Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Helmets vs riding lessons (rant)

> This is a personal rant: I'm not impressed with the numbering of
> accidents  or the horrors of head injuries as justification for wearing
> a helmet.  I  believe very strongly that there's a direct relationship
> between horse  accidents and level of horsemanship.  It seems to me
> that the level of  riding ability has fallen over the years, not just
> in endurance but in all  equestrian areas.  I can't stand to go to
> events and watch people ride any  more.  I can't stand to look at most
> photos of riders in EN - it's  embarrassing - but at least they're no
> worse than those in other equine  publications.  Bad hands, bad posture
> leading to stiff horses with off  balance riders that fall off a lot.
> So what's recommended?  Get a  helmet!  Oh please!
>
> Two words:  Riding lessons.

Lif, I agree with you wholeheartedly about the quality of riding, and I
think it comes as much from not having to ride day in and day out as a
part of one's life, as many of us had to do in earlier years, as from
anything else.  Yes, folks would benefit from riding lessons--but there is
also no substitute for hours in the saddle, just as practice raises
proficiency at anything else.  That said--I don't think the fact that it
is poor riding that CAUSES the accidents is a reason not to wear helmets. 
The helmets won't fix the causitive problems, but they WILL allow the
non-proficient rider to live to ride another day.  I also finally started
wearing a helmet not because I was concerned that *I* might fall off, but
because at the time helmets were being introduced in our sport, I was one
of the more active participants, and hence was looked up to by the
then-newbies.  I resisted wearing a helmet on my own account, but it
finally dawned on me that the life I might save might not be my own, but
rather, by example, might be the life of a less proficient rider who came
into the sport, looked around and saw that helmets were the norm, and
subsequently bought one.  Once I began to look at it from that
perspective, I could see no more reason not to wear one.
Interestingly enough, after a hiatus in riding and a lag in my own fitness
levels, I now frustratingly find myself among those whose riding is at
times less than desirable--it's tough, because my MIND knows what my body
should be doing, but the body just doesn't always follow through.  <sigh> 
So I'll continue to wear my helmet, although I still haven't come off of
any horses since I started back riding.  This time, the life I save may
well BE my own, while I struggle to regain my proficiency.
Heidi



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