Would you ride in a bicycle helmet?

Lammy

Lammy

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Since being kicked in the head I've been unable to ride and not because I don't feel right, in fact I feel great! But I still can't get a hat on my head :( Right where the hat sits above my eyebrow I still have an egg sized lump and there's no way I'm getting a hat on my head so I figured a bike helmet would work for now as it would sit above my bump?

I'm desperate to ride, my pony is getting fatter by the week and it could take months to get rid of this lump, it might even need to be surgically removed :/ I'll only be riding my saintly old mare who I haven't fallen off of in about 5 years...is this a good idea?

Any other ideas are welcome!
 
Might be worth getting one of the adjustable Polly hats - not hideously priced, have one of the latest standards, and are lightweight.
 
No, they don't protect the right areas in the right way. I'd long rein or lunge if the horse needs working. Otherwise a few days or week off isn't the end of the world whereas a fall in the wrong hat could be!
 
Even though a bike helmet isn't specifically designed for horse riding it would be better than no hat at all. However only only you know what sort of risk you are willing to take.
Check out the skate board helmets and see where they sit also.
 
Casco do bike, skiing and riding helmets, they may have a product fit for dual purpose. If it's to sit higher, their helmets are quite cut back anyway. But a bit of an outlay for short term!
 
I have to admit that I would in the short term if I couldn't get hold of or borrow an adjustable riding hat..

I can see I'm in the minority though.

Fiona
 
What would bother me is if there's a lump, does that mean you haven't fully recovered? If it's just scar tissue then yes I'd ride in the cycling helmet, but then I've been known to ride without a helmet so perhaps you should ignore me. As someone else said, it all depends on what risks you're willing to take. It's different if you're risking a healthy head to risking one that's already injured though.
 
little_critter said:
What makes you say this? I understand that bike riders go by the same rule of thumb that we do, if it takes a knock you bin it and get a new one.
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I think Jules means in one incident, and that's true. Bike helmets aren't designed with impact in mind, they're designed to protect you from skidding on concrete. Riding hats are made to withstand a hard knock.
 
When I looked at the snell and en testing they seemed the same for both height/impact etc even though my snell versions of both are very different. worth noting a lot of cycle hats have no cert at all.
 
A properly-fitted bike helmet is supposed to sit just above your eyebrows, so it won't solve the problem.

Can you get someone else to ride the horse while you recover properly?

As an aside, when I lived in London and cycled to work, I would regularly see a girl cycling in a battered old Patey. It used to give me the shivers.
 
Thanks for the replies!
To answer a few questions, I need a hat whether I'm lunging, riding or long lining the yard I'm on doesn't allow you to exercise a horse without some sort of head protection. A week off wouldn't have done her any harm but now it's been five and could be five months if this lump turns out to be scar tissue and needs to be cut off my head. She's 18, Welsh (fat) and getting a bit creaky, the more exercise she does the better.

A few people have ridden for me but it's getting darker and they have their own horses to sort so I appreciate that they can't ride her often. I was kicked not wearing a hat whilst walking through a field. It was a very hard direct hit and not just a glancing blow, and I know I'm very lucky that it wasn't worse but my mare needs work just as much as I need to ride ):

And that's not even thinking about getting my youngsters backing process back on track!
 
I've also tried one of my friends hats which has the adjustable dial at the back but unfortunately it sat in the same position, right on the egg. Which has at this point, virtually become its own person.
 
I'm sorry, but if you already have a head injury, why on earth are you considering increasing your chances of getting another by wearing inappropriate safety equipment?
Sigh. Exercise your horse a different way and wait for the lump to go, be it naturally or through surgery. It's 5 months not 5 years.
 
If your yard requires you to use head protection whilst on the ground as well as mounted I would be tempted to use a cycle helmet or similar to lunge or longline only. Not to ride. But that said - you are in the position in the first place OP because you didn't have a hat on. No criticism to you - most of us do not put on a hat to walk through the field, or to work a horse from the ground. But arguably we should and your experience if proof of that.
 
I'm on the other side of the fence ot most people I think. I'd never advise anyone else to do so, but if I couldn't wear a normal helmet and had to exercise my well-known horse then sure, I'd do it in a bike helmet, especially if we're talking light exercise and not like going XC or whatever. Bike accidents are arguably just as bad if not worse than horse accidents (now this sounds like opening a can of worms :-) I'll hide after posting). On a bike you may be going up to 40mph but you'll be doing so on concrete with bloomin cars all around. If you're not on a road, you'd be off-roading which involves being on rocks and speed and all sorts. I fall off my bike much more than my horse. Bike helmets are designed to cope with that. OK you might have to be careful not to be using your £5 Aldi one, but a proper one.... but then I'd do it.
Obviously you're always going to be doing so at your own risk etc etc. If it was me I'd do it. I guess it's a bit like the 'would you ride in a cast' post the other day, just depends on you. I'd do that, too, so maybe it's really just about attitude to risk. that said, I'd prob speak to a doctor about the lump in case that could cause other problems in itself ....
 
Thanks everyone, I think I'll ditch the bike helmet idea as much as I want to ride I really don't want another head injury any time soon. Instead I'm off to the tack shop to see if they can fit a helmet to my head which works around the egg. Hopefully they can pad it like you suggested Ffion if not I'm not sure what I'll do ):

There was an article in H&H about a lady who went hunting with a modified helmet after a head injury which sat a little further up her head but there was no picture or make provided. If anyone has any idea what this could be then it would be much appreciated!
 
I had a massive egg on my head in the summer which took a while to go, and even though its gone my head is still sore to touch.

I think it was a good month before I could get my riding hat on.

I'm lucky my yard doesn't insist on protective had for lunging, so I carried on lunging as normal in my baseball hat. If I was in your position, yes I'd use the cycle helmet for lunging.

I also had the mother of black eyes for about 3 weeks - and can't believe that random people in the street kept asking me what had happened to me...
 
Apache Warlord said:
I had a massive egg on my head in the summer which took a while to go, and even though its gone my head is still sore to touch.

I think it was a good month before I could get my riding hat on.

I'm lucky my yard doesn't insist on protective had for lunging, so I carried on lunging as normal in my baseball hat. If I was in your position, yes I'd use the cycle helmet for lunging.

I also had the mother of black eyes for about 3 weeks - and can't believe that random people in the street kept asking me what had happened to me...
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I know what this is like :| for the first week I walked around the village quite obviously frightebing people with my swollen, purple face. The grim head wound probably didn't help either. And had to go to a&e on the third day as both my eyes had swollen shut and I couldn't see thankfully that didn't last!

Just have a lump and a scar now but I keep looking back at the pictures my mum insisted on taking (to send to horrified family members) so I can remind myself just how bad it was.
 
I do. I took one hell of a lot of stick on here about it, but the fact is that it covers more of my head than some riding helmets and is tested to the same standards and for the same type of falls as a horse riding hat. They are, after all supposed to protect a cyclist who is hit by a car. The one test it wouldn't pass is the penetration test, because it has holes in, but as I never ride in it through a wood that is of no concern to me.

If you look for the off road biking cyclo cross hats they are deeper at the back than most bike helmets. They must have a test label in them to be safe, and they cost around the same as the PAS015 hats I buy.
 
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