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What are your opinions on riding with a helmet

20K views 181 replies 85 participants last post by  HorseyyGal 
#1 ·
So I was just wondering what all of you think about riding with a helmet. If you ride with one then please explain why and if you dont ride with one please also explain why :) I ride with one cause I am like under 18 and still living at my parents and under an unspoken law I have to obey their rules and, that means a helmet when I ride... partly cause my horse is amongst the best bucking bronkos ever :D But even if I had the calmest horse like ever I still would have to wear a helmet... So yeah :) Thanks!
 
#2 ·
I always wear a helmet. I grew up always wearing one and I guess it's just a habit now. I also go riding alone a lot and feel much more safe when I am wearing a helmet.
 
#3 ·
Just want to point out that there have been a TON of other helmet threads. Sometimes they don't end very well.

I grew up not wearing a helmet. I only wear a helmet now because it is the rule of the property I ride on.

Really, I don't care either way if I do or do not wear a helmet. Probably if I got my own property, I would not wear one for schooling on the flat, but wear one for jumping.
 
#5 ·
I never wear a helmet, and I'm 17. I started trail riding with one, and when I came to my current barn, I never had to use one. I rode a lot better and paid more attention to the horse since I wasn't be claustrophobisized (sp?) by a helmet and putting my attention towards that. I don't wear a helmet on trails, shows, jumping, or walking around the arena bareback in a halter. If a show requires helmets for under 18, I don't go to ride. If I were to try and run a barrel pattern in a helmet, I'd fly off the horse. If I pay attention to what's on my head while I'm riding, I won't catch if my heels start to creep up because I get of balance a little, or if the horses decides to tense up and then spook at something.
I would advise anyone just starting out or someone who is doing more than walking around on a relaxed/dead-broke horse inside, but no one is going to get me to wear one. To each his own, I guess my level of self-preservation is lower than some. :p
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#6 ·
I wear one because I have a young, green horse. He's never done anything unexpected really but he's young and green, so the unexpected is to be expected still. If my trainer needs to hop on him, she borrows mine and the fact she wants to wear one is enough reason for me to keep on wearing mine.
 
#8 ·
I always wear my hat! don't care what im doing , I always wear my hat. Even though my horse is bombproof I still wouldn't take the chance , I mean its like wearing a seat-built . The only time I rode without a helmet was when i was cooling dealer down on a empty beach.
I wouldn't hack or jump without my helmet EVER.
But thats just me :)
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#9 ·
I really think it all boils down to personal preference. There are always ways to be safer and there are always ways to be more dangerous. I think it makes just as much sense to wear a body protector every ride if you want to be TRULY safe and yet that's not common practice at all for day to day riding - do we trash, insult and accuse people of being unsafe because of it?

I own a helmet, and I wear it at times. Lately I've been pretty consistent with it, my little spell with Jynx made me a bit nervous and although I HATE wearing them (they make me itch, make me sweat, give me headaches and actually cause me to black out in summer), I'm sucking it up lately because I'm becoming a little more aware of how hard I fall nowadays.

I could never imagine trashing and attacking someone because they choose not to wear one.
 
#10 ·
I grew up in stables always wearing a helmet. Ask I became an adult I have wore one less but for certain things I wear one. ALWAYS when I jump and do X country. ALWAYS when I do speed events. Last but not least ALWAYS when I am braking a young horse. I should wear one every ride but it gets so hot in GA and most of the time my WP and I never get out of a trot right now working on trail. My child will wear one till he is no longer living in my home.
 
#12 ·
I've always worn a helmet because I was told to from the day I started riding. I'm really, really glad now that I always wear one. About a month ago my mare spooked and I fell off. I don't remember falling or anything else from that day because she kicked me in the head (total accident, she isn't a kicker). I got a pretty bad concussion but I'm perfectly fine now. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if I hadn't been wearing a helmet. I wasn't even really working my mare yet; we were just trotting while warming up. Just shows that accidents can happen any time while riding.
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#13 ·
If I have the choice: No. I don't like the feel of it on my head. Like MM, they make my head sweat and itch and give me a headache. I also feel like my vision is obstructed enough to annoy me.

As of Monday, I will have to wear one for the summer. Due to an accident with another wrangler (horse spooked on gravel, slipped and flipped) that ended with her having a fractured skull, the summer camp I work at's insurance now requires the wranglers to wear one too. (Campers always do, mind.)

I'm sure if I rode english, especially on my mare, I would have one on all the time. Her ability to do a 180 at a lope without much warning leaves me with one foot out of the stirrup and me leaning way over so much that I have to grab my horn. If it were in an english saddle and she pulled that, I would have been off about 7 times in the past 3 days.

Be my guest and wear one. They just aren't my cup of tea.
 
#34 ·
Very very true.

