Yes. I’ve been writing in support of helmet use since the start. I expect I’ll go on haranguing about helmets as long as I continue to see photos of tiny kids standing on the backs of horses with no adults in the frame. And toddlers perched on fenceposts surrounded by horses who are a bit close. The one that stays with me the most was the mom who put a very small child on a horse while holding the phone, videoing. The horse immediately spooked and bounced, sending the child straight up, turning end over end in the air, until the mom caught the child upside down in the last second before crashing, while managing to stay on screen. I file these images alongside the heartfelt pleas for prayers for kids plugged into hospital machines with bandaged heads. The photos of little girls on a horse next to a list of her injuries and a link to the GoFundMe page. When did we start using fragile little lives as crash test dummies?
I’m embarrassed to say trainers are no better. I was with a client looking at a rehabbed off-the-track thoroughbred, and the trainer’s toddler waddled between the horse’s legs with her spitty fingers in her mouth, cooing. As her trainer-mom pointed out how calm the horse was, I was horrified. The child was in the horse’s blind spot, and he looked uncomfortable. If the mom was that unconcerned with her own child, what care would she put into training a horse?
I’m not a mom, I’m told I should have no opinion. Growing up on a farm in the 50s, families had lots of kids knowing that they’d lose one or two. It was a strange way to admit that kids were expendable, there were always accidents and death in farming. Still, I was popped on a very tall horse when they needed me out of the way. I was lucky but I knew kids who weren’t. We absolutely know the long-term damage done by concussion. I would hope we value children more now, but I don’t see much proof.
I guess I’ll keep going on about helmets as long as my feelings get hurt, like when I see clients not using a helmet on their Facebook page when they did at a clinic. Yes, their choice, but still my disappointment. How did common sense become taken as a sign of weakness instead of strength? Like so many things, we shame those who care.
It’s not just clients, but also friends who are trainers, equine pros, and longtime horse people who I respect, and who absolutely know better. Should I bite my tongue as a professional courtesy, knowing that their leadership would save lives? Some wear helmets with an English saddle but a hat if the saddle has a horn, so I guess they think the danger is tack related. Have they not considered their power to be a positive role model? I know, I’m a dinosaur to hope for it.
Every year there is more research on concussions, the science is undeniable. And if you know horses at all, you know there is no such thing as bombproof. It’s common sense that we’d… Well, there I go, thinking it’s possible to reason with people, even the intelligent ones. We’re stubborn creatures who do what we like with horses and don’t think an injury will happen to us. Maybe so. In some ways, it doesn’t happen to us; it happens to our loved ones, and a circle of lives is changed. But still, each side holds its ground, stubborn as a post. Horses will be the first to say that humans are not the most advanced species when it comes to survival.
Most long-timers shake their heads and make an excuse. They say they’re too old and change is hard. They manage to upgrade to a cell phone but there is no arguing. I miss the time when doing the right thing was its own reward. When we looked out for ourselves and those coming up after us. Dinosaur again.
Cowboy hats are a tradition, they say. Finally, something I understand. Top hats are a tradition in dressage. Before cowboys existed, top hats were an essential part of the costume of a classical rider. Our dress code is worn with respect for our history and to honor our horses. Sound familiar? Top hats may have a stuffy elite look, but we believe they highlight the nobility of the horse. One can’t just go to the local discount store and buy one. In the last decades, top hats were accorded to a dressage rider of a certain level of skill; you must earn the right to wear one.
Just when I was getting depressed on the whole helmet conversation, the FEI did a crazy thing.
FEI stands for Fédération Equestre Internationale, the international governing body for equestrian sports, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and founded in 1921. One hundred years old and they don’t have a reputation for being on the cutting edge. Sure, there were years when the most brutalized horses won, and it seemed that complaining about the FEI became an Olympic sport as well. Some of us stood up and made our voices heard beyond social media. Women own the vast majority of horses and we support the industry; we may not be the richest, but we are definitely the loudest. Some of us think the FEI moves like an old campaigner, but this has been a great year.
For 2021, the FEI ruled unanimously to ban the shaving or clipping of sensory hairs. It was a habit done by rote, but no more. Whiskers on muzzles win! Horses win!
