Thoughts about inflatable air vests?

[lonewolf]

I’ve seen more and more people buying those air vests that inflate when you fall, including some big-name riders.

However, when I started to do some research on them ahead of possibly purchasing one, I was a little concerned to learn that there don’t seem to be any independent studies that measure whether they are actually effective in preventing injuries. Am I wrong?

Am also interested in hearing people’s experiences with them. I would be more than happy to purchase one, but first I want to know there’s science behind them.

If there isn’t any, should it be the responsibility of governing organizations to step in and either carry out this research, push the companies to do so, or at least insist they shouldn’t be able to make unverified safety claims? This sport is too dangerous to mess around when it comes to safety.

[MHM]

I have read some online discussions that said the inflatable vests should be worn over the non-inflatable, more traditional vest. I believe that eventers are required to wear the traditional vest, and the inflatable vest on top is an option for them, not a requirement. I think there are also some newer vests that are a combination of both the traditional and inflatable.

If you do Facebook, this post is from a rider who got hurt while she was wearing an inflatable vest. There are lots (!) of comments on the post with quite a bit of information from different people.

Jen Bauersachs

[lonewolf]

Wow, very interesting FB thread, and raised some points I had not thought of.

[OnDeck]

The above scenario is a situation that eventers have been aware of for some time - the vest will do absolutely no good if you do not separate from the horse and the canister may even do harm. That’s part of the reason why eventers wear air vests over regular vests.

I recently did a bit of research (well, googling) on them. This article from USEF is interesting. https://www.usef.org/media/equestrian-weekly/equestrian-air-vests-what-you-need-to-know It says that air vests are designed to prevent crush injuries but does not offer “direct spinal protection”. In another article, an MD said that your spine moving on impact helps avoid injuries and he was worried landing with a rigid spine would increase injuries. It made me wonder, what would happen if you landed flat on your butt in an airvest? What kind of injury does that typically cause? Does your spine need room to move to absorb that kind of impact? Would the vest hinder you in this situation? I would love to see some studies to answer those questions.

Then I learned the vest deflates on its own. That makes it next to impossible to correctly stabilize a spinal fracture. That also make me nervous.

It seems that air vests would very likely protect against things like broken ribs, collapsed lungs, and major internal damage but the jury is still out on spine protection. Because those types of crush injuries are relatively rare in HJ as compared to spinal injuries, I do not think the benefits outweigh the risks at this point. I’ll wait for more research.

[Willesdon]

If you go onto the eventing pages, there is endless information and debate. That might be useful and provide the information you are after. Body protectors (the non-inflatable rigid vests) are tested against the BETA standard but air vests (inflatable ones) aren’t. Some people swear by air vests, others hiss and regard them as the invention if the devil. BETA makes a difference between the “passive protection” of the body protector - which is always there -and the “active protection” which works when a fall activates the air device. Body Protectors are compulsory in British Eventing competitions and air vests aren’t. Personal choice.

If you look at www.beta-uk.org there is information about testing there.

[Bogie]

Definitely, the jury is still out on air vests among the eventing community. I believe part of the issue is that they are just one more safety tool and people need to better understand their limitations and not assume they are now surrounded with bubble wrap. I know several people who wear the air vests (without the traditional vest) in the hunt field.

There have been some recently published studies. I wrote a blog post on this about a year ago. This is a quote from that post:

A study published in 2019, Do riders who wear an air jacket in equestrian eventing have reduced injury risk in falls? A retrospective data analysis revealed that between 2015 and 2017, 1819 riders fell wearing an air jacket and 1486 riders fell while not wearing an air jacket. Nylund categorised the injuries as either ‘no/slight injury’ (3203 riders) or ‘serious/fatal injury’ (102 riders). Statistical analysis of the data showed that the use of an air jacket was significantly associated with serious/fatal injuries in falls. Riders wearing an air jacket had 1.7 times (95%CI 1.14–2.64) increased odds of sustaining a serious or fatal injury in a fall compared to riders not wearing an air jacket.

Here’s a more recent article.

Study looks at effectiveness of air jackets | Horse & Country TV

[OnDeck]

I read that this increase might be because upper level riders are more likely to wear air vests and also more likely to have serious falls, not due to the air vest itself.

[MHM]

The other issue that came up on that Facebook thread is that with the vest inflated, it might be harder to scramble out of the way of the horse if the horse also ends up on the ground. So there are a lot of variables to consider.

[CindyCRNA]

They are fabulous! Watch Rolex. Most of the riders are wearing them.

