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[RC] Safety Gear - carolynI always wear a helmet when I ride, but I also wear gloves, a boot with a heel, and sometimes (depending which goofy idiot I'm riding) a body protector. It is not AERC's (or any other organzations ) job or place to tell me what safety equipment I need to wear, that is my job to determine what I need for each horse/situation I am riding in. And helmets won't protect you from all head injuries. I have a personal experience where the person injured did have on a helmet. We don't know exactly what happened, but after piecing everything back together, we think when she bent over to adjust her stirrup, she tickled him with a dressage whip and he just did a little scoot. She was right next to a fence line and that little scoot unseated her and she came off to the side. The barn we boarded at used fence posts made of concrete and she hit the back of her neck (brain stem area) on the concrete post. She was basically dead and thank God someone was there at the barn (this person didn't see the accident because an RV blocked her view, but she did realize within about 30 seconds something was wrong and went to check). They took this girl to the hospital in a helicopter, never a good thing. After they kept her from dying, it took about 8 weeks before she went to the rehab facility. She recovered to about 95% of where she was before the accident. She was able to go to college and has a relatively normal life now, she even rode with us again, but her Mother was very anxious about that. The point here is that the helmet did not protect this area of her head. So when you start admonishing people about wearing helmets/not wearing helmets, I don't think it is anyone's place to tell someone else what kind of safety gear they should be wearing. I understand the issue of medical insurance, but if you go down that road of mandating, the insurance companies could start saying, well you participate in a dangerous activity, we are not going to cover you if you participate. Who are they to determine what is dangerous. Next thing they will say you can't do home repairs, or use scissors or knives, or your computer keyboard. They can take things to the absurd. I don't think we need them to go there or everyone will be wrapped in bubblepack, sitting on their sofa's watching TV. Carolyn Burgess Newton, TX =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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