Do you ride in a body protector?

I rarely wear mine but try to remember more often... My old one was so uncomfortable that I only wore it when going somewhere I had to. My new Outlyne is much nicer - and once on I forget I'm wearing it. I rarely do more than schooling or plod-hacking, but a friend wears hers hacking on an unpredictable tb, so I thought I might as well - does no good in the house, but if he trips, or we get hit by a car, I'll be glad to have it on! Every fall I've had since the new one, I haven't even been winded and no aches the next day. Ok a BP won't stop every injury, but missing out on at least some of the aches and pains as got to be worth wearing one :)
 
Always for jumping, whether sj or xc. Always for fun rides or in groups of more than 2 of us.

Otherwise, always on any new horse until I find out what makes it tick......

Having been dumped twice within a week from a new mare last autumn, both times very heavily landing - the 1st time with another horse treading on my chest (hoofprint firmly on the BP for all to see!) the second time I landed on my back.
Both those times I have thanks my lucky stars I WAS wearing it as no damage done apart from bruised bum :)

Got a bit complacent recently as FLF is a reasonably sensible girl...... however, I've just been a bit lazy & I wont be out without it next week at camp.
 
Always, I'm a skinny, I have next to no padding of my own up top, I'll take what padding I can get!

I don't feel in anyway restricted wearing it, and if anyone thinks I look like a novice wearing one, they can do one quite frankly. I've been in the unfortunte position of watching someone fall off and fracture their spine, knowing the docs told her she might have gotten away with bad bruising had she worn a BP is enough to convince me wearing one is just plain sensible.
 
I wear one out hacking, it is a kind of lookalike Racesafe, not fitted to me I bought it off the internet. I've had my first two falls in the last couple of weeks, I think possibly it helped me not be so bruised, but I don't know. My daughter thinks it attributed to my falls because it's too bulky and interferes with my position by making me pitch forward so I am thinking I'm going to get a proper fitted one soon. It has the added bonus of holding my boobs in place too which is good!
 
I try to wear mine all the time, I don't find it restrictive at all but I do find it hot. Here it gets quite hot for about half the year and I struggle to ride in a BP without feeling faint. I should invest in an air jacket really.
 
Only for xc competing. Can't bear them, so restricting and really feel wooden and stiff in them. I'm well aware of the dangers of not, but I take that into account, I gave them up when I left riding schools x
 
Only when I absolutely have to - when eventing or if the xc schooling venue requires it.

In terms of looking novicey, it must be said that a higher percentage of nervous/novice riders wear one, so it is a natural assumption to make.

The worse falls I've had, a BP would not have prevented any injuries

I mainly hunt and am certainly not going to wear one doing that! (Mind you, I also hunt in my Patey and that's a whole other can of worms lol!)
 
I ALWAYS wear a body protector as you never know when that accident would happen

I am a good case point for this one. My boy has always been calm in the indoor school but last Friday he had a massive spook and bolted so I ended up falling off at gallop. If I hadn't been wearing my body protector the doctor said I would defiantly have broken my back and have been out of the saddle for months at least - as it is I only have a whole load of bruising so should be back in the saddle within a couple of weeks

There are a lot of body protectors on the market nowadays that do not restrict your movement a lot - they may be expensive but it is so worth it!
 
I always wear mine for hacking. Sometimes I think I won't bother but then I do because I think that the time when I don't wear it will be the time that I should have. Mine is very comfortable so there is no excuse really.
 
I always wear a bp - I am self employed, if I fall off, hurt myself and am unable to work, I don't get paid. It's a no brainer for me :)
 
hate the bl00min things....only wear mine when i have to eg.xc competitions or pc xc rallies.....why? because in the past i have had falls where the backprotector has caused more injury eg. unable to curl up in to ball or get up and move out of the way quick enough when i was launched over pony's head and their mometum and last second decision to stop resulting in them flipping over the fence...luckily a bystander grabbed me out of the way. they are often the cause of people being winded which in itself could cause them injury if they could not get out of the way.

admittedly the airowears are actually ok because they are quite pliable and mould to the body and i don't mind wearing mine so much but it really makes me itch when i see children practically straigh-jacketed in what are basically two slabs of reinforced cardboard.
 