FEI judges set the tone for judging worldwide and at the recent Olympics, they rewarded Dressage horses and riders who danced with lightness and harmony in balanced gaits. Moving away from some of the past tension and force has taken time, but I believe the corner is firmly turned. Is it perfect? No, but just like training horses, we should cheer the FEI’s effort in hopes of setting a lasting affirmative trend. May we keep the good traditions and continue to do better.
Best of all, the FEI adopted a Protective Headgear Requirement for All Riders as of 2021 unanimously. Top hats, our unique expression, are no longer allowed. None were seen in Tokyo. For some, it’s a bitter pill, but the message is that we care more for the living. We care about our future and I’m proud of this momentous decision. Does it ruin the shadbelly and tall boot fashion? Who cares about fashion? We are better than our costumes. I see more change on the horizon, but today is a day to take stock and celebrate this step.
It took us a hundred years, but proud as can be, we’re right there with all well-loved children, doing our best for the horses by taking care of ourselves. Hooray for the future!
…
Anna Blake for Relaxed & Forward
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Affirmative training is the fine art of saying yes.
Charlotte Dujadin insisted on wearing her helmet to hand trot her horse for the soundness test at the 2021 Olympics. She is a Role Model we should all follow.?
Wasn’t that brilliant and wonderful? Thanks Toby.
Fashion is inspired by common practice, and riding “influencers” most likely to shift the norm are the advanced riders and trainers on whom more eyes rest than they likely recognize. Thus the uninformed associate helmets and other safety gear with less competence. Amazing news from FEI about helmets!! Bra-vo!
Indeed, and I hope what you say is true. Thanks, Dodie
Is Charlotte DuJardin a wonderful role model, or what? Harmony, lightness, and safety.1 I love her!
https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/charlotte-dujardin-helmets-tokyo-olympics-754831?fbclid=IwAR0lvRfTMvJ5oGVW4bDClQ1T52b4QTvKtjHHq7bFCa2LIZjzYzxzYrU6vzc
She’s my hero in a dozen ways, thanks, Rebecca
I am in total agreement with you Anna. I have had my share of falls a couple bad ones and thankfully I was wearing a helmet. Twice I had concussions even wearing a helmet, I may not be writing this today if I did not have a helmet on. People think it will never happen to them, that their horse is so safe. It takes a second and your off. I thought I was safe in a round pen, wearing a helmet until the canter turned into a bucking bronco for whatever reason. Had no one thought to check on me and I did not have a helmet on I would not be here I am sure.
We are glad you’re still here in full opinion~! Thank you, Patricia.
I’m going to amplify one thing: always wear a helmet, but beyond that, wear a well-fitted helmet! If you don’t know what well-fitted for safety is, get a professional fitting so you do know, and replace your helmet at the recommended frequency. Our local tack store had an employee who was an ICU nurse, also an upper level rider/trainer, who was seriously injured while wearing a helmet – but one that was not properly fitted. She ended up in the ICU for almost a year and when she recovered she went to a helmet maker and they worked together to look at helmet design and fitting and she became a spokesperson for their company. Until we met her, I had no idea how important the fit is. A fitting with her took at least half an hour. If you don’t have the right fit, the helmet can and will literally slide off your head upon impact, which is what happened to her. Also, if you take a fall in a helmet, replace it! If the helmet took the brunt of the impact it did its job and needs to be replaced. The properly fitted helmet is going to be much more snug than most of us are used to. The best brand is the one that fits your head the best. Your brain is worth it. 🙂
Thanks, Billie
Imagine that, an association formed for horses doing something in consideration of the horse. Love love love that FEI has banned shaving/clipping whiskers!!!!
The horse world is changing every day. Thanks Sueann
Hi Anna,
I could comment to all of your posts they are so eloquent and always expand my thinking and touch my heart. I decided to comment today with a story to reinforce your point, sad as it may be. Last summer I was selling a horse. A lady came to meet the horse. She decided that she was going to purchase a horse at the farm at the bottom of the hill from where I live. This particular horse had been kept in a pasture with other horses who he became buddies with. Upon purchasing him she moved him to a stall and away from his buddies. A week later after I had met her she went out to ride her new horse, without a helmet. Upon going from the barn to the arena the horse was visibly giving her a hard time about not getting to go back to his buddies onlookers would later convey. Eventually he bucked a few times. In her fall from the horse (this is an experienced rider) she landed where some fence posts were laying waiting to be used to fix the fence. Her head hit one of the posts and she died almost instantly. It was not a moment to say “I told you so”. It was a moment to say “Is riding without a helmet worth it?” I think her husband and daughters would tell you that it is not. I think they would wish she had a helmet on that day that perhaps would have saved her life.
