Body Protectors - beware, it could get nasty!

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In the good old days, these 'things' were non existant and it drives me nuts when I see more and more people wearing them, sometimes every time they get on a horse/pony like normal people would put a hard hat on.

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I totally agree, it's just bonker.

Like in car, I mean in the good old days they never had seat belts and everyone coped just fine. Ok so a few people died and others were seriously injured but in general there was no problem. Then they went an invented this thing that would at least give people a bit more protection and people started using it and it become the norm. I mean WTF why would people want to make an attempt at protecting their body, it's not like it's difficult to fix or irreplacble.

NB I wear a BP everytime I get on my horse, I feel naked without it. Saying that wearing BP makes riders more nervous to someone who wears it all the time is like saying wearing a hat makes you more nervous, you are clearly wearing a hat as you expect to fall off! Nothing to do with horse riding being risky and not wanting to take the risk.
 
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My friend actually got injured by her BP, it dug into her stomach bruising her stomach muscles.
If she hadn't been wearing it she would have been fine!
The times I have fallen off I've hurt my elbow and leg, lot of good a BP would have done me then!

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Tuck and roll m'dear, it'll save broken wrists, elbows and collarbones.

I would say it's likely your friend BP didn't fit correctly, if falling of in a BP was dangerous it's unlikely the jockey club would insist on jockey's wearing them in races.
 
Having had a couple of nasty accidents where I broke ribs/severely bruised my back and was unable to work or drive the car for a while, I now wear a body protector on a regular basis, particularly when hacking on the roads.

I must say I really can't quite understand why it 'drives you nuts' to see people wearing them - it doesn't harm the horse in anyway or affect you at all, so why get so worked up about what other people wear when riding?
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Seems rather weird that it is a pressing concern for you!
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Very interesting reading all these peoples thoughts. I think habit comes into this alot. It does also seem to be very 50/50.
But don't get me wrong, if people want to stay safe and wear them, then do so, Iam not going to stop you - just wanted to know peoples thoughts and reasons why.
I just wish that we RS/colleges and other training establishments including PC would allow more natural 'old days' riding to happen more and forget about who may sue who if so and so fell off. We use to bounce, I swear!
If an older would be rider started, I do agree with ALWAYS wearing a hat, right foot wear and gloves but with BPs, sometimes isn't less more???
 
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I must say I really can't quite understand why it 'drives you nuts' to see people wearing them - it doesn't harm the horse in anyway or affect you at all, so why get so worked up about what other people wear when riding?
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Seems rather weird that it is a pressing concern for you!
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My thoughts exactly!

Have to say there does seem to be a culture in the horsey world of 'I'm a better rider and don't wear protection' (when riding I mean
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) and this does NOT apply to everyone I hasten to add.

Silly comment above re. seatbelts - they're proved to save lives and it's been proven that Diana (only accident that springs to mind) would have survived if she'd been wearing one.
 
If riding school insurance has made them compulsory, then the next generation of riders will grow up in the habit of using them.
Personally, I think this argument sounds very similar to the argument regarding the pro's and con's of wearing a strapped riding hat V a beagler/no hat at all. (And how many comments do we see about dressage riders schooling without a hat....)

Personally, I don't wear mine because it throws my balance off (it's a Mark Todd) but if it were a Racesafe, I'd wear it more often.
I don't see it as wrapping children up in cottonwool, I see it as minimizing risk in a high risk sport, which riding is!
 
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I think that wearing a BP or not should be a matter of personal choice based on the degree of risk people are willing to tolerate but OP seems to be suggesting that there is something wrong with wearing one if you want to, which just seems like a weird point to make.

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I agree. I only wear mine for xc but if someone wants to wear theirs for hacking or flatwork, or even to do the shopping in Tesco, that's their business.
 
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a BP isn't going to stop you breaking your arm if you put it out in front of you instead of rolling up for example.

