Riding without a hat

[Shutterbug]

Well if anyone cares to take a look at the article in Your Horse magazine (page 73 I think) - you will see a rather graphic photograph of what happens when you get dragged by a horse when you are NOT riding - now just imagine what could happen to you if you were riding.

That photograph is my head and that happened to me and 6 surgeries were performed to repair the damage. Im a walking advert for wearing a hat - and Im lucky to be able to say that

 

[monkeybum13]

I dont wear a hat simply due to the fact that I get bad headaches and my head gets too hot and I cant focus with any hat on my head!!

Have you tried the ventair type hats? They may help stopping you getting a hot head.
Also get your hat properly fitted and you won't get headaches

 

[jessicabeau1]

Maybe if you got a properly fitting hat you wouldnt have a headache. You would have a bigger one if you knocked yourself out by falling off. If your head gets too hot get yourself a Champion Ventair hat, lets air through to cool your head.!! If you cant focus with a hat on your head then maybe you need glasses. Better still dont ride without a hat on then you wont cause anyone any unnecessary work eg Doctors, Nurses, Paramedics. Never heard such feeble excuses for not wearing a hat.!! What about your family if the worse were to happen eh??

I have a well fitted hat thanks just dont wear it! , and I already wear glasses all the time too!! I just choose not to wear a hat...I dont have to explain to you why!! I have never ever fallen off a horse in all the years I have been riding (16 years) probably due to the fact I dont ride nutjobs - all of my horses have been 100% well mannered and safe in all circumstances!

 

[mollichop]

When I was 18 and training dressage horses in Germany, it was the norm to not wear a hat (going back a few years). When I came back here, it felt strange to be wearing one again.
Always wear one now, however my best friend never does when schooling in the field which I think is mad, only when out and about.

 

[monkeybum13]

I have never ever fallen off a horse in all the years I have been riding (16 years) probably due to the fact I dont ride nutjobs - all of my horses have been 100% well mannered and safe in all circumstances!

That's lovely to hear, but even the most well mannered, safe in all circumstances horses can trip/fall and send the rider flying.

 

[Fransurrey]

And a few years ago i had a nasty accident out riding. If i hadn't been wearing my hat i probably would have been dead. So I never ride without one now, it really brought it home to me.

Same here. My accident was a complete freak one and my hat was split by the impact. I only had a headache, but wondered why car drivers were staring at me on the way home (I rode back). I only discovered the split felt and split inside when I took it off and it scared the poop out of me!

 

[Izzwizz]

I have a well fitted hat thanks just dont wear it! , and I already wear glasses all the time too!! I just choose not to wear a hat...I dont have to explain to you why!! I have never ever fallen off a horse in all the years I have been riding (16 years) probably due to the fact I dont ride nutjobs - all of my horses have been 100% well mannered and safe in all circumstances!

Well lucky you is all I can say!! Unfortunately drivers on the road are not so courteous these days and anything can happen so its not all about nutjobs as you say. Horses can be unpredictable, they have a mind of their own at the best of times and I dont think its worth the risk atall. Hope you stay lucky!!

 

[TS_]

probably due to the fact I dont ride nutjobs - all of my horses have been 100% well mannered and safe in all circumstances!

That is completely the wrong attitude to have towards horses, or anything! Just because it's not a nut job does not mean that one day it might fall, spook, trip, knock you on the head etc. That's the kind of attitude that could get your seriously hurt. It's also so pointless as there are hats around today that have more holes in than a watering can to help circulate air through them, so really that's no excuse.

 

[trafford]

I have a well fitted hat thanks just dont wear it! , and I already wear glasses all the time too!! I just choose not to wear a hat...I dont have to explain to you why!! I have never ever fallen off a horse in all the years I have been riding (16 years) probably due to the fact I dont ride nutjobs - all of my horses have been 100% well mannered and safe in all circumstances!

