Interesting development in horse risder safety, reported by NYTimes.com

Inflatable vests have been sold to motorcyclists for about a decade, but few equestrians used them until a British company, Point Two Air Jackets, adapted them for use on horses and began distributing them at top European competitions last year. Hit Air, a Japanese company that says it has been selling motorcycle vests since 1999, also sells an equestrian version.

They each rely on similar technology. The two-pound vest is attached by a cord to a rider’s saddle and is worn over a traditional protective vest made of high-density foam. When a rider is thrown from a horse, the cord is yanked, puncturing a cartridge of carbon dioxide and inflating the vest. The vest can be reused after the cartridge is replaced. Point Two said its vest inflates in one-tenth of a second; Hit Air said its average rate is one-quarter of a second.

I have never seen a motorcyclist wearing one. The article explains that speed and impact are different so the benefits are considered controversial. The equestrians seem to have only qualms about minor improvements.

The vests have become so common on the competition circuit that it has become a common courtesy to warn other riders to unhook their cords before dismounting. “When you arrive, everyone says: ‘Your vest! Your vest!'” Laghouag said.

Inevitably, someone forgets.

“It’s always a source of amusement,” O’Connor said. “You hear a pop, and somebody’s looking like a marshmallow.”