Riding Without A Helmet

I must admit that when I was her age I would often ride without a helmet. Not that I purposely didn't put it on - I just had other things on my mind and didn't think about it. Scarily enough this was on an ex-racehorse I was reschooling. These days I wouldn't dream of getting on without a helmet on. But as others say, it is her (and her parent's) risk to take. I recommend hiding her from your newsfeed and trying not to think about it.
 
It's funny, in my youth we hardly ever wore hats unless we were going to a show and thought nothing about it despite doing the craziest of things. Now if I get on my dozey old pony without a hat I feel really insecure, like I'm going to fall off and kill myself which is totally illogical.
If I was the rider's mother I wouldn't be happy but I don't think its the business of strangers to decide what she does.
 
No excuse to ride without a hat in this day and age and people who do ride without a hat seem to have to explain why. After falling from a horse that tripped in trot and I landed on my head and the horse stood on the side of it my head is still here. Love when people say when riding certain horses they do or don't wear hats. Any horse can trip at any pace. And if a teenage child who is any age especially 14/15 are riding without hats then their parents need some educating to educate their children. Why they have ever got on without a hat is beyond me.
 
popsdosh said:
Its her choice ,Why worry what others are doing?
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I take it you have never had to deal with someone with a serious head injury? It is terrifying, in some cases traumatising & will stick with you for life. You would then worry when you saw others doing it.

IMO it is sheer stupidity to ride without a hat even the safest horse could slip or trip. If I saw her out I would stop and say something for my own peace of mind that I had at least tried.
 
Unfortunately you won't change the mind of teenagers like these - 16/17 years old I'm guessing? They are invincible after all, just like the 17 year old boys racing round in their first cars.
There are a few at my yard who will hack out with their hat undone (never without completely, YO would not allow it!) I always kindly point out that they've 'forgotten' to do it up and they *usually* fasten it then, but I don't know if they undo it again once I'm out of sight!
 
wills_91 said:
I take it you have never had to deal with someone with a serious head injury? It is terrifying, in some cases traumatising & will stick with you for life. You would then worry when you saw others doing it.

IMO it is sheer stupidity to ride without a hat even the safest horse could slip or trip. If I saw her out I would stop and say something for my own peace of mind that I had at least tried.
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I was waiting for that one. The truth is there are as many people that have life changing injuries that wear a hat. A lot depends on if you are aware of the consequences. I always wear a helmet but defend others right not to. There is a well established principle that the more safety equipment that is available the more likely you are to have an accident. It is the reason that road death figures do not come down that quickly even though there are so many things in cars to protect you the fact is people take more chances.
 
EKW said:
I'm sure it's in the Highway Code somewhere that when riding on the roads you must have a bridle, saddle and stirrups and have your feet in the irons.
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It's says never to ride without both a saddle and a bridle.

I think the girls mother is an absolute idiot. Just like I think of parents who let their children cycle on the roads to school without a helmet.

I wouldn't ride without one personally, and that is the case for most people I know. Especially knowing someone who is still not fully recovered from a head injury nearly 20 years ago where she was wearing a riding hat!

Ax
 
Whilst I get why people say it is personal choice and their head, their life, you can still damage yourself with a hat on etc, I do wish those that say this would think about what choice their nearest and dearest have when/if you did happen to end up severely compromised from a head injury. It is them that will need to care for you and in some cases this could be full time for the rest of your life and therefore in my mind the choice about wearing a hat is not just a personal one. All for the sake of not putting your hat on and doing the chin strap up. Heads are delicate.

With body protectors it obviously is similar and the risk of falling is obviously the same as with a hat but unless you are going at speed or jumping the risk of death or paralysis is less - crushing your ribs is not going to put you in a vegetative state but crushing your skull could do.
 
Im not sure I would call it selfish ^^^
Personally I wear one most of the time when riding.
The only time I dont is when I go to get my boy in from the field and will just jump on him bareback and ride to the yard.
If someone else chooses not to wear one though then thats their choice. Its their safety they're risking at the end of the day. Not mine.
 
I always wear a hat when riding out (we don't do schooling but would wear a hat for that as well) however if others choose not to then that is their choice.

Even though I am old enough to 'know better' though I still like to get a leg up onto my mare and ride her in from the field, bareback, using 2 lead ropes as 'reins' - puts a huge smile on my face every time.

the thing that really grinds my gears is people not wearing high vis - purely because by not doing so they are putting their horse at risk.
 
I would never ride without one, just as I wouldn't get in a car without a seatbelt. We do dangerous things but may as well take any precaution available.

Even if I didn't care about myself, I wouldn't want to increase the chance of a head injury that would leave my pets, family and friends in an awful situation. If something bad happened with my hat on, at least I'd done what I can to minimise the risk.
 
popsdosh said:
I was waiting for that one. The truth is there are as many people that have life changing injuries that wear a hat. A lot depends on if you are aware of the consequences. I always wear a helmet but defend others right not to. There is a well established principle that the more safety equipment that is available the more likely you are to have an accident. It is the reason that road death figures do not come down that quickly even though there are so many things in cars to protect you the fact is people take more chances.
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So have you been at the scene of someone suffering from a head injury, yes or no?

I am aware that even with a helmet you can still sustain an injury -would you get in a car without a seat belt, no not guaranteed to safe your life but it decreases the risk same with wearing a correctly fitting hat.
 
wills_91 said:
I take it you have never had to deal with someone with a serious head injury? It is terrifying, in some cases traumatising & will stick with you for life. You would then worry when you saw others doing it.

