Originally posted by INDSKYS
i have seen the bullriders vest now required + worn by prca cowboys after the lane frost accident.looks like a cross between a regular vest and a flak-jacket . it has real dense foam pad in it and would protect shoulder are ribs back everything. but it looks a bit bulky and costs 350.00 ouch . not many hockey shops in cal to find hockey items. i may have to try the vest on tho lol lot cheaper then my med bill was hahah thank you all for ideas !!!
Coincidently I just went to my first rodeo yesterday. It was the Longhorn Championship Rodeo. Here in Michigan hockey gear stores are way more plentiful than bull-riding gear stores!
I did notice that most (if not all) bull riders were wearing padded leather vests. Looked like traditional cowboy vests, but bulkier. While it would probably help protect from some broken ribs and chest punctures from the bull horns, there was still a lot of open areas unprotected. I also noticed a few guys wearing metal cages over their faces. It probably goes against the cowboy macho thing, but I'd be wearing a full-face helmet with a metal cage, along with a full kevlar body suit!
I can't imagine a pissed, unpredictable, 2,000lbs animal with horns trying to violently whip me off his back. One guy was head-butted when the bull whipped his head back, just as the rider's head was whipped forward. Luckily his forehead hit the back of the bull's head dead-center. He was inches away from a horn being impaled into his forehead (no cage on this guy). Give me a throttle "I" can control any day!
Again, if you do a pretty thorough search on protective gear and preventing collarbone breaks, you'll find that there's not any gear out there that will sufficiently protect against most types of crashes that cause CB breaks. It will on a few, but not most. I wear a PCS neck brace now to prevent the helmet-type of break, and am looking to put together a hybrid between a good chest protector (Thor Aftershock) and hockey/lacross shoulder pads. I tried hockey pads, but they were too big, bulky, and hot (Bauer Supreme 5000). Lacross pads might be a good fit; I'll have to find/try out a set with my Thor chest protector.
Good luck!