Attitudes towards body protectors

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MungoMadness

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Hi Everyone

I am a final year Product Design student, and for my major project I will be looking into the design of a body protector for horse riders. I want to really focus on the human factors surrounding it, so I want to involve as many riders in the project as possible in terms of feedback etc. The first step for this is for me to really gauge an understanding of the current attitudes towards body protectors, why people wear them, why people don't wear them.

To do this, I have created a survey. I know there are topics like this all the time, but I would be really grateful if you could fill it out:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RTY6P9N

If you have any additional comments, please do reply to this thread! I have posted this in the competition and training section as well to try and reach a wider range of riders.

Thanks
 
Good luck! You might also find it interesting to search on here as there are often threads about body protectors and you get a good insight to what people like and don't like about them :)
 
Done.

I dont wear one, and never have, other than when going cross-country. I'm far more safety conscious nowadays, and I was thinking the other day that if I had a body protector/airjacket that had something I look for in day to day wear (ie HiViz), I would be far more likely to get into the habit of putting it on every time I ride
 
Done. I don't wear one, they are very expensive and I worry that I'll be all trussed up like a turkey and uncomfortable. I think I probably should wear one, so I'm going to try some mountain bike body armour and see if it moves ok. I don't do any xc, so hopefully mountain bike armour will be a reasonable compromise between nothing and the horsey options.
 
Done. I've never had one. I can't afford to have one made and as a larger female with too much boob a store bought one would never fit.
 
Sorry if I'm hijacking this thread but just thought this was worth a mention.
I have just bought my 18 yo daughter a body protector which we saw on one of the stands at Burley. It is a body protector but only on the back. It is just silky stretchy fabric at the front and fastens with a zip. It doesn't squash your boobs and is very, very flexible. It obviously doesn't give the same level of protection as a standard body protector, it is recommended for hacking, hunting etc but you cant wear it on a cross country course. She finds it extremely comfy and wears it everytime she goes out now and I'm glad she's at least wearing that, better than nothing at all.
 
I wear one all the time but my biggest complaint is that I cant wear any of my lovely riding jackets over it as id have to buy 2 sizes bigger and look like the michelin woman. If its dry I tend to wear the BP over a jumper and if wet I put a cheap tacky oversized waterproof over the top of it. I always look enviously at others who dont wear one and get to wear nice fitted jackets etc but I prefer to ride with BP in the end. Also keeps you nice and warm in winter but boy do you sweat a few pounds off in summer in one!
 
I can't access survey monkey from work pc. I do wear a BP for xc and sj lessons and for comps as the Point 2 isn't yet allowed on its own I don't think. I wear just the air jacket for hunting. The racesafe fits fairly well and doesn't impede too much although the back sometimes gets in the way on drop fences if I lean back too much. I prefer the air jacket on it's own as it's more comfortable and less restrictive.
 
My original intention was to wear a bp only when hacking which was my great objective as an older rider. I began to hack when I had been learning for a year. I was then 63. Wearing a bp is essential also when I ride bareback.
After a mass fall in an apparently safe elementary lesson, I started to wear a bp every time I rode, in school lessons as well as hacking and trail riding. If I forget to take my bp to a lesson, I usually ride without one - if I know the horse, I forget and canter without it.
I have had well fitted bps, a Champion and more recently Airowear worn over thin clothing and under any jacket. My OH is round shouldered and wears a Racesafe which fits him better. The fact is that, once one is riding, I do not think one is conscious of this type of bp or any restriction. I am so used to it that I do not think it reduces the quality of my riding, nor impairs my balance.
But things have deteriorated re bp design and comfort. The recent increased safety standard added more thickness to the foam layers - across all brands. If one is narrow shouldered, this extra thickness is uncomfortable under one's arms and may prevent them falling easily to one's side for dressage etc. I also regret the recent alterations to women's bp shaping in Airowear Outlyne which allows more shaping at the bust level but provides less spread round the waist - where I need extra.
The black, waistcoat design of bps suits me fine as we take our bps to the States and they are similar in appearance to the protective vests worn by some rodeo riders.
People on forums often post that they dont bounce as they used to. I may have been lucky, but the older women I know of who still ride, wear body protectors or an air jacket. It becomes as automatic as fastening your seat belt when you drive a car. I have fallen off 14 times in 13 years of riding and attribute my lack of injury to wearing a bp. I do not jump - my falls have been on the flat - but in all falls I can remember the back of my bp (and back of hat) took the impact.
When sharing a horse (I never fell off her) I considered buying an air jacket to wear instead of a bp, but did not as I like to remount after a fall out hacking and the gas canister affords no protection once it has been exhausted in a fall.
Your questionnaire demands compulsory answers to questions about competing and ambitions. I have never competed but I guess that if I ever do compete at dressage, I would wear a bp -or may be that is forbidden. It was my ambition to ride a flying change but I did that last summer and was in a bp. as usual. The big question for me is whether those of us who wear bps for recreational riding should be given the opportunity to wear bps that do not come up to the official standards for eventing. Given the force of falls onto tarmac from canter, I think we older riders need all the protection we can get - so I reluctantly decided it is best for all bps to keep to the safety standards both for bps and hats.
 
