Would you or wouldn't you? A Pic Included?

Question

I was just reading Equus and came across a new western hat helmet that is ASTM/SEI certified, looks like a western hat, and even has an adjustable brim. It got me thinking about the many reason I've heard over the years as to why Western riders don't like traditional helmets...too hot, impedes vision, not the style of the discipline, etc. This isn't an opening to the great debate about everyone's right to ride in attire they do or do not choose to.

Rather a simple question of would you start riding in a helmet now that a new look is available?

My interest in your responses is not based on judgement or conversion. It's professional. I work with people who suffer brain injuries as a result of a variety of occurences (many sports-related, car accidents too, so sad) and like to stay current with what factors influence people when making decisions regarding cranial safety.

http://www.troxelhelmets.com/products/features.php?ProductID=

Answer 1

I like it, it's a good looking helmet but it in no way looks Western to me. It just looks like an English helmet with a leather covering.

Answer 2

I love it.  I'm going to buy two for my grandsons who think the hand-me-down velveteen english helmets my daughters wore make them look like sissies!  These look downright respectable!

Paintgirl...enjoyed your post.  Lots of oldsters like me (56 years of riding) grew up without helmets, and never saw anyone hurt their heads...lots of other things, but no heads.  So, there is a carelessness borne of experiences.  That said, my grandsons wear helmets.  But I have to admit it's more out of fear that I'll look like a bad grandparent than it is a safety concern.

I also worked as an orthopedic nurse for years and just didn't see horseback riding head injuries (we worked in sync with neurology)....ever.  Again, we saw some neck injuries (helmets don't prevent those) but mostly straddle fractures and limb fractures. Show me some statistics if you want to convince me, and all of us who still ride without helmets, that there is any real viable basis for requiring one. And based on my experience, we'd need neck braces more than helmets.

Answer 3

I think it's an awesome idea!

Answer 4

Nope. I just don't wear hats of any type. Never have liked them. Then again I don't actually compete, I just do trail rides and occasionally take lessons. I guess if I did competitions where I was going over jumps or making sharp turns at high speeds on a regular basis I might be more inclined to think about safety.

Answer 5

Honestly, I've never worn a helmet, and I really dislike a hat of any kind.  It sorta gives me a headache to wear one.  I've fallen so many times I should be dead by now, but I've never hurt myself.  I know it's foolish, but I'm 30 and set in my ways, and don't like things on my head other than hair.

My daughter will have a helmet on when she begins riding.  (She's just 2 and a half, now.)  And loves hats!  :)

Answer 6

love it

Answer 7

its about time!

Answer 8

i ride English but i HATE my helmet!!!!! aahhhhhhhh i ahte hate hate hate it!

if it was up to me i would ride helmetless and with a cowboy hat anyday! for English riding!!! but im not alowed **gets all angry** i know the health and safty side of things but its much more fun to go helmetless and body protectorless and just enjoy you, your horse and the countryside without being dressed up like someone going into battle!

i wouldnt buy it, i think if im going to have to wear a hat, ill wear my stupid BSJA one **sulks***

Answer 9

That is a very nice helmet for sure.

Answer 10

sorry, still wouldn't wear a helmet even in disguise.

Answer 11

nope i hate wearing helmets

Answer 12

The helmets look great and you have a choice of color as well.  I, myself, am not interested in wearing a helmet.  They only protect your head not you neck and spine.  A helmet did not help Christopher Reed.

Answer 13

I ride both Western and English and use a helmet each and everytime I ride, whether its a young colt or my broke show mare.

Why don't Western people wear helmets?  You can say what you want, but an awful lot of it is peer pressure, plain and simple.  Most people comment exactly like some of your posters "You can if you don't feel safe or if you're riding a poorly trained horses".  That means that there is an unspoken other side to that comment "If you use a helmet you are a poor or beginner rider, or riding a bad horse."  Its as simple as that - by wearing a helmet many people think you are admitting to being inexperienced or on a bad horse.  I know riders who would wear one, except for the negative comments or thoughts.

The cowboy world is supposed to be strong, independant, confident, outdoorsey.  Somehow people don't feel that a helmet works in with that.  

I have had several good Western trainers tell me "I'm experienced so I don't need one."  I've had other show people say "What, do you think you're an English rider?" when I go into the warm-up pen with a helmet.  I've had all the arguements that helmets make inexperienced riders too confident so they will take more chances.  But its all a bunch of bull, and it will take more than a bit of peer pressure to change my mind - I'm a nurse and know what head injuries can do to people.  Sure, they don't prevent neck and spinal cord injuries.  But they DO protect brain injuries.  Why not wear something even if it will only save you life 70% of the time instead of 100% of the time?

