{"id":234,"date":"2015-01-07T08:51:42","date_gmt":"2015-01-07T08:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hoofforum.com\/square\/?p=234"},"modified":"2015-01-16T08:33:51","modified_gmt":"2015-01-16T08:33:51","slug":"the-helmet-conundrum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoofforum.com\/square\/the-helmet-conundrum\/","title":{"rendered":"The Helmet Conundrum"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I’ve heard some good reasons for why people don’t wear helmets when riding horses.<\/p>\n

1) Helmets are uncomfortable; they give me a headache and it makes my riding less enjoyable.\u00a0 My head gets too hot.<\/p>\n

2) There are many risks in life.\u00a0 I’m probably in more danger driving in my car every day.<\/p>\n

3) People get injured when handling horses from the ground.\u00a0 Why don’t we wear helmets whenever we handle horses?\u00a0 Good point, but would lead to more helmet wearing, not less.<\/em><\/p>\n

I’ve also heard some reasons that are less logical.<\/p>\n

1) I’ve heard sometimes people get hurt worse because they had a helmet on.<\/p>\n

That is remotely possible.\u00a0 There are also some extremely rare occasions where a person was safer without a seat belt on in a car because they were able to duck quickly or lay out flat on the seat.\u00a0 However, statistically you are much safer with a helmet on and a seat belt on.<\/p>\n

2) I never hit my head when I fall off.<\/p>\n

Your head weighs ten to eleven pounds.\u00a0 It is very likely that you will hit your head when falling off a horse, even if you never have before.<\/p>\n

3) I’ve never fallen off a horse.<\/p>\n

This means you are far more likely to get hurt when you do fall off.<\/p>\n

4) I know how to fall so I don’t get hurt.<\/p>\n

It’s very important to know how to fall.\u00a0 However, there are many, many circumstances where falls happen much faster than you can react.\u00a0 Personally, I’ve had at least four or five falls where I blinked and “Bam!” I was on the ground.\u00a0 On a couple of those occasions I landed on my feet.\u00a0 On a couple of those occasions I landed on my head.<\/p>\n

5) I’m an excellent rider so I don’t fall off very much.<\/p>\n

Some of the best riders; Olympic caliber riders and those who have done stunt riding have fallen off their horses and ended up with head injuries.<\/p>\n

6)My horse is very calm and bomb-proof.<\/p>\n

Many falls are not related to a horse spooking or getting too excited.\u00a0 People have had head injuries that happened when a horse fell down while walking in an arena.\u00a0 My own horses have fallen down with me while trotting slowly on a flat, even surface.\u00a0 I’ve had a horse trip over a weed that tangled around her front legs and go down when she took the first step from a stand still.<\/p>\n

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If the horse falls down, you fall down<\/em><\/p>\n

I feel it is a personal choice to wear a helmet or not wear one when riding.\u00a0 Freedom of choice is something I believe is very important.\u00a0 However, I would ask you to examine what your true reasons are for not wearing a helmet.\u00a0 Although many people will not admit it, I believe that most often people do not wear helmets due to their culture rather than for any other reason.\u00a0 I understand this, because up until age twenty or so I did not know a single person who wore a safety helmet when riding.\u00a0 The first few times I put a helmet on, I felt like a moron.\u00a0 I’ve felt pressure from other riders similar to what teens feel in school when they aren’t “cool.”\u00a0 We carry in our minds the romantic image of a girl with long hair flowing behind as she canters on a horse down a beach at sunset.\u00a0 Helmets disturb this ideal and quite honestly, I feel that most people won’t wear a helmet simply due to “image.”\u00a0 Many riders are likewise attached to their Western rider image, and feel that a helmet disrupts this.<\/p>\n

We like to portray that we don’t need a helmet because we are amazing riders and helmets are for little kids on ponies.\u00a0 We like to feel that someone might approach us on the beach and tell us how gorgeous and romantic we look on our beautiful horse.\u00a0 We like to feel invincible and strong on our horses rather than “safe.”\u00a0 Helmets disturb many of the reasons we ride these imposing animals in the first place; to retain the romance of girlhood, to feel strong and powerful, to feel that there is something we are good at, to feel the closeness of a relationship with another living creature.<\/p>\n

\"10929042_10155141601110083_2464891328821220923_o\"<\/a>Your choice is your own.\u00a0 I have many good reasons for always wearing a helmet when I ride any horse.<\/p>\n

1) I’ve found horses to be unpredictable animals that can get stung by a bee and begin bucking, that regularly overestimate their ability to remain upright over varying terrain, and that sometimes take longer to stop than either the horse or I expect.<\/p>\n

2) Some of the best riders I know have taken spills and cracked their helmets.\u00a0 One of my friends doesn’t even remember how an accident happened because her concussion caused her to lose memory of the event.\u00a0 However, she suffered no permanent damage due to her helmet.<\/p>\n

3) I’ve found that helmets are very helpful when riding through the woods.\u00a0 Several times I’ve underestimated how low a tree branch was hanging until it ran into my helmet with a thud.\u00a0 Scratchy branches slide easily over the top of a helmet instead of getting stuck in my hair.<\/p>\n

4) I personally know riders who have broken their back, broken their neck, broken their arms, wrists, legs and hips.\u00a0 All of these people are still riding horses.\u00a0 I do not know anyone personally who has had a traumatic brain injury from a horse accident.\u00a0 However, I’ve read the stories of some well-known riders that have fallen off horses while not wearing helmets and sustained traumatic brain injuries.\u00a0 These types of injuries affect the riders severely.\u00a0 Many of them can never ride again, and many can only ride at a walk with someone on the ground assisting.<\/p>\n

A video of Courtney King-Dye three years after her accident shows that she was still severely affected by her brain injury:<\/p>\n