That is absurd that you would think because someone is wearing a helmet in a picture that the horse is not broke. Seriously?? I wear a helmet anytime I'm not in the round pen even on dead broke horses. Anything can happen anywhere. It has to do with the person feeling their safety is worth something.

 

Dear gawd, not THIS old argument again. :?

People wear helmets for the same reason we wear seat belts; to minimize the chance of injuries. Has nothing to do with whether or not a horse is completely trained.

Tell me cowboy, are you a Pepperoni follower? They seem to be the only ones who think they're invincible around horses, and don't need to wear safety equipment.

 

I would rather look goofy wearing a brain bucket than have my head crashed into the ground. It has saved me from a few bad situations.

 

A broke horse is still a horse. They are just as capable of spooking as a green horse when the time is right (or wrong). Broke or not, they're a lot bigger than a human, they're amazingly strong, and they have a mind of their own.

 

The presence of a helmet has NOTHING to do with how broke, reliable or safe a horse is *shakes head*

 

Actually, I always feel exactly the opposite.

When I see a horse advertised, and the person in the photo is NOT wearing a helmet, I always feel like the seller must be a little bit of an idiot....

 

Umm...yea. Has it ever occured to you that the reason accidents are called accidents is because they happen on ACCIDENT. Weird stuff happens to people ALL the time. I think I can speak for many when I say I know I like having the ability to control and have use of all my body parts/limbs. Being a cripple does not appeal to me. I have been riding for over a decade, and recently I bought a helmet because I have come to the realization that just because you wear a helmet, it does not mean your a poor rider, or have an unreliable horse. Like it was said above..you value yourself.

And furthermore, I'm just gonna throw this out there...what if something completely unrelated to you or your horse happens like you scaring up a pheasant or whatever on your trail ride and it flies straight into your head...(I know, a very low chance of occurance, but it COULD happen..anything can happen to whomever)

 

I just read this post and couldn't believe my eyes. Everyone above me pretty much stated what I was thinking though. But I will reiterate. Are you freakin kidding me??

 

I almost never ride without a helmet. It's not that I'm expecting to fall off every time I ride, but every time I have fallen off, I wasn't expecting that, either.

 

I just had to chuckle here. When I ride I almost alway expect to fall off, so have that helmet on, and am delightfully surprised every single time I come home and have not fallen off.

Just kidding.

 

I just feel wearing a helmet means you scared of the horse. But in the area im in i have only seen a few people ever wear helmets. I know kids should wear them when they ride.

 

I do penning and sorting too. There are several folks that wear helmets.

I am supposed to per doctors orders (brain surgery). I choose not to - my choice. Certainly do not think less of anyone who does wear one.

 

Nope, doesn't have doodly squat to do with being scared. I wear my seat belt every time I'm in my vehicle; doesn't mean I'm afraid to drive.

Seriously, you have some weird associations about why people wear and use safety equipment. :?

 

Area you're in? It says you are in MN I am in MN, lots of people wear helmets. I haven't met a horse I have been scared of yet, doesn't mean I want to find one when my head is cracked open.

 

My horse is in Minnesota too - everyone I know wears one.

 

..........so when olympic riders wear helmets, does that mean they're scared??

 

Wow... yeah sometimes I will forego a helmet if it's REALLY hot and I'm only flatting, or if I forget (it has happened before). BUT, if I see a sale ad with someone riding and not wearing a helmet, versus one where the person in the saddle IS wearing a helmet, I'm more likely to look at the one where the rider is wearing a helmet.

Why?

Because in Australia in the past few years there have been three or more incidents where talented dressage riders have been riding, AT HOME, on good footing and educated, reliable horses - and the horse has tripped, the rider has fallen, and the rider has died. Yes, that's right - DIED. All because the horse tripped. Which is something horses do ALL. THE. TIME. My boy tripped several times while jumping today, and he's gone down on his knees before because he wasn't concentrating while flatting.

Can I share my personal story? I was riding along a track a good distance from the nearest road, and I'd been galloping my horse. I slowed him back to a walk to get through a dangerous spot, and then asked him to gallop again. Time came to pull him up again and he wouldn't stop, just kept barreling along that hard track. I lost both stirrups trying to pull him up, darn near yanked his face off using a pulley rein... still nothing. So I clung on for dear life and hoped he would stop soon. No such luck, could not get my stirrups back to save my life, and he jumped a ditch... lost my balance, galloped along for nearly a kilometre hanging off the side of him before I finally lost my grip. I hit this compacted dirt track HARD, from a full gallop. Fractured my humerus. I don't remember hitting the ground, I do remember getting up. I don't remember much past that, and nothing of the hours spent in the hospital.

I'm told that the doctor said my helmet was fine, it didn't need replacing. I had already decided to replace it regardless, but I thought I'd pull the lining out to check out the damage.

My helmet had a crack from front to back. A big visible crack.

My pupils weren't the same size for DAYS after that, and I couldn't ride for a week because my fractured humerus was in a sling. It was only a hairline fracture, so it healed pretty quick.

Now, think of what would have happened had I not been wearing a helmet. A minor head injury would have turned into a major one, I could even killed, or worse, permanently brain damaged (yes I do consider brain damage worse than death). The damage done to my helmet as it absorbed some of the shock of the fall would not have been absorbed at all, and would have gone completely into my head and my brain.

I have no doubt that that helmet saved my life. I'd only had it a week, and had to replace it. I replaced it with an identical helmet, same make, same model, because the first had saved my life as far as I was concerned so I was more than willing to spend the money on another one just like it.

MY helmet saved my LIFE. Anyone who thinks they're only for people who are scared, or horses that aren't broke, is gambling with their own life and making riding more dangerous than it needs to be. And that screams to me that they haven't had a bad fall, that they don't know just HOW dangerous riding is.

