Kids not wearing riding hats (sorry a rant)

[finefeathers1]

Sorry, before I start,I was just soooo angry last night. Whilst at the yard last night, we ended up watching two of the kids who have horses on the yard schooling their horses in the arena. Said kids are great friends with my daughter and I am great friends with the mum in question. Both kids were riding their horses without hats in the arena, which I have to say pisses me off. OK, its their lives etc, but it makes me mad, as these kids are only 12 and 14 respectively. I made a comment to their mum about it being a bit naughty. She was quite casual, and said they knew their own horses and made a bit of a joke. I just told her that what would happen if one of the horses spooked and they ended up either under their hooves or smashing their heads on the arena rails or some of the jump wings which were hanging around? She just shrugged her shoulders and carried on with the next subject of conversation. I felt like I was being a bit mean to her, but what a silly thing to do, and I would add, they always do their flatwork without a hat on, as it 'Looks professional? What do you all think? My thoughts are a bit unprintable to say the least.

 

[3Beasties]

Accident waiting to happen

I would never ride without a hat and nor would the children that I look after, they are 10 and 12 and would NEVER consider it!

I actually think there should (or there might be already) be a law that children must wear riding hats.

 

[The Bouncing Bog Trotter]

We have a yard rule that hats must be worn when mounted. Can you get your YO to do something similar?

 

[Hedwards]

I have to say i agree with you, I dont really like to see anyone riding without a proper, safe hat, up to standard and with a proper harness/strap - but adults can make this choice and know the risks - its up to them, however with any kids i think they should be made to wear a hat - isnt your YO or YM around? i would have thought there would be serious insurance issues if something happened (although i'm probably wrong). I really dont understand why you wouldnt want to wear a hat, but then again some people choose not to wear a seatbelt in a car too...

 

[Sarah Sum1]

I agree with you 100% No matter what! a child (and IMO an adult) should always wear a hat. Yes they may know their horses inside out, but that doesn't stop freak accidents. A horse is an unpredicable animal and the mother should know better!

 

[Kenzo]

She wouldnt be casually shrugging her shoulders if she was sat by someones bed side in hospital day and night waiting for some sign or hope of life.

 

[scrumpygus]

Absolutely ridiculous - at my last yard one of the mums was holding her 2 year old on her lap (no hat on) whilst she rode and popped over a jump that was in the middle of the arena - i couldnt believe my eyes.

 

[chickeninabun]

Ridiculous!!

How irresponsible of the mother/parents!

I would never let me child ride without a hat on, nor would I ever consider riding without one myself.
Same goes for seat belts in cars. I know quite a few people who happily won't wear them, or at least don't most of the time! I think it's just plain stupid

. I feel "naked" in my car if I even just move it accross the yard/drive without my seatbelt on!!
I had to run screaming across a car park yesterday after someone numpty woman's child (approx 3-4yo), because she was too busy gabbing to another mum to notice her child had left the village hall, gone out of the building, down a path and was heading across the car park with the car keys in her hand!!

Couldn't you just strangle some people....?!?!

 

[algy666]

That's pretty scary

when I was that age my dad wouldn't let me on a horse without hat AND body protector! Yes, we all know our horses, but we should also know that they can be unpredictable, and a riding hat CAN be the difference between life and death.

I think the only law is that children under 14 have to wear a hat that conforms to European safety standards, but that only applies if they're riding on the public highway.

Grr, some people.

 

[spike123]

Some people just have no common sense. I would think that should something happen then the YO's insurance would be invalid for allowing them to ride without hats. The law states that under 14's must wear a helmet while riding on the road but doesn't apply to riding in an enclosed area as far as I am aware,but surely any normal parent would have the common sense to realise that riding without a hat puts you at so much more risk of death/serious injury. Perhaps you should mention to the parent about how would they feel having to look after their child should they suffer a permanent head injury requiring them to do everything for their child for the rest of their life. It may just make them see sense.

 

[JessnGeorge]

Well, unfortunately, there are some people you just can't tell/warn/offer the benefit of other's experiences.

When I was a kid, one of the girls had a fall wearing a sub standard hat and suffered repeated fits as a result.......

 

[Flicker]

My dad knows nothing about horses, but when he bought me my first horse when I was 14, there was one rule: The day he caught me riding without a hat was the day the horse was sold. End of story.
He knew a girl who ended up taking food through a straw following a riding accident: her foot got caught in the stirrup as she came off during a hack and she was dragged for half a mile behind her bolting pony. No hat. And I should add that she had grown up with the pony and was, to all intents and purposes, a very good rider.
I think parents should be held accountable when children do not ride with hats (they certainly are on our yard).
I also wonder when insurance companies will stop paying out on accidents where no hats or hi-viz were worn - it might make some people sit up and take notice.

 

[Tanta]

When I was a child, the owner of the riding school I went to had a lovely little daughter,less than 10 years old - v good rider for her age. He hacked out with her with the sort of hats we wore then - a beagler with no harness to keep it on - and she fell off on the road and landed on her head and was killed. I've always remembered that - he must have been devastated. Doesnt matter how good a rider you are, it can happen to anyway and falling on the edge of the school could be just as bad as on the road.

 

[Shysmum]

It should become law that at least under 16's have to wear a hat, if not adults too. In Australia, you have to wear a helmet to ride a bike, and that seems a hell of a lot safer than riding a horse.