Jessicabeau1 - what happens if your horse trips and falls? Has a heartattack and dies whilst riding (god forbid!) Vehicle hits you?
If your hat fits well it won't give you a headache.
Would you let a child of yours ride without a hat? Would you ride a motorbike without a helmet? - statistically less dangerous than a horse so why not????

 

[Selkie]

when I was young in the early 70's we didnt wear riding hats unless at a show etc. But now am older -though not necessarliy wiser- I always wear a hat and wouldnt dream of not wearing one.

 

[JustMe22]

I always wear one, even on the safest horses.
However, people in the UK are way more safety conscious than those where I live and I am truly in the minority. At my yard, I am the ONLY person who wears a hat. Everyone else (and its all showjumpers, and mostly ex-racers who have just started reschooling as there's a lot of dealing horses) does everything without a hat, or with a cap. Same at my sister's yard. Its almost exclusively children and teenagers, with a few older people.

The vast majority of them never wear hats. I can't say I've been at a yard where most people do, and I'm just about always one of the very few who wears a hat to do everything...its crazy. I hate seeing people jump 1.40m fences (I mean, the guy who owned my previous yard had a horse rear and flip over on him, and he still never jumped him or rode him with a hat) with no hat on.
But I guess its their choice right?

 

[Thelwell_Girl]

I have a well fitted hat thanks just dont wear it! , and I already wear glasses all the time too!! I just choose not to wear a hat...I dont have to explain to you why!! I have never ever fallen off a horse in all the years I have been riding (16 years) probably due to the fact I dont ride nutjobs - all of my horses have been 100% well mannered and safe in all circumstances!

What a silly attitude to have! I don't ride nutjobs either, but I've still fallen off. The horse could trip/fall as well, as we have seen with the very sad accident that Dressage rider Courtney King-Dye had. Shows that whatever kind of rider you are, whatever the horse, you can still have an accident and become very seriously injured. It is a miracle she is ok!

The only time I have ever ridden without a hat was when I tried out vaulting for 5 minutes on holiday in Lincolnshire. It still terrifies me that I did so, and while the horse was a very sweet, quiet Percheron, I would never forgive myself if I fell off and got injured. Who would be taking care of me and worrying about me if (god forbid) I was hurt? My family, thats who, and I will not EVER put them through that.

Helmets are for EVERY ride, EVERY time.

 

[animal]

As tax payers, we pay for the paramedics who will have to come out (sometimes, far away in the countryside) and rescue you, the doctors who probally would rather not have to deal with unnecessaryinjuries, surgeons, and nurses.
Just think about that when you decide you can't be asked or thinks it's "cool" not to wear your hat.
Tbh, i'd rather you wear your hat riding a horse to it's friends in a big field with a headcollar, then riding a sensible horse in a indoor areana, just walking/trotting!




*i admit, that occasionaly when i first get on, i forget to do it up, and must stop being so forgetful*

 

[MrsMozart]

I dont wear a hat simply due to the fact that I get bad headaches and my head gets too hot and I cant focus with any hat on my head!!

Get one with air vents - trust me, a brain injury makes it even harder to focus.

 

[fireflymac]

I have a well fitted hat thanks just dont wear it! , and I already wear glasses all the time too!! I just choose not to wear a hat...I dont have to explain to you why!! I have never ever fallen off a horse in all the years I have been riding (16 years) probably due to the fact I dont ride nutjobs - all of my horses have been 100% well mannered and safe in all circumstances!

No horse is 100% safe in all circumstances. Even the calmest, best mannered and steadiest of them can have a slip or fall or someone else - less well mannered horse, speeding driver - can cause an accident. Just because you have never fallen off in 16 years doesn't mean you never will. I haven't fallen off for many years, but I don't presume that means I never will again.
I generally subscribe to the 'each to their own' philosophy, but in this instance I have to say that riding without a hat is foolhardy. Years ago there was very little encouragement to wear a hat and the ones we dd wear offered scant protection anyway. Nowadays we have good protective headwear available and we all know we should be wearing it and the numerous reasons why (well stated by others in this thread) so why on earth would anyone not?

