People riding without a riding hat....

I can't easily ride without a hat! I feel so vulnerable and that in itself is dangerous as my horse picks up on it. I do ride without a hat and have jumped bareback without one quite recently just to get a stubborn pony going for a friend but we all do stupid things..

Having looked a photos of me riding without a hat I have to say I much prefer riding with one based on that aspect too! hair whipped back, wind in cheeks and concentration face is much better hidden underneath a hat...
 
PeterNatt said:
Totally irresposible riding a horse without a crash hat.
If those that choose not to wear a crash hat have an accident then they should be completely responsible for the full costs of their medical and aftercare bill.
A serious accident may also result in their relatives and friends having to provide long term care for them.
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So anyone who is injured when handling a horse by not wearing hat, BP, gloves and specialist boots, gumshield and face guard is equally responsible for paying their medical costs ?

Include children playing on playgrounds without protection, swimmers without lifejackets and car drivers without full protective body, head and neck supports.

And don't climb a ladder. Ever.
 
horserider said:
So anyone who is injured when handling a horse by not wearing hat, BP, gloves and specialist boots, gumshield and face guard is equally responsible for paying their medical costs ?

Include children playing on playgrounds without protection, swimmers without lifejackets and car drivers without full protective body, head and neck supports.

And don't climb a ladder. Ever.
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Totally agree!
 
horserider said:
So anyone who is injured when handling a horse by not wearing hat, BP, gloves and specialist boots, gumshield and face guard is equally responsible for paying their medical costs ?

Include children playing on playgrounds without protection, swimmers without lifejackets and car drivers without full protective body, head and neck supports.

And don't climb a ladder. Ever.
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Behave HR - of course there is an element of risk in all sports - ours is a particularly high risk one - so we should insure and clothe ourselves appropriately!

I dont wear a BP but son does, we all wear decent riding hats which fit, and don the donkey in hi viz when hacking on roads. He is also insured - its just common sense IMHO
 
It irritates me. Frankly I don't really care if someone is stupid enough to risk their skull, but I do care about the friends and family that have to pick up the pieces and I resent my tax being used to treat injuries that could have been prevented if a hat was worn.
 
ghostie said:
but I do care about the friends and family that have to pick up the pieces and I resent my tax being used to treat injuries that could have been prevented if a hat was worn.
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Never been injured when wearing a hat, but have broken several bone whilst wearing a hat and a BP (and no I would not have been more injured hat I not been wearing a hat - head never touched the floor). Does it annoy you that my injuries could have been prevent if I didn't ride?
 
I have lots of friends who ski and snowboard (I haven't personally) and their insurance would be invalid if they do not wear a protective hat. I haven't even looked to see if my insurance is the same. I think if we can be safe(r) than why take the risk? Most professional event riders and show jumpers never would, probably because they couldn't afford to be off of work. How many of us can afford to pay for us and a horse if off of work (my work contracts stipulates that if I am of of work through fault of my own, i.e part taking in a risky sport, I will only be covered for a short period of time on sick pay)? Riding without a hat has never crossed my mind, however with younger horses/ponies I will wear a body protector (not something I would just do on a general hack only whilst XC) but I do not wear it on older horses (although now i feel like for the first 5 minutes of my ride I don't have my seat belt on!) I am just as guilty?
 
piebaldsparkle said:
Never been injured when wearing a hat, but have broken several bone whilst wearing a hat and a BP (and no I would not have been more injured hat I not been wearing a hat - head never touched the floor). Does it annoy you that my injuries could have been prevent if I didn't ride?
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No, of course not, as I would assume most of us on here ride and therefore take on the risks that riding and handling horses present. But, I am just wondering if there are safety products in place should we be made to use them through insurance or just common sense?
 
littleladylou said:
I have lots of friends who ski and snowboard (I haven't personally) and their insurance would be invalid if they do not wear a protective hat.
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WoW really? Not been skiing for a few years (the old knees aren't up to it), but only ever wore a fluffy hat or headband!

Dam I'm sooooo irresponsible!! :D

Dunno how I have survived so long!!:rolleyes:
 
I always wear a hat when riding and I make sure my children do to, having said that if an adult chooses to ride without one I think they're being inconsiderate...to the emergency services who will have to clean up the remains :p....but it's their choice. What does annoy me is seeing children still at school spouting word for word the same 'it's my head so it's my choice' argument that older adults on their yard spout, to me that's not personal choice it's brain washing. As adults I feel it's our responsibility to encourage young people to wear hats.
 
I just think that where risk can be minimized in a sensible proportionate way it should be. Cyclists should wear helmets as should all riders. Having seen some very nasty head injuries I just think it is selfish to risk your loved ones having to deal with that when you can reduce the risk by taking 30 seconds to put a hat on. I'm not saying no one should ever do anything risky, just do what that sensibly can to be safe
 
I feel quite strongly about this, I know there is a generation who rode in head scarves, my Mum was one till she had children.

A couple of years ago as I was driving home there was an accident a country lane, a cyclist had gone over his handlebars on the steep hill, the sight of the 'mash that was his forehead' I have never forgotton.

When I was younger a very great family friend was killed falling from her horse in her field, and a young pony club member was killed riding her pony at the walk. So in our family everyone wears hats, and if we are handling young stock we are not sure of we put on hats and protective clothing, why take risks that can be avoided?