No horse is bombproof. They are simply who they are and that is not bombproof no matter how quiet….and sometimes quiet is a bomb waiting to go off. Just this week my dear friend was 12 miles out on a trail ride in the mountains with three experienced riders ALL wearing helmets. A horse spooked. Rider came off. Got a concussion WITH a helmet on that required they get her medical attention. Without the helmet I am pretty sure the story may have ended differently. Harsh words maybe but maybe that is what people need to realize. Is it worth it to risk leaving your horse without your care and your loved ones mourning your loss or having to make trips to the hospital or care center because you just could not put a helmet on your head?!?!
As a kid I was training for Steeplechase believe it or not. I wore a helmet. A horse refused a jump out in a field and then suddenly lunged over. I lost my seat and went not only over the jump but also over the horses’s head. My head snapped back in the fall and WITH the helmet on I was knocked out cold. To this day at 56 I remember opening my eyes and all of these faces were looking down at me. It was a long recovery. I imagine what would have happened had I not had a helmet on….it was a good lesson to learn young. I wear a helmet riding my now western saddle. Always have and always will. Humbly submitted in hopes of swaying someone who rides without a helmet to please, please wear one. Just give it a try. What have you got to lose? If not for yourself then for your horse and all those that love you and need you around whole as long as possible.
In Love, Debbie
Debbie, thank you so much for your sensitive, loving comment. I hear you about not the time for a “I told you so” but when is a good time? Well said, glad you’re still with us.
I could go on and on about helmets. Have my own stories on that one. My dad thought I was crazy to have my kids wear helmets for riding bikes. The instructors that didn’t require helmets in my child’s horseback riding lessons that had them cantering at 3rd lesson. Everyone came off. Only my daughter , the one with the helmet on, came back. Then the classic. All the under 10 yr olds going in the saddleseat class at a regional breed show. No one in helmets except my 8 yr old. She grumped at me but knew mom ruled. Horses in ring 30 sec and a horse dumps its rider and they can’t catch the horse. my child and horse slide into the wall stop horse and it is caught. More horses bucking in ring my horse took over and got her through the class. When she got out. I whispered do you see y u wear a helmet now?
You give moms a good name, thanks for sharing this with us, Susan
Heads, you win!
Teehee. Thanks, Linda
I applaud the FEI and their, finally, rulings! Everyone, no matter who they are or the discipline they ride, should wear a helmet whenever they are on a horse. It’s one thing to break an arm or a leg, but quite another to sustain a head injury, especially when it can be prevented!
Thanks, Susan.
Being the survivor of multiple concussions (not all horse related), I am so glad they woke up and smelled the coffee. They should have done this years ago when Courtney King-Dye had her life irrevocably changed. Yes, I’m a dinosaur, too. I realized how stupid I was being about riding helmets when I wore one for biking and rollerblading, bit not riding – ??♀️. I’m seeing more and more clinics/shows require them. As you said, that’s no guarantee that they will be worn at home, but it’s a step in the right direction.
I require them without apology at my clinics. Thanks Laura. I do think this is part of Courtney’s legacy.
Oh, my. I have been receiving comments to this essay via email but they are not showing up below this page as they usually are.
Anyway, I am so excited to hear the news about headgear from the FEI. I recently read about how helmets for motorcycle riders went from being all but ignored to almost everybody starting to wear them. What changed? When insurance companies started getting an inordinate amount of head-injury claims from motorcycle accidents, they increased the insurance rates to those who did not wear helmets. I suppose it went something like when it became “common knowledge” that cigarette smoking was a risk to your health, the insurance companies started asking prospective insureds if they used tobacco products.
So perhaps that’s an approach one could use, Anna: “Do you know if your insurance would cover you (or your daughter, etc.) if you were to get injured while not wearing a helmet?”
I’ve read the fine print in my own training policy to understand my responsibility… and horses statistically cause more head injuries per capita than motorcycles. I think what you mention is part of the FEI reasoning as well.
Anna,
Well said (again). At my last barn, a group of western riders headed out to the trail, only two out of six wore helmets.
Seated bareback on her horse, an acquaintance checked her cell messages, both hands on the cell.
