My first controversial post

look - people have a choice - they either wear a hat or they dont. those who dont know the risks!!

i agree - they dont need preached at.

and i ALWAYS wear a hat - wouldnt dream of not wearing one (well, on those really hot, sticky days i always want to ride with wind in hair but still wear the hat!!)
 
[ QUOTE ]
sophos - it is your right to choose what you want to do, not for anyone else to tell you

HOWEVER

it is very selfish to consider undertaking a dangerous activity without appropriate precautions...

[/ QUOTE ]

TBF the impression i got was that sophos DOES wear her hat and DOES consider her family and others but was making the point that adults shouldn't be telling each other what to do in this sort of situation...surely its the same old argument that always rages on here that everyone is entitled to an opinion?! right, off to get off my soapbox now!!
grin.gif
tongue.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
As it happens I always wear my hat, but I cant stand the way this country is going - such a bloody nanny state with no-one allowed the freedom of will even to make basic decisions for themselves.

Really, the only person who has a right to demand a person wears their hat, is their family, those who would be directly impacted by the person not doing so (and in the event of an accident) for everyone else, I do wonder why you would want to stick your nose into a situation where your opinion isn't asked for.

[/ QUOTE ]
Agree totally, the best piece of advice I have been given in my life was not to give any advice unless somebody asks me for it - made my life much more pleasant
wink.gif
 
QR Yes, you do have the right not to, but you also have to think about the example you are setting to any children who might be around, and the impression you will give of the yard if you go out in public, or if any visitors turn up.

Thats all I'm saying on the subject.
 
[ QUOTE ]
look - people have a choice - they either wear a hat or they dont. those who dont know the risks!!

i agree - they dont need preached at.

and i ALWAYS wear a hat - wouldnt dream of not wearing one (well, on those really hot, sticky days i always want to ride with wind in hair but still wear the hat!!)

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not preaching, just giving my opinion. I think its good for people to see two sides of the argument. Yes it is peoples choice and I wouldn't go up to someone and tell them to wear a hat as I don't think it would be my place too. However in a position such as this where we are each stating our opinion I think it's ok for me to say what I think, just like everyone else.
 
I don't buy into the 'think about the children' malarky.. as I child I knew right from wrong - and I knew to wear my hat. Someone not wearing their hat, never stopped me wearing mine. If your child wont wear their hat because they see Joe Bloggs not wearing theirs, they may well also grow up to be the person jumping off the side of a skyscraper just because he saw Batman doing it.......
crazy.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
I don't buy into the 'think about the children' malarky.. as I child I knew right from wrong - and I knew to wear my hat. Someone not wearing their hat, never stopped me wearing mine. If your child wont wear their hat because they see Joe Bloggs not wearing theirs, they may well also grow up to be the person jumping off the side of a skyscraper just because he saw Batman doing it.......
crazy.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

good point well made! i like your fox on your siggy btw!!
 
It's easy enough to die too young without taking extra uneccesary risks, and even easier to leave an unpleasant mess for someone else to clear up - but hey, it's a free world and it's your choice
 
[ QUOTE ]
sophos - it is your right to choose what you want to do, not for anyone else to tell you

HOWEVER

it is very selfish to consider undertaking a dangerous activity without appropriate precautions...

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. All I wanted to say was please keep in mind that people have the right not to!
 
[ QUOTE ]
All I wanted to say was please keep in mind that people have the right not to!

[/ QUOTE ]

Would it be ok for the paramedics and doctors in A&E to say that when confronted with another patient that hasn't taken the widely available, reasonable and accepted safety precautions of their chosen hobby that they 'have' to treat?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Our heads our life our choice :L

Thats all I have to say...

I learnt bareback and hat-less...

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought you hadn't even cantered yet after a year of lessons and was paying to muck out stables? So now your learnt to ride bareback and hat-less
mad.gif
crazy.gif
confused.gif


I'm beginning to think you telling some porkies
shocked.gif
frown.gif
 
Fair enough people have the "right" not to wear them, and i have the "right" to feel no sympathy for those who get killed because they didnt.

Each to their own, but you'll never catch me on a horse without a hat.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
sophos - it is your right to choose what you want to do, not for anyone else to tell you

HOWEVER

it is very selfish to consider undertaking a dangerous activity without appropriate precautions...

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. All I wanted to say was please keep in mind that people have the right not to!

[/ QUOTE ]
ANYONE who rides my horses MUST wear a hat, same if they are trying a horse or hiring the arena. One head, One life.
 
I have always been taught to wear a hat, and nearly always do- i know for one that my mum would be shocked to think of me riding without, and that, even for no other reason, is enough to make me wear one!
However, being ditzy, i have been known to just get on and forget the hat altogether until i am reminded :P
 
All those people who have had a near miss and been saved by their helmet, if they hadn't been wearing it somebody would have had to scrape them up off the floor and frankly it is not fair to put anyone through that. I agree that it is individual choice, but if you're injured/damaged/killed it is not just you who has to face the consequences.
 
