When I was a kid, I was not allowed to ride if I didn't wear my helmet. It didn't matter if I was taking a lesson in an indoor arena on a schoolmaster, or riding my old man.
When I got a project horse, (he 2 1/2, me, fresh out of college and only 6 months back into riding after almost 2 years off), I continued my helmet habit.
Then, somewhere along the way of dating "cowboys," guiding trail rides where the dress code dictated cowboy hat and the work including riding for 8 hours in 90 degrees, and literally trusting my own horse with my life, the habit turned into, only wearing one when I was riding a green or unfamiliar horse.
Almost eight years ago, I had a wreck that changed my life. I was trail riding with a group of people, including an ex-boyfriend and some friends. My (green but had been trail ridden a lot) mare stepped into some creeper vine and hung her back leg for a half-second. It was enough to turn her into a bucking, rearing mess. My un-graceful dismount included getting hung in the stirrup long enough to lay me back toward her back feet.
Her kick landed along my eyebrow. I don't remember much about the ride back to the barn, except that I doubled with another rider. I remember my shirt was covered in blood. And, I don't remember anyone bringing up going to the hospital or seeing a doctor.
Here's my first piece of advice: Never let the injured person make their own decisions. My "friends" let me drive home (I couldn't ride, but they let me drive?!?), where I went straight to bed (a no-no for someone with a concussion).
To this day, I don't have much short-term memory. I have to write things down, or I'll forget them. I also have trouble concentrating on one thing at a time, much like ADD, but I never experienced such difficulty in school. I can say with confidence that the injury to my head was more than likely the start of both of these issues.
When I started rescue/rehab/retrain and sell, I started wearing my helmet again. I had a couple of hard hits, broke a few ribs and had lots of bruises, and ... a cracked helmet proved the point of wearing one.
I now wear a helmet 98% of the time. If I go out to the big field to catch a horse and they happen to be out on the back 40, I might hop on bareback and ride back to the barn. That's pretty much the only time I'm without. Believe me, I've heard all the obnoxious 'mouth' in the world.
- Don't make a video of a horse for sale wearing your helmet; it makes the horse look unsafe. (Um, I think it makes the rider look smart and prepared and reflects on the rider's responsibility and good judgement, not on the horse.)
- You're going to run barrels, but my horse is broke. He's not going to do anything. You don't need a helmet. (I love this one, especially when it involves kids. The horse may not buck, but he's running 25+ miles an hour; what if he slips, trips, or falls? What if your saddle chooses your run to break? What if you coming off has nothing to do with the horse purposely unseating you?)
- Only those fru fru English riders wear helmets. The judge will laugh a western rider out of the ring if she's wearing a helmet. (Again, any judge worth his/her salt will recognize a well-prepared, responsible rider, regardless of headgear. Judges are not supposed to penalize for helmets - and if one can find fault with me wearing a helmet at a show and places me lower, I don't really care to get a ribbon from him, anyway.)
Care about yourself enough to wear a helmet. We make kids wear them riding a bike. Most states have laws requiring them for motorcycles. A horse has a mind of its own, and a lot of what happens when riding is out of your AND your horse's control.
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