At the current barn, the trainer/owner teaches very young kids and adults; she is there every step of the way, and
safety is No. 1, as it should be, but I see, daily, the images you have described in other barns.
I think Charlotte DuJardin was a great proponent of helmets in dressage. A western rider I know joked that
‘helmets are for sissies’. My husband, an ER doctor, has the statistics. 75% of accidents occur in the saddle;
About 20% on the ground. Varied on the other 5%. The BHS requires helmets for ground work, too.
It’s difficult when it’s 93F and you just want to hand-walk, I know myself.
Here in southern Virginia, a few of us wear wet cloths on our necks and we wear helmets — always.
Thank you for the important article.
Top Hats were not designed for ladies, anyway. Let’s err on the safe side — today and every day.
Helmets, always.
As for the outdated term ‘bombproof horse’ — absolutely, Anna.
We must always remember the most important thing to a horse: his/her safety — not ours!
Thanks, Nuala.
Anna,
Even in your second image, the little girl has no stirrup and no rein.
We have no sense of danger at that age. I remember….
That would not be permitted at our barn, but the habit is correct.
That is exactly how we intended to start our barn rat. No stirrups is also a tradition, and one I like. Of course, she has no rein, she isn’t old enough to be able to coordinate them. She is on a lead-line. Our good barn rat did have a sense of danger on this 17.2 hand horse, but her love was equal to it.
I’m with you Anna. I shuddered the other day, seeing on FB a video of the darling small child of a well-respected local trainer, curly blond head unprotected, leading an enormous warmblood across the arena while mom filmed… comment section full of remarks about how cute the little girl was, next to the enormous and oh-so-well-behaved horse. My reaction in watching the video was to feel my heart drop into my gut in fear for this precious little one, even though nothing happened… this time. I still feel sick, just thinking about.
Sarah, it is horrendous that we romanticize big horses and little girls. I’m with you, queasy and unsettled. Thanks for commenting.
Keep on talking, please! This was a win. Helmets can be part of the culture–I thought nothing looker cooler than Rand in his gear for riding the motorcycle, including that helmet with the face shield and mouth protection. When I see people riding past in shorts and tank tops, even if they have on the mandatory helmet, it just chills me to the bone.
Motorcycles have speed and that does make it all worse. I’m like you, seeing it is enough. Thanks Suzassippi.
I wholeheartedly agreed with every word I have ever read that you have written – until now. If helmets save our heads (which they don’t always), what about our spine, pelvis etc etc. There has to be a limit otherwise we would all have to stop riding our horses.
As it happens I do wear a helmet as I do not consider my horse is bomb proof nor am I the best rider in the world but I reserve the right to make that decision myself.
As you will. Thanks, Gerry.
AND there ARE protective vests that can be worn and are worn by some people. Helmets HELP prevent concussions or at the least cause less damage – they arent a cure-all nor meant to be. Years ago, there were no bike helmets for kids, no seat belts for any of us, no car-seats for babies & young children – times have changed. I personally knew two people who had bad falls from horses – one with a helmet (who had a slight concussion & cracked ribs) & the other without one, who had brain damage, & physical disabilities ever after. I think I would lean towards the former. My choice.
Anna,
I was just looking at the 1801 Riding Habit image and it made me smile (although terrifying: sidesaddle and top hat).
My grandmother was a life-long horsewoman (in Ireland), rode to the hounds (as the expression goes),
and lived to 101. She never wore a helmet.
Some people are just lucky. I’d rather not leave it to luck….
Nuala
My oldest granddaughter is in her mid 30s – has worn a helmet since the second time I put her on a horse – yes, second time!! She manages a barn in Florida now – has been employed at different barns for several years. I KNOW she wears a helmet when she rides – there was never any question from the time she was 4 or 5 – period. My youngest granddaughter took lessons for a couple years in Va. when she was little, never lost interest in horses, but in the lesson, then show push she thought it was boring. While she took lessons she never was taught how to groom the pony or horse she rode, nor how to saddle up. Her older sister showed her all that a year or so ago! Sorry to ramble on.
Yes, my grandchildren always wore helmets – but I admit I didnt until I watched a friend of mine go over backwards on her horse – she had a concussion & several cracked ribs BUT her helmet protected her head – it had a crack in it but saved her. She could have died! We moved to another barn after that & that barn owner wanted her boarders to wear hard hats – which I did.
Thanks for sharing, Maggie. Hard to unsee falls like that, isn’t it?
