Do you use an Exo Body Protector? Pro's/Con's?

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acolvine

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I posted yesterday looking for suggestions on Body Protectors with lots of varying answers.

As i mentioned i have the opportunity of getting an exo at a very good price. Just wondered if any of you use one and what your exeperiences have been?

Thanks again.
 
You need to speak to Kerilli, she has one, she is at Burgie at the moment. She seems quite happy with hers.

See if you can have a try on & preferably a ride in one. I keep thinking there must be something wrong with them as they are so unpopular. They ARE very heavy but I believe that you dont feel the weight once they are on. It could just be because they have been very badly marketed (hardly marketed at all) but you hardly ever see one when you are at BE events. I dont think I have ever seen a 'top' rider wearing one.

I wear a Racesafe BP & a Point 2 Air Jacket
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Joss, have you had a fall in your Point2 yet? Not wishing you harm honest! Just wondered what it felt like and did you feel immobilised. I know that some pros have stated that they feel the Exo dangerous as they feel you cannot roll in it, but seeing a couple of riders 'inflate' at Badminton I wondered whether you would also be impeeded in a Point2?
Interested to hear your thoughts.....
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Ok, thanks.

From what i have read you have to let officials know you are going to be wearing one.
And they aren't endorsed by BE as they were deemed unsafe in terms of the length of time it takes to remove one. Mark Phillips also stated you can't roll in them.

Will have to roll around on the tack shop floor to test that one... lol. :-)

Definitely interested in the Point 2 system but its pricey. I guess you can put a price on safety!
 
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I appreciate riders wanting to roll away but in a rotational fall (I'm assuming that exo's have been designed with rotational falls in mind) surely riders just aren't able to roll away? The Flikr sequence of pics from Faith Cook's fall at Bramham show her landing on her head and then falling onto her back; at what point would a rider in that type of fall have the chance/wherewithall to roll away?

This isn't a "dig" at any of the replies, it's a genuine question that I'm interested in the answer to. Can/do riders really roll away from falls like that?

Do you think Exos are "unnecessary" at lower levels/schooling and perhaps something just needed when competing over bigger jumps?

Are the majority of rider fatalities when eventing caused by rotational falls? Would it be better to wear the exo and protect yourself from the possibility of a potential fatal fall and put up with being a little more uncomfortable and heavier alongwith the other negatives of the Exo?

I don't event and have a champion cobra body protector to wear while being bronced off my mare, just interested in views on the Exo. Thank you
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From what i have read you have to let officials know you are going to be wearing one.


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If I recall rightly from what I've read on here the EXO comes with allen keys to remove it (another function being you can remove front/sides and the back can be used as a spinal support?) but one girl went XC having removed the keys
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so that people couldn't remove the BP. From then on Secs have had to be notified as a precaution but if you leave the keys in your BP then there isn't an issue. That's my understanding of it anyway
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I do agree and think that in some cases you simply cannot role in time - everything happens so quickly. Im sure we have all been there and had these types of fall? And the exo is designed for rotational falls - the designer created it after witnessing a fatal rotational fall at an event.

I think the Exo has had a lack of marketing and this is the reason of its lack of popularity. I also thing is a matter of managing the change of the product - people normal resist change as a natural response. Maybe top riders dont have them as the company owning Exo dont offer sponsorship?

I am really keen to try one but need to find somewhere to go and try it on, I am not keen on internet ordering this type of kit.
 
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(another function being you can remove front/sides and the back can be used as a spinal support?) but one girl went XC having removed the keys
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so that people couldn't remove the BP. From then on Secs have had to be notified as a precaution but if you leave the keys in your BP then there isn't an issue. That's my understanding of it anyway
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I was also under the impression it could be used as spinal support - as isolating the movement of the casualty is of highest importance in spinal cases (being a first aider and all!). I am pretty sure its compatable with body boards, does anyone if this is correct?

if you have a spinal trama, like a head injury, you shouldnt be removing your gear until your with medical professionals.
 