Its not often I post a reply but .......Ok so you don't want to wear a hat..................but don't expect medical help if you fall off...............you wanted controversial but is it fair that medical staff should peel you up off the floor and put you together again...? just because you looked 'cool' not wearing a hat.
 
i have to say i dont usually comment on these. but. as a mum of a 5year old rider who today wanted to sit on my friends 17.2hh horse. i would hate myself and cant explain how i would feel if anything happened to her from falling off and not wearing a hat. i imagine thats how my family would feel if anything happened to me. for this reason i always ride with a hat. like someone else said . rather have hat hair than brain damage.
 
QR: You know, when I was little we had hard peaked riding caps with a bit of elastic to go under your chin, unless you were really posh and you had an adjustable piece of thin webbing. Of course it was really uncool to actually wear your chin strap so you put it over your peak!

Today of course, I would be horrified if my daughter rode without a hat and I too would feel uncomfortable, a bit like not doing your seat belt up in the car.

Not so long ago a lady fell off out hunting and the air ambulance landed opposite my house. The lady refused treatment and the crew (who I made cups of tea for) told me that it probably cost about £1000 for them to come out that for that one incident and should the lady fall again due to concussion, they would be out again at another huge expense and all completely charity funded.

It only takes a tick to put your hat on - why not do it and save other people a lot of money and heartache.
 
No one has made mention of insurance yet. If someone were to injure themselves on my yard riding whilst not wearing a hat to current standard, I can be held liable should a court case ensue. Therefore I insist that anyone mounted, lunging or loading on my premises does so wearing appropriate headgear and they sign a contract agreeing to this. I really dont want to lose my livelihood, home etc just because someone thinks they can ride well and looks cool without a hat. What they do away from the yard is entirely up to them and their choice, they can ride naked on the mountain with a flag up their bum if they so desire.

Box_of_Frogs will be investing in the best headgear available, as soon as the swelling goes down.
 
Noone has made mention either of the fact that helmets can infact INCREASE the number and severity of certain types of injuries.... wcich gives a very viable and justifiable reason NOT to wear a hat in certain very specific circumstances.

I wear a helmet about 85% of the time...their design is such that they protect against head injuries from impact with hard surfaces or hard objects...so If you are riding on a hard surface, or anywhere that you could impact with a hard object they make very good sense, undeniable sense infact....

BUT!

what about when you are riding in such an area in such a way that the chance of impact with a hard surface or object becomes negliable? The type of situation that neck and spinal injuries become the real issue...the type of injuries that wearing a helmet increases by quite a large %?

In THOSE situations, wearing a helemt INCREASES your risk of sustaining a serious injury...so wearing a helmet could be claimed to be just as stupid as not wearing it at other times!

Thoses situations are limited and for most folk, rare (and to be honest few folks would have the knowledge and experience to make the correct judgement)

Their is also the fact that in certain rare situations the wearing of a helmet could increase the chances of a fall to start with or may be ruled out by certain factors.

What it does come down to is that the issue is not as black and white as some see it, and that the individuals right not to wear a helmet is just that, their right, and your ability to make the judgement may be less valid that theirs!

Soooooooo, stop the preaching and leave each to their own.Encourage juniors and the inexperienced to ALWAYS wear a bucket, cos it makes cleanup easier, but let others make their own choice.




(ok, cos someone will ask...when is no helmet safer? deep soft footing, with no hard objects to impact, such as a large expanse of soft sand or in a roundyard like ours with soft footing and a forgiving flexable rubber wall for example
Situations like that are more likely to result in neck/spinal than head injuries, and helmets can increase the number and severity of those)
 
QR

You're right: People do have a right to choose. It is fact. With it not being law for an adult either way, you are allowed to make your own decision. I can't dispute that.

However, I NEVER ride without a hat. When I was younger, I fell off a level, three feet high off the ground, and I landed on my head and cracked my skull open. Just three feet high, thats all. I dread to think what would have happened if it had been a horse that I fell off without a hat.

Riding a simple 20m circle and the horse slipped on the footing and wiped out on top of me. I had no chance to tuck and roll and landed flat, bang, smacking my head.

Riding a plod of a horse in the indoor when it bolted, dead stopped, and shot me out the front right into the rump of another horse- Who kicked out at me and missed my head by millimeters.

Even the most benign moment or the plod of a horse can have a bad day and you're gone.

You can ride a horse 99 times without a fault but it only takes one accident to kill you.

So, yes, everyone has a right to choose. I just hope they choose safely.
 
Yes OK it is that person's choice not to wear a hat BUT just maybe by a few people preaching it might actually pursuade them that they ought to rethink their decision. Especially if they are young and only doing it as they think its cool..

If someone put a poll on here asking if they should wear a hat or not I think probably 99% would say yes wear a hat!!

I would suspect even those that don't would agree that it was the safest way to ensure your own well being!!

Anyone that doesn't might want to look at this post and see all the stories of how many people have been saved by their hats and also see the article today in H&H Vere Phillips

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/4091701/an/0/page/0/gonew/1#UNREAD

Maybe a poll to those that don't asking why they don't, that way we can see why and they don't have to admit who they are on here, so nobody can preach at them!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top