Horse &Hound reports this week that a new Standard for equestrian air vests is āin the pipelineā. The incoming standard features a combination of requirements, including inflation speed, maximum pressure, deflation rate, parts of the body it covers and lanyard length. This involves a complex table to take into consideration the differences between a child falling off a pony and an adult coming if an 18hh horse. The final draft has been submitted and it is expected that it will take two to three years to go through the consultation process, approval, publication and harmonisation process. Slower than one might wish but it involves a lot of stakeholders, from manufacturers to Governments. You Americans are also doing your own thing with the US Hunter Jumper Assoc and Virginia Tech Laboratories currently running a two year project on air vests. It wil be interesting to see the similarities and differences between the end results. All research is good.
But, for both body protectors and air vests, it is getting the correct fit for each person that matters and that requires educating riders.