Who Does/Doesn't Wear Body Protector and Why

devilwoman

devilwoman

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Had a "discussion" with hubby this afternoon who says that unless I buy and WEAR a body protector he will not let me ride my mare again !!, of course I argued the toss with im but as i'm still broken from my fall last weekend i'm kind of guessing he may be right :mad:

I've never worn a body protector ever, although always made my son wear one, they always look uncomfortable to ride in, just wondered if the majority does wear them or if there are more like me who just don't and never have ?

Also, can anyone reccomend one that doesn't restrict movement and are comfortable to wear ? thanks ;)
 
Mine stopped me from being paralysed from a fall last year - broke my back when I landed on my feet (from above a jump), then went flying across the school surface. If I hadn't had the BP on, as my back was broken by then, I would have been paralysed from the waist down.

D1 wears a Kanteq and loves it :D. She actually forgets she has it on :D :D

I'll get a Kanteq as well, when there is less of me :cool:
 
I don't and would only wear one for XC.
Otherwise I've never felt the need, I ride my own horses, so H&S is my own concern. I feel safer riding without being restricted and even when one was rodeo-ing across a meadow the other day, I personally didn't feel the need. For me, its more important to learn how to be fluid in the saddle and keep glued on and if the worst happens, how to fall.

I always wear a hat though.
 
i didnt until i fell off and it hurt and now i do!! wish i had got one beforehand!

they do take some 'wearing-in' but once thay have molded to your shape they arent that uncomfortable
 
I have had one for the last few years and have been at a yard where i had to wear one. Mine is a racesafe and I find it very comfortable and totally foget I'm wearing it. I use it for everything and everytime i ride and only very rarely i dont wear it.

Reason being that it just isnt worth the risk to injure myself and that anything that helps to keep you safe is worth it. :)
 
horserider said:
I don't and would only wear one for XC.
Otherwise I've never felt the need, I ride my own horses, so H&S is my own concern. I feel safer riding without being restricted and even when one was rodeo-ing across a meadow the other day, I personally didn't feel the need. For me, its more important to learn how to be fluid in the saddle and keep glued on and if the worst happens, how to fall.

I always wear a hat though.
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Same here, I mainly school and dressage my horses, you cannot get the subtleness in a body protector, if I cross countried then I would use one.
 
I don't wear one unless I have to XC but I have bought a Racesafe one and its so comfy compared to my old one. Sort of made of segments so moves with you and doesn't feel so restrictive.
 
I also only wear my racesafe for XC and hunting.
Never bother anymore for hacking or SJ as I get quite hot in it and find it a bit restricting, although its miles better than the one I had before.
When I eventually get around to buying one of these inflatable jackets I may wear thatt more.
 
After buying mine last year, I vowed I would wear it at all times; the first time I wore it I was in an accident on the road, and had I not been wearing it, I think I'd have come off a lot worse. However, my vow has slipped a bit - I tend to wear it if I'm thinking of jumping round the farm, but really I only use it for XC.

I agree with the poster who said it is important to be able to move with the horse; BPs can be restrictive, and there's many a time when I was younger that I think I'd have stayed in the plate had I NOT been wearing a BP - they definitely affect your flexibility. However, I love my Racesafe, and having owned several over the years (Rodney Powell, Airowear, Jack Ellis), the Racesafe is the only one that I am actually happy to wear without feeling too restricted :)
 
My hubbies the same but hes only concerned. I only wear mine for xc, funrides and hunting. I fell during a funride and had a severe case of concusion, my mare kicked my chest by accident when i landed on the floor and if i didnt have it on i would have had broken a few broken bones.
 
I used to, but don't now. I am large and old (!) and found it terribly restricting though it is technically the correct size - had it professionally fitted etc. I felt totally trapped in it, and like a large boiled lobster. LDRs were a misery and I once fainted from the heat in it as I finished. As someone else has said, you seem to lose all fluidity as wel., and things like turning right round in the saddle to check for traffic, fellow riders etc. is almost impossible.

I've only had 2 accidents in the last 20+ years, thank God - one time I was wearing the protector, the other I wasn't. The worst pain in the first accident was when they had to get me out of the blinking protector at the hospital!!

But I am aware of the risks, and know it will my own fault, and only mine, if I do injure my back. Perhaps I ought to give it another try, but I'd need to lose a stone or two first.
 
I only war mine when xc, but I would also wearing it jumping if I had a race safe. But can't afford one. I have had mine for year and it has still no moulded to me, ver annoying.
 
If you have insurance and you have an accident riding you aren't covered unless you are wearing the correct protection: hat and BP.

I always wear mine on a horse I don't know and always jumping. The only time I sometimes don't wear it is hacking my pony. We have had him for just shy of 5 years and no-one has ever come off him hacking and he has been hacked by a 4 year old :) Also I only tend not to wear it if it is hot, and then he is especially lethargic so even less likely to be naughty! I know you can't 100% be sure but I do trust him however on my new horse he very sharp so I always wear it.
 
