stuffabunny

Safety is something we all should think about when around horses, they are larger than us and can often injure us or themselves without meaning to. One of the easiest things aside from close toed shoes we can wear to protect ourselves is a safety helmet. There was just a lovely article in Horse Illustrated this month about wearing a helmet. It got me thinking about how many adults and kids I see out riding without helmets. So here is a article to think about.
Horsechannel.com helmet article

SaddleSore

I've never ridden without my helmet. The thought has still crossed my mind quite frequently however that it provides no neck protection at all. I often think of Christopher Reeve (Superman) and the fact that he was paralysed from the neck down in a fall from his horse. It was very sad.

crazyqueen

I wish more would be aware of the dangers that can happen even with a small fall or accident. You would think these people that ride without them don't get why they are made in the first place. Okay, so its true, someone wants a profit, who doesn't? But seriously, they are there for a reason. I am stickler on safety, and yell at many all the time for this.

Sternchen14

I always ride with my helmet, too. Firstly my parents want this, but secondly I think without-helmet-riding is to dangerous.

BornintheSaddle

I had never really thought about helmets before in truth. I just wore it because it was part of my routine, I didn't think about what it was doing for me.

horsegurl03801

While I think its sad what happened to Mr. Reeve I must say all the video of him riding was hideous. His form over fences was awful and he was most likely outhorsed but rode the horse because it was trained and performed well. My favorite rider of all time was a superior rider and his horse lost its footing and fell on him breaking his leg and ending his show career cold. Riding is dangerous even with protective equipment such as helmets and vests.

ShortTail

This is absolutely true. But at least when we wear those protective gears, it will lessen the injuries that we may have without them. With these topic, it reminded me of the cowboys who ride rodeos. They are really daring!

purpleparrit

Cowboys expect to have a short shelf life. Like any competitive sport you are pretty much retired and done with your career by the time you are thirty, if not before. And broncs are often "meaner" than steer even if they don't have horns. They only have the rodeo clowns to help them out of a jam.

I've always worn a helmet since they became regulated and ASTM/SEI (think those are the right acronyms) approved. I mean especially once they became lighter and stylish. We used to have helmets that looked like bike helmets without a brim or pretty velvet. And they stuck out a couple inches and weighed a ton. There's no excuse to wear a slim, light helmet. They even make them with western hats on top.

Allan

That I would like to see. Do you have any examples of this kind of helmet? Better to have protection than nothing at all. So if ever I would ride a horse, I would demand to have a helmet. I will never know what will happen while I'm riding the horse.

TheStallion

In anything that we do, safety must come first. Riding horses is not as safe as someone thought it is. Many horse riders mistake is the thought that only equestrian should wear a helmet because they are riding the horse on races.