ISZ - not yet
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& hopefully not for quite a while
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I did, however, try one out when I bought mine. It certainly held you fairly firmly but it didnt feel nearly as restrictive as I thought it was going to. I was a bit nervous of it 'going off' but it felt rather nice & secure although it doesnt happen quite so fast with their demonstrator model as it does in an actual situation.

I personally like the cushion effect of my racesafe & the point 2 rather than the totally rigid Exo. I dont really like to spend too long thinking about the effects of rotational fall. To enjoy eventing you need to have a little bit of the 'it wont happen to me' arrogant mindset. I wear what I find comfortable & consider safe
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''Do you think Exos are "unnecessary" at lower levels/schooling and perhaps something just needed when competing over bigger jumps?''
{Quote from TPO}

Anything can happen at any level, from a 2ft log on the floor, right up-to the biggest fence at a 4 star. As the people at lower levels are more inexperienced, they are probably more necessary at this level. Thats not necessarily true as anything can go wrong, or not go to plan for any individual and horse no matter what level they are competing at.

I think if your a bit on the edge abut getting an exo, I would go for a good quality body protector {eg: Rodney Powell} with a Point Two air jacket over the top.

x x x
 
Yes, they do come with allen keys and you must inform the Sectretary at a BE event if you're planning to wear one. Its then put out over our radio nets to emergency services, stewards etc when someone is about to go XC in an Exo. I have known people do Intro/PN (sorry BE90/100
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) wearing them.

The paramedics I've overheard did seem slightly concerned about the length of time it could take to remove one.
 
Well im going to try one on next week so very intrigued to see how it fits. Its being heavily discounted due to shop owner wanting rid of old stock.
It is probably ott for schooling/low level comps but if it feels comfortable and you have it then may as well wear it.

I like the idea of having a mouldable bp and/or Point 2 for schooling etc but until i have that lottery win i just can't afford everything. :-)
 
Lack of paramedic training in the removal in the Exo maybe? this could lead to the greater time to remove?

I think the mitigation ability of the Exo far out weighs alot of the concerns people have.

Gemma_31: where are you going to try one?
 
I work as a BE doctor. the worry is the taken time to remove them in an emergency to get access to the chest and also getting one off in someone with a suspected neck injury (i.e. anyone who doesn't get straight up). All emergency personnel have an allen key but you HAVE to notify the secretary when you pick your number up so the emergency services know the number of the competitor with one on. Also as well to let starter know when you put ypur number down for XC. I dont think the point two would be safe with an exo as there would be no give and you really wouldn't be able to breathe!!
 
"I dont think the point two would be safe with an exo as there would be no give and you really wouldn't be able to breathe!! "

The Exo would prevent the Point Two stopping you breathing, surely? The whole point is that you can't be crushed if you're wearing an Exo. If you had a Point Two on top it would be fairly pointless, I'd have thought. The Exo already distributes the impact so not sure what additional benefits the Point Two would add in combination.

For the OP - I will not be going XC again without an Exo. Having had a rotational fall, my experience was that there was absolutely no time or option to roll out of the way - just sheer luck that my horse landed next to me instead of on me.
 
Thankyou, interesting to hear your point of view.

I guess i thought the point of the exo was to negate a chance of trauma to the chest should you be involved in a rotational fall. And should you sustain a neck injury then during the time it would take to asess the condition/stabilise the neck, the exo would have been removed.

Would be interested to hear from anyone who has used one/been in this situation (god forbid). How long do they take to remove?

When you read how they have saved peoples lives im amazed the product wasn't/isn't more popular.
 
I now ride in an Exo having had a fall where the horse stood on me and I had internal injuries - I was very lucky but decided not to take any more chances and invested in an Exo.

It doesn't feel heavy or restrictive at all when I ride in it (it is properly fitted). I appreciate the concerns re taking it off in an accident, but the allen key is built in, and is obvious. I know it would take slightly more time to take off than a conventional BP, but imo the benefits of no crush injuries outweigh this.

And surely you would actually be more able to breath if you had a 2-point on as well as an Exo and the 2-point went off - the Exo wouldn't crush - unlike a normal BP!

I am competing at Intro and Novice, but it wouldn't matter if I went back to doing 2ft3, my accident happened at a step out of water which is only about 2ft high!!!
 