I don't feel the urge to force adult riders to wear a helmet.  I just wish people would look at the option objectively, and not kid themselves why they don't wear one.  I have friends who race dirt bikes, they would never consider racing or even just riding at home without a helmet, and they are tough, macho guys.  We need to allow ourself to still be tough, confident, free-thinkers even with a helmet on our heads (and to be honest, my Troxel helmet is just as comfy as a ball cap and does not bug me - get one that fits right and it won't squish your head or give you a headache.  By the way, my show cowboy hat gives me a headache, long before a helmet will)

It will change one day.  It was just like this with seatbelts.  Rural country people didn't want them, there was lots of complaining and cheating, but slowly things changed and now people wear seatbelts.  Some might not, but with the changes in vehicles (that beep constantly if the seatbelt isn't on) and the tickets for seatbelt use, people now mostly take it for granted.

So yes, I would and do wear a helmet constantly.  Do I think this Western one will become popular?  Perhaps.  I've seen it before.  In my opinion it really does not appear that Western.  And even if it did, I think few Western riders will suddenly begin using one just because of it.  There is much behind the lack of helmet use in the Western world, and it will take time, education and perhaps some enforcement at the youth level before things change.

Edit (See Putts-E, I'm learning how to edit properly!)  First of all, I saw your new listing of the cowboy hat helmet, and that MIGHT just work for some riders who want to keep safe but are scared to be "un-cool"  It certainly does look like a typical cowboy hat in the picture.

Now, to the Gallop poster after me, the nurse.  I wish I had my articles here in front of me - where is the exact data I require for this?  I'll do the best from memory and hopefully won't be too far off.  Studies within the last 3 years have shown horseback riding to be the highest incidence of serious injury and death over every single other sport.  This included dirtbikes, quads, etc.  It was estimated by taking the number of hours each person put into the sport and then figuring out the number of injuries per hour.  So 1 hour of dirt biking compared to 1 hour of horseback riding.  The satistics were surprising.  The average person seriously injured was in their 40s, and ridden many years, were riding broke horses.  (We all know that total beginners get hurt more often, but they would have way less hours on a horse than an experienced rider, and that makes satistics different)  Fractures and minor injures of course top the list.  But head injuries were by far the leading cause of death.  Don't get me wrong - its still a very tiny percentage of people who horse ride who will be serious hurt, least of all die.  But the same studies show that signifigant brain injury can occur from a fall only 3 feet high (standing on a chair, or falling off a low step)  When riding the rider's head is on average 8 feet in the air.  Many people that sustained brain injuries were not thrown from a bucking horse, something unusual happened, and they fell off and landed on their head.  Sometimes the horse was standing still.

I do wish I had those two recent articles stuck on my wall, they'd do a much better job explaining than I can.  But they do make believers of me.  And what is the disadvantage of wearing a helmet?  They're hot.  Yes, somewhat hotter than a bare head but not much worse than a ball cap.  They're uncomfortable?  No, go try on a bunch and find one that you like and that fits your shape of your head properly.  They're expensive?  Nope, I bought mine for $65 and that's cheap for horse stuff.

(Boy, I should be getting a commission for helmets, shouldn't I?  I guess I'm just a believer and find helmets simple to use, even if there is no guarantee they will save my life if something awful was to happen.  You also know the same thing is true of bike helmets, seatbelts, or motorcycle helmets)

Answer 14

The second link one - I saw these showcased at (I think it was Beta 2004 - that's the UK trade show) and I thought they were a fantastic idea. But I have never seen them for sale anywhere ( we were after one for my husband, we eventually gave up as he stopped riding anyway) Seems they are finally trickling onto the market.

I would wear one  ( and I ride English !) and I think a lot of other people would wear one too. Shame you only get one colour but you never know - now they have started appearing anything could happen.

I will watch out for them again.

Answer 15

I would still prefer to ride with a cowboy hat.

Answer 16

I do wear a helmet whenever I ride, however, I would not buy any of those helmets! I currently ride in a Troxel Gold and I hate it! It was fine for the first year or so, and then it fell apart!!! The shell is coming off of the actually helmet! Now I am just waiting until the new Tipperarys come out! Hopefully they'll be out soon!

Answer 17

Hi there,

I believe that this is a great I dead for all those western riders who don't wear helmets.

I am an english rider and I have NEVER ridden a school master or any horse who has been a pleasnt ride Ive always had the ones who are brats and lik eto throw big bucks and dirty stuff lik that. I learned on those type of horses and I still ride them. SO i will ALWAYS wear a helmet no matter what disapline im riding, If im jumping or just going out for a hack.

But i'd rather wear a halmet sweat a lil bit then be sitting in a wheelchair and not be able to feed myself or wipe my own but!

Answer 18

I think it depends on you- Personally, I'd stick to my cowboy hat, but if you're on an "iffy" horse, or you're not too experienced or just think you need a helmet, then get it.

I don't like helmets, but this one's cute!

Answer 19

http://www.troxelhelmets.com/products/fe...

Wow, that is a vast improvement over the helmets they used to make that were supposed to look like cowboy hats.  (I recall them as looking like a cowboy hat being worn over a regular hunt cap, which is pretty much what they were, I

imagine!  This was about early 1990s.)  A clear harness would be even better, but this is still pretty darn nice.

