<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ErinB:
Huh?? 
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I think Flash is referring to a commentary in the 'zine written by a rider who is recovering from a brain injury stemming from a non-approved-helmeted fall from her horse. (This spell check doesn’t have “run-on-sentence” check. Sorry!)
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by smedley:
[B] Don’t you go messin’ w/Inverness, Largeponylover. She’ll squash you like a bug.
[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hey! I’m not THAT bad!! It was the PMS, I swear it.
I ALWAYS wear a helmet, and have since i became an adult. I wear a Calient when schooling, tighlty harnessed to my head. However, it is not approved. I DID have an approved, but it slipped over my eyes constantly. I will confess that I wear an unapproved helmet with NO harness for showing. However, my mission over the winter is to purchase a comfortable approved helmet. I hope one is out there for me.
My husband came off a horse Monday. It was not fun to get a call at 7 am, Honey, please come take me to the ER. He hurt his back and is on crutches. We had to cancel a weekend vacation we were going to take this weekend. I have been waiting on him hand and foot since Monday since he can’t really get around very well. I would hate for someone to have to wait on me hand and foot for the rest of my life. BTW, hubby wears an approved helmet and a vest (rule at the track!) every time he gets on a horse.
The US ASTM/SEI standards are the toughest in the world. They were explained by safety expert Dru thoroughly in a previous thread. (here are two, but there was another one with even mroe info that I cannot find right now)http://www.chronofhorse.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/001843.html http://www.chronofhorse.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/001210-2.html
As of the last time I looked, the GPA was not certified by ASTM/SEI. It is certified by European standards, but they are not as strict as our standards. The “skunk helmet” made by International (looks like the GPA) is approved, I do believe.
A Euopean certified helmet is better than no helmet as well as a generic unapproved one, BUT it is NOT as safe as an ASTM/SEI approved one! Read Dru’s posts to understand why.
You can NEVER be 100% safe when riding a horse. I once heard a story about a woman that was riding her horse just at a WALK, and her horse slipped, fell on her, and she was KILLED. Why? She wasn’t wearing a helmet. I also heard a story about a boy that was riding his horse, and the horse stumbled and fell on him, but he was totally fine because he was wearing an approved helmet. I know his mother, he is definitely doing fine! Quite unlike the aforementioned woman…
I would like to add that I am VERY comfortable with my helmet on. In fact, there have been many times when I wasn’t aware I had it on even while untacking and bathing after lessons, and this is one of those “mushroom-head” Troxels, securely strapped on! And I must admit, I don’t quite fancy having a piece of nylon tightened across my throat. The only complaint I have is that, in typical hot and humid weather, my head tends to get a bit sweaty, even with the vents in the helmet. I don’t usually notice that until I get into the barn, though – I guess my pony’s energetic gaits keeps a breeze flowing. 
[This message has been edited by Checkers324 (edited 11-25-2000).]
I would like to apologize to Devildog20 and anyone else who may have been offended by a truly tasteless remark I made in a since edited post. There were other ways I could’ve gotten my point across; I wish I’d said it that way the first time. Again my apologies to anyone of the faith I stupidly singled out. No slight against your faith was intended.
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
Childshunt, I thought your post was very mature and well stated.
Yes, you can get crushed if your horse falls on you. The only way to avoid that is to not ride. I met with my financial planner yesterday. His 7 year old son has been taking lessons since the summer, and he was instructed by the teacher to buy an approved helmet for the child when the lessons began. He now has to purchase a protective vest because it is time for the child to start jumping. So you see what kind of influence an instructor has as well. If your trainer told you that you are not allowed to ride anywhere on the farm or under his instruction without a properly adjusted approved helmet, I imagine there would be compliance if he enforced the rule.
I went to my X year high school reunion the other week, and did not recognize one of the most beautiful popular girls in the class. She had a massive brain tumor, and is forever changed. She looks different, has physical handicaps, and lost enough motor control that she has difficulty talking. It was heartbreaking. Life is cruel and tricky enough without taking simple precautions like wearing a well fitting approved helmet when you ride.
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Here’s a good one for you all: My old eventing trainer was schooling a horse one day. WHen she finished, she realized she was late for an appointment, and the horse’s owner had just arrived, so the owner said, “Go, I’ll groom and put my horse away.” The trainer jumped into her car WITHOUT REMOVING HER HELMET. Two blocks away, a car ran a stop sign and plowed into her. She was thrown into the windshield, despite her seatbelt (small car); She walked away with a mild headache and bruises because she had still had that helmet on.
Perhaps we should never take them off??? (Not an anti helmet statement: Just an acknowledgment that merely walking down the street can be dangerous.)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Oh wow! I never thought of that one LOL. Interesting point… Maybe people should be required to wear helmets when driving cars, too!
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.
This Friday is the fifth anniversary of me almost being killed as the result of a head injury from a fall. At the MOUNTING BLOCK. Every one of my doctors said the whole thing (the endless recovery, the medication I still take for vertigo, and countless other things) would have been just a spill “If you had been wearing on of those safety approved riding helmets, my dear.”
