hats!

lizzieuk1

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Well just been looking through pic gallery and am v suprised and worried at how many are not wearing hats. i know you get a sweaty head, me too! but really however 'safe' you think your horse is there is not a horse in the world that you cant fall off in a freak accident, pleeeeaaaasssseeee everyone wear a hat when on board, it takes two secs to put one on and it could save your life.
 
Oh god...not a again...

*runs and hides*

You may just live to regret this post
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sorry must have missed the last debate about that, i'm not trying to start debating thread just quite suprised at how many not wearing one.i def don;t want to die from not wearing a hat though.
 
I'm sure everybody on this site is old enough and ugly enough to know just what they are doing when it comes to hats. You worry about your head, and leave other people to worry about theirs.
 
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I'ts nice of you to worry about other people and I'm sure you aren't trying to start a debate at all.

I think the reasons for the replies you've got are:

Ultimately it's people's personal choice whether they wear one or not on their own horses. Most people do so, knowing the risks and that's their right.

Secondly, every time this topics mentioned on here it becomes a hugeeeee long debate, going over the same old thing over and over again.

And it always ends with......"you know the risks.....you make the choice....and as long as children are wearing theirs it'll have to be left at that!"

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(All said in nice way may I add)
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May i hijack for one moment and ask if anyone can recommend good lighweight (Safe as poss) hats for children. I;ve seen some with removablecoloured strips down the front which look cool
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but obviously safety comes first!!
 
fwiw, i agree with you. i wear one all the time now (didn't use to) because if i fell off on my head and my poor family had to nurse me for years because i was a locked-in vegetable, i'd be a very very guilty and angry vegetable indeed.
but, it's personal choice, so if other people want to risk their own heads, so be it.

btw, do you know what they use in place of heads for some hat-testing experiments?
watermelons. they have about the same rigidity/strength as a skull, apparently. i watched a program on it once, and seeing bits of reddish watermelon flying everywhere, when they dropped them without a hat on them, and looking just a bit too much like brains and blood all over the floor, was enough for me...
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Well I agree with you anyway. I can't believe the number of people who ride without hats but as they say it's up to them and you have to leave them to it. At least when they fall off and smash their heads in we can say " I told you so", it won't make any difference to them as they will be paralysed/in a coma/worse but still.....
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You get similar justifications from people who don't wear seatbelts. " they crease my clothes, they don't feel comfortable, the windscreen will break the journey with my face" well those lovely uncreased clothes will look swell on your bruised/battered/bloody body when it's lying in the middle of the road!
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ok so say again I AM NOT TRYING TO START A DEBATE just to clear that up!
however!!! i know its personal choice like so many other things, lets try another... *hides under desk*... smoking for example. If you choose to do something that obviously endangers your health yes your choice but what happens when you get hurt/get lung cancer? well you usually end up in hospital or the like, who pays for your care? the taxpayers, who looks after you? doctors/nurses/cleaning staff(when there are some- thats another thing entirely!) they could be dealing with smoeone who is dying through no fault of their own but because the ER is full they can't be treated as quickly.
so actually its not just about you in the grand scheme of things there are lots of people who could be involved. again I AM NOT TRYING TO START A DEBATE just trying to be a bit broad minded about these things thats all and its about being responsible for you actions and realising how they affect the people aruond you, thats how a thoughful society should operate.
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(not that i think anyof you aren't thoughtful and just to clarify i love you all!!!)
 
[ QUOTE ]
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and as long as children are wearing theirs it'll have to be left at that!"

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(All said in nice way may I add)
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The problem is children copy what they say adults doing, it's how they learn anything and if they believe they have a choice whether or not to wear a hat they may "show off" to their friends thinking they look cool to not wear one and risk injury. Ridiculous as this sounds adults seem to the think the same thing, that people look at them without a hat and are impressed, well I can tell you no one I know is impressed we all think "how stupid"
 
i agree lizzie, but SHOUTING doesn't help!
i wonder if the people who persist in not wearing hats (especially while out on the roads and while jumping, where there are so many other variables) have actually sat down and thought about the consequences of falling off and sustaining permanent brain damage. primarily, the amount their care might cost their loved ones, and what would happen to their horse(s) and dogs etc.
that's what changed my mind, tbh, and made me start wearing a hat all the time, even on the ones i really trust, on the flat, at home. just not worth the risk.
oh, and i don't smoke, so SHOUT AT SOMEONE ELSE ABOUT THAT!!!
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well i think if the hat has the new PAS standard then it should be good, i guess you need to shop around a bit and find a few that are suitable then ask the kids which one they like hopefully you'll all be happy then. I have a charles owen GR8 which is pretty light and i think they do a childs version, otherwise i thinkn the ones the showjumpers wear are quite light.
 
[ QUOTE ]
May i hijack for one moment and ask if anyone can recommend good lighweight (Safe as poss) hats for children. I;ve seen some with removablecoloured strips down the front which look cool
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but obviously safety comes first!!

[/ QUOTE ]

The polly hats are good, and they come in black, pink or blue and are only about £25 also they are adjustable so can be changed
 
oh sorry i didn;t realise i was shouting
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will stop using the caps lock then! just trying to emphasise the point not shout!! smoking thing not aimed at anyone just using it as another example.
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Well I love everyone too
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.....well most people...hmmm well ALMOST everyone!!
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No, I totally see what you're saying. Was just explaining why the defensive replies were posted.

I also agree with the fact that apart from putting your own neck on the line - your family and the nhs have to deal with whatever happens.....problem is where do you stop? I think cycling through London is pretty damn dangerous!! and the people who get drunk and then have accidents because they're off their face. Unfortunately a lot of people dont think as broad minded as you. Maybe they would if they'd been directly affected by these sort of things......who knows!? It's a shame though.

I have recentlt started wearing my seatbelt AND my riding hat (must point out I dont wear the cat in the car or the seatbelt on the horse
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)!!! It's one of those things that once you've got used to it, it becomes habit
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who pays for your care? the taxpayers

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Oh that will be myself then.
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Perhaps we should all walk very slowly in big plastic bubbles (having made sure any nasty sharp corners have been rounded off) whilst inhaling filtered air, drinking only water and eating only organic 'heath food'!!! - Gosh life is sooooooooooo dangerous when you really analysis it.
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OH by the way I'm not trying to start a debate or anything!!!!
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[ QUOTE ]

(must point out I dont wear the cat in the car or the seatbelt on the horse
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)!!! It's one of those things that once you've got used to it, it becomes habit
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where do you normally where the cat then? sounds like an accessory that could catch on
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i think thats a bit extreme! but it does make for a nicer society if everyone just thought a little more about their actions.
hmmmm self reflection perhaps i will word my posts more carefully in the future!
 
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when we come back from dropping the horses down at the field (sometimes in the next village) we drive back in riding hats and hi vis vests

get some odd looks
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Awwww I think its very nice that lizzieuk1 is concerned about our heads! I do think we (as adults) should set a precedents, esp when the kids are around.

Other week I was going to mother in laws and there were 4 riders trotting (2-3 abreast on a country lane) down the lane - no hats, no hi-viz etc, and the youngest looked about 12-13 years old - it was like summat from a Wild West film! I did feel like stopping to say summat (esp about the child). I could not get my breathe - totally irresponsible. Is this not illegal riding on a highway with no hat? I dunno

So, thank you lizzieuk1 for your concern
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much appreciated.
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PS - I have not seen this debate/discussion on forum either before as i am fairly new here - so sorry if going over old ground to all others
 
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