Not all english style horse riders wear helmets. Mostly just hunter/jumpers.
American saddlebred riders wear no helmets, because they attempt no jumps.
Thoroughbred riders Always wear helmets either during racing or training, no matter....it's mandatory. Even when you ride a western type horse alongside a training thoroughbred (called ponying the horse) you must wear a helmet.
Reeko, those cowboy hats are NOT helmets, they are hardhats used at a construction setting. I don't suggest riding anything with them for protection, they aint made for that. They are designed to decrease damage BY a falling object, not damage TO a falling object.
Hey, if a person is of legal age, let them decide if they want to be ignorant or not. I used to ride a Kaw900 without a helmet. I now see myself as being quite stupid,(not to mention lucky to be here to discuss this) but I had the right to do so.
Jaybird you are quite correct. But there's one thing i must say. Any english rider who enters a show must wear a helmet. Though there is one thing i don't like, and that is the advanced dressage riders do not wear a helmet. They wear a hat. Though their horse is trained to be supple, etc, etc., they should wear a helmet. Anything can happen. It surprises me that at a horse show for the dressage area, they do not make it mandatory to wear a helmet, you are to wear a black hat. But at home, we always wear a helmet.:silly:
I do not understand it sometimes. I wonder if the dressage is the only discipline of which they do not enforce the wearing of a helmet. Though i have never seen or heard an accident in dressage training. My dressage trainer, instructor of 20 yrs. exp. has never had a serious accident in dressage, but out of that discipline she has. Amazing.:scream:
Maru,
American Saddlebreds are an "english" style horse. The tack is nearly the same as what you see on your hunters. The dressage classes are reffered to as the "Equitation" class. Quite often the hats you see are actually safety caps, especially with the younger riders.
The other American Saddlebred classes consist of 5 gaited and 3 gaited horses and ponys. Both ridden and driven. The "hackney pony" class is a gaited pony pulling a racing sulky. This is the only other class that requires helmets. They wear the helmets more for a traditional thing than safety, as they also wear the same jockey get-ups that trotting racers (standardbred) would wear.
The expertise required to compete with horses of this caliber makes it so most folks are expert handlers/rider of their horses. Falling down is a rare occasion, although it happens-the rate is far below that of jumpers.
:think.. i see now. just asking out of curiousity, but how do you know so much about this?
also on a totally off-topic note: i lived another day!. (i got thrown off. held on to horse's neck for a good 5 seconds then fell off. the best part, not a single bruise or scratch, hehe :cool: ) and though this may seem weird to you all, i can't wait to go back out again, its all apart of riding, and is what makes it so exciting in a way.:D
but can't say the same went for when i was riding the dirtbike. hit something, still not sure what, and over the handlebars i go!:scream: :)
Maru,
I started riding American Saddlebred horses when I was about 6 or 7. My family has been into them since the 40's. I also was in the race horse business for awhile after I got out of the Army. My grandmother is still in the race horse industry, owning a thoroughbred farm in Ky. A horse family, you might say.
Just like a dirtbike, anyone who rides a horse enough will eventually fall off. My daughter was wearing a helmet when she fell, we were lucky in that she fell in some long dry grass which I am sure cushioned her fall. I agree engine running (or horse saddled), helmet on.
For those from Alabama who know the bowl in Helena,AL you will know
exactly what I am talking about.There are some EXTREMELY STUPID people
who ride there,no helmets.These idiots are flying around on their motors or
4 wheelers without a helmet and some even with no shirts.Now how damn
dumb can you get.I hope some of you idiots read this post and put on a
helmet.Let me explain it to you-a helmet covers the head,which
is an important part of the body.It contains your brain,which I doubt some
of you have.When you ride a motor without a helmet you are just showing
everyone that you have a IQ level of 2.
Everyone falls at some point or another-SO PUT ON A DAMN HELMET STUPIDS!And you look like rednecks to boot without one!
89vett
2000 CR125r
A recent study showed that since bicyclist starting wearing helmets, head injuries have actually gone up! Apparantly the helmets are giving some the confidence to do things that they would not normally do and thus are getting hurt. :scream: Someone that is going to do something stupid, is going to do it one way or another. Its almost as if a certain amount are going to get injured regardless. You just shift the victums around.
I was at sand lakes a couple months ago, there were people mostly on quads that were not wearing helmets, people were mostly drag racing and if they lost control and crashed they were done, because they would have gotten run over by other quads, trucks, bikes, or their own machine. Oh well it gets rid of the idiots.:p
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