I have to wear one for work HRA rules. However I went for a non race safe one as they looked flimsey so I went for one I could go to a war zone in and I had it fitted. I cant get on or off with it done up even off a mounting block LOL. Had a bad fall last year from a friends horse not wearing it and wished I had. I should wear it at all times but it is too hot to school in. I do wear it on fun rides (with some innocent passer by helping me scramble up on my mare then holding on to her when I do it up!):D
 
I now wear mine due to previous back injury that a BP may or may not have helped with in the past :)

They are only uncomfortable when they first go on after that you foprget your wearing it :)
 
I never wear one now I've sold the horse that reared, bucked and was a nightmare in traffic! I've never fallen off my old horse (had 6 yrs) and feel 100% safe on him, he's bombproof apart from when hunting and I wouldn't be seen in one whilst out hunting TBH. The one I have was about £100, was told it's the best but it chaffes (sp?) me under my arms even though it was fitted in a speciality shop.

I guess it's a very personal thing. If I rode a new horse, I'd wear it, but I think it makes me nervous just putting it on, almost like i'm 'expecting' to fall off. I am blonde so if that thinking is bonkers then so be it, but it is what I feel.
 
I wear one on our homebred, who we've just backed, but not on my old boy.

My OH was of the opinion that it simply wasn't necessary, until I pointed out that we are self employed, and if I get broken, we have to employ more staff! I bought a Kanteq, I am a size 14 and have the largest size Kanteq, and I love it. It's also great that it doesn't have to be discarded after a fall. I had it professionally fitted, tried other types but they rode up, pushing against my throat and leaving a huge gap under my bust. Didn't even try the Racesafe, to me they look flimsy. I don't rush to take it off after I've ridden, and only occasionally does it catch on the cantle of my Wintec 500. I wear it every time I ride the four year old, it's just part of my kit along with a good hat, hi viz and a neck strap!
 
Don't usually but after falling off youngster today jumping him for the first time i think i may invest in one as my back is killing me lol
 
I have to wear one at work and it's a Racesafe one - about as much use as a cardboard box but it is very flexible and you forget you are wearing it most of the time, except in winter when you are glad of the extra layer on!

When I ride my own horses I never wear one as I find, even in the Racesafe one, I am forced into a position I am not used to schooling in. I break and school my own horses and could think of nothing worse than not having the felixbility in my body to twist and bend round the bucks and the shies. I don't even wear one jumping but I rarely jump so it's not a bother.
 
On my pony I only wear one for cross country and hunting. But on my new horse I wear one hacking and for all jumping I do. Partially because I don't know him well yet, so I don't know how he reacts to certain situations so would rather be safe than sorry! Also he is only 6 and can be quite green&spooky, and wearing one makes me feel more secure and confident :) I have an airowear level 3 ( not sure of design name) and it's very comfy and lightweight, so I can wear it over and under jackets :D my sister has a Rodney Powell with some snazzy memory foam, and she says although it's a bit stiff when you first put it on, once the foam warms up& moulds to the shape of your body it's really comfy! :) so I may invest in one of those :)
 
I don't wear one on my cob as he rarely goes XC (too scary :rolleyes:) and out mock hunting he is so well mannered so never feel the need.
I wear one on everything else as I got into the habit when breaking in 2 racehorses earlier this year.

I also have a racesafe and utterly love it, it's very comfortable.
 
I've started wearing one in the last few months as I brought my ex-racer who was totally unknown to me into work. I only wore it for hacking originally, but I now wear it for schooling as she started doing some airs above ground a couple of weeks ago when I wasn't wearing it and it made me realise that if she had decked me and I had been hurt it would have been my own fault for not wearing the BP. It's a racesafe 2010 one and I forget I'm wearing it. I often muck out and feed etc in it after riding as I forget it's on!
I don't wear it when I'm riding my gelding though, but I've owned him 10 years and I only do a bit of schooling and hacking a couple of times a week with him. I know him well enough to know what he is going to do and when, although if I was doing any jumping with him then I would put it on. I can't see the point of having a fall and being seriously injured when it could so easily be preventable.
 
I'v never worn one. Quite ashamed actually at that fact! My two are both lively chaps too. The only reason I don't is because I haven't got around to buying one!! There's always something else for the horses that takes priority! I'v had a few friends who've died from falls riding so I should know better. You've actually made me put it top of the list for my birthday next month!!
 
I have a properly fitted airowear one, but due to my generous bust have the largest they make :o . It rides up under my chin, and sometimes catches the cantle, and I struggle to mount and dismount wearing it. It is not uncomfortable as such, and I do make the effort to wear it for jumping lessons and xc. However, as others have said, I feel that for normal riding it is far too restrictive, and actually unbalances me. Interestingly, the only times I have fallen off have been in lessons while wearing it, and I was surprised that I didn't manage to stay on. I do jump occasionally without it at the end of flatwork, or hacking, and usually feel much more relaxed and balanced. So I am not convinced of the benefits.

At the end of the day, I wear it so my family can't say 'if only you had been wearing your bp'.
 
I think most of these posts make the point it is habit. I have made an absolute habit of putting mine on - rather like putting on a seat belt every you get in a car.

Thing is, if I fell off it would be poor OH and other animals who would suffer and couldn't cope with that if it was through my vanity of being too proud to wear one.
 
I don't wear one. I did wear one a few times but I found I couldn't move in it and found it very uncomfortable so sold it. It was fitted by a tack shop person.

I think I probably should wear one as being a bus pass holder wouldn't bounce! I do mostly hack so if I came off would probably be on the road.

Jane
 
Once you've worn it a few times you will instinctively put it on and forget you're wearing it. Get yourself to a well stocked tack shop with loads of different ones, get fitted and see what is most comfortable.
If you find your BP restrictive then it's not the one for you.

My BP has saved me on a good few occasions, doesn't feel uncomfortable and it's just habit to put it on.
 
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