JMO of course but anyone who quotes "it's for people who are scared, for kids, for bad riders, for green horses" as a reason NOT to wear a helmet is an idiot. Fair enough if you have a medical reason not to, or if you find them uncomfortable and can't enjoy riding with one on, or if you just don't want to. As long as you know the risks of NOT wearing a helmet, and as long as you don't make assumptions like you have!

I wear a helmet almost always. I know I said above that I sometimes don't, but here in Aus, in the summer, we regularly have entire weeks where the temperature doesn't drop below 100F and a helmet in THAT kind of heat is just plain unpleasant. I certainly would never jump without a helmet, and I certainly never ride off the property without one.

I am a good rider. My horse is well broke (if a little bipolar at times) and generally reliable. I still religiously wear a helmet unless it's extremely hot or I'm wearing a hat and therefore forget as I feel like I'm already wearing one.

Ask Faye on here whether riding in a helmet is a good idea or not... she is one person who would most certainly be dead many times over if not for helmets.

 

I get where your coming from i personally dont wear a helmet but alot of people wear them to be safe, i mean nobody want to fall off and have there brains spilled everywhere if ya know what i mean...

 

Ok i can see a helmet in jumping or where it is required. I should have been more exact. Im a western rider and that is the horses i look at. I just thought of this today when i was looking at young broke horses and one person was wearing a helmet.

 

Im a western rider and that is the horses i look at. I just thought of this today when i was looking at young broke horses and one person was wearing a helmet.

Western horses aren't magically more trained or safe than English horses. Not wearing a helmet may be part of the Western lifestyle/image, but it's slowly changing.

I ride primarily on the flat and only jump if it's absolutely, positively necessary. Not all English riders jump, just like not all Western riders team pen or barrel race.

Riding horses is more dangerous than riding motorcycles and unless they're just ignorant boobs or scofflaws, bike riders are expected to wear helmets.

Wear one or don't wear one, it's all the same to me. Just don't try and tell me I'm afraid of my horse or he must not be as fantabulously trained as yours, since I choose to minimize my injury risks and wear a helmet. I'm planning to buy a riding vest in the near future, too. I like that it reduces the chance of my ribcage getting crushed should something unexpected happen.

 

What does the dicipline have to do with it?? I was running barrels several years ago at a show in deep sand. My horse did a sideways buck jump thing around the barrel (I have to go by what people said, I don't remember a darn thing). I was thrown off and my helmet cracked in half! It was deep arena sand very soft to land in but my helmet still cracked. I may have been kicked on the way down, like I said I do not remember a thing.

And I've only ever come off a horse while riding western. I am almost strictly an english rider. So not sure what you are implying by saying that western people don't wear a helmet? Are they just not as smart?

 

A young horse is even more of a horse than an experienced one. My horse coming 4yo is definitely broke and generally level-headed, but like many youngsters, he has days where he tests his limits or is feeling his oats (or pellets as the case may be) and even on a perfect day, if something scares him there is always a chance he will do something stupid - much more so than if he were a been there, done that, seen that horse. I wouldn't ride even think of riding him without a helmet - I like my brains where they are.

And btw, many Grand Prix dressage riders are starting to use helmets now in international competitions. Those are some of the most well-trained horses you will find period, ridden by some of the best riders in the world. I seriously doubt they wear the helmets bc they think the horse isn't "trained".

 

The fact is, no matter how well trained, reliable and safe a horse is - sh*t happens. Horses that "never" spook can spook, tack can fail, a horse can stumble and fall - any number of things can happen than can cause a rider to part ways with the best of horses. Having a helmet on the rider's head is simply a measure to minimize the damage IF something happens - not an indication that the rider expects something to happen (or that the rider does not trust the horse). It has nothing to do with the horse.

 

Or they can drop dead of a heart attack/stroke/aneurysm (like with Hickstead).

I know of at least one or two riders that had badly broken legs when their horses tied up, or colicked suddenly and threw themselves to the ground. No brain injuries though, thanks to their helmets.

 

Ok I can see a helmet in jumping or where it is required. I should have been more exact. Im a western rider and that is the horses I look at. I just thought of this today when I was looking at young broke horses and one person was wearing a helmet.

Read more: http://www.horseforum.com/horse-tal.../horse-talk/looking-horse-ad-people-wearing-helmets-118966/page2/#ixzz1rHYxvIQO

Makes no sense. Then you should judge the horses abilities through if they themselves are wearing helmets! Not if the rider is wearing one!

 

I ride western and english, never wore a helmet until after my car accident and still I often don't put one on. It's actually irresponsible of me when I KNOW BETTER and HAVE A KID. Hardly anyone around here wears them, I didn't even know what they were for other than looks growing up. Same applies to motorcycle riders, of course they are traveling upwards of 60mph on asphalt, what do you consider them? Experts or unsafe? Accidents happen.

So as far as judging a riders or horses abilities from a photo of a person wearing one, hey, different strokes for different folks.

 

I think you are making a very uneducated assumption on what looks "cool" and what doesn't. It appears you are associating helmet wearing with a lack of education and lack of riding ability - or that the horse is unsafe. That's simply a judgement. And most "judgements" are made out of lack of understanding and knowledge.

 

So are people who wear bicycle helmets scared of their bike then?
Posted via Mobile Device

 

I may be wrong but i grew up western and have been taught western. And when i see helmet i think somethings wrong. Im not saying i have never taking a wreck i have had many. Landed on my back, head, knees, and a few times on my feet.

 

Doesn't matter what you've done. It's the judgement that you place on others. Your judgements are plain wrong. . :?