[LSBC]

I actually saw someone (I can’t remember the name) and his horse go down in the CSI 3* on the grass yesterday at WEF. It might have been Eduardo Menezes. He was wearing an air vest, and just like Jen Bauersachs, the horse went down and he didn’t separate far enough from his saddle from the air vest to inflate. Obviously the camera panned away so I am sure it did inflate when the horse got up, but it definitely was not effective for the majority of the impact.

I definitely think a combination of tradition and inflatable would be best. I would be hugely concerned about going down with a horse and not getting far enough from the saddle to inflate the vest.

[Foitin]

So much good information here. Does anybody have a recommendation for a traditional vest that they like?

[horseshorseshorseshorses]

There are a ton of threads on the eventing forum but my personal favorite is Racesafe ProVent 3.0. You can get it in numerus size variations, it is a hard shell but has plenty of ventilation for hot days, is comfortable to wear and is BETA 2018 (Level 3) & EN13158:2018 (Level 3) protection certified. It has hard sides under the laces but is quite adjustable. I’m a smaller framed person and my vest fit my friend who is larger without any side gapping.

I personally will not buy a vest that isn’t at least BETA Level 3 certified. Unlike the popular models in the US this standard requires hard sides. A lot of riders swear by the comfort of the Tipperary vests that have side laces but often the way the vest lace up causes a gap in protection. There are lots of vest options out there and Tipperary also has vests that meet BETA standards.

As for air vests, until the science shows they are more effective and/or I’m jumping solid obstacles at a higher level I won’t buy one. When I hit Prelim I may just to make my mother happy. I will not wear my air vest without a hard vest under it just for the reason in the above facebook post above.

[horseshorseshorseshorses]

@Bogie

Here’s a more recent article.

Horse & Country TV – 30 Jun 20

Study looks at effectiveness of air jackets | Horse & Country TV

British Eventing has funded a study into the effectiveness of air jackets in the event of a riding fall. Fatalities The research calculated the risk of

That is a great read! Thank you.

[MHM]

I have not read the article yet, but the horse in the picture looks so annoyed about the whole situation. He looks like he is thinking,”You made me go all the way around this course and even made me get wet, and now you’re on the ground?? Come on, man.”

Edited to add: Ok, now that I’ve read the article, I’m glad I wasn’t there to see them doing the experiments with the crash test dummy. Eww.

[JenEM]

I think it’s great people are thinking more about their safety.

What I don’t get is why everyone is leaping immediately to the more expensive, untested, partially-studied air vests, when there are plenty of less expensive, safety-tested and approved vests out there.

[Redlei44]

Because we HJ riders are a very vain group The air vests are nearly invisible with a show coat, and most foam vests are. . . not.

When I shopped for a rated foam vest, I ended up selecting the lowest-profile one that fit properly. It was not the most ventilated one, which makes me very sad in the summer. But the combination of feeling the extra bulk under my arms and the Michelin man look of some of the best-ventilated ones was just not going to work for me!

[Foitin]

What vest did you settle on? Also trying to avoid the hulk look but still be protected after too many falls.

[BayAreaRider]

Someone mention about falling on your butt, neither a hard shell or air vest protects you from that kind of fall.

There is the Satra M38 equine air vest standard. To the best of my knowledge no national federation has accepted it the standard. There does not seem to be a rush from the equine community to set an air vest standard. We have 4 helmet standards that we all can’t agree on.

If you doubt air vest ability to protect you, just know that the top level motorcycle racing has made airvest mandatory since 2018. Different sport, but the physics are the same. Air vest cushion your fall.

Another thing I’m surprised that I don’t see more of is air vest manufacturers offering to service the vests. They have mechanical parts and plastic bladders. All should be checked yearly, but I’ve only seen one manufacturer offer any kind of service, Point Two.

I’ve had mine 3 years and have had a few unintended dismounts and have gotten up immediately after. Which says a lot cause I have a bad lower back and the last dismount before the air vest put me out for 3 weeks while my back healed. They are expensive, but then so was that trip to the hospital.

[MHM]

Just wanted to add this to the discussion for those who might be concerned about the appearance of a safety vest for competition. From the USEF rule book:

GR 801.4
Any exhibitor may wear protective headgear (ASTM/SEI) and/or a protective vest either body protecting or inflatable, specifically designed for use in equestrian sport in any division or class without penalty from the judge. The Federation recommends that the vest pass or surpass the current ASTM standard F1937 or be certified by the Safety Equipment Institute. For Eventing, inflatable vests are permitted only when worn over a body protecting vest.

[OnDeck]

@BayAreaRider

Someone mention about falling on your butt, neither a hard shell or air vest protects you from that kind of fall.

I was wondering if a vest would keep your spine so rigid it would increase injuries. Just a thought after I read that this is a possible concern without further research. I wouldn’t expect either type of vest to protect you.