Body Protectors on Children?

Nat owns one but I have my head down over this one in shame - I have to confess that she is not made to wear it. She hates it too but does wear it for pony club as everyone else does and I wont let her jump or do pole work without it.
I am not a good example as never wear one except for XC (which is a rarity) and she would have every right to turn round and say why should she if I dont (the shame)
As far as hats go, I would go mental if she ever thought she could get on without one and she knows I always wear one and so we dont have the same potential issue.
Saying all this, she is only just off the lead rein and only canters with someone next to her. When we are careering around upping a pace, my nerves may not handle her not wearing it:eek:
 
My 11 year old daughter also refused to wear hers untill a 13 year girl on our yard fell off her pony and the horse trod on her chest and burst her lung we all thought she was going to die it was a terrible experience and ia would not let my child ride if she didnt wear hers
 
My 4 year old wears one and i tell her no body protector no riding. Although she only walks and trots I bought one for her after reading a letter in a magazine. A 4 year old rider fell off and was trampled by the pony. I cant remember the outcome but after reading this i felt that i had to do everything i could to protect her from any circumstance. I believe that if you learn in a body protector it will become the normal way for her to ride. I think that RS should enforce all children to wear body protectors as they do with riding hats.
 
Nimbus65 said:
Colour me irresponsible, but neither of mine (12 and 10) have ever ridden in a body protector unless they were jumping. They've had multiple falls on the flat and, other than being winded or having a sore bottom, are never the worse for wear. The worst injury any of the girls who ride with them has sustained was a broken forearm - which a body protector did nothing to stop.

When they are hooning around over cross country fences or jumping anything higher than a cross pole then they know they MUST wear a body protector or they cannot ride. On the flat, it's up to them . . . and they both choose not to.

Incidentally, I don't ride in a body protector unless I'm jumping either. Having fallen off both with and without a body protector on, I can honestly say that I felt like the body protector impeded my ability to fall "properly." Plus, I don't jump any more . . . ;)

N
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Totally agree with you, body protector dont stop broken arms as you say, or legs either, but the purpose of a body protector is to help stop your lungs, heart, ribs which could punction your lungs, liver, stomach from getting hurt which can put your life in danger, having said that, its not 100%, but they are there to reduce those kind of injuries. While I have fallen off a few times, and had two bad falls from jumping, all without a body protector, I am glad I have found a body protector that suits me, so light and so comfortable after trying so many on :rolleyes:, I wont always wear it for flatwork, but I will when jumping or hacking out. As for a child, I have a teenage that does a danger sport, hes not allowed to without his protector that many dont wear and thus have saved him from major injuries. Each to our own.
 
mine is 6 and we have a 7 year old and an 8 year old (plus a 5 year old who is 6 on Monday) on our yard and its simple - no BP no pony

They all own their pony's and they just don't get on without them

There is no discussion and no argument, they just put them on and that's that


The reason is simple - they are tiny and if the horse steps on them when the fall off the BP makes a HUGE difference!

Mine has been stood on and her BP literally saved her from serious injury. Everyone was screaming as she fell off and another pony was cantering and stepped on her -she was 100% fine but if she hadn't had the BP on - well, a different story it would have been
 
Hi one and all!

New here, but found your post when doing a search to see if anybody had asked my question before. Just thought I'd chip in my two cents:

I think it's important fro you daughter to wear a BP as they save you ALOT of grief...! Having read some of the posts tho I'm a bit confused why some of you insist your daughters/sons wear a BP but dont do so yourself: when i was their age (not so long ago thankyou!) I hated people being hypocritical making me do stuff that they wherent prepared to do themselves!

If you want your kid to wear a BP you should be prepared to do the same yourself - lead by example!!!
 
jsouthfield said:
Hi one and all!

I think it's important fro you daughter to wear a BP as they save you ALOT of grief...! Having read some of the posts tho I'm a bit confused why some of you insist your daughters/sons wear a BP but dont do so yourself: when i was their age (not so long ago thankyou!) I hated people being hypocritical making me do stuff that they wherent prepared to do themselves!

If you want your kid to wear a BP you should be prepared to do the same yourself - lead by example!!!
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I'm inclined to agree, southfield. If you think it's that important, you should be wearing one too. I would never dream of riding without a hat - and neither would my children.

