When I was a child we never wore helmets, except in Horse Shows, and that was to complete our outfit, not for safety.  Come to think of it, we never wore helmets to skate, ride our bike, play baseball, or football.  Nor did we wear seat belts in cars, they didn’t exist.  The sports didn’t change, accidents happened then, but now we are more safety conscious all the way around.  We never even thought “Oh, it won’t happen to me.”  We just never thought.

If there were statistics back then, we never heard or read about them.  Now with our informational age we hear about everything as soon as it happens.

What I did as a teenager I would never let my grandchildren do, but I guess that’s the way life always was.  As we get older and wiser we rethink things.

Some reasons I’ve heard why people don’t wear helmets:

• It’s too hot (especially here in Florida)
• I’m tough, don’t need a helmet
• I ride western and we wear cowboy hats not sissy helmets
• I’m a dressage rider and we wear top hats
• My horse is bomb proof
• I’m just hopping on bareback for a couple of minutes
• I’m a professional
• I’ve been riding all my life
• The cat is sleeping in it
• My dog ate it

Jane Savoie said it best at an ARIA conference 15 years ago.  “I like my brains, I use them every day.”  I never forgot that.  For those of you who don’t know her, she is a professional dressage rider, and trainer.

Sure we’ve all fallen off and hit our heads, even with our helmets on.  Some of us have even had a concussion, or two, or more.  But some of us haven’t been that lucky.  Some of us have permanent brain challenges, or some have died.  Ask the parents, spouses, or children of these people for their opinions on helmet safety.

Many professionals have jumped on a horse for just a quick ride without a helmet, or with the strap undone, and died.

Some could have been prevented, some not.  It’s like Russian Roulette.  It just takes seconds to put it on and snap it shut.  Are you willing to take the chance?  Do you feel lucky?