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Done.
I've responded to both the "yes I do" and "no I don't" bits as wearing one routinely is very new to me - only used to wear for cross country.

However, I've found that my more modern version is much more comfortable and flexible than they used to be and am wearing it far more often.
 
I've done it but found the options a bit yes and no which doesn't really fit for me as I wear it for all forms of jumping not just cross country. I jump routinely but I also hack and do flatwork routinely and don't wear it for that so found it hard to answer that question. Same for competing - if competing involves jumping I wear it, if not, I don't.
 
Done.
Had one as a kid when I was learning to ride, which always hit me in the chin when I got off. Hated it! Never owned one again!
Borrowed one as a one off, at pony club camp, otherwise I wasn't allowed to do the XC.
Most uncomfortable thing ever, couldn't move properly and felt like I would be more likely to fall off with it!
I'm a happy hacker with a bit of hunting and fun rides, but I do like to have a go at some local xc if its on. If it's 'body protectors compulsory' though I give it a miss!
 
Done.
I wear my BP and air jacket when I am XC schooling or competeing Shwjumping/eventing/hunter trials etc or when xc schooling. I consider these much higher risk activities that involve greater speed and more opportunities for mishaps.
I wear just my airjacket for hacking as I refuse to go out on the roads without any protection, i dont fancy hitting the tarmac with nothing to soften the blow. I wear my airjacket instead of my BP as it is comfier and easier to turn around to check for traffic in it than in the more rigid BP.
Flatwork schooling in the sand/rubber school i do not wear either.
 
Done. I don't get on a horse without my BP! I've been riding about 19 years and still wont get on my boy I've owned coming up to 10 without one. For me it's a habit, as much as it is putting on a hat. In fact it's hung over my saddle so can't get my saddle down until I've put my BP on! I'm always scared that the one time I don't put it on will be the time I'm chucked off. And my x2 is actually really comfy - and I only ended up with a bruise when I was thrown and landed on top off a fence post - pretty sure that would have been a broken ribs job otherwise!
 
Done.
I wear one now after not wearing one for a few years. I've had two falls this year and I found I don't bounce like I used to! I only wear it out hacking - not in the school.
 
I've answered on behalf of my daughter who is 7 as she rides most days of the week. She always wears a body protector, she didnt used to but she got a racesafe for christmas last year and has worn it nearly every day since! I think the old style body protectors that are stiff as a board are awful but the new flexible ones are brilliant and I think really smart
 
Done, I very rarely ride without mine (big daft 7 year old with a tendency to over-react!), it's an Airowear Outlyne and I barely notice I'm wearing it now.
 
Done. I also have an Airowear Outlyne that I always wear hacking and almost always in the school. It is comfy, but I would like to get an air jacket instead as looks even better. They look less bulky/ restrictive and hopefully would be less hot to wear in the summer.
 
Done. Haven't worn a bp for over 4 years now as have not competed where they have been necessary, I will need to buy one before I go Xc again. I remember competing at odes as a kid with no BP though.

Personally for me (I did a post on this the other day) it interests me that some eventers will wear a safe hat, BP, then go above what's mandatory and wear an air jacket when competing BE, but then if they go hunting, they don't even wear a hat with a chinstrap, let alone anything else, bonkers!
 
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