Replacing helmets

Hi! I wasn't really sure where to post this...does it work here?
ANYwho, I just took my first fall today (!!!!!) and it was amazing (do you think I'm crazy? Haha I just really wanted to know what it was like and get the pressure of my "first fall" off my back)! I'm just wondering...do I need to replace my helmet? I've heard you should after EVERY fall but, c'mon, that's like forty dollars several times a year! So I was riding this chill therapy horse who use to be a racehorse and, idk, his racing blood must've kicked in and he took off with me around the snow-covered (NOT icy, thank goodness!) dirt track and we went furthur then half way around the track before I bailed. I THINK (I'm not sure, it happened pretty fast!) I landed on my shoulder, I might've hit my head, and slid a bit and ate some snow :) I don't hurt at all and my helmet isn't chipped or split, there are hardly any scratches.
Just to summarize, I fell off a average Thoroughbred-height horse at his flat out (medium fast) gallop onto the snow covered dirt. I don't need a new helmet, do I?
THANKS

You should be good, but if you want to be really safe, replace it.

I had a fall last weekend, first one off one of my horses and it is a huge relief to just get it over.

But if you have any suspicion that you may have even slightly hit your head, go get checked out by a doctor. Better safe than sorry!
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Just be thankful your helmet is worth only $40. Heh. The GPA Speed Air's are worth almost $600... but yes, the general rule of thumb is that if you fall and hit your head that the helmet should be replaced but most people don't. (It doesn't need to be cracked or split for there to be damage that could compromise it's shell later on.)

I would. Anytime a helmet has impaction with the ground, it's safety factor decreases and may not protect you from a brain injury, the whole point we wear a helmet right? With that being said, I think helmets can take a little knock here and there and not be compromised, but you said the helmet got scratched up, so that would concern me. But it's your brain, your decision.

I would get it replaced...there can be internal damage that you don't know about and it could put you at risk if you were to fall again! I would take the safer road and just buy a new one!!

haha I have hit it a couple times...on saddle racks and stall doors and stuff :)

If you scratched it, replace it. You don't need to replace every fall, but if there is a fall where your helmet has any sort of impact it needs to be replaced.

And Jinx... that's why you only use the GPA Speed for showing. It stays home and you have a cheaper schooling helmet, like the Ovation

Yes I replace mine anytime my head may have hit the floor which is why I have a skull cap at home and a very expensive CO hat for showing.

One way to check your hat is to place your hands on either side and push. Any noise or more than a couple of mm movememnt means you have a problem.

TBH if you landed on your shoulder then your head will have hit the floor (physics dictates this) so replace the hat.

Would you rather take a chance on a TBI over $40? Trust me, if you ate some snow, your head hit the ground.

Helmets should be replaced after a fall where they have an impact, or every 5 years, whichever comes first.

I've not heard every 5 years, I've always been told every 3 years! This is because the foam inside degrades and so does the plastic shell