I have worked with people with brain damage and the life long effects are very distressing for the person and all their family.
 
I think horserider has a good point actually. In almost 20yrs of riding my mare, I have not had a single fall where a hat needed replacing, or any type of serious injury. Infact, the only falls I've had from her involved me doing stupid & dangerous things. Such as leaning down to faff with my chaps whilst galloping bareback, & her suddenly stopping because something shot across her path. & I was not quite 12 when I backed her as an almost 4yr old. So that's not just good luck. So if I should always wear a hat on her, isn't it a bit silly of me to only give my head the same level of protection riding a young/problematic/unpredictable etc horse? Now as it happens I do always wear a hat. But, if it wasn't for who I might influence, I'd pop on her bareback to/from field without daily, & do any flatwork at home without on her. I can think of far more near misses I've had outside horses. I'm not at all advocating riding without. But, I would argue I'm safer on my mare without a hat, than with on many other horses, & certainly safer than many riders are with hats on horses they don't know as well as I do her.
 
littleladylou said:
Most professional event riders and show jumpers never would, probably because they couldn't afford to be off of work.
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Hate to break it to you - but pro riders are the worst for not wearing hats unless they have to.

Hands up - I went for about 5 years never wearing a hat, whilst I was training in Germany. I wear one now because I'm older and scareder, and my horse has a bit of a rep for dropping people when they get on him. I don't fall off very often, but that tends to mean that when I do - i hit the ground pretty hard
 
Personally I think it's extremely stupid to ride (or cycle) on a road without a helmet. Even if you are an excellent rider and your horse is very safe you cannot legislate for the stupidity of other road users.

Otherwise it's more down to individual choice, the chances of having an accident are generally going to be pretty low but the risk of that accident being catastrophic is far too high for my liking. And whilst it is your head, it will be other people deciding whether to turn off your life support or caring for you for the rest of your life. That really isn't something I would want to do to my family.

Personally I would like helmets to be compulsory when riding on public roads/paths and in ridden competitions - but otherwise for it to be down to own choice/venue policy
 
If it's their horse on their watch its their decision.
I have an issue with people riding other people's horses and doing it. And riding with a hat undone does my nut in.
 
I was wearing a hat when I fell off, no idea what happened, and I expect we'll never know, only there was a hoofprint in my hat

as a consequence I lost my memory for just over 2 years, as a result I lost my partner, my kids, my home, my job, basically my life

(I still lived with partner and kids, I had no idea who they were, seperate beds, the partner was a stranger etc)

I have recently been told that because of this "obviously hats don't work"

my reply .. well obviously they do, I should be dead!

I got my memory back, remembered the kids were mine and I adored them and I'm still here, still not fully recovered but battling on

what do I feel when I see someone without a hat?, while I wouldn't say anything, I just feel soo sad :-(
 
Having been on the receiving end of an incredibly serious head injury that took 7 surgeries and 4 years to recover from (and I wasn't even riding at the time, I was leading) I do actually get quite angry when I see someone riding without a hat - I know its a personal choice, and I do try not to let it get to me but I just cannot fathom how someone cares so little about themselves and the people they love, that they will get on a horse without a hat on.
 
People with a brain protect it......and I object to my hard earned money going to taxes which pay for health care for careless people.......as I get older I am taking more care. I have always worn a helmet and good boots as one of the senior members of my pony club died on a hack on her top horse while wearing a headscarf and gumboots.....now, having had a compression fracture of a vertebrae from a fall from my safe pony!, I wear a body protector as well. I do not have time to spend recovering from falls....
 
I don't care what other people wear on their head, not my problem. If I was teaching, or they were riding my horse, or on my land I would make them wear a hat.

I am not someone to comment on others about wearing a hat, its a bit like smoking, I don't go around taking cigarettes off people an giving them lectures about their health and the cost to the NHS.

Personally I always wear a hat- it is natural to do, and I am often riding youngsters etc any ways.
I was thrown from a youngster (who went crazy!) and cracked my riding hat. I was fine, got up straight away and walked away. When I took off my riding hat I was like 'Shhhhiiiitttt!!!!' The horse's owner bought me a lovely new hat so it was a win win situation. :D
 
It's not personal choice unless you're a hermit.

Been there, had the stupid accident, thanks to my hat I lived to tell the tale, or as much as I could thanks to the bleed on my brain - its very grounding when one's fifteen year old daughter is calling 999 and discussing her Mum in front of one, and one's twelve year old daughter is fighting her way into the ambulance, add one overhearing two consultants discussing drilling a hole in one's head whilst one's husband and daughter are stood next to one, and for a final bit - the mood swings, the incredible sadness, the inability to get across a road and wanting to sit down on the island bit and just cry because you can't figure out the traffic and your OH having to come and get you, stepping out in front of a black cab (luckily he was more aware!) because one just can't register danger/traffic/speeds.

Hm. Personal choice?
 
I'm afraid the old "it's their head, so it's their choice" argument doesn't sit well with me. It just seems so utterly selfish! What about the friends and family of that individual who would have to care for them if they end up with a serious brain injury?
The brain is such a highly complex and essential organ, why wouldn't you want to protect it? Broken teeth can be replaced, broken bones and injured muscles will heal but a brain injury can be catastrophic! That goes for cyclists, ski-ers and anyone else that does any sport/activity where there is a risk of a head injury.
 
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