Helmet commentary in PH

[SLW]

Thanks for the heads up about the article. I cannot imagine riding without a helmet given all the knowledge and facts we have which show the protection the approved helmets offer.

Just today, I was riding my 15 year old gelding and and a true steady Eddie. Well he got a bee in his bonnet on our afternoon cross country hack with some friends and tossed out 4 good bucks and then jigged while he worried about something for the next 10 minutes. I would put anyones aged and ill Grandmother on this horse is he so laid back, but he is a horse and capable of doing just what he did, unexpected as it was.

[Cactuskate]

Just received the mag on Wednesday. Read the article. Thursday rode my two charges. This time with Troxel helmet strapped to head.

Am really going to try the every time, every ride theory. I know I am more logical than that. I should be smarter than that to not wear one.

Of my may departures from a horse, I can honestly say the majority of them were without head protection. Now does that mean “Seeee, I’m ok, no brain damage.” I think not…to me it means “Lady, you had better wise up, because your number is coming up.” Along those lines of giving my Guardian angel a rest, taking control of my own fate.

[Kryswyn]

We can darn well try to impose safety regulations on them! That’s what our governing body has been trying to do and just put off another year. Yes, I would like to hear the reasoning for that rule delay. Catastrophic brain injuries are NO GOOD for the sport as a whole and frankly, I’ve never met a horseperson with enough insurance (most have NONE) to begin to cover basic hospital costs let alone the big $$ of long term care.

That a person can walk into any ‘grand prix warm-up ring or professional barn and see people riding in ball caps’ tells me 1)these people obviously have no brains worth protecting in the first place, and 2) are not “professional” enough for me, and 3) obviously don’t have an insurance policy on their barn/premises because that would require helmets. Therefore, I wouldn’t send a horse to them because any claim could be disallowed. Also if they were riding MY horse when their injury occurred I might be liable for paying for their continued care for decades.

Largeponylover, don’t worry about starting a fight (we hash this out every 3 months or so) but you should know you will not convince anyone here you are right or that what your parents are doing is in anyway ‘okay’. As an added note, both Bethe Mounce-Blasienz and I went to the same riding college. Most of us NEVER wore helmets when we got there. We HAD to wear them @ school. Guess what? We all got USED TO THEM. Most of our grad’s would feel naked w/out one and would certainly feel quilty ESPECIALLY if one of our students were there to watch. Right Bethe?

[This message has been edited by Kryswyn (edited 11-25-2000).]

[Madeline]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Kryswyn:
[B]We can darn well try to impose safety regulations on them! That’s what our governing body has been trying to do and just put off another year. Yes, I would like to hear the reasoning for that rule delay. Catastrophic brain injuries are NO GOOD for the sport as a whole and frankly, I’ve never met a horseperson with enough insurance (most have NONE) to begin to cover basic hospital costs let alone the big $$ of long term care.

Individual insurance is small potatoes here. One of these days, the parents of a junior who got her brains scrambled while wearing an AHSA approved helmet with the plastic harness done up loosely to show that she’s really too cool to wear a helmet are going to sue. The case will go something like this.
Q: Mr ( or Ms.)Trainer: Why was little Tiffany riding in that helmet when everyone knows that there are certified, tested , approved helmets that are proven more effective in preventing this type of injury?
A; That helmet is OK according to the rules of the show where we were competing.
Q; Mr Show Manager, Why don’t you require approved, certified, etc.etc?
A: The helmet was in compliance with AHSA regs.
Q: AHSA Ex. Dir, why don’t you require good helmets when you know they are available?
A; They don’t look nice and the kids don’t like them

Judge:Fine then, Why don’t you pay Tiffany’s medical bills for life, and an additional $10 million for pain and suffering. And I think we’ll give treble damages, since you obviously knew better and this can be classified as negligence.

Next Case.

[Flash44]

Gotta love those Calientes. I think getting rid of the Caliente is what is taking me so long to get an approved. It is so comfy, it is like a 2nd head of hair.