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I am a case in point in that respect, one elbow (broken) and one ankle (v badly sprained) both on hard ground.

but I dont think I would have been able to roll in either, the elbow he'd taken off a mile out and came down so we sort of splatted together.
 
I totally agree children have to fall off and get hurt thats part of life theres no point wrapping them up in Bubble wrap they just grow up to be scared of everything.

My friends boy is so sweet hell ride around and when he falls off hell brush his knees down and get straight back into the saddle. no broken bones a few bruises but thats it, its part of growing up.
 
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I think that wearing a BP or not should be a matter of personal choice based on the degree of risk people are willing to tolerate but OP seems to be suggesting that there is something wrong with wearing one if you want to, which just seems like a weird point to make.

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Ditto.

Stupid post to start with.
 
What an odd thing to say!
Surely this is just personal choice, I just can’t understand why it would bother anyone, whether someone wears a BP to hack, do flat or jump. Surely if it makes them feel safer they will ride better as they will be more confident. I personally like to see kids in BPs, better safe then sorry, I think.
 
I wear one for XC and SJ when competing. I also wore it when backing Stinky and early hacking out days. Now although only 5, he is a fairly safe hack so I don't wear one. I still wear one on him when jumping as it is early days.

I do make my niece (9) wear hers when riding apart from when doing showing. At the end of the day, she is young, still very novice and I have to explain to her mum if she got hurt.
When she is older, she can make her own choice.

I know some people who always wear them and other who don't - their choice.

I do wear a hard hat and apart from the odd occasion when western riding on Cairo (who was the nearest thing you could get to 100% safe) I always do and will wear one.

I personally prefer not to ride in the BP, I find them restrictive and do have difficult getting one to fit my very short body but with large boobs.

I will always do when I consider what I am doing to be of a sufficient risk to wear one, hence when I go hunting for the time first with Stinky I will be in one, even though I am not intending to do much in the way of jumping. I hope that after 40 odd years of riding, I have a reasonable idea of when I need to take greater care.

Yes I could fall off at a walk in the school, but to be honest, I have never yet done so - tend to fall off when doing fast jumping work and land on my feet if lucky or my bum which has it own permanent built in protector.
 
First time I ever wore a BP XC schooling I broke the top of my arm into about 4 pieces. I believe the BP stopped me falling as I would have naturally fallen and the rigidness of it stopped my arm going where it would have gone had I not been wearing it...
I've fallen off lots in the past and never injured myself, its funny how a simple fall at not a fast pace ended up so badly
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and the only difference at the time was a BP.
I'm not saying they are bad things as they do prevent some injuries, I'm just not sure how I will be able to wear one again and feel relaxed....
By the way I'm just about to start riding again after the break, its 12 weeks, and I may be slightly biased against BP's as it is so soon
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I must say I really can't quite understand why it 'drives you nuts' to see people wearing them - it doesn't harm the horse in anyway or affect you at all, so why get so worked up about what other people wear when riding?
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Seems rather weird that it is a pressing concern for you!
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It drives me nuts because;
Its a shame that we have lost what we used to have, and people now over 'cotton wool' themselves.

If you were told to draw a picture of a rider on a horse - would you add the BP? To me, it doesn't appeal. Iam not out to cause any offense.
 
Here, here! I wear a BP on a hack on a plod because my non horsey OH wants me to set an example to our very young daughters whom he worries about. I don't think that's laughable or wrapping our kids up in cotton wool - the last time I looked horse riding was considered a dangerous sport. Kids might be more supple and flexible but young children often don't have coordination or balance on a par with an adult or teenager either. I don't insist they wear them in the school but on rock hard ground or when jumping, there's no arguing with Mummy! BTW, parents who allow their children to get on unpredicatable, big, flight animals and gallop around the place are NOT the ones who wrap their children in cotton wool. I make my kids wear BPs because I don't see the point in being macho.
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I have never worn one for anything I've done including backing, reschooling, cross country, showjumping and hunting but each to their own[\].
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My BP was almost cut in half across the back panel by a school fence. It was only held together by the thin cotton inner.

