Very very very occasionally I'll get on without a hat and sit on them in the field for a minute or two, just to give them a cuddle and have an 'aaaaah' moment - but it has to be the right sort of day and they have to be relaxed for me to even contemplate it.

No 'riding' though - did it once and felt horribly vulnerable just walking round the field. I'll happily hop up without any tack and play in the arena or field if I have my hat on, and laugh at how much they take the mickey while I work on my seat & weight aids, though.

I will NEVER get on a horse without a helmet- no matter how safe they are. My only exception to this is next year in my wedding pictures, I am planning to be mounted for some of them. However, even that makes me nervous.
I've heard and saw about some gruesome riding accidents; even some without the horse even moving!
English/western/ etc- you are sitting on a living,breathing animal who has it's own mind. There are also situations completely out of control; what if the horse has a stroke and falls out from under you? Your brain is the only one you have.
Then again, I yell at my friends to put a seatbelt on even if they are in the backseat (we grew up like this and I never even knew people rode without them!), so I tend to be on the cautious side. But being safe never hurts.

Buckyhorsemom said:
"When my daughter was 4 and started riding, I purchased both of us helmets. I felt like I couldn't very well expect her to always wear her helmet if I didn't wear one also."

Shadowfax44 also.

THANK YOU. Thank you for being a good example to your kid. You are amazing moms.

Note to ALL Parents: WEAR YOUR HELMETS, TOO, for horses AND for bikes.

I know parents value their kids' lives and safety more than their own, as every parent should, but what happens if YOUR always-reliable horse gets spooked and throws you onto the concrete or if you're the one who gets hit by a car on your bike?? How is your kid supposed to grow up without a parent, or how are you supposed to support your kid if you have brain damage? What is your kid going to think about your choices then?

In my town I so often see parents out riding bikes with their kids, the kids dutifully wearing their helmets but the parent not wearing one. Sometimes even on the SAME BIKE (like on a bike trailer or toddler seat). When that kid grows up he's going to be the kid who wears his helmet when he leaves the house and waves goodbye, but then takes it off as soon as he's halfway down the next block. I see those same kids riding in traffic all over town, helmets swinging from handlebars or backpacks and hair blowing in the breeze.

Helmets keep the brains on the inside, where they belong. Please put aside your own personal vanity or force of habit and set an example for your kids. You're already setting an example for them every day.

I'm sorry for my negative tone, here. I don't mean to "tell you what to do" but I've just seen too many bloodstains on the road after the fact, and it's a point that I'm really passionate about. One of those bloodstains was only a couple of blocks away from the deceased teenager's house, (it doesn't rain much here in California) and next to it written in sidewalk chalk it said "Don't break your mother's heart. Always wear your helmet." I don't want parents to have to enforce "Do as I say, not as I do" but the more automatic "Do as I do" which is much more fair and easy to reason for kids as they grow up.

*steps off soap box*

And yes, I always wear a helmet when I ride a horse or a bike. Always always.

I raised horses for a couple of decades. I started riding when I was eight (I am sixty). I never used a helmet, no one did. I can tell you working with horses on the ground is far more dangerous than riding them, yet no one advocates wearing helmets all day long. My injuries from horses have all come from the ground.

The other thing is, a helmet will not stop a concussion. It likely would have prevented the cracked head of a previous poster, but not the brain injury of a serious concussion. Consider football players.

I had a brain injury 2.5 years ago and no horse was involved, just ice and cement. In life, you place your bets and you take your chances.

I am SO glad I found this group!! To Wear or Not To Wear ... as an "old-timer" who wore no sunscreen, no hat, shorts, etc, I've watched the emergence of helmets with interest. As I begin to embrace getting in the saddle again, I must admit, I'm thinking a helmet is on the "to do" list. With menopause, I don't do heat well at all, so will need to find a really BIG hat to go OVER the helmet LOL I found the video Every Time, Every Ride on YouTube. Most certainly on my To Do list! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5kipoegqK0
:flowerforyou:

I'm another rider who says "every ride, every time". When my daughter started riding, I made her wear a helmet. When we bought our own first horses, we both wore helmets. I told her, I would wear one too, since she had too! In Iowa (where we previously lived) all 4-H events, kids had to wear helmets when riding. In Nebraska, where we live now, I was surprised that 4-H here doesn't have the helmet rule.

I am an avid trail rider, Competitive Trail Rider and newbie Endurance LD rider and I would not get on my horse without a helmet! Again in Iowa, I was usually the only person on the trails with a helmet (kids included), but here in Nebraska, about 1/2 of my new friends wear helmets :-) It sure is nice!

PTownMama, I've recently met someone using this product called DaBrim. It's a brim that fits on the helmet and provides shade like a cowboy hat! I'm a Ginger, so I have to hide from the sun or I burst into flames. My local tack shop keeps ordering these but they sell like hotcakes and I haven't tried one in person. But I want to!

Link here: http://www.dabrim.com/html/products/equestrian/endurance.htm

Well I just broke down and bought one, so I'll give you all a review when it arrives!

As I told someone recently who poked fun at my "nice hat," (and to be fair, I was sporting a safety orange helmet cover that day) I just really value the information I have stored in my brain, and I'm OK with your values if you don't.

I might need a medieval helmet just for daily riding!

I have never ridden with one. Of course I ride western and I used to show western pleasure, trail, etc. I typically just trail ride now but never do wear a helmet. I wont let my daughter ride without one though.

I'm glad you're making your daughter wear her helmet, but you're not setting a good example for her if you don't wear one. Look at it this way, if you get hurt from not wearing one, what will happen to your daughter? Sometimes we have to think of others before ourselves. Just my 2 cents.