Helmets

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

k s swigart katswig@earthlink.net

Okay, I'll admit it.  I don't wear a helmet when I ride 
endurance.  For me, I consider the risks associated with wearing
a helmet to outweigh the risks associated with not wearing
one.  It has nothing to do with not wanting to mess up my hair.
(I wear a hat all the time at ride, since I consider direct
exposure to the sun to be a real health threat, so my hair gets
messed up anyway...and remember...I am the one who said I could
wait until I got home to take a shower...even for a week long
ride :)).  AND, _I_ know how to fall off of a horse without
hitting my head (nope, can't count the number of times that I
have fallen off, so I am not one of those people who is of the
opinion that "it can't happen to me.")

The risks associated with wearing a helmet are related to the
fact that wearing a helmet both makes your head bigger and it
makes it heavier.  And that heat builds up inside.  And while
seat belts in cars are not also without their risks; a far better
analogy would be to compare helmets with air bags...safer for 
some people in some situations, deadly for others.

Most of the people I have asked at endurance rides, why they
don't wear a helmet also don't care about their hair.  Most of them mention the heat, the weight, and "wearing one is like
wearing a magnet." :)

The horse sports for which I do wear a helmet include Polo
(a sport in which you don't have to fall off to get smacked in
the head) and steeplechasing, where knowing how to fall off
without hitting your head doesn't keep the other guy's horse
from coming over the jump and landing on you.

And, personally, I consider the chances of sustaining a head 
injury while breeding a stallion (standing on the
ground next to him) to be greater than those while riding 
endurance (but I don't wear a helmet for that either).

What I ask other people is, "Do you know that helmets are recommended?"  And if they ask me why I don't, I will tell
them, and then they can decide for themselves.

kat
Orange County, Calif.