[Dementia_13]

All right, I confess, I don’t wear an approved helmet. I tried, I really did, but the stupid thing felt like it was choking me and it also felt like it didn’t sit down on my head correctly. I think largeponylover is correct (and I know this is no excuse…) but the approved helmets are difficult to get used to.

Now that I am doing the higher jumpers, I am thinking about getting one of those GPA helmets. Anyone have any experience with those?

[Jo]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ClemsonRider:
Do i wear a seatbelt, yes. Why do I wear a seatbelt, not because i fear accidents but because it is habit.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

So make wearing an approved helmet a habit. I broke my bad baseball hat habit…

[ClemsonGraduateRider]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jumphigh83:
[B] No flames. Just faulty logic. THEY are adults but they are also solely reponsible for the welfare of their minor child and as such they are putting HER in jeopardy by being ignorant. I totally disagree with you. Once they had a child, the situation changed. They are being selfish and arrogant.

[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

She stated she is wearing an approved helmet as does everyone else at her barn so while they may not be imparting values by what they do they are by what they say. do as I say not as I do.

[ErinB]

Huh??

[Meshach]

AAJumper - dang, that sounded awful, thank goodness you ended up being ok.

thanks for relaying your story.

[wadino]

OK I have started a lot of helmet topics on this board and here is my last statement for awhile ont he subject. Atleast those of us (including me) that wear uanpproveds wear a helmet! There are tons of people that don’t even wear a helmet, and even those unapproveds aren’t as safe as a well fitting approved, they are safer than nothing! well ttyl…

Ryan

[largeponylover]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Checkers324:
I think we should leave Largeponylover alone. After all, we are condemning her own parents, she can’t help but get a little defensive. I don’t think YOU would like it very much if I was saying that YOUR parents are stupid and ignorant, so we can’t expect her to be agreeable. If she did agree with us, she’d be agreeing with our heated remarks against them. I still think they should wear helmets, especially since they have a child to set an example for, but I certainly will not condemn them and get mad at Largeponylover when she does not agree.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

thank you so much, Checkers, for sticking up for me. i don’t think i can say anymore than that, other than i did say i wore a helmet all the time. i have never been on a horse without one, and i don’t think i ever will! but i agree that it’s an adult’s choice as to whether they want to wear it or not. Juniors do not have the same choice, since it is going to be approved (or has it already?) any way, thanks to everyone who stuck up for me

~Emily

[Regalmeans]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Thoroughbred_33:
[B]For all that don’t know, I’m a junior rider – I’m 15. My trainer’s first question when I talked to her over the phone for the first time was: Do you have an approved helmet? Under her supervision, we bought a helmet for me, deciding that the Troxel Grand Prix Gold would be the one to get, though it was more expensive. She wouldn’t let me ride in the unapproved I had then.

But, with all the falls I’ve taken, I can’t see how I would’ve survived without a harness. I’m glad I got my approved with a harness … I never ride without it, anymore.

Except sheepishly! once at a horse show I had a baseball cap and it was raining outside, and I’d been wearing my helmet when we were getting the horse tacked up, but somewhere I must’ve pulled it off. When it started raining, I grabbed my baseball cap and put it on and ran inside with my horse and saddle. I tacked up my horse, got on, and -completely- forgot I wasn’t wearing my helmet … I even took a few jumps when my trainer ran up waving it at me. Thank goodness I didn’t fall off.

TB_33[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Same thing happened to me. Only I was bareback in a pasture with only a halter and leadline I was leading my horse in from the field and thought it would be cool to get on him (I actually do regularly (in the summer) school him like that - only I wear chaps + a helmet when I do it).
Don’t know WHAT I was thinking LOL - I just got on, got halfway across the field, slid off and walked the rest of the way back to the barn. Scared myself

Sarah

[largeponylover]

Hi!~

I am a junior and my parents are known trainers in Central Florida. Neither of them ride with a helmet, for the simple reason that in those days, the helmets were uncomfortable and not as safe as the many helmets we have now. Maybe there are some of you on this board who are trainers and know what I am talking about. Now I know some of ya’ll may flame me and say “that is absolutely no reason to ride without one” but if you think about it, if you have ridden without a helmet for 30+ years, it would be really hard to switch back. My parents are not big time grand prix riders, but they get along as good as everyone else did without the helmets. You guys complain about how all the World Cup and Olympic riders don’t ride with all the fluff, but they HAVE GROWN UP WITHOUT THE HELMET. Most grand prix riders are 35+, maybe in their late twenties, but I think they know enough about their sport to be safe enough.