Anna, You are so wise. I learned a lot from this on so many levels. First of all, it’s okay to stand your ground when you use common sense and wish others would too. In this changing world which is also a world that refuses to change in some ways, you give us salve for the souls who care. I will always maintain, “The world is harder for those who care.” I care that people choose to do the right thing, that all animals are given consideration for their undeniable consciousness as sentient beings, that we should never turn down a chance to share knowledge. I admire you for your courage.
Thanks, Jennifer. This one seems obvious, for the horse and the rider.
‘ I miss the time when doing the right thing was its own reward. ‘ In every sphere….
Jinnie, thinking of some of our talks, big amen from here.
I must comment. I care deeply about this and I care about my friends who refuse to wear helmets. I’ve been wearing a helmet for 20 years. NO MATTER WHAT. I retired from teaching but kept many items including a box of 5 sizes of helmets. There are always people surfacing to ride my ‘bombproof’ Haflinger mare. And I want them to. But no one gets on my horses without a helmet. The likelihood of the event is not the factor that matters. It’s the unacceptability of the outcome if it does happen that speaks to me. I have come off and broke 8 bones, but my brain was fine. It’s too bad I don’t wear a helmet to drive my car. I was rear ended, causing a nasty bump to my head. Two years later I had to go to UCLA for a specialized brain surgery to give me my life back. I had to learn to walk again. Yes I still ride. But that helmet is more important to me than my tack. I don’t ever want to repeat that 5 hour brain surgery and recovery. I know I can’t convince my friends, even though they get jabbed in the head by dead branches when trail riding. I don’t understand. They say it’s uncomfortable. WOW.
Thank you for writing this. It’s good to consider the global take on the topic.
Thanks for commenting, Susie. Yup, I’ve still got a shelf of helmets and no lesson horse. I didn’t know about the surgery but am so glad you’re on this side of it. Life is just so precious.
Charlotte DuJardin is such a great role model. Harmony, lightness, AND safety!
https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/charlotte-dujardin-helmets-tokyo-olympics-754831?fbclid=IwAR204ZH73Huii_4D-9AhUkONliqweK1rrArw8EycMlIlU-A2dh20niijPLo
I couldn’t agree more!
One thing to add as well, is that when human’s do something careless and get hurt by an animal, the animal many times gets put down or sold off to who knows where or given to an animal control. If you aren’t going to be as safe as you can around animals, for your own well being and safety, do it for the horse or other animal.
You are so right, Cathy. Thanks. I’ve written about this, and it happens more often that people think. Many times the family insists…
I was so very happy to see the pic of Charlotte Dujardin at the Olympic Dressage horse inspection wearing her helmet, with the explanation that it was for safety after having seen a stallion strike a groom in the head at a previous competition. A rider of her caliber and renown making such an unequivocal statement at the Olympics is just the message all equestrians should heed.
I remember how thrilled I was seeing her compete in a helmet with young Valegro. I wish more like her spoke up. Thanks Sandra
I was two – thee years old in the saddle with reins in my little hands. My mount a flee bit gray mare quarter horse raised by my father. It is 1955 – 56 Phoenix Arizona. The television production of Ripley’e Believe It Or Not was filming . The announcer said “they teach ‘em young here “. And I ride off screen, adults smiling……. no lead line. What were they thinking? That’s cute, and will sell advertising spots?
Who knows, maybe we see what we want to see, until we see something else. Who can make sense?
I have been a strong advocate for safety around horses for as long as I can remember – certainly since my first ‘horse’ job when I was 15. It was great to read your comments above – I could write another several pages of ‘potential and avoidable’ dangers! I do enjoy FB videos of riders and their horses, however I cringe every time I see our ‘leading’ trainers and riders showing their skills in arenas with gates wide open and clutter in corners, spectators sitting at ground level etc.
Great comment, Sandra. Thanks. I feel like a party-pooper on safety detail, but can’t look away.
I believe I saw the same post with the child high on a fence, petting and singing to a horse? It was sweet, and my thought was jeesh, may that kid be safe!
Now at age 71, I’m requiring not only a helmet for myself, but a vest also!Claudia
Crazy but also common. Vests have really improved, too. Thanks, Claudia
Thanks for still going on about helmets! My ‘helmets are mandatory on my property’ voice gets stronger every time I read a column on the topic. Your writing gives me more words to counter the arguments. ? ? TAZ
It’s a thing we can do; require them on our property. Good for you, thanks, Taz
I absolutely agree with all of this! Well done for speaking out for compassion and common sense.
