Not true. My horse had no reaction to the pop and it was the first time,he’d been around it. How do I know? Because I owned him long before there were air vests.
I watched a vest go off the other day when someone came off a young green horse. There was absolutely no reaction from the horse.
I’ve seen horses have no reaction and I’ve seen horses spook and make a bad situation worse. Really just depends on the horse and the situation.
I was waiting by the in gate once when a rider decided to dismount but forgot to unhook her vest. The noise spooked her horse and the one next to her while she was mid-dismount, and she wound upon the ground between them. Luckily she didn’t get stepped on but it was close. Of the other horses around, a few reacted and a few didn’t.
This is why I’ve switched to helmets with soft or detachable brims. I love this feature on my Arro, no risk of overextending the neck if you hit face-first. I’ve only had it come into play for one fall so far but it saved my neck.
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