Thanks for letting me rant.

~Emily

[heelsdown]

I am a Pro Approved beat the drum, rabble rouser. No matter how often we bring this topic up, it is not often enough, and will not be until everyone is wearing them, young and old, every time we sit on a horse. I’m beginning to think we should put them on when we enter the barn!

Rcently here in Florida a female motorcycle rider led the campaign to repeal the helmet law and succeeded. It was repealed with the caveat that you may ride without a helmet as long as you had a minimum of 10,000 medical insurance (very difficult to enforce). This particular lady recently bit the dust (head injury/motorcyle accident) in Tampa, less than six months after this rule change. A personal friend of mine, going through a divorce decided to buy a Harley, has been riding around town in leather, no helmet. This is an otherwise intelligent lady. She just had a major wipeout, broken all sorts of things, (though her brain escaped obvious injury I wonder if it wasn’t all ready damaged), but she had no insurance, at all, not on her bike, not personal health insurance, nothing! And she has a business, with employees. Guess who is paying for all those operations and rehab? All of us.

[Weatherford]

largeponylover - your parents may still not ride without helmets, but it is you that may wind up paying the price -

As I have posted before, a good friend of mine’s mother is suffering from head-injury related dementia - something that would have been prevented had she worn helmets during her many years as an active rider. it is a proven fact that concussions are cumulative and as contributing factor in Alzheimers.

There was a pointer to the Alzheimers article in a previous thread that you should print and give your parents, with the plea that you do not want to have to support them in their later years as vegetables.

(Sorry, my computer is crashing, so I can not point to the article directly.)

[largeponylover]

argh! my parents do not advocate not using a helmet. everyone at my barn rides with an approved helmet. i’m just saying that my parents happen to not. yes, they have both suffered injuries, but these were IN THE SHOW RING and WITH A HELMET ON. i’m just stating my opinion, and no, i’m not trying to convert anyone.

In response to “if those pros jumped off a bridge, would you too?”, i think if they had a good reason to, i would. (AHHH!! NO FLAMES!!)

Oh, and I am so flattered that my parents disgust you, Jo.

~Emily

[Inverness]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by largeponylover:
[B]sorry, i didn’t see the second page. inverness, i am stating my own opinions. i understand when people disagree with them (usually they do), but that is no reason for you to be so sarcastic. i’m sorry if i missed it, but don’t we have a right of free speech? i can say what i want. if you think my opinions are wrong, and choose to state yours as you so rudely did, then you should email me in person, not trash the board with your sardonicness.

Sorry, but i thought that was a little over the top.

~Emily[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sarcasm aside, LPL, I still maintain that age is no excuse for stupidity. I often respond with “sardonicism” when confronted by an illogical argument. You cannot expect to express a controversial opinion without anticipating that others will find your position to be ill-conceived and irrational. The First Amendment applies in both directions.

As far as sarcasm is concerned, I find it an effective vehicle for responding to a position so fatally flawed as to be undeserving of serious response.

[ClemsonGraduateRider]

I will make it a habit when I want to not when other people tell me I should. I have taken into account all the information provided and have made my decision and I don’t think that an organization should have the right to tell me what I can and cannot do if it is not physically hurting someone else. . . I supposed this falls into my libertarian views.

I do think that wearing an unapproved simply for fashion is not a good reason . . . and that is not why i wear one. However I am sure that whatever reason I have would not be acceptable either so I am going to stop posting here on this thread so that I don’t get chewed up and spit out. I respect everyone else’s choices as they are THEIR choices. . .please respect mine.

[SoEasy]

CR - I think the point is that as PARENTS, risking serious neurological injury is differnt than doing so as a single adult. If a parent has a catastrophic injury, it will take all of the family’s resources to deal with medical care and rehabilitation … which leaves little time/money/emotional support for the child.