But in my daughter's pony club days, body protectors weren't as widely worn as they are not. They were compulsory for jumping, not worn otherwise. So that's what she did. ...
 
luckily my daughter always wore hers when she was younger, i think in her peer group of stable girls it was a "real rider" kind of thing maybe.

She is still pretty sensible about it at 16, if she's on our young 'un Bella she ALWAYS wears it, when she's on Solo she wears it for shows/jumping etc.

Of course as a mum, I wish she would wear a suit of kevlar armour and that the ground were made of marshmellows and jumps made of pillows etc :)
 
Caitriona was encouraged to wear hers as a youngster, she did, mostly without complaint.

She has had the choice now for about 2 years and rarely wears it for flatwork (unless on an unfamiliar horse) but almost always for jumping and hacking.
 
My RI's daughter had been riding on her since 2 years old and had never worn a BP until she was 7, she wore one and fell off cos she could not balance with it on. However, she now wears one SOME of the time, i.e out hunting.

I never wear mine unless i'm riding Gem and even with Gem i've slackened off wearing it.

If i wear it i land on my bum and wind myself and hurt my back, or land on my head and get whip-lash, if i'm not - i land on my back or feet, and if i land on my back i very RARELY wind myself and the most damage is a few scrapes or so, that's why i don't wear mine. I think i have more problems with it because it makes it harder for me to turn when i fall and harder to bend when jumping etc.

x
 
CurlyWurlyRach said:
I hate my BP so I don't wear it. I have almost saved enough to buy a racesafe one thats made to measure and i fully intend to wear that.
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:)Thats the one I have got, wouldnt be without, you have so much more freedom of movement too, unlike the other BP's. Well worth the money. And they are so light too. I can say I was getting upset trying so many BP's on, until someone recommoned the racesafe one, got fully fitted out for it, and hey, never looked back since. Hope you get it soon. :)
 
Sadly we have to wear them at our RS, but I don't bother wearing it when riding friends horses/ponies. I've fallen off many, many times wearing no body protector and have never injured my rib or back area (touch wood!). I always damage my limbs and body protector doesn't protect legs/arms.

I bought my first body protector online and it was v uncomfy.
I had my second body protector fitted at a tack shop, find it much more comfy and sometimes forget I'm wearing it (until I try and move)
 
To my mind the main factor is money.
Taking very small children for a pony ride at our RS, they hired a hat, wore heeled shoes and had an adult walking alongside. It was a holiday treat.
As a Granny I gave it them for fun.
A body protector has to be properly fitted, so no bp.

Then when she was 5 and trotting on the lunge in the school and I saw the horse spook, it was time to take action and kit her out properly. Their mother is terrified of horses. And if I take someone else's child riding, I am exposing them to a risk activity and it is a different level of responsibility.

Yes, the child was proud to copy me and be fitted out at the same shop for the same quality bp that I wear. But I spent about £140 - jods, boots, hat and bp for a single pony ride, after which the child decided she wouldnt ride again. I wondered whether it was the kit and bp that put her off.

A year went by before she suddenly aged 6, rising 7, asked to ride again and to ride often. Making the money well spent. Everything still fits except the boots.

There is always a common theme to these threads on bps. A bp that doesnt fit is downright dangerous. Those that dislike them tend to have ones that are out of date, of poor design or have not been properly fitted.

It is no different for kids. I expect obedience but, if I had a grand child who objected to wearing one, I wouldnt order it to be worn; instead I would have a good look to see where the bp is restricting or slipping on the child and, if necessary, get her new one.

Those of us with pricey, well fitted, state of the art BPs wear them with no bother, and my grand daughter takes hers for granted too.
 
I always insisted when Nat was younger that she wore one when she was riding, and saw it as giving a good example to wear one myself at all times (apart from flatwork in the school) as well. It's just a good habit now, and she's certainly benefitted from wearing on several occasions.

I would certainly take the line that no BP = No riding with a 7 year old, especially out and about.
 
My girls are 6 and 9 yrs, they both have to wear a bp, or they don't ride ! Simple. As for me NO, I don't wear one, personal choice, and as I am an adult , one I feel that I can make ! I don't see it as hypercritical, I can also go out and have wayyyyyy toooooo much to drink at the week-end, but strangely won't let my kids do the same, it's just being a good parent and looking out for them. As for everyone that say's I don't need one, let's just hope that they are not the famous last words !
 
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