 

[Ziggy_]

I rode without a hat once, in America, as I hadn't brought my own and they didn't lend them out. If I'm honest it felt great to be riding hatless, so much more comfortable - but I never have and never will do it again!

 

[clairefeekerry1]

well after having a fall from nothing tonight on a usally 100% horse, i wouldnt ride without one now!!!

 

[Coffee_Bean]

I have sat on my little mare for about 30 seconds bareback. Kinda stupid but I wanted a nice photo And it was literally 30 seconds. Apart from that, no way.

 

[zefragile]

I always ride with a hat, the only time I haven't was bareback to the field but I wouldn't do that now. I also wear a hat for lunging, loading and turning out; maybe a bit overkill but I love my head and don't want to hurt it

 

[ladyearl]

I very rarely fall off. I always ride good horses, that are 90% "safe", don't believe there isn't at least a 10% chance of something happening while riding. I always wear a hat. I work for myself and can't afford to be off. My father is very elderly and I wouldn't want him to have the pain of seeing his daughter injured because she was too stupid to use the most basic safety equipment. At my current yard everyone wears one. At a previous yard I saw more people not. To me it just looks like some one is missing a link if they don't!

 

[SO1]

I just wondered if you jump as I am an adult on a well behaved pony who is a good jumper but one day he had an accident during a lesson - jump was small and he triped after jumping and fell onto his knees and I fell off I was wearing a hat and fell on a soft surface but still got concussed and need to go to the hospital in an ambulance.

It was an accident and I was not pushing him beyond his comfort zone or anywhere near it it.

I always wear a hat and think at the very least people should wear hats when jumping or riding on hard surfaces. You horse may well be 100% sensible and well behaved but you don't know how he might react if he was stung by a hornet or some bees on his privates or a sensitive area.

I am presuming that most people who ride without hats would do so thinking that they are safe and not going to have an accident and are not riding nutjobs otherwise they would not take the risk but the nasty accidents that happen may not necessarily be due to bad behaviour of the horse or novice riding.

I have a well fitted hat thanks just dont wear it! , and I already wear glasses all the time too!! I just choose not to wear a hat...I dont have to explain to you why!! I have never ever fallen off a horse in all the years I have been riding (16 years) probably due to the fact I dont ride nutjobs - all of my horses have been 100% well mannered and safe in all circumstances!

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

well, interestingly, 5 people rarely wear a hat, but im only going to be the 2nd to admit it!

i wear a hat to hack, always, as theres no accounting for idiot drivers. and i wear it if required by YO at yards i have lessons at/yards i school horses at.

at home, or at yards with no rules ref hats, i dont wear one.

as a child i always wore on, but age 14 moved ponies to a pro yard where hats were not worn and have never really got back in to the habit.

i cant actually remember the last time i came off, and sorry but i dont know of any horses that have randomly just tripped and gone right over on a decent surface(whilst schooling on the flat)

my horses have manners, my surface is beautifully maintained, and it takes a lot to dislodge me-no doubt this will be seen as very pig headed, but i refuse to make up silly excuses, better just to be honest about the whys.

i have assesed the risk and IMHO its a small one.

if a client requests i wear a hat-no problem. otherwise i base it on the horse in question and out of everyone i teach, only 1 horse gets me in a hat!

 

[YorksG]

I can only presume that the people who ride without hats, do so because their heads are so solid that, if they landed on them, they would do no harm!

 

[Thelwell_Girl]

I can only presume that the people who ride without hats, do so because their heads are so solid that, if they landed on them, they would do no harm!

What she said ^^

 

[caitlin95uk]

i ride with a hat always but sometimes i dont just simply because im a teenager that likes to be a daredevil but i only dnt wear a hat if we are messing about bareback in the field or if i wanna try a canter to feel the wind in my hair :L but then again im a teenager deal with it

 

[NeedNewHorse]

i ride with a hat always but sometimes i dont

Hmmm... That doesn't make sense. Always means always..

then again im a teenager deal with it

That's fine, we don't have to deal with you falling off and seriously hurting yourself! Only you do..lol

The point of hat is, IF something does happen you are protected. You could ride everyday for hours and not have a problem.. It's that one time out of a million that would save your life. That's the point.