I came off my pony not so long ago - he simply went left and I went right (my fault !) and bumped my head. I was mildly concussed, but it would have been a lot worse if I hadn't been wearing a hat.

And don't get me started on hi viz !! lol.

 

[Hullabaloo]

Maybe she doesn't like her kids very much

 

[MrsMozart]

Send her a picture of my brain - I know my horse (she didn't misbehave), I was in the school, and the fall was 'just one of those silly things'.

Lying on a bed in A & E, listening to a man discussing drilling a hole in my head with the specialist at the local big hospital, was sobering to say the least.

If I hadn't had the hat on, I wouldn't have heard the conversation. I wouldn't be here.

Simples.

 

[pixiebee]

stupid bloody women. irrisponsible parenting.i ALWAYS wear my hat and have it fastened properly on ANY horse!!! i also wear my body protecter EVERY time i ride, i get laughed at but they wont be laughing when they fall off and seriuosly hurt themselves!

 

[Samp943]

Wow. What a stupid woman! Everyone and I mean EVERYONE at our farm rides in a helmet (and it's a big dressage barn too!). Maybe you should tell them about a poster on HHO (me) whose horse kicked out trying to get bailing twine off of his legs and ended up throwing me on my head/neck onto the hard-packed driveway! If I hadn't been wearing my helmet my neck would've snapped and I could've cracked my skull or been hurt much worse!! I am so thankful that Mum made me wear a helmet and now it's just second nature!!

 

[RunToEarth]

I wouldn't have thought any liability can be placed on the YO, down at uni in the summer I would say 90% of the college yard (polo) ride without a hat on. I think parents need to make their children wear hats, but as adults, without getting into "the hat debate" we are old enough and ugly enough to make our own decisions about wearing one.

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

I would be angry too, if I was a parent, I would absolutely insist that they wear a hat, always, in fact I would forbid them riding without one, simple.

 

[phoebeast]

it's illegal for anyone under 14 to ride without a hat on a public highway according to the highway code

 

[rachel_s]

Weirdly the one and only time (apart from Greece) I rode without a hat was when the owner of the pony I had on loan, with a view to buy, came to see us ride.

My parents had agreed to buy her (grey welsh type) but the owner wanted to check we were ok. I was petrified I was going to lose her (I was about 11 - this was in the 80s) - groomed her, took her out and basically did a show including jumping. It was only when I got off I realised I hadn't worn a hat - in front of my parents, the owner and my best friend at the time.

 

[MurphysMinder]

I have twice recently seen neighbours daughter riding her pony down the road with no hat on and just a headcollar on the pony. Her mother is with her leading the other pony but walking behind so could not grab first pony if it spooked. It is only a couple of hundred yards from the field to the house but it is quite a busy road, crazy imo.

 

[carrick16]

This topic makes me very angry too! I fractured my skull in 1995 and I WAS wearing a hat. I think it's a pretty foregone conclusion what would've happened if I wasn't wearing one!
I think there is a law that children under 14 have to wear a hat but am not 100% sure. I believe it should be a law whatever the age, afterall, it's the overstretched NHS that have to pick up the pieces at the cost of the taxpayer.
I used to work for an international dressage rider in the UK and an international SJ in the USA...and everyone laughed at me because I always wore my hat. Better to be safe than sorry - and I am living proof of that!

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Apart from the ridiculous attitude of the mother you may find that any insurance the yard has will stipulate that headgear is to be worn when mounted. Additionally there may well also be a clause saying how many can be in the school at any one time.

 

[Happytohack]

When my daughter was 11 she came off her pony and landed on her head and back. She was rushed to hospital and was in intensive care. Her hat was very badly cracked, but it saved her life. The doctors told me that if she hadn't been wearing a hat and body protector things would have been very different. And that was a quiet pony who just tripped. Even when she rides my old plods, she still always wears a hat and body protector and she's 26 now. I am amazed that the YO allows this.

 

[Kat]

Stupid irresponsible uncaring mother.

You have got to wonder whether she loves those children at all, my mother would never or I near a horse again if we had ever tried to ride without a hat!

Do you reckon she straps them into the car?

Letting your child ride without a hat is tantamount to telling it not to bother looking both ways when you cross the road.

 

[Onyxia]

I would be angry too, if I was a parent, I would absolutely insist that they wear a hat, always, in fact I would forbid them riding without one, simple.

^This.
R knows full well that without the right equipment I wont let him get on a pony,end off story.
The need to wear hat,BP and hi viz have been drilled into him so well he even told a police woman off for taking her hat off last summer The look on her face when confronted by an irate 4 year old telling her her head would go splat and her parents would be soooooo cross was pretty damn funny

 

[*hic*]

I've said before, my neighbour insists her child wears a hat and BP to ride the pony with a saddle and bridle - all fine and dandy, BUT if the child is going to ride bareback off come the hat and BP too

 

[lex32]

This makes me really sad.
Anyone who has been close to anyone who has suffered a brain injury, will understand the need for wearing hats that are correctly fitted and secured when riding and handling horses.
As someone who has lost a parent to a brain injury (not riding related), I cannot understand any reason for not wearing a hat when riding.
So a hat costs £60ish and takes 10 secs maximum to put on.
My hat gets replaced every time it takes a knock, and worn every time when riding and leading.
At what price your life?
I would swap £60 of my money and 10 secs of my life every time if my Mum was here today to read this.
There is no way I'm going to put my family through the heartache of loosing someone again if I can possibly do everything reasonably within my power not to.