https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=498031170276795&set=a.123229424423640.30971.100002097494501&type=1&theater ---------This photo was shared on my Facebook page. I didn’t want to bury it in the Helmet Thread, so I am posting it here. Copy this to your files and share with anyone who thinks helmets are not needed for western. Rider was OK (this time).
Wow. Wonder how that all happened!
Also a good reason for inventing some kind of stirrup strap release, like the bars on English saddles, for western saddles!
Holy ow…I hurt just looking at that pic!
Did you read the comments? Somebody commented, “HELMETS!” Nobody (so far) “liked” that comment. The next person wrote, “OMG! Why does somebody always have to bring up helmets!” Five people (so far) liked the second comment.
ETA: And what the heck is that on the other side of the horse?!? The thing that looks like a martial arts mace head? ETA2 Never mind. I figured it out.
It’s a watermark. There is only one reason for wearing a helmet. That is to protect your brain. Those who don’t feel their brain is worth protecting are probably right.
[QUOTE=Cindyg;7090072]
ETA: And what the heck is that on the other side of the horse?!? The thing that looks like a martial arts mace head? ETA2 Never mind. I figured it out.[/QUOTE]
I wondered the same thing!
Honestly - I don’t think that is going to convince any western riders who are dead set against helmets - they know falls happen, even in western tack.
Now if the photo showed her taking a header (looks like she is going to hit hand / arm / shoulder first), or maybe if the photo had to do something with a person who fell and now had a TBI…
(signed, someone who wears a helmet every ride - even though I have not hit the ground in 15 years)
On the BB that is the western equivalent of COTH (Pleasurehorse.com/Forums) , one long-time poster DID fall while simply trail riding and suffered a TBI, in a coma and hospital for weeks. Used up considerable relative good will caring for her and transporting her while in hospital and rehab, now is home with issues, has lost her job, and is relying on donations from forum members to survive staying on her place with her animals. The many threads chronicling her injury and now seeking donations for her, do not seem to have moved anyone from “it’s my decision” to the helmet wearing side on that forum. I started a train wreck pointing out that helmet use is also the decision of whoever will have to care for you after a TBI.
Yes, you could fall off and get a TBI simply trail riding, or like my brother, You could get a TBI simply standing on the sidewalk waiting for a vehicle to pass.
Seeing a pic like this does not sway my decision as to if/ when I wear a helmet. The only people who have any say in whether or not I wear a helmet are me and my family.
Well, there you go!
Cruz, as a fellow Canadian, your decision also affects me as a fellow taxpayer - I’d much rather, if I had the choice, see my health care dollars go elsewhere rather than funding a preventable TBI. Yes, accidents DO happen - but the amount of care and associated cost is staggering. Because of cutbacks in my region, we are going to having three hospitals in close proximity to one…and the brightshinynew hospital is a 45 minute drive in good weather. The reason? Cutbacks. So if we can maybe redirect some of the cost of injuries, by preventing them, it seems like a pretty good idea!
Well Dee, I suppose if you follow that logic, then ALL (or almost all) TBI’s are “preventable.” We could all wear a helmet every minute of our lives and then there would be no more TBI’s, right?
And a good reason, if you do wear a helmet, to adjust the strap properly and not have it hanging loose.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/318867_10151287352847354_376618821_n.jpg
I think the reason that people don’t wear helmets in “western” (I see that as rodeo more than generalized western but I realize that is splitting hairs) much is that 1) she was ok despite the scary wreck and 2) all the attitudes that you see in the comments. Most of the people I know would be in the “cool picture!” crowd… I’m personally ok with helmets but I am surrounded by the western culture that is “cowgirl up” and “good wreck” and all that…
I think part of the difference is that Courtney King Dye was and is a very visible example of how bad and permanent TBI damage can be. Most people in the English discipline world know her story all too well. In the Western world, people with TBI injuries just disappear from the scene and are not around as a constant reminder of what can happen in unlikely circumstances, and how you do not fully recover.
As a former English rider I’m used to wearing helmets. I’m now learning western pleasure and I use a simple schooling helmet. Do I feel like a dork because I’m wearing one when others aren’t? To be honest…a bit. I do feel that since I took years off from riding and I’m riding horses that aren’t my own that a helmet is necessary. I need my brain intact and working well to fund my hobby. One of my last rides before taking years off I took a nose dive when the horse I was considering leasing crow hopped…yes just a crow hop at the wrong moment pitched me over her shoulder.
No helmet. Thank god I didn’t get hurt! When I sat up in the dirt I did grab my boobs to make sure they were not damaged since I do have implants. They felt ummm a bit funny for a few seconds which was frightening plus I had my mouth open when this happened and I literally ate dirt! It was up in my gums and everything. Yuck!
So I will use a helmet. I’m older and feel less of a need to be a cool kid sans helmet now that I have responsibilities and a family that depends on me. I wasn’t so religious about wearing one at a teen and into my 20’s. Now that I’m in my early 30’s I’m more mature and realize it’s a necessity. My helmet is light weight and comfortable. Screw what’s cool! I don’t want to be a vegetable. That’s definitely not my goal. I want to enjoy myself and live to ride and enjoy my life another day.
Edited to add: If you own your own horse or lease a horse and a helmet isn’t required then I’m not knocking you. It’s a personal decision. I used to ride my horses sans helmet. If I am riding another person’s horse or it is a barn rule that everyone must wear one than I will comply. When I buy a horse again with the help of my trainer when the time is right and if I want to tool around bareback and helmetless I don’t want to hear it from others. We all know the risks. We are adults. Kids on the other hand must always wear one. My son will never ride without one. He rides a old WP grandma of a mare who will jog and lope so slow and steady but helmets are a must.
Well, this summer I have noticed a significant increase in the use of helmets in our local shows. Yes, even in the pleasure classes, especially among the youth. The show last Saturday (youth only) the helmet wearers far outnumbered the cowboy hat wearers in both pleasure and the games.
[QUOTE=Laurierace;7090086]
It’s a watermark. There is only one reason for wearing a helmet. That is to protect your brain. Those who don’t feel their brain is worth protecting are probably right.[/QUOTE]
I am a minority (helmet wearer) and the VAST majority of my western friends WILL NOT wear a helmet. Even a woman who has four young children and is a professional trainer- well she said “Maybe I’ll wear one when I’m riding 2 year olds.” OOOOO KKKKKKK. What I think would need to happen is the “Big Names” in western riding would need to start wearing helmets- then it might be considered COOL. But apparently the “Big Names” in Western riding aren’t concerned about smashing their skulls in. It is true that a helmet will not protect you in all situations. However, it can protect you in MANY situations and it’s something easy that anyone can do. I liken it to wearing a seatbelt. It is no trouble and it could save your life.
