Hi,
I have been showing horses for about 8 years now but something has changed recently.
Its my hair!
I went away to this hippie college and now that I have graduated I find that I have grown dreadlocks. They take up way more space than a regular hair style and my hair is pretty long too. Lots of volume and length.
I am still very into the formal aspects of horse riding and showing so I want to figure out what the best way to take care of my head of hair is.
I have a medium long oval IRH helmet that used to fit on my head and flip my long hair up into and it all fit. It fit well without my hair up in it too.
Now I can hardly fit the helmet on my head at all without painfully squishing into it.
This is bad because it won't look good showing without a helmet plus you just cant do that... but it is also a safety concern for my daily riding.
So in the chance anyone else here had dreads or has any advice on how to get unruly hair tucked away neatly of quality for showing please enlighten me!
Thanks!!
Or is it time to get a jumbo helmet D:!
Never had dreads but I have really thick, long hair. You are probably just going to have to get a new helmet that comfortably fits your dreads. Charles Owen makes some fairly roomy models. You should absolutely not let this be an excuse to endanger yourself and ride without a helmet. As for showing, it will look out of place at a bigger rated show, I've never seen anyone riding with long dreads at an A show, but for a local level thing you should be fine if you can neatly braid them or put them in some sort of a bun. If you riding jumpers then it obviously doesn't matter! Posted via Mobile Device
You are going to have to get a new helmet that fits over your dreads.
With your hair, put it up into a pony tail, turn the bottom under and then put on a hairnet, tie a ribbon around the band of the pony tail over the hair net. Makes it all very neat and tidy.
I'd just get a bigger helmet that will fit your hair and your head. Pretty much the only way to go that won't involve changing your hair or riding with it down or without a helmet. Posted via Mobile Device
I don't have a lot of hair like that, but I'd recommend a bow like this. It has two alligator clips on the back, so you can "stretch" the net larger to cover quite a bit of hair, and looks pretty sharp, covers your hair a lot, so it won't really be noticable I don't think.
When I showed, my hair was quite long so I would do a single braid at the back then double/triple fold it and tuck it under the helmet. When I finally shortened my hair, I had to get a smaller helmet - so the lesson here, as other posters have said, is buy a bigger helmet. If you can't tuck your hair into the helmet in an orderly fashion, then add a hairnet to the mix to keep it contained to one area.
I don't have dreads, or thick hair for that matter, but my hair is really long and "wispy" so I'm a little OCD about any hair sticking out of my helmet (I put it up even when schooling at home). What I do is put it in a low bun, then hair net goes over my head and bun flips upside down into hair net - helmet goes on.
I have a couple helmets ...a cheaper IRH for schooling at home that I honestly hate so much, but I bought it on sale at my work so I really can't complain too much. And then I have my Charles owen for shows or if I feel like looking nice at home. I honestly find the Charles Owen SO much easier to put on and actually keep my hair in, they're roomy but not too big. That, and they are super comfy.
A lot of the new helmets have different liners for one shell size so you can get a liner for riding with hair down, and a liner for hair up I just did that with the Jin helmet I ordered through ISellTack.com, and I'm waiting for it to come. I'll let you know how it works. I'm a 57" with my hair down, and 58" with my hair up and both fit in the M shell so I ordered both liners with the helmet. The nice thing is the add'l liners are less expensive than ordering a second helmet. As soon as I get it, I'll let you know how it is!
Otherwise I have my Ovation schooler for hair down and my GPA for hair up but I got sick of my GPA because it's 1) 8 years old and 2) it still and always has given me a headache. As for helmets with liners - I think Samshield works the same way too and I looooove their stuff also! Good luck!
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
The Horse Forum
3.4M posts
92.6K members
Since 2006
A forum community dedicated to horse owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about breeding, grooming, reviews, health, behavior, housing, adopting, care, classifieds, and more!