I'm an English rider and therefore don't have the aversion some Western riders do to wearing helmets...so my answer is biased.  But yes, I'd wear it.  I am pleasantly surprised at the appearance of this helmet.  I really hope it helps get more people to wear helmets.

EDIT:  You have to click on the "Western" box in the orignal link given to see the helmet she is talking about.   It's not the brown leather-covered schooling helmet, it's the black cowboy hat.

ANOTHER EDIT:  Paintgirl, your post was GREAT.

Answer 20

i ride english and always wear an english helmet, but i have heard of those, and though i've never seen one in person, i have heard they look kinda funny... but it looks okay in that picture

Answer 21

I like it, it has the western appeal and everything.

Answer 22

helmet

Answer 23

I happen to ride Western, and I wear a helmet every time.  Too many people have gotten seriously hurt over something trivial.  I would like this new helmet though - much better looking!

Answer 24

Like it or not, for most of us old farts it's the dork factor.  

It doesn't hold water...if you gave a person the choice to look a little like a dork or spend the remainder of their days drooling while seated in their own f***s, the choice seems obvious.  

I think those of us who grew up riding bareback, braless, and barefoot (and without helmets) jumping logs and creeks and riding for hours as kids don't think the bad fall is going to happen to us.

Look at seatbelts...most kids get in the car and buckle up automatically, because that's what they know.

This isn't the first helmet styled like this.  Its predecessor was very heavy and tiring.   I notice this one is 10 ounces lighter than the Cheyenne.  

After a friend of my sister's took a nasty fall last year and was out all season with a concussion, I decided I would look into helmets.  I haven't been out this year on a big ride, and I confess I don't know whether I'd do it just to cruise around the farm (Not logical, I know.) But a helmet like this might make me more likely to do so...if I were going to wear a cowboy hat anyway, why not one that protects me?

Answer 25

I don't wear a helmet much. I will wear one on a horse that's prone to bucking, rolling or bolting. I have worked with some young horses that I feel better with a helmet on. My main riding gelding was a stud colt when I first trained him. He was a lot of work and would sometimes throw his tantrums. I would wear a helmet with him, although I never did put it to use for it its intended purpose. It did make me feel a little better about the prospect of being bucked off. I think helmets should be worn by all riders, including myself, but i don't and don't want anybody telling me I have to.

Answer 26

cool hat/helmet. is a good design but i prouble will stick to wearing the hat i wear or hat less. the reason i don't wear a helmet is it just doesn't fell comfortable. i do and have worn helmets on green or young horses but with my horse i ride helmet less because i trust my horse even though he bucked me off before (fun! not) i just don't. i know a lady who's sister was killed by a horse fall, she was riding a two year old and a bee stung the horse he freaked and she fell off and hit the back of her head on a stump. so i know there's risk but i will continue to not wear a helmet. :)

Answer 27

Hello,

Well, my input:

I too know a lady who is NOT the same after a wreck trail riding her horse.  She has a full time caregiver and will never be the same.

That western helmet, doesn't look western, it looks like a helmet with brown leather on it!

I think that a riders abilities and the horse have a BIG factor in the chose to use a helmet.  I have seen plenty of people riding CRAZY horses that should always have them on.  

We did have our kids were them in the beginning when they learned to ride...  But, not any more.

Answer 28

well i ride English and western and i hate wearing a helmet ALL my English Friends wear helmets and none of my western Friends do

it also might have to do with at shows a black  helmet is a must and part of the dress in some hunt and English shows and in western all you wear is a cowboy hat or nothing

this is only with MY experience though

in MY area that is how the majority of riders are!

i hate riding in a helmet but i will for jumping because i know it's dangerous

but if I'm just hacking or working in the arena NO helmet for me! and if I'm western riding no helmet either i don't even like cow boy hats..i like the wind in my face and hair lol i don't like hats for some reason

i don't like seat belts

i don't ever wear a helmet while riding my bike or ATV

i used to wear one when i firt learned to ride a dirt bike

but i don't like thing that restrict

even if it is safer

and i have a black troxel that's really nice and comfortable, but i only wear it for jumping

and i mean i have other Friends who can't afford the nice helmets so they use cheap Wall-mart kids helmets and that is just as unsafe

***edit - a dork factor?? ha ha i think people look cute in cowboy hats for one, and helmets don't look that bad! i know i should wear mine more but i like to be free and comfortable i wear big loose clothing leave my hair to the wind and i just like for my head to breath rather to enclosed

**edit oh and i liked what horsebilly said I'm training 2 horses now and ones crazy and i always feel SO much more confident in my riding when I'm helmeted and vested up (body protector)  but if it is a horse i feel safe on no protection for me..and sometimes even barefoot! ha ha i know that's horrible! but i think i just trust my horses too much

Answer 29

hel* no helmets are stupid....like they say if you cant take the pain stay off the horse