From the short stirrup ring to the grand prix stadium, safety air vests have become one of the most popular and habitually worn riding garments. In one of the most–if not the most–dangerous sports, safety always hovers at the front of every rider’s mind.
But are air vests the safest choice for every rider?
Dr. Sara Gould is the director of sports medicine at the University of Florida and is based out of the World Equestrian Center—Ocala (Florida) and one author of a scientific paper analyzing the benefits and risks of using protective vests titled “Airbag Vests in Equestrian Sports: Is Use Associated with Harm?”
The Plaid Horse spoke with Dr. Gould on some of the main points of the study and its significance:
TPH: “In your own words, can you tell us about the importance of this topic and what the white paper covers?”
Dr. Gould: “This paper critically examines and summarizes the existing research on airbag vests in equestrian sports. We describe laboratory-based studies as well as retrospective analyses that were conducted across a range of levels, all the way up to FEI level competitions.
The majority of the authors are not only physicians and scientists, but also equestrians themselves, which gave us critical insight into the equipment and its function in the sport.”
TPH: “What are some key points you want readers to take away?”
Dr. Gould: “Airbag vests did not demonstrate benefit in any of the observational studies we analyzed. In fact, multiple studies reported increased risk of harm associated with use.
We have several hypotheses about why this might be the case including:
- Risk of late airbag inflation during a combined horse and rider fall, such that the late deflation of the airbag vest causes additional impact
- Decreased ability to perform tuck and roll maneuvers on impact
- The lanyard attachment may actually prevent a normal fall trajectory and increase risk of trampling by the horse
- Lack of testing on pediatric sized models such that individuals with a smaller body weight may not trigger AV detachment/inflation in the same manner which could lead to late deployment of the vest and increased injury
- Landing on the hard canister that contains gas cartridges within the vest
- Interaction with helmets – combining airbag vests that seek to stabilize motion with a helmet that relies on some degree of motion for function could have deleterious consequences.
- Airbag vests with neck stabilization can decrease the rotation of the safety liners such as MIPS which are designed to pivot slightly upon impact to diminish rotation forces to the brain
- Vests with inflated neck portions can push the helmet down over the eyes, impairing vision”
To continue reading, the full study can be found as a PDF here.
