There are now a number of different standards for body protectors, as will be described briefly in a later section of this report. They are all intended to ensure that a vest which complies with the standard will provide some level of protection against injury to a jockey in the event of an impact on or near the rib cage and the lower back, and in some cases on the shoulders. These impacts can range from a blunt impact with the ground to a concentrated impact from a horse's hoof or with a fixed object such as a running rail or part of the starting gate.

It is unlikely that any vest that is practicable for use by a racing jockey will be able to do more than mitigate the severity of any injury resulting from impacts of the types listed, and have little or no effect on crushing injuries resulting from a horse falling on a rider.