The Importance of Equestrian Helmets
Published by GHC • Apr 2nd, 2008 • Category: Guest Bloggers, Riding Adviceby Sarah, age 12
An estimated 30 million Americans ride horses every year. However, more than 2,300 riders under the age of 25 are hospitalized because of horseback riding injuries. Some of these injuries could have been prevented by wearing an equestrian helmet.
Riding helmets aren’t just for kids. Injuries happen no matter how old or experienced you are. This chart from the NEISS shows the percentage of each age group’s head injuries:
Under 14 years — 24%
15-25 years — 23%
25-44 years — 40%
Over 45 years — 13%
Head injuries are associated with more than 60% of equestrian related deaths. Other injuries include concussion, brain damage, shattered skull, or as little as a bump. According to the Equestrian Helmet Fact Sheet from the American Medical Equestrian Association, a human skull can be shattered by an impact of 4-6 mph. A horse can gallop up to 40 mph. A fall from 2 feet can cause permanent brain damage. A horse elevates a person more than 8 feet off the ground. A rider who has had one head injury has a 40% chance of suffering another head injury. Children, teens, and young adults are most vulnerable to sudden death from second impact syndrome (severe brain swelling as a result of suffering a second head injury, before healing from the first one).
Fortunately, there is a way to prevent many to all of those head injuries; by wearing an equestrian helmet. Hard shell helmets must be worn while you are mounted atop a horse or pony. The helmet must be replaced after any severe impact. Be sure to buy a properly fitted ASTM/SEI approved hard shell helmet. ASTM/SEI work if their chinstrap is secure and the harness is tightened (I know from experience). All other helmets, such as bike helmets are inadequate as they do not meet the needs for falls off of horses or ponies, only bikes. Wear a helmet that is SEI certified and meets the ASTM F1163-90 standard. Be aware, there are many helmets on the market that appear safe, but do not meet these standards. There will be a tag saying so if they are or aren’t ASTM/SEI approved.
According to this article from the Allen Financial insurance Group, even with a safety approved helmet there is no guarantee that death or brain injuries will not occur. However, there is a strong chance the injury will be less or non-existent. Isn’t that worth a little discomfort or ‘hat hair’?
My friend got hurt really badly from not wearing a helmet, so I wanted to tell everyone the dangers of not wearing one. I would really love to become a blogger because I love horses and writing about them! Thank you for reading and please choose to wear an equestrian helmet EVERY TIME you ride.
Sources: Allen Financial Insurance Group; Wikipedia; NEISS (National Electronic Injury Surveillance System); American Riding Instructors Association (ARIA)
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Sarah! This is a brilliant first blog for you! Riding helmets are a must for equestrian safety, and you pinpointed that very well. I would never care about how my hair would turn out underneath the helmet (actually I like wearing it because it makes me feel more “horsey”) :D Keep it up and I can’t wait to read more blogs from you!
wow I’ve taken a few nasty falls before, the only resonse i’m still here right now is coz i had a helmet on! I was riding my old pony when she turned and galloped towards the gate leaving me to fall strait onto my back then my neck followed and my head wacked the ground and i fell unconsciene for a few minutes. luckily i was also wereing a protective vest which is the only reascon i’m still walking right now! when i fell i hit my back/spine before my head came with a massive impact! the vest and helmet cost mum $270 but it was all worth it when i fell that day!
my vest is still usable and safe but i had didn’t all on the inside of my helmet so I had to buy a knew one. with my new one i took a bit of a bad blow another time but i fell onto my arm (had a broken wrist) and shoulder (a massive bit of skin came off!) and my head didn’t touch the ground till i had crshed onto the ground and i put my neck back in pain. but even though i didn’t land on my helmet we still checked my helmet for ANY signs of damage!
helmets and other saftey things REALLY do work. even if they do cost you $200+ they really can save you life! I completely agree with this blog! VERY well done.
sabrina says,
WOW! i hade no idea you could wreck your scull from falling of a horse.must hurt REALLY BAD!:(. i LOVE your blog.:) bye,sabrina 10
whats up cowgirls or tommy girls hope you had a good time with them horse riding lessons sabrina!! B-) :) :D
Thats a really good blog post! I totally agree! If you don’t wear a helmet, then you could end up in a lot of pain… :D O:-)