 

[PaddyMonty]

I have in the past and will in the future ride without a hat but only under certain circumstances. ie 1) it has to be very very hot, 2) I have to be riding in an areana with a very soft surface, 3) the horse being ridden has to be sensible under normal conditions.
I would never jump or hack out without a hat, just flat school.

To those that say they would never ride without a hat under any circumstances can I just ask, would you which of the following you would do without a hat..
1) Ski
2) climb a ladder, tree etc
3) cycle
4) drive/be a passenger in an open top car
5) go on a swing
6) Trampoline

All the above could result in you hitting your head with the same force as experienced when comming off a horse so why would you not wear a protective hat in all the above scenarios? My guess is you make a decision based on the odds of the accident happening and decide if the risk is acceptable.

 

[Puppy]

i cant actually remember the last time i came off, and sorry but i dont know of any horses that have randomly just tripped and gone right over on a decent surface(whilst schooling on the flat)

my horses have manners, my surface is beautifully maintained, and it takes a lot to dislodge me-no doubt this will be seen as very pig headed, but i refuse to make up silly excuses, better just to be honest about the whys.

You're right............ it does make you sound pig headed

I currently have two horses, one I've had for 13 years, and one for 3. In the time that I've owned them I've never fallen off either, BUT I still wear a hat.

Having had a horrendous head injury 17 months ago, I can't think why on earth anyone would want to risk it, and also, risk putting their poor family through it. My poor mother had to visit me in resus with bits of my face open to the bone... I saw a plastic surgeon yesterday and am now on the waiting list for a fair bit more surgery in about 4 months time - that will be nearly 2 years after my accident - and THAT is the lucky scenario of when hooves meet your head!!!

I could write all day about the hell my accident has put me through (including not being able to ride!!) and cannot for the life of me understand why anyone wouldn't do such a simple act, (putting on a hat), to take care of their head. It makes me quite angry and sad.

 

[NeedNewHorse]

1) Ski
2) climb a ladder, tree etc
3) cycle
4) drive/be a passenger in an open top car
5) go on a swing
6) Trampoline

QUOTE]

Good point. Especially the ladder, I know my ladder is very naughty and as soon as I am up the top - what does he do? He wobbles me off again!

The thing is, non of these have their own mind! Yes, they are dangerous but if we are going under that assumption lets where hats ALL the time incase we fall over ourselves! The point being is soft surface or not what happens if you hit the rails! Horses go at speed, move twist, could freak out over a bee sting or something freak like that, it's the unknown that's why it's safer to wear a hat and protect yourself against the unknown.

At least to an extent we can handle the above as they are under out control so to speak.

x

 

[PaddyMonty]

[The thing is, non of these have their own mind! Yes, they are dangerous but if we are going under that assumption lets where hats ALL the time incase we fall over ourselves!

And the reason you dont wear a hat all your waking hours is that you have made an assessment of the risk and decided what is and isn't acceptable for you as an individual.
I have done the same with riding.
In the last 20 years I have not come off flat schooling, no horse I've been riding has fallen whilst flat schooling. I have come off jumping and out hacking so I base my decision on the historic risk.

Looking at it another way, I'm far more at risk riding the XC of a novice BE despite wearing body protector and hat than I am flat schooling a known horse in a known areana without a hat yet I still ride XC novice tracks.

Its all about understanding the level of risk you are taking and whether the risk is balanced by the enjoyment you gain from the activity.
Flat schooling without a hat in extreme heat is more enjoyable for me than when wearing a hat and from passed experience the risk is acceptable for me. Each person will have different levels of acceptable risk and will base their decision on that. What is an acceptable level for one person will be very different to another.