Frangible Fences: The New Safety Feature for Eventing

The British Horse Trials Association studied all incidents involving horse and rider during the 2000/2001 eventing season. The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), the UK's center for research and advice on all methods relating to transportation including crash testing, got involved and analyzed film of 100 jumping accidents. TRL found what caused most fatalities was the somersaulting of the horse over the fence and onto the rider who was either still in the saddle or lying on the landing side of the fence unable to avoid the falling horse.

A "crash test dummy" was created with the help of Dr. Ellen Singer at the University of Liverpool Faculty of Veterinary Science using a post-mortem horse. TRL and Dr. Singer analyzed the horse and collected data on mass, geometry and center of gravity. NED (New Equestrian Dummy) weighs similar to a 16hh event horse, but looks nothing like one. TRL constructed a facility and went about reenacting this somersaulting tendency. They discovered when a horse's front legs were pushed backwards he turned from a small horizontal force sliding over the fence to a vertical downward force. If the jump didn't collapse the horse would somersault causing a crushing injury to the rider. If the top rail could somehow collapse when the horse hit it from the knees up, he would fall straight down instead of flip. TRL designed a breakaway device that wouldn't collapse even if it were hit fairly hard. It would only collapse if the critical weight position was reached.

Barriers International manufactured the alloy pins for the frangible fences. The pins fit into the posts holding the top rail of the fence and can be replaced quickly during the competition after they are broken.

Here the frangible pin supports the top rails of the fence. Photo by Sharon Biggs

The fences were tested out on three fences at this year's Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials with nine other planned British events later in the season. The frangible fences, designed by Hugh Tomas, were at the narrow arrowhead after the Beaufort Staircase and at the rails at the Hunt Kennels and the final fence at the Sunken Road. None of the fences were deployed and no somersaulting falls occurred at Badminton at any of the other fences.

Mike Tucker, Chairman of the British Eventing Safety Committee, said "We are still in the very early stages of piloting the scheme and we were very lucky that the opportunity arose so quickly, proving the accuracy of the research and preventing a possible injury." When the studies are completed British Eventing, Barriers International and TRL hope that the pins will be available worldwide.