Hit Air Saddle Straps

[DappleDown]

Are the saddle straps really necessary when using your Hit Air? Speaking to a few people who wear air jackets, they just attach the lanyard to one of their D Rings. Any reason for not doing this?

One or two people with Hit Air's didn't get the saddle strap when they bought them, and one that did buy it afterwards doesn't seem to bother with it. Maybe it is because they change saddles and just can't be doing with a regular saddle strap swap over. I don't know.

Also, I see Hit Air have a new Lanyard/Saddle Strap that clips. Is it worth changing over to that style?

Your views please. Thanks.

 

[Wheels]

Not all d rings are created equal - depending how they are attached they can pull out with enough force which may be more or less than the force required to set off the air jacket.

 

[Shay]

If you clip on to a D ring the distance for activation will be shorter one side than the other. Depending on the length of your lanyard that could result in activation either before you have fully left the saddle if you are going one way, or potentially too late if you are going the other? But I guess it depends on the height of the horse and the length of the lanyard? Also might it be more difficult to unclip if you are getting off and on a bit? I use helite personally - but the imbalance in the activation time would bother me. The saddle straps are not expensive and allow the device to function as it was designed so for me I would always use them. We change saddles - and horses - a lot. I just bought spare straps so there is one on each saddle.

Edited to add - fair point wheels! If the D ring pulls free too quickly the device will not deploy at all.

 

[cavalo branco]

Perhaps they have changed the design but my lanyard ends in a loop that wouldn't go through a D ring. For all the reasons above I'd stick to a saddle strap!

 

[FfionWinnie]

Why pay 400 quid for a safety device and risk it not going off or damaging your saddle with incorrect use.

I've got both types of attachment and I wouldn't get the new kind for no reason. We have one on each saddle otherwise it's a faff to change.

 

[DappleDown]

Thanks all. Pretty much what I thought.
Very good point about the D ring pulling free.

 

[buddylove]

I use the newer style saddle strap - I don't change saddles, so I find it really easy just to clip it in, when I remember!!

 

[Identityincrisis]

You should never attach the saddle strap or the lanyard to the D rings (Hit Air specify this) as the D rings are just not strong enough and will rip out rather than activate the air jacket

 

[dixie]

I've attach mine to a D ring when riding my mothers horse occasionally and it does work (as I found out with a dirty stop) but I would much prefer to attach it to the proper strap - it was also difficult to clip and un-clip as it sits much closer to the saddle, so I found it very fiddly. I also found it sits awkwardly to one side. I would much prefer a proper saddle strap.

 

[Birker2020]

Why pay 400 quid for a safety device and risk it not going off or damaging your saddle with incorrect use.

I've got both types of attachment and I wouldn't get the new kind for no reason. We have one on each saddle otherwise it's a faff to change.

I have one for each saddle, like FW says its too much of a faf to keep swapping them over. You should make sure that the saddle strap goes on the stirrup bar BEFORE the stirrup leathers are on or they will result in the leathers not coming off should you get dragged. This is very important as I know a lot of people just whip them on either side to the bars without even taking this into consideration.

 

[ycbm]

I found that they block the short stirrup bars on a WOW saddle, so I use Kevlar string instead, looped around the stirrup bars just like the strap.

If you take saddles apart, most D rings are only stapled on with a couple of staples.

 

[Wheels]

You can request wow saddles with an air jacket D which are suitably strong to attach an air jacket to

 

[cremedemonthe]

Thanks all. Pretty much what I thought.
Very good point about the D ring pulling free.

There's 2 sorts of fittings for attachments, often on the same saddle, first are proper dee rings which are held on the the tree with tacks and a piece of panel hide wrapped round it and it will give/break if pulled hard enough.
The second variety are actually called fall down staples and are not technically dee rings. Fall down staples have a body of attachment (the staple part) that goes through the tree and is turned out flat against the tree to secure it (like you would use a split pin), hence the term staples, these would be almost impossible to pull out under normal circumstances and the top part of the staple itself (eye) which is cast, would break before it pulled up through the tree.

 

[LeannePip]

Why do you not want to use the strap though? It's barely an inconvinience to attach to there rather than a d-ring.

Perhaps they have changed the design but my lanyard ends in a loop that wouldn't go through a D ring. For all the reasons above I'd stick to a saddle strap!

Same here!