I seriously injured myself in the accident anyway but it could have been horrific.

I only had it on because we were backing a young pony.

I must admit I rarely put one on nowadays, only when doing XC.

I agree with others who have said they are bulky, restrictive and really don't help your riding.

To sum up, I only put mine on for special occasions as I ride much better without it lol!
 
Surely wearing a body protector would make you feel braver not more nervous?
I can only compare it to my ex boyfriend who when he wore his leathers while riding his motorbike said it made him feel invincible and very protected and he would take risks he wouldn't do normally as he felt that if he did fall off he wouldn't get hurt.
In the end he stopped wearing them as he felt he was getting dangerous!!
Not saying everyone feels like that but just saying what he told me, and having to sit behind him I was very pleased!!

I don't even own a BP and if I ever went XC I would borrow a friends one. I found them very uncomfortable tbh, this was a long time ago and they have changed a lot since then. Maybe if I had one I might be brave enough to take my horse round our xc course!
 
I also don't see the point in this post.

I hate wearing a body protector, i feel stiff and restricted and feel that it affects my 'feel' for the horse. I do have one though and i wear it when getting on anything dangerous, very young, nervous etc. I did some small XC jumps without it last year as they followed on from a hack and i felt fine.

BUT! I know that if i fall off i might get more hurt without it. The feeling that i am more likely to fall off with one is my personal choice. And i think as a rule people should wear them as much as possible if they are happy to do so. I would never ever discourage anyone from wearing one, as it is something extra to make you more safe- that can never be a bad thing. As for children, yes they bounce better and falling off is a part of learning, but they break easily and don't half make a racket when they hurt, so anything to prevent that is surely a good thing? Especially in the early stages when a sneeze can have them off.
 
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Like in car, I mean in the good old days they never had seat belts and everyone coped just fine. Ok so a few people died and others were seriously injured but in general there was no problem. Then they went an invented this thing that would at least give people a bit more protection and people started using it and it become the norm. I mean WTF why would people want to make an attempt at protecting their body, it's not like it's difficult to fix or irreplacble.

NB I wear a BP everytime I get on my horse, I feel naked without it. Saying that wearing BP makes riders more nervous to someone who wears it all the time is like saying wearing a hat makes you more nervous, you are clearly wearing a hat as you expect to fall off! Nothing to do with horse riding being risky and not wanting to take the risk.

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PrincessSpark1e, if you actually meant to type that as it is, i think you are genuinely certifiable.
there are a LOT more car accidents nowadays (because literally millions more cars on the roads) and the death rate is falling and falling every year afaik, because of better crumple zones, airbags, and seatbelts. a body is VERY difficult to fix if badly injured, and it is absolutely irreplacable- what the hell are you on?!?!
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unless you know of somewhere to buy a new one, in which case please let me know, so i can pass it on to my cousin, who was very severely injured in a lorry crash a few years ago and is permanently debilitated and disabled, lives on morphine, and is in severe pain every single day... of course, if it hadn't been for his seatbelt, he'd be dead, simple.

as for bps... it's personal choice obviously, but they too have improved HUGELY over the years. when i think of my first (bought in 1988 after doing my first BE xc, when they weren't even compulsory but a friend insisted i should buy one!), it fitted appallingly and was very uncomfortable, and was probably as much use as rolling myself up in bubblewrap. (or perhaps less...!)
now i have two phenomenally protective bps, one for XC, one for breaking and riding away youngsters, and i put them on without thinking about it, it is as necessary a piece of kit for a dangerous occupation as a crash hat.
btw, i saw statistics recently that about the same %age of riders are admitted to A&E with torso injuries as with head injuries, so maybe those who wear them a lot aren't so crazy after all...

fwiw, i don't think it makes me ride any better (or worse), nor does it give me any more or less confidence, i just put it on and forget about it.
 