That I am alive is something I am truly thankful for.
Just a comment: The one who really appals me is Katy Monaghan Prudent. Not questioning her skills at all, but here is a woman who nearly DIED from a riding accident - had brain surgery, etc. - and she STILL rides with a helmet without a harness (and she has a child). I’m not big on “role models” - you should do something because it is correct, is sensible, is safe, etc. - not because your “idol” does it, but still, it REALLY bothers me whenever I see her still riding with a harness-less helmet.
Checkers - The GPA Helmet is a non-traditional looking helmet with a skunk stripe that retails at Dover for $289 (gulp!). Someone told me it is even safer than other approved helmets.
That post of Dru’s was excellent, I highly recommend nayone who ever considers riding a horse, ever, read it.
From what my hubby said (he’s an engineer and sits on internation safetly councils like CSA and UL etc), my International (GPA ripoff) is approved, and he feels it to be a safer helmet than other more traditional-looking approveds. Mind you, that is a personal opinion and has nothing to do with his professional opinion, but he’s got a researched and well formed opinion at least.
[This message has been edited by BossHoss (edited 11-23-2000).]
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by largeponylover:
[B]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[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course they’re fine! They have yet to smash their heads into something solid falling from a horse!
<<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?>>
Yes, I remember only too well!
While I believe wearing a certified/approved helmet is the right thing to do…everyone else is going to have their own opinion about what is right for them. Personally I won’t get on a horse without one.
I thought there is a helmet rule starting this Jan, 2001 about junior riders having to wear a properly fitted approved helmet?
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by madeline:
[B][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. [/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
This is the point I have been trying to make, not only with the horse show managers, trainers and parents, but also to the Chronicle proper. The law will follow the trail to the deepest pockets and anyone who thinks they are immune in the interest of being “kind” and/or “politically correct” is sadly mistaken. Anyone in line, that knows better, but still does not insist on compliance, is culpable. Very good scenario. Great post.
[This message has been edited by Jumphigh83 (edited 11-26-2000).]
[This message has been edited by Jumphigh83 (edited 11-26-2000).]
This is a comment that I made on another board, but it applys:
s your helmet “approved”??? I USED to not wear one on HOT summer days
when I was “just hacking” til one day when one of my mares was in (sorry) “western
pleasure” mode, and cantering (loping) along on the buckle, I was sitting way
back-enjoying the ride-when BAM–she hit a divot and went down so fast that I
never even got my arms up to try to break the fall (or even try to roll). I did a
serious face-plant, and to this day—I wear one at all times, even if I have to
borrow a student’s to get on and reprimmand a naughty schoolie!!!
Well, I’m a libertarian, so don’t tend to be a big one on rules, or being told what I have to do.
Nearly two years ago, I took a fall off my young horse while going for just a quick hack. He spooked, bolted, pulley rein, rear, and me with a concussion to the forehead (his poll) and the back of my head (landing on dirt road). Nope, I wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time, and had been pretty blase about it until that day.
I had no idea what happened. I didn’t know what year it was. My husband, who was riding with me and bailed off, has a genetic skin condition which makes it painful for him to walk, and I remember watching him RUN toward the house (to get the truck to take me to the E.R.) in bemused, head foggy fascination. I’ve not seen him run before or since. My wedding ring, which had gotten tangled in the buckle of the reins, was twisted like a pretzel, still on my finger.
My horses got “stuck” hanging out in a field, tacked, while my husband rushed me to the hospital. None of our neighbors were home to help us out, so they stayed there until my husband was reassured that I wasn’t going to die and sped back to retrieve them.
I was embarrassed to tell the ER physician that I wasn’t wearing a helmet. I was confused and “slow” for days. The headaches were indescribable. When I slept, it was more like a coma than regular sleep. I didn’t get jokes (and no one loves a good joke better than me). For months, literally, I would have to hold on to things as I got out of bed after laying down for any period of time.
I gave a lot of thought to what “might have” happened and how close I was to having been killed, or permanently brain damaged (tho some friends may argue that on some days . . . ). What kind of pain would that have caused my family? My husband? My critters? My colleagues and friends? How would my husband have managed financially? What kind of tribute would someone have written on a BB, in my dressage newsletter, at my funeral? Ugh, just thinking about it makes me cringe.
And now I’m wearing my helmet, obviously. My husband, stunningly, does not. He wears it at endurance rides where the sanctioning organization mandates it, but otherwise doesn’t take it off the hook in the barn.
Now here is a man I married knowing he didn’t wear a helmet. But I’ve changed. And I worry about him terribly.
I’ve tried all the arguments. None have worked. I’ve even cried, which I hate to do.
Taking suggestions, by the way. Perhaps someone has a way of putting this to him that hasn’t occurred to me.
Make your choices, but live with the consequences.
–Patti
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