Body Protectors - Yes or No

Chavhorse

Chavhorse

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Today is the first time I will have ridden properly (i.e. off the lunge or on a horse which is not a half dead school horse) and my wonderful OH is muttering about how he would like to buy me a body protector, whilst I can fully understand that he is concerned following last years crash and injuries but I am not sure and have never used on in the past.

I used to ride in Cyprus with a friend who always used one and she just seemed to be not as flexible in the saddle. I have tried them on in the past and just felt wrong in them and felt they would impair my ability to bend and flex in a spook situation.

So who on here uses them as an everyday thing and am I being shortsighted. My argument to OH is that last year I broke my shoulder and knee and in all honesty a body protector would probably not have made a jot of difference.

Thoughts?
 
Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes.

Get one.

Try different ones. Go to where you can have it professionally fitted.

Yes.

Daughter does all her riding in an Exo cage. Complete freedom of movement
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I use a RP, which I hate, but tend to forget about a few minutes after putting it on. I can move perfectly well in it. And, and here's the reason for all the 'Yes's - I've come off twice this year, both times the body protection I was wearing prevented further pain and agony.

I still suffer from the falls and bashes I went through when I was younger (riding loony horses to make them sane will do that to a gal)l. I wish BPs had been around then!

*steps off soap box and goes in hunt of last croissant*
 
So I take it you think I should get one Mrs M
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OH was looking over my shoulder when I was reading your post so looks like we are heading off to see Vardi via the Saddlery shop.....I have promised to at least try a selection on and he has promised to pay.

Now I take it is not the right time to admit that I used to ride a fit ex racer up mountains in Cyprus wearing only a baseball cap as protection from the sun.......I know I know
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So I take it you think I should get one Mrs M
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OH was looking over my shoulder when I was reading your post so looks like we are heading off to see Vardi via the Saddlery shop.....I have promised to at least try a selection on and he has promised to pay.

Now I take it is not the right time to admit that I used to ride a fit ex racer up mountains in Cyprus wearing only a baseball cap as protection from the sun.......I know I know
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Blimey, that must have turned heads.

Didn't the rest of you get sunburned?
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SA - bad SA lol
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CH - oh yes, I remember those days so well (but I wore at least shorts as well lol). I still remember the wind in my hair as we galloped along - but I also still remember two men discussing drilling a hole in my head
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Isn't life fun
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Definitely yes for Eventing

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I wasn't eventing when Dizz slipped on the road (in a walk) and I cracked my arm - BP protected my ribs from the curbstone.

Second time we were just cantering along the paddock. Admittedly big horse going fast, but not jumps, etc. I had Mountain Horse jacket with the body armour on that time - hit the ground hard enough to get a brain bleed (Charles Owen well fitted less than a year old hat on) - not a bruise or an ache or an ouch as my shoulder, arm and side were protected
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Another vote for "Yes get one"!
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I have always made my daughter's wear theirs even when just hacking.
Having had a riding accident many years ago before BP's were even invented ( oh how old do I feel! ) and damaged a kidney, I feel quite strongly about using one!

But, and its a big but for me ...... I HATE wearing mine! I had it properly fitted, sat on a saddle in the shop etc, but when I am riding down some of the steep hills round here, it seems to catch on the back of the saddle and tip me forward, which is not nice on a pony that likes to rush down hills, and sometimes put in a buck for fun if he is feeling a little too "well"!
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I am using a RP - any suggestions for an alternative BP that might be more comfortable?
 
Chav horse - agree with MrsM. Get one well fitted that fits you properly. After a while they 'mould' to you and if properly fitted you won't notice it and it won't interfere with your riding etc. I wear mine when hacking - the last time I was grateful for it we had dismounted to cross a brook and i got knocked over by stoopid horse and landed on my side on stones and rubble by the wall at the edge of the bridleway - didn't hurt but would have done without it!!

Don't forget we don't bounce as well or mend as quickly as we advance in years!! No it won't stop knees breaking etc but it will stop your lungs from puncturing and soft tissue bruising which is painful and debilitating as any broken bones.
 
I don't use mine except for cross country or when backing youngsters. However I can thoroughly recommend the Racesafe 2000. Its the most comfy BP I've ever had by far, you forget your wearing it and its much cooler than a lot of others.
 
Sprout - I used to have a Rodney Powell which did exactly the same thing catching on the back of the saddle - v annoying. Anyway no have a new one - an airowear - and its fab!! Made for the female shape so the fit is better all round and the back is no where near the cantle on any of my saddles - a huge improvement.
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A tip I was given for trying them on was rather than sitting on a saddle sit on the floor - if the back of the bp touches the floor it will touch your saddle. The only problem was I then spent a few minutes being very graceless grovelling around on the floor in the tack shop!!!
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Good job they know me!!!
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I am due to buy myself a new one as I have one that in no way shape or form fits me and another that is perfect fit wise but very very old. Personally I wear mine every time I hack out and sometimes to school especially on new or fresh horses I will never not wear one for jumping.
I would recommend you get one, I am sure if you don't and you come off you may end up thinking 'bugger should have bought one'.
 
I would say yes to a body protector too. I wear mine for all riding for a variety of reasons and I ride about 5-6 times a week, hacking, lessons, schooling, jumping. Mine like another poster has said above has moulded to my body so I barely know I've got it on. The 6 times I've come off in the last 5 years through jumping or a stop, a buck or a rear it's saved bits of me from more serious injury. I even wish I wore mine on the yard sometimes as my horse bolted once when I was leading and I got yanked off my feet onto concrete and walloped my ribs...though that wasn't quite as embarrassing as ending up on the concrete again on my side the other weekend by tripping over my own broom!
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My sister suggested I get myself a Michelin man style outfit for the yard!
 
yes definately
i had a fairly innocent fall from my mare 7 months ago, i wasnt wearing a body protector and ended up with a fractured spine, if i had been wearing one it is unlikely (according to my surgeon) it would have been as severe, or perhaps would have been avoided completely.
i have only just started riding again, i have a airoware body protector it is a faf to put on but you forget about them once you have been wearing them for a while
 
Absolutely yes. My worst falls have been schooling and hacking, I still have a scar on my back from sliding along gravel without a body protector. I don't feel that my body protector impairs my ability to cope with spooks, either.
 
Yes EVERYTIME I ride, thinking of getting a new one soon, I forget mine is on when riding, and it's more of the rigid type, I am looking at the more flexible type but am wondering if they are as good, I have landed flat on my back a few times going straight over his head, stopped me getting winded if nothing else.

After I broke my collarbone (not wearing a body protector for that fall) the very next time I came off I landed and rolled on the same shoulder
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, fortunately the angle meant I didnt hit my shoulder too hard, but having the shoulder pads on as well it meant I was totallly unscathed rather than some bruising etc.
 
well, it depends how secure you are, what sort of horse you'll be riding, and what you plan to do.
fwiw something like 45% of horse riding injuries that necessitate a visit to A&E are torso injuries (about 50% are head injuries).
so, yes, i'd say a bp is a good idea. i wear one for all xc riding (Exo) and for backing and riding away youngsters (Kan). i've cut the back shorter on the latter so that it doesn't catch on the saddle, it'd be fine for xc as my bum would be out of the saddle, but for hacking it needed shortening! very comfy, i can definitely tuck and roll in it (found out a few weeks ago!), not restricting at all, actually the shaped back aids posture imho.
 
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