IMO it is sheer stupidity to ride without a hat even the safest horse could slip or trip. If I saw her out I would stop and say something for my own peace of mind that I had at least tried.
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This.

As someone who's father is currently in hospital with potential brain damage I can categorically say it is traumatising for our whole family. Why anyone would choose to put themselves at the added risk of suffering a brain injury through not wearing a hat is beyond me. Selfish to the extreme.
 
Probably the majority of horse riders worldwide don't wear a riding helmet. I wonder if there are any statistics concerning the comparative rates of head injury from country to country? It is, at the end of the day, a personal choice. I don't choose to wear one, but I don't mind if you do so.
 
I had an accident 4 weeks ago that resulted in a 3 day stint in hospital and relatively mild concussion that took 2 weeks to fully recover from. And that was when I was wearing a hat. I have an 8 hour block of my memory that is missing as a result, including the accident itself so I can't tell you what happened.

I found the whole episode terrifying. To not have full mental capacity, even for two weeks after a mild head injury was just so scary. I dread to think what the damage may have been had I not been wearing a hat. Yes, there are those that say 1cm of foam really isn't going to make a difference but frankly why take the risk? For the sake of what? Vanity? Comfort? Nope. I will NEVER ride my horse, or my bike, without a form of head protection. My brain is my most valued asset and I'm going to protect it as much as I can.
 
Hilary'smum said:
Because it is not the choice of those who would have to look after her in the event of her becoming a vegetable due to an accident. It's inconsiderate and selfish (my opinion)
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My opinion yes based on the fact I have three friends who have been badly injured all wearing helmets two have severe brain damage and one a broken neck caused by wearing a helmet. Having seen the two with brain damage I suspect if given the chance they would rather have not been wearing one to be blunt. As I said none of this stops me wearing a hat however it is a persons right to make that choice.
If you are really so worried about becoming a burden after an accident why dont you just stay in bed as we all do things in everyday life that are dangerous ie crossing the road ,getting in a car and everybody makes an informed choice whether they do it or not. To be honest obese people,and those who drink cost the NHS a lot more a year than the odd rider with a head injury!
 
She has a choice weather or not to wear a hat unfortunately the NHS has not choice and has to treat her when she turns up with a head injury and tax payers have no choice but to pay the bill for said care !! Idiot !
 
To be honest I don't agree thats its wrong that someone doesnt wear a hat based on the fact that their families will need to care for them or that the nhs will need to pay for their treatment following an accident.
As has already been pointed out we do things everyday that carry a risk and could result in us being a burden on the nhs or needing care from others. Hell if you followed that line of thinking youd spend your whole life in a padded room. By even getting on a horse we are taking risks.
Ok I do see where people are coming from with limiting the risks but again I doubt people take literally every last precaution with absolutley everything they do. There will always be risks unfortunately.
 
Ye but where do you draw a line? Shall we all stop doing any kind of dangerous activity? Riding? Skiing? Sky diving? Driving a car? We all make a judgement regarding the risks and decide whether to take it or not. As adults we can decide for ourselves. Who is anyone else to tell us we're wrong?
 
If adults want to ride without hat then its up to them its their head and if they want to bash their brains out then that's their business. However I do feel for family and friends and the emergency services who have to pick up the pieces and perhaps carer for the person for the rest of their lives.
 
People riding without a hat makes my blood boil. Even if they don't care about their own future, what about the cost to any witnesses of a potential accident, their family and friends and also to the NHS. It boils down to nothing less than selfishness and it really isn't excusable with riding hats so readily available.
 
Why take the risk? The fact is, wearing a hat gives you a much better chance of not receiving a broken fence post through the frontal lobe or a caved in skull should the worst happen and you come off.
I am in no doubt I would have come away with a very serious, messy injury had I not been wearing my helmet when I came off recently, I got off with mild concussion instead.

To me, it's an obvious answer.
 
Hilary'smum said:
Of course living is dangerous. No reason to stack rhe odds against oneself
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Exactly this. Why take additional chances? People need to cross the road and walk to do every day things; you don't need to not wear a helmet. There really is no excuse.

As a teenager I rode without my hat quite a lot, and my parents didn't know. One day I hopped on my young gelding and took him for a canter across the fields bareback - little monkey took off broncing, and luckily for me I stayed on. When I look back I shudder at the thought of riding without one! Hopefully this girl will grow up a bit - beyond my imagination to comprehend how the mum is OK with this though - I got the telling off of my life from my parents when they saw me riding without a hat.
 
I wear my hat 100% of the time. I hadn't fallen off my boy for 2 and a half years and then managed 2 tumbles in 5 days (first one I landed sitting up though!). I went out and brought a new hat today. I ride in my body protector at all times as well, apart from riding him out to the field if I haven't ridden first (leave it on if I have) but I still wear my hat. I've owned him 10 years and have been riding 20 years. Surely it's illegal (if not it should be!) to ride on the roads without a hat?!
 
I really resent paying the NHS costs of all the fat people, but I don't give them aggro every time I see them heading for Greggs. I don't harass people who drive fast cars, smoke, or play rugby either.

You might ride a thousand times without a hat, with no damage at all, but those cream buns will surely kill you... cancer, heart-disease, stroke, mobility problems - they all cost society huge sums of money. I'm not saying don't wear a hat, but I do think people have a very poor sense of risk-perspective. It's not like wearing a hat makes you immortal, or even materially improves the survivability of a serious riding accident (it doesn't stop you breaking your neck, and in some cases actually makes it worse).

If you're that het up about other people's risk profiles, you should be campaigning to ban horse riding altogether. Damn silly, dangerous thing to do.
 
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