From: Susan
Dear