I think PrincessSpark1e was being sarcastic!
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I'm glad you mentioned the A&E statistics - I know a few A&E doctors who would go nuts if a rider so "Oh, I never wear BPs...".
 
I don't wear one for anything other than XC. I used to be of the school of though that "it restricted your movement, so you were more likely to fall off" which was the case when BP's weren't as advanced as they are now.

I now don't think a body protector could CAUSE injury if it is correctly fitting. Mine also doesnt interfere with me at all (I event) and I am happy to wear it when I have to.

However, I dont like seeing them over jackets as I dont think it looks particularly smart, and I personally believe the risk of me doing things like Dr and Sjing on my horses is low enough for me to choose not to wear one. That is my personal thought
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I never wore one out hunting, and was fine!

I did go through a stage of wearing one jumping my then young horse, but that was only because I seemed incapable of staying on him, and decided after falling off him a few times, it may save a few bruises
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Its all down to making an informed choice of whether to wear one, in the situation you're in. I do have to say though I am guilty of labelling people who wear one for Dressage, flatwork etc as "nervous" and more likely to be novicey. Arrogant maybe, but normally in my experience true
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if you have an accident whilst riding no matter what you are doing an insurer
so my mum for instant always wears hers especially as horse can be idiot as having 4 children she says if something does happen then she wouldnt want us to have nothing because she didnt play by the rules :S
 
Just to add, on the over jacket thing- when i purchased mine they said to wear it as close to the skin as possible and wear any layers over it to enable a more snug, secure and generally better fit. Which actually makes a lot of sense and i think is the main reason i don't like seeing them over jackets. Plus it looks a bit daft.
 
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Its a shame that we have lost what we used to have, and people now over 'cotton wool' themselves.

[/ QUOTE ] I can understand this point of view if YOU were personally being made to wear a BP for all activities, but you are not. So YOU have not lost anything at all!

Personally, I don't feel I have lost anything by my decision to wear a BP - it doesn't affect my riding in any way, it keeps me warm in the winter, and is as easy to put on as a waistcoat.

What did we 'use to have' before the invention of BPs? Basically a lack of choice to what protection we could wear. Now we have that choice and are free to choose what is right for us as individuals, so how have 'we' lost anything?

It would be a different case if we were forced to wear them for all disciplines, and I could understand your argument then.
 
One more thing (sorry, I'll shut up in a minute). Some one said you would never draw a BP when asked to draw a horse and rider. This is because you are drawing a romantic notion, summing up how it feels to sit on the back of the horse, that wonderful feeling that keeps us all slogging away to keep our horses in the lap of luxury. Ask me to draw the romance and I wouldn't have a hat on either but would just gallop over lush lands with no rabbit holes, farm traffic, dogs, pigs, cows, walkers, cyclists etc with my hair streaming out behind me in the wind. The reality of horses isn't like that, which is why we wear hats and some times, oh the humanity, a body protector.

I'll shut up now!
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I make my daughter wear her back protector every time she gets on. She is 6 and her dad and grandfather would go spare if she didn't wear it. It also makes me feel better about letting her go hooning around the field on her own.
Its not law to wear one, so each to their own. I certainly would not frown upon any mum who did not have their child in one BUT in the same respect I would not take to happily to someone commenting that I am wrapping my child up in cotton wool.
The BP makes her feel safe and it gives me comfort so I feel that she rides better when wearing it.
To comment about BP's and accidents, I did have an accident while wearing a BP and according to hospital staff it did save my life. However, I did not fall. I was wearing a borrowed BP prior to XC. I was unmounted and putting studs in when horse kicked back. I ended up with bruising and a small tear in liver. Doctors said that if the BP had not taken the impact it could well have been much worse.
 
well i agree to an extent but being someone who is currently lying in hospital with 4 broken ribs after a saddle fitting went wrong i shall be wearing mine during saddle fittings now as well as jumping. i think it is totally down to personal preference and after my accident on monday i can see why people wear them more.
 
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