Just my two cents...
I have been riding horses since I was about 7. I learned to ride bareback on a pony at a friend's place. No one ever told me to wear a helmet. Most of the people where I live ride Western and no one wears a helmet. I fell off a number of times as I learned to balance myself but luckily for me I never got hurt. One old horse I rode loved "running away" with us back to the fence that led to the barn. We rode in large fenced in fields and luckily for us, he was predictable and followed the path back to the barn and stopped at the fence. Being only about 12 at that time, I didn't really have the strength to stop him and often couldn't turn him, so we would just hang on for the ride. So no one ever taught me about helmets (the thing "English" riders wear) and I was too young to have the sense to want to wear one.
As I got older though I read stories about people having accidents and the serious injuries they suffered. It did worry me that this could happen to me, but I was also a good rider and figured that the best way to avoid injury was to stick to the horse. Plus you often think that it won't happen to you. Isn't that the biggest mistake people make? Most of the horses I rode though were already pretty well broke and if they did spook I was able to keep them under control. So while it was a concern in the back of my mind, I still put off buying a helmet. Probably because I wasn't sure what to buy, I thought it might be uncomfortable and hot, and yes, I probably thought I might get laughed at too (although that was the least of my concerns, since I ride in a "funny, English style, endurance saddle" with a sponge and things hanging off it). Well, now I am finally going to do it. I am going to go to my first ctr in the fall so I have to have a helmet. And most recently I have been riding a greenbroke mare who
has made me more aware of the fact that it hurts a lot more now at 27 to fall off a horse than it did at 12. I took a small fall off of her (I held on till the last possible second, so I didn't fall from so high or so hard) onto a dirt trail and I was sore for 4 days! I was so shocked I fell because I didn't fall off a horse in about 15 years, but I realize the consequences of what could have been had i wacked my head on the ground or on a tree or a rock, etc...I told myself, "With the years I've spent studying at university, my brain is a very valuable piece of equipment to me, and what the hell would I do if I ended up with brain damage, or dead for that matter. All the hard work, sleepless nights and stress I put myself through would be pretty damn useless. So now i am going to work on the habit of wearing a helmet. Sure, old habits die hard, so I may relapse and take another ride without a helmet, but I am going to work on a new habit - wearing a helmet.
I am going to pick up my helmet tomorrow - a Troxel Spirit with a pretty horse design...if at least its nice to look at, it will help in putting it on and keeping it on. Plus its lightweight, breathable and has a removable liner. And it was affordable. No more excuses now!
I think the most important part is that kids should be taught about helmets and that its o.k. to wear them even riding Western. The habits we learn as children are the ones that stay with us the longest.
Lysane
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