I didn't wear a helmet for quite a while (when I mostly was doing trail riding). Then one accident (saddle broke while I was riding downhill sending me over the horse head) taught me a lesson, that unfortunately accident doesn't always depend on horse's behavior or rider's competence. I got a helmet very next day. :wink:
 
#15 ·
I always wear a helmet. If I didn't I wouldn't be posting this since I got in an accident last year which involved my head hitting the road from a galloping TB. My helmet saved my life.
 
#16 ·
I'm half and half. Traditionally I don't feel the need for a helmet, and I forget and I don't put it on. I actually didn't own one until my gymkhana series started adding points for those who wore helmets. Then once I started jumping my dad put a limit that anything over 2 feet needed a helmet, so that's where I started on a regular basis. Then boarding stables required it for jumping. So now I'll wear one while I'm jumping, but that's about it. I still do barrels and speed without one. I also wear one with greenies I don't know or breaking in horses. :)

My siblings though I require to wear a helmet at all times. They don't have much experience and they are riding horses that are no where close to being dirt slow or old. They're good horses but still can have their moments so the kids wear helmets.
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#18 ·
...Then once I started jumping my dad put a limit that anything over 2 feet needed a helmet, so that's where I started on a regular basis...
Smart Dad! The risk of head injury goes WAY up when you start jumping - probably at least 10X, and maybe MUCH higher (some statistics indicate it may be 80X).

Helmets seem to cut your risk by about 50%, so jumping WITH a helmet is still riskier than not jumping without a helmet. I think helmets are a good idea for all (although I sometimes skip them for a cowboy hat when the sun is bright and I'm riding western in an arena) - but jumping without a helmet is VERY risky.

Still, times change...and maybe all riding without a helmet will someday be considered foolish.

From the year I was born:



And in 1982:

 
#20 ·
I wear a helmet. It started at the barn where I bought & kept Toby while he grew up & got trained. To ride there on trails or in lessons a helmet was required.

I just kept up with it since he came home. Its a good thing too. Two years ago I came off when both horses spooked. The fall really wasn't that bad - landed on my bad shoulder but otherwise just had some gravel burns. The issue was when my husband's horse went over me. Thankfully he did not step on me, but he did clip me in the head with his hoof. Destroyed the helmet but all I ended was a bit of an egg on my head. Otherwise it would have been a direct blow to my temple, not including my head smacking back into the ground. Helmet split from both ends.

So yeah - I will always wear a helmet.
 
#23 ·
It's a personal choice. If you're an adult and you don't want to wear one, I respect that decision and would never criticize someone for it. My problem is when adults choose to endanger their kids by not making them wear a helmet. THAT is just wrong.

I wear one. Three of my four riding horses are either green or high-strung, and it would be beyond stupid for me not to wear one. At shows where helmets aren't required, I might take off my helmet in fun classes and such when I ride Arthur, who I've had my entire life, but that's rare, and not the norm for me. Admittedly, I don't wear one when I hop on one of the horses and pony another to and from pastures, but I really should.
 
#25 ·
I always wear a helmet. Pumpkin is the horse I ride the most and he a horse that always bucks when he doesn't want to do things. For my safety I wear one in case i happen to fall off again. Because of him, I will always wear a helmet even on the calmest horse you can find.
 
#26 ·
I hate my helmet, it itches and it's uncomfortable, but I never ride without it, I just feel naked.

Is it my business if other people wear one, well under 18's IMHO it should be mandatory to wear a helmet at all times while mounted, no exceptions.

As to other adults, well I can see in the USA we can argue free choice and each to their own, but in the UK and Canada?? Well I've lived in both countries with their wonderful medical systems, and yes I think it is somewhat my business, if I'm paying into a central fund for health care I would prefer it if you at least tried to stay out of hospital, and wearing a helmet can prevent serious injury.

BUT, I'm not a helmet fanatic by any means



Unless you are a minor :lol:
 
#27 ·
I do not ride with one. I find them distracting. I make my kids wear them... But I don't get angry when I see kids without them. You are endangering your child by putting them on a horse in the first place. I don't think personally, that helmets make it a whole lot safer. Who of you are to decide just how much danger someone is allowed to put their kids in? Just seems like a silly thing to get angry about. The only thing I've ever said to a parent was that it was a horrible idea to tie the kid to the saddle...
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#29 ·
I always were one !!! The only time I dont is if Im taking a nice picture with my horse or something but even then its just a stand still. I feel off once and craked my helmet!! Imagine if I wasnt wearing one !!!!!!
 
#30 ·
Ever barn I've ridden at has required a helmet for anyone under 18. I think adults are allowed to ride without one but it'd be a little weird to see someone without a helmet. Only because we ALL automatically wear them out of habit.

I completely understand that helmet rule because if I was a mom I'd want my kid riding with a helmet to be safe. And also hoping that it would just become habit and they'd wear it for the rest of their life without question.

I've only ridden at english barns, but I know my western friend rides without a helmet and so do her friends. I think she's crazy but that's her choice so I don't nag her about it. I compare it to how some people ride without seatbelts and some don't. It's there for you and it can save your life why not use it. I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Ride at your own risk.
 
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