People who don't wear hats while riding...?

The horse I fell of when I had my head injury was one of safest and reliable in the yard! We will never know what happened we think he tripped on a root.
No hat is so safe no rider so good that you can excuse wearing a hat and yes that does include all those european riders who did or didnt win!
 
lannerch said:
The horse I fell of when I had my head injury was one of safest and reliable in the yard! We will never know what happened we think he tripped on a root.
No hat is so safe no rider so good that you can excuse wearing a hat and yes that does include all those european riders who did or didnt win!
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totally agree that freak accidents riding safe horses happen...but they also happen when turning out in the field and when loading but do you wear a hat at all times then? not meaning to have a go at you as such (as i said i ALWAYS wear my hat- totally agree the freak accident could happen)...but i just think its hypocritical for anyone who doesn't wear a hard hat AT ALL TIMES around a horse to have a go about people who choose to ride without one.... (again not aimed at you lannerch- just a general feeling about the thread! )
 
i just wanted to add another 2 penneth here - just as a few people had posted that you shouldn't ride "daft" horses on the road after my post.

Firstly, i'm sure most horses start out daft. They aren't born bombproof - should any youngster be allowed to learn to hack out?

Secondly, my horse isn't ridiculously stupid on the road, when i say she went to bolt, what she actually does is she scoots her backend underneath her and bounces forward, unfortunately the quiet lane (which is a dead end for cars might i add) that i was hacking on is very slippy (something that i am going to raise with the local council)and she slipped up like she was on ice. A total freak accident....which is why i wanted to post about it, freak accidents happen and i would say my hat saved my life in this instance.

This is easily something that could happen on a yard, i don't understand why people don't wear hats to ride :confused: apart from hat hair, what is the issue with them?
 
Have been following this thread with interest and did not feel I had a strong view either way apart from it is the riders responsibility to take the necessary steps i.e. wear a hat to protect their precious heads! This was until Sunday when I saw horses coming down our lane and the two young riders not wearing hats with a young girl (about 11 yrs old) with no hat and no shoes!!
I was stunned to silence! :eek:

I foolishly thought the "hat" discussion was about doing flatwork in the safety of an arena rather than on the roads etc where (in the most part) drivers do their best to avoid horses etc but should an accident happen a blow to the head from the tarmac or a vehicle would have serious consequences.

Having thought this through more I would have thought it should be illegal to ride a horse on the public highways without a safety hat? Or perhaps your insurance may become invalid - should this be considered?



I always ride in a safety hat on the roads etc.
 
snowcrew said:
Have been following this thread with interest and did not feel I had a strong view either way apart from it is the riders responsibility to take the necessary steps i.e. wear a hat to protect their precious heads! This was until Sunday when I saw horses coming down our lane and the two young riders not wearing hats with a young girl (about 11 yrs old) with no hat and no shoes!!
I was stunned to silence! :eek:

I foolishly thought the "hat" discussion was about doing flatwork in the safety of an arena rather than on the roads etc where (in the most part) drivers do their best to avoid horses etc but should an accident happen a blow to the head from the tarmac or a vehicle would have serious consequences.

Having thought this through more I would have thought it should be illegal to ride a horse on the public highways without a safety hat? Or perhaps your insurance may become invalid - should this be considered?



I always ride in a safety hat on the roads etc.
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This is a good point about hats being a legal requirement on the roads, and tell me if I completely wrong, but it is illegal isn't it if you are under 16?! After 16, its is no longer illegal and becomes a personal choice. Funny, are under 16yos less likely to make the correct decision?! So Snowcrew, those young girls were probably breaking the law! :)
 
Taken no offence at all diggerbez and not trying to be hypocritical just trying to prevent people making the same mistake I did!
It's no fun having my memory and I was a lucky idiot! :)
 
Hayleyshep88, I will ask my copper mate when I see her later about the law on the road for the under 16 yr olds and get back to you.

I know folk like to live on the edge but perhaps do that on a safari or such like rather than on the public highway when innocent drivers would perhaps have the burden for life should an accident occur and an ill equipped rider not wearing a hat has a serious accident.

I should add though, when I compete I do wear a beagling hat for dressage - but my horse and I are an ancient combination and would not do this on a new less experienced ride.
 
snowcrew said:
I know folk like to live on the edge but perhaps do that on a safari or such like rather than on the public highway when innocent drivers would perhaps have the burden for life should an accident occur and an ill equipped rider not wearing a hat has a serious accident.

QUOTE]

this is so true, unfortunately someone very close to me has experience of this and i would not wish it on anyone.

I regularly see some stupid woman riding out on a nutty tb hatless, with her 4year old son in tow on a little pony (tbf he's wearing a hat) round busy roads! It is shocking, what if something happened to her - what kind of situation does that leave that poor child in?

So irresponsible :mad:
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The only time I don't moan at my daughter for not wearing a hat is when she leads our local carnival, as she is invariably wearing a dress in costume, she just looks daft.
She does only walk but even then the horse could slip/fall ect , but we do know him inside out and decided to take the risk.
At home we all wear hats (some of the liveries don't but it's their head and their risk) and I cringe when I see pics of people riding without hard hats even in arenas.
My husband's horse bronked on the road recently after an air bag in a saddle moved and hurt the horse's back. It had never even bucked previously and the end result was it fell on it's side when it leapt too high, landing on him, breaking his hip and meaning 6 months off riding. . His head hit the floor as testified by his hat with a damn great dint in it. He is a far more experienced rider than many of the matchy matchy idiots on here, but would not ever ride without his hat, this incident proved what protection they give.
Next year I think we may try and find a costume for my daughter to use with headgear, reading my reply I am beginning to think our risk is too great too..
Don't start me about some of the members on here who think their riding is so superior they don't need hats, to the majority of us, what they need is a brain transplant...
 
snowcrew - I think under 14s arent allowed on the road without a helmet but I dont know why I think it is this age! I think it should be 18 for this to prevent teenagers from doing it because it is "cool", to impress their friends etc or simply too young and uneducated to make the decision - whilst I would hope any child old enough to be responsible on a horse without an adult on the road would also be smart enough to wear a hat on the road apparently that is not the case!

Maybe it should just be hats on heads on roads for everyone and anyone as people say no poor other road user wants to see your brains on the floor and you should be placing yourself in a position meaning you are most likely to be able to control your horse if you fell off ie preferably not unconscious so as to try and reduce the likelihood of your horse causing an accident! It would also mean police could stop any rider without a hat rather than trying to determine their age at a glance! :)
 
becca1305 is right. According to the Highway Code it is the law that people 14 and under have to wear a hat while riding on the roads - there is no requirement for anyone else to do so.
Another reason to not wear a helmet, OP, is if you are not allowed to. In some forms of Western competition you have to wear a stetson and you do not have the option of wearing a helmet, as was the case when I rode for my university in the USA. Wearing a helmet would have been considered incorrect dress and incurred disqualification.
 
Just got this text from my police mate:

"It is an offence for a child under 14 to ride on a road with no hat, the parent, guardian, horse owner, or person who has immediate custody control of the horse will be person responsible. The Horse (Protective headgear for young riders) Act 1990"

So there we have it, think we all really knew it was an offence but nice to know.
 
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