I ALWAYS wear it! without question, its as important as my hate! I always think, if its too hot to put it on, then its too hot to ride!

I came off my mare 11 years ago, she trampled on me, my ribs and my leg, if it wasn't for the body protector would have had at least a few broken ribs, at the very least!

before that I was a bit rubbish, would wear it most of the time but not every time! after that, I just haven't considered getting on a horse without it! don't care what others think about me! as long as im the safest I can be!
 
Some really interesting replies here! I wear one, always, on my just backed youngster but only for XC on my older mare. This is a fairly recent development. I wouldn't wear one for years, because the first young horse I had decked me repeatedly and I got into a headspace where if I was wearing a back protector, I'd just let myself fall. Don't get me wrong, it very likely saved me during some horrible falls but in the end it was becoming counterproductive. So I stopped wearing one and started staying on a heck of a lot more!
 
Never ridden in one after 50 years in the saddle, that is until a fall a few weeks ago which ended in a fractured breast bone and massive bruising over my whole chest. Still darent sneeze several weeks later. I bought one after the accident (bit late)which i cant wear for long at the moment as it presses on the breast bone, but will wear it for any fast work, hacking out or anything that i think could result in a fall. Cant say I like it much, but I like broken bones less
 
I always wear mine. I was wearing it when I got thrown hard onto a road last year. Broke six ribs and damaged my spleen. Four days in hospital, the first 36 hours in special care being monitored 24/7 in case spleen ruptured. The doctor told me my Racesafe probably saved my life. 15 months on, the ribs are still healing as they were displaced.

Interestingly, just last weekend I was chatting with a lady who's daughter came off and the doctor feels her BP CAUSED her injuries! I really do think it is purely down to how you fall as to whether they are worth wearing, but mine gives me a sense of security so I'll stick with it....
 
I wear one for xc and on new horses- or unpredictable / sharp and spooky horses. Any time I am likely to fall off! Of course you can fall off at any time, but I hate SJ in them as I feel restricted and hacking its just not comfortable when out for hours.
 
I never have, but then I've been very lucky never to have a bad fall so far, touch wood. I think if I bought one I'd end up only ever using it for XC.
 
no, i gave mine away because i just can't abide wearing it, made me feel restricted and gave me chest pains from anxiety, don't think it's particularly fair on my horse to have me perched on top like a scared plank!
 
Never wear one, hate the feeling, but to be honest don't do anything particularly high risk.

ETA, just realised there's a pic of me galloping bareback on an ex racehorse in my sig... By not doing anything high risk I mean I rarely jump and never anything solid!
 
Never have worn one, but sitting here still convalescing from broken collar bone, ribs and arm I'm wondering if I should invest in one. I also like the idea of keeping the boobs under better control, but will probably have to lose a few more pounds before I can get one to fit.
 
Used to wear mine all the time, however over time I've found that it impedes my riding in the school (hard to get dynamic spine and hip movement in one to sit an extended trot), and also I don't sit bad behaviours as well with one on - I'm more likely to come off with a bp on. I also found when breakin in youngsters that it made my riding stiffer and more wooden, which is the last thing you want on babies. So now I only wear one XC or on a horse I know is pretty likely to get me off - I still like the protection it gives my rib age. However my worst ever fall, my bp nearly caused me to break my neck - my neck was the only unprotected part in a high speed fall head first into a drystone dyke, which gave me really bad neck and head injuries - dr said I was very lucky my neck didn't break.
 
I wear mine when I am riding new or unpredictable horses or in a new environment and sometimes when I'm jumping.

I also wear it when I just have 'that' feeling... you know, the one where you just think that something is going to happen... does anybody else get that or is it just me?? :confused:
 
The problem with too much saftey equipement is that riders feel immortal and dont always gain the correct skill levels for what they are trying to do when they feel safein the equipment. Also so much money is spent proving that these things are safe but nothing is spent to see if they have actually caused the injuries or the accident. Educate riders first .
 
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