel safe, but i dont think everyone should have to wear one and i hope it never becomes law.
 
I really do think we should wear them every time - especially when jumping or out hacking. I find them uncomfortable and restrictive, but I remember when seatbelts came in and people said the same about them! Wouldn't go in the car without a seatbelt now!

I used to always wear one - the school I went to then insisted, so no one argued, and I soon got into the habit. Now I have got out of the habit. I need to get back into it, but I'm finding it hard to find one that fits! Before I go out for my first hack, I will get one. ;)
 
I wear mine every time I ride, it's took the brunt of a fall a few times, I don't know what the fuss is about wearing one, I don't really notice it's there, it's just as far to the ground whether your hacking schooling jumping xcountrying, whats the difference, coming of is coming off no matter what, I actually feel rather naked without it.
 
I REALLY would like to wear mine (a nice pink Charles Owen one) but I gave up as it makes it near impossible for me to get on my flippin' side saddle with it on! I've got a large bust and when I try to mount, of course the BP makes a big bust, bigger, the front of it catches on my leaping head and bounces me backwards. This is getting on with a mounting block too!

I don't find I ride as well with it either (when I eventually get on and that is if someone is there to help me which is often not the case). It prevents me from getting my right shoulder back which then makes for an unstable position riding side saddle.

I had it fitted as well but I just feel like a beginner wearing it as it makes me ride stiff and bounce around.

I've already broken a rib (or ribz as I suspect I broke more than one when I fell off I the summer) so that is why I bought it but if it's going to make me ride rubbish and fall off then what is the point?
 
i have some some nasty cracking (literally) falls, including leaving me with a raised vertebrae, but i still rode my unflappable horses everyday without a BP, until they passed away. However with my youngsters I always wear a BP when backing them. Hospital food it NOT nice, and looking up at a cars engine is also somewhat disturbing!
 
bar when i had one very naughty pony when i was about 8 and we had him about 2months ive never rode in body protector in all the time ive been riding( which was before i could walk)
 
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