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The Couch In the Barn
The Mental Side of
Riding With
Martha McNiel, LMFT |
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The Top Ten Reasons It's Still Cool to Wear a Riding Helmet |
by Martha McNiel, LMFT |
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It was a warm summer evening and I was riding my horse, Nick. He was being such a good boy. His head was down, completely relaxed, and we were alone as we walked slowly around the arena, cooling off. It was a peaceful, serene and quiet evening as the sun was sinking below the horizon.
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The next moment, I almost died. There was a noise in the tall bushes outside the arena. Nick and I both looked to see what was making the noise, but the setting sun blinded us and we couldn't determine the source of the noise. Being a good Arabian, Nick decided to flee first and ask questions later. He had been so relaxed, so calm. I was riding with no reins and no stirrups. If my hands had been on the reins, I might have been able to stop him. But I did not have time to grab the reins before the accident happened.
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Nick spun to the left and bolted toward the arena fence. I thought he was going to run straight through the wooden fence boards. Instead, he turned left at the last minute, and I fell off, landing on my back on top of the fence and hitting my head on the top rail. I slid down the fence to the ground and felt my (helmeted) head bouncing on the dirt like a basketball. I sat up in time to see Nick run into a fence post at the far end of the arena and flip upside-down on his back, with all four legs sticking straight up in the air. I thought I had just watched my horse die. |
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I was so stunned I laid my head back in the arena dirt and heard a voice behind me say, "Gee, I hope we didn't cause that!" Two contractors working for a neighboring property owner had pushed their way through the tall bushes, looking for the property line, and surprised Nick and me. |
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I went to the hospital emergency room and got checked out. No broken bones, only amazing bruises and a lot of pain. Nick was sore, but he recovered fully. That was the day I started believing in helmets for equestrians.
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I was wearing a helmet that day only because my trainer and my father both said I should, not because I really believed them. Now I won't ride without one. That day, my helmet took a chunk of wood out of the fence rail, and the fence took a chunk out of my helmet. Had that been my head and my skull, I would probably have died from traumatic brain injury. If I had survived the accident, I would be living with severe and permanent brain damage. Instead, I missed three days of work because I was too sore to move, and then life was back to normal. I was back in the saddle four days later. |
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After that accident, I became interested in equestrian helmets. In 2000, I wrote an article for the Bay Area Equestrian Network called "The Top Ten Reasons it's Cool to Wear a Riding Helmet." That article was re-
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printed from coast to coast in the United States and in several foreign countries. I have updated the article and am publishing it again in this month's Equestrian Network Magazine. As an equestrian community, we have made some progress in our attitudes toward equestrian helmets in the past eight years. But we still have a long way to go. I want to do my part in letting others know it is still cool to wear a riding helmet. So, printed below are "The Top Ten Reasons It's Still Cool to Wear a Riding Helmet."
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10. It's cool to wear a riding helmet because the brain you've got is the only one you're going to get. Take good care of it, because brain transplants don't work. |
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9. It's cool to wear a riding helmet because if you fall and hit your (helmeted) head, you will probably still remember your horse's name and how to ride. Most riding accidents happen during pleasure riding. Wear a helmet and remember the pleasure! |
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8. It's cool to wear a riding helmet because every five years you get to buy a new one. Every helmet should be replaced after a fall or sharp impact, even if there is no visible damage to the helmet. Every helmet should also be replaced after five years, regardless of wear. The label inside a helmet will tell you its "birthday." Manufacturers recommend replacing a helmet five years after that date, because of possible deterioration of the protective foam lining and the hard plastic shell. Even if you haven't had a spill, every five years you get to update your look and buy the newest, coolest trend in ASTM/SEI approved helmets. |
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7. It's cool to wear a riding helmet because doing so significantly lessens your chances of shelling out $4 million for lifetime care after a disabling head injury. Head injuries are related to more than 60% of all horse related deaths. People have died after bumping their heads on a door, on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. How much harder will your head hit the ground (or a standard or a fence or a tree) when you come out of the saddle of a galloping horse? |
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6. It's cool to wear a riding helmet because somebody loves you. After your next ride, put your horse away, take off your helmet, comb your hair, and go find somebody you love. Give them a big hug and promise them you will wear an approved riding helmet with the chin strap secured - "every time, every ride."
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5. It's cool to wear a riding helmet because you can feel confident that your head is well-protected in case of an accident. Nobody wants to fall off a horse. But anyone who rides horses very much will fall from time to time. Be prepared with a properly fitted ASTM/SEI approved riding helmet, with the chin strap secured. Then enjoy the ride! |
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4. It's cool to wear a riding helmet because doing so significantly decreases your chances of paying $30,000 per day for hospital costs following a serious brain injury. Head injuries are the most common reason for horse-related hospital admissions and deaths.
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3. It's cool to wear a riding helmet because riding helmets work. A bicycle helmet will not adequately protect your head in a fall from a horse. People fall off bikes and horses from different heights and at different angles. A lot of scientific research has gone into producing helmets specifically designed to protect human heads in equestrian accidents. Your brain is worth it. Wear the right helmet for the job.
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2. It's cool to wear a riding helmet because you may help to save a friend's life. "Peer pressure" is the main reason most equestrians wear riding helmets. The people they ride with wear helmets, so they do, too. By setting an example and making helmets an expected part of "every ride, every time," you may help to save a friend from serious injury or death.
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1. It's cool to wear a riding helmet because the life you save may be your own. Your life is precious. Cherish it. Live to ride another day. Got your helmet?
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Read comments or post your own comments to this article at the bottom of this page. |
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Martha C. McNiel is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a NARHA Registered Therapeutic Riding Instructor. She is the Founder and Director of DreamPower Horsemanship, a therapeutic horsemanship program serving children and adults with mental, emotional and behavioral problems. She is a professional member of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA), the Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association (EFMHA) and the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT). She can be reached at dreampowerhorsemanship@hotmail.com. Her website is www.dreampowerhorsemanship.com. |
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Copyright © 2008 All rights reserved. The above article is the property of the Author and may not be duplicated or redistributed in any way without permission. |
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Reader comments for this article |
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Name: Tori King, M.D. Time: 2008-05-12 19:05:16
Comment: It amazes me how people won't let their kids ride a bicycle without a helmet, but they will let their kids ride a sometimes unpredictable 1200 lb animal that puts the child 6 feet off the ground without a helmet. I am a physician and my riding helmet has saved my head a number of times. I am now also riding in an Air Vest since I have had back surgery. Ride Safe and ride again tomorrow. - Tori
Name: Larry Hewitt Time: 2008-05-04 09:05:12
Comment: I was riding in a mounted orienteering event - pushing hard for first place - and traveling back down a trail through thick woods that we had already been on three passes that same day. There was a tree down at head height across the trail, and we had ducked under it all three times. I was studying the map with my head down looking for a shorter way back to the finish - knowing we were being pushed hard by another team - following my partner who ALWAYS called out obstructions. She knew we had cleared this same log tree times before, so didn't call out when we approached. I hit the log with the top of my head and went straight over backwards into the mud. Luckily, I had started wearing a helmet after I had aggravated an old knee injury two years before - so all I injured was my pride. We still took first place to boot - by only 2 minutes. I am a believer
Name: Ginny Paschke Time: 2008-05-03 16:05:39
Comment: I tell everyone who stands still long enough to listen that I (they) look better in a helmet than a wheelchair. There ARE worse things than dying.
Keep talkin', Martha!
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