I landed almost directly on my back and broke it and was still able to roll over. Thankfully my horse had the sense to not step on me, but with a broken back I was still able to be mobile. I just then couldn’t stand up, but that wasn’t because of the vest The vest deflates very quickly, probably for that exact reason.
Not trying to disprove anyone or argue, just sharing my experience. I wish I could ride without a vest and didn’t feel like I’ll break something if I ever fell again. It has given me my confidence back after that fall and has made me believe in them. I’ll never judge someone for not wearing one, but if people are on the fence I’m happy to share my story.
“However, you do not have to attend every argument you get invited to LOL!!!”
That’s a brilliant observation. Thanks so much! I plan to write it down next to the computer, on my checklist of things to remember before ever posting anything; right next to Occam’s Razor.
I see a fair number in the hunt field too. An air vest over a black hunting coat is not that noticeable. Some people also wear the Tipperary-type foam vests under their hunt coats, that’s pretty much invisible.
A fox hunting friend has a horrific wreck yesterday; a vest would have prevented a lot of her injuries.
I used to wear a standard vest every single ride, following a devastating fall onto a ground line when my horse exited stage right at an oxer in a line. It took 9 months of healing and PT to get me back in the saddle and ortho/neuro docs all suggested a vest if/when I rode again. They are hot and so obvious, but I showed to great success in mine. As to ‘risk behavior’: I certainly wasn’t MORE risky wearing mine. Instead, it allowed my anxiety and fear to be controlled enough to ride comfortably again. I came off three times while wearing it. I absolutely agree that it lessened the bruising, body soreness and potential broken bones. I was never hurt significantly in it during a fall.
I am older, diagnosed with osteoporosis now and am reading this thread with great interest as I’m seriously contemplating an air vest purchase. I do see adults (older mostly) wearing them more and more. Just like better helmets, it takes time for safety gear to become normalized. I foresee a time when most everyone will choose a vest of some sort to ride in.
A couple of years ago when the air vests were first starting to become a more common sight, I was really surprised to attend a show and see so many little kids wearing them. I mean, tiny kids on small and medium ponies, so no older than 12 or 14, if that.
When I was that age, it certainly never would have occurred to me to do something like that, so I’m sure it was due to the concerns of their parents. But if it made the parents more comfortable with the idea of the kids participating in the sport, why not?
I did sort of wonder how many times the kids forgot to unclip the vest before they got off, just because they were so young. I’m guessing the number of spare air cartridges you buy at a time could be related to how young the rider is. Lol.
Regarding risk management. Within the last couple of years, I saw a Facebook post from somebody who was a very, very famous and successful event rider back in the day. And she was talking about a time when she was in England getting ready to do one of the top events there, and she was on her horse out in the countryside, and she saw something off in the distance that she thought was very possibly going to set him off. I forget if it was a noisy truck headed her way, or a herd of cows, or what.
But she said she decided to get off and just lead him past the spooky thing, and then get back on and continue with her day. And I remember thinking that if she would do that in her situation as she was training to go gallop cross country over solid jumps at one of the toughest events in the world, that gave everybody else permission to be a little more cautious when they had that feeling that the horse might need an extra five minutes on the lunge line or whatever.
That has crossed my mind a few times at relevant moments since then. Lol.
I will add a comment re. inflatable vs traditional foam.
In a showing context, it probably doesn’t matter too much, 'cause (I assume) you can take off your helmet and vest while you wait for your turn to come up again or whatever.
However, for recreational riders, where you might plan on spending a good part of a nice Summer day out and about with your horse, a foam vest is torturous because they retain body heat, and don’t breathe to any significant degree. “They’re Sweaty-Hot.”
And I want to stop for a second, and say “Thanks!” to the good people at the local Dover Saddlery store for letting me check out various vests to try them out on trail rides. I tried most of the ones they had in stock over the course of a couple of months.
Um, none of the foam vests were usable on a warm day for longer than maybe 1/2 hour before they became unbearable, and had to come off. This obviously, specifically for me, on my horse/mule, walk/trot/canter, mostly on Openspace park trails, so YMMV.
The HitAir vest (also sourced from Dover, BTW), is barely noticeable, even on a hot day. Same caveat as above. 2X more $$$; yes it was, and it’s kinda ugly if that matters to you.
But for me, it was the inflatable vest, or no vest at all and I fully expect that most recreational riders will probably find this to be the case when Butt meets Saddle. But try a few out by all means. If you have a nearby Dover store, they will allow you to try them out, and return them if unsuitable.
In the long run, it’s your choice, but having something that you never use because it’s uncomfortable really isn’t a wise choice . . .
I wear a foam protective vest and have every ride for the last 6 years or so. I ride about 4 times a week, and I mostly ride in an outdoor ring (dressage) or on an occasional trail ride.
I got used to it quickly. It now would feel weird not to have it on. Massachusetts summers are pretty hot and humid (although not by southern states’ standards), but I don’t find that the idea of wearing the vest has been off-putting.
My reason for wearing a foam vest rather than an air-vest had to do with the relative lack of safety testing for air-vests.