Cheers,
TJ
Thank you, Tressna
Keep harping on helmets! I finally got one girlfriend to value her brain more than her hairdo. But it took her having a fall after surgery (aside effect of one of her anesthesia meds) for her to really understand what brain injury meant. I am a retired shrink, and I know full well that our brain houses what makes us uniquely us.
Thanks Therese. That is the most valuable thing…
I’m with you! Thank you for beating this drum. It’s such an important one.
I’m so glad you mentioned the dressage. Charlotte Dujardin has had a huge influence in this. She wore a hard hat in 2012, when she burst onto the scene with Valegro. I think every single other competitor was wearing a top hat, and people were sniffy, but she did not care. She went on wearing a proper crash helmet, and now everyone does. You know how we Brits love our traditions, and that was a hard one to bust, but she did it. (The really odd thing is that outside dressage there is no hat debate here. Everyone just wears one. Even when I was a kid in the seventies and my dad used to work the racehorses in a flat cap turned backwards so the wind would not blow it off, my mother would not let me get on my pony without a hat. I do the same for my own young girls.) When I put my own hat on, I think of what would happen if the red mare stumbled over a rabbit hole and went down and I bashed my head, and how if I were not wearing protective headgear I might end up in a chair or dead. I’ll take some risks in life, but not that one.
Thanks Tania. Just so right. It was a beautiful tradition, but if we can give up top hats, then… It is a thing particular to our culture here, and my worst injury was from my horse tripping on flat ground. I couldn’t agree more.
OMG yes. Please. In the name of all things holy. Wear your $#&*ing helmet. Please. No matter your sport, your decades of experience, your professional status, even your Gold Medals. None of it. Just wear the darned thing.
**wore a helmet when I fell off a horse. As a very experienced rider. At a walk. Because the ultra calm and easy going horse was stung unexpectedly by an insect. Broke the helmet but “only” had a mild concussion. Which by the way was viewable on a brain scan 25 years later. Uh huh. Still there. Just imagine what could have happened with NO helmet.
Helmets are not for “just for kids” or just for beginners. They are for any rider who wants an intact cranium. Thank you for calling for this. I am the first to support your call for sanity on this one <3
Thanks, Susan. Even after 25 years? Not surprised with all the new information coming out constantly. Thanks for commenting.
This was yet another great article Anna. I have experienced watching young riders barrel racing without a helmet and when asked to put one on flip out in outrage.l have also watched as some slowly painfully recover from head injuries. It is just not worth the risk of looking cool.
Barrel racing is really rough on this topis… Thanks, Shari.
The news about the FEI making those changes is encouraging! Keep being a blunt dinosaur who speaks out in the name of common sense and protecting especially the brains of our impressionable young people. Can you add not wearing flip flops around horses to your voice?
Flip flops. You bet, I’m on it. Thanks Carol.
I’m a retired ER nurse. I wear a helmet.
I’m sure you’ve seen things that can’t be unseen. Thanks for the work you do, Beth.
I 100% agree Anna. Hats on! The sweetest kindest horse and the most thoughtful person can still end up with a head injury and they’re just that bit harder to come back from. You keep standing tall. My kids are not allowed on without a helmet…they can lose any other piece of tack but not their helmets. I love them! Makes sense to me. Thank you
Thanks, Jo. For all the gear that has to be found, yay, the helmet. And as much as we like to pretend horses are stuffed toys, they forever remain horses! Thanks for being a good mom.
ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON ANNA X
Thank you, Sarian
Thank you! I am a pediatrician by training. I cringe every time I see kids riding without helmets because they are “in a Western saddle.” My daughter did barrels in a helmet. My motto was—No helmet, no horse. She wisely chose the helmet and got to ride the horse.
Smart girl. Smart mom. Thanks, Pam
Seventeen years ago, my husband went out on his endurance horse for a training ride. No helmet. She fell and rolled over him. He ended up being Life Flighted. We lost our farm to medical bills. I wear a helmet. EVERY SINGLE TIME I RIDE.
Thanks, Merri. This is heartbreaking in so many ways… we don’t always hear about the ripple effect. I hope your husband had a good recovery, and so sorry about the farm.
So many many intelligent people here with so much common (horse) sense!!