Given that for a rotational fall to happen the horse must hit the fence above the knee, and be going fast enough that sheer momentum causes the back end to go over the front, you'd have to either be on a v small horse or one with exceptional powers of stupidity with its legs to have a rotational over a 2ft log!

You cannot use a point two with an exo as there is not space for the point two to inflate under the exo.

The worry about getting to the chest is, IMO, nonsense given that the stuff between the cage of the exo is normal BP foam and therefore can easily be cut with sharp scissors such as those in any ambulance if the allen keys are taking too long. How can it possibly take longer to do that than to take off a normal BP? I am of course assuming you cannot do chest compressions through a normal BP.

I am confused about why paramedics feel they need to get to the chest given the way in which the exo mitigates for injury, but I understand it is a concern.

My personal feeling is that WoofWear have a lot to answer for by not promoting the product well enough, and BE have a hidden agenda with regards to their hatred of it - funny how they love the point-two which is used in conjunction with another BP. If you look at how many of their sponsors are BP manufacturers, and think about the effect if people took to the exo in the same way as the point-two and suddenly you can see why BE might be keen to dissuade people from using the exo.
 
Mmmm, I too have been baffled by BE's lack of support for the product
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However the marketing has been utterly rubbish. Do you remember the chap that came on here to explain why the design was being handed over - they simply couldn't get the support or backing to make the product profitable, such a shame! Yet it seems the situation is continuing
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Sorry to confuse, the only way a point two could stabilize you would be inside the exo, hence inability to breath, if it was on outside it would be un-able to splint as the exo is non deformable. I personally think an exo is the thing in a rotational fall, and have heard of a couple of riders having potentialy fatal falls and walking away. It doesn't support the neck though.
The exo cage would not let you have access by cutting through you have to remove the two bolts and then separate the halves the exo can hinge up by cutting through the side straps but you then have to separate to put a neck collar on.
The main problem is there hasn't been any training for medics by the makers that i've heard about. The emergency leaflet circulated with doctor packs isn't very informative. I think if the makers went round events demonstrating to the doctors how to get into them quickly, it would be much less of an issue.

I must stress these are only my personal opinions and not official thinking
 
just been sent link to this post, sorry for delay.
i've got an Exo, and once it's on and i'm riding, i totally forget it's there. the internal material harness holds it up off the shoulders, it doesn't feel heavy at all.
i spoke to someone who had a fall in hers and she thought it helped her roll, as it is hard on the outside and curved.
i was concerned about the weight before but then thought "get real", my life is more important than worrying about the weight. fwiw my mare didn't notice at all, i thought it might slow her down a bit but i swear she motored exactly the same.
because it stands off the body a little i actually found it cooler than my rp one (which i've had for years, i'm on my 2nd one)
re: getting them off in the event of a fall.
there was a long discussion about Exos last year on here (instigated by me i think!) and when this point came up, a BE paramedic stated that riders do not have heart attacks, that heart compression would be very very unlikely to need to be done on a rider. obviously with a neck injury though it would need to be possible to take it off.
Exos have 2 allen keys in them, the notices at BE events (which I consider scaremongering, but which WW said they were happy with) were, as said above, because some girl cut the flaps open and took both allen keys out of hers, then toddled off to a BE event with it... well, there's always one, isn't there?!
the back piece of the Exo is designed to be used as a 'backboard' to get someone to hospital, apparently.
having given it a lot of thought, i won't ride xc without mine now. I wear mine for worst-case scenario horse-onto-torso falls. For any other fall, which is hopefully unlikely to be life-threatening, I’ll probably still be able to roll, but even if I can’t, since I’m not a jockey trying to avoid 30 other horses piling over the fence behind me, I cannot really see the problem. I've been told of a trauma surgeon who knows a lot about chest compression injuries from rotational falls, and who bought one for his eventing daughter the moment they came onto the market.

fwiw, i've seen people in the Point2s so shocked when they go off (it really does take your breath away, plus the shock of the fall) that they lie or stand there like a scarecrow with limbs stuck out... not exactly conducive to being able to roll!
 
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