I haven’t had very many falls in the last couple of decades or so, and increasingly, because I’m not that easy to unseat, the falls I do have are horse falls where the vest would not be likely to deploy until after the impact and I need to be mobile to get out of the way of rolling horse and/or scrambling feet.
I don’t wear a vest currently, but if I were to go that route, I’d choose a hard body protector. Probably would have saved me from some broken ribs once where horse went down out on an easy hack before either of us knew what happened. My helmet also did an excellent job in that particular fall.
In my most recent fall, and air vest would likely have kept me trapped much longer. Horse face planted after a jump, rolled on me, and then in trying to help us both, he rolled the other way, but I was not able to pull myself free. My legs were still pinned under and now he was trying to figure out how to get his footing without standing up on my back or head. He squirmed and rolled back and forth just enough I jerked free and ran out of there. Then he got up. While it was very scary feeling him place a foot on me periodically only to thankfully realize it wasn’t ground and to not stand but try again to find ground, I would have been less mobile with an air vest on which would not have deployed until he rolled off of me, as I was not separated from him enough until that moment. I did walk away from that with just a small scratch on my elbow and some bruises.
Several people in our hunt wear them. I have a Tipperary Vest and wear that but haven’t gone the air vest route yet. I’m considering it, as I feel more more vulnerable as I age, but given the cost and the lack of research, I’ve been holding off.
As an ammy who likes a hotter ride, and owns just that , I wear mine 24/7! I’ve taken too many falls without one to not wear it. I was popped off while trying horses (and wearing my vest), and what would have been a nasty fall was prevented by my air vest inflating. I deflated it, put a new cartridge in, and got right back on.
I know there are riders out there who are adamantly opposed, and I completely respect that. That said, it works great for me and is worth every penny!
I wore my tipperary under my hunt coat when I hunted with a stock tie you couldn’t see it at all I was the only one wearing a vest but found it created more interest than disdain, I moved so no longer hunt but still follow the hunt I rode with and I do see quite a few air vests and regular vests over top of hunt coats now
I wear either my Helite or Hit-Air every single time I swing a leg over a horse without exception. I have a super rare bone marrow disease called Systemic Mastocytosis which basically means that my body makes lots of abnormal mast cells that hang out in organs where they don’t belong. Mast cells are a really important part of the immune system and are the cells that degranulate and cause allergy symptoms when exposed to histamine or trauma. In my case, it takes a very, very small dose of histamine or a relatively small amount of trauma to trigger anaphylaxis. Prior to my air vests, I anaphylaxed frequently when I fell because the impact of my body hitting the ground was enough trauma to cause massive degranulation. I’ve now fallen with my vests and had no issues because the vest was absorbent enough to minimize the trauma and kept me from anaphylaxing. So for my particular situation, they are one of the best things that’s ever happened to my riding!!
Friends, an inflatable safety vest is simply a wearable air-bag. It can prevent injury in a fall; your neck, spine, hips, ribs and internals. And it can, and will save you from the pain associated with an awkward landing; I think that is fairly obvious just from stories in this thread.
However, as in most things in life, there are no guarantees.
So wear one, wear a traditional foam one, or don’t wear one at all. Unless the rules of your game require one, nobody cares one way or the other, and it’s kind of pointless to argue about it.
Horses are dangerous animals, and if you choose to associate with them, you will be pushed around, knocked to the ground, bitten, kicked, stepped on, slammed into things, and tossed to the ground from a not-inconsiderable height. “Safety” would dictate staying on the other side of the fence. Does that consideration deter you? I didn’t think so. Do you ride buck-naked? I doubt it. Wear whatever makes you feel comfortable being astride your Equine friend, including a safety vest if it seems prudent. To you. It’s your call.
I don’t think anyone is arguing, at least on this thread. I’ve read each and every comment on this thread because as strongly as I believe mine saved my back from a worse break and possibly even my legs, I don’t know for absolute certain. And I want to hear every single anecdotal piece of evidence to the contrary. As much as it pains to me to hear people’s stories of their horse landing on top of them (my personal worst riding nightmare), it is a reality we face and something to think about when putting the vest on.
I truly trust my horse with my life every time I get on, but that’s not to say she doesn’t make any mistakes. At the end of the day we are all just trying to have fun on our 1200lb flighty partners and stay safe while doing so.
I’m also older…61, who is seriously heat intolerant. When showing in weather greater than 75-ish, I wet my mesh coats before class. I have ridden with ice packs even. So… weighing risks…. What are the coolest vests? Experience of other severely heat intolerant gals !!!
I don’t see anyone arguing. My initial question was were there anymore conclusive evidence that the airvests were worth the investments. Although anecdotes and personal stories do help, they aren’t conclusive data. Regardless, I do appreciate everyone’s answers.
I just want to make sure that before I shell out over $1000, there’s conclusive data ( I’m a sciencey person!) that I’m not paying that much just to save a few bruises. I don’t care about the aesthetic or anything like that- just that the cost is justifiable.
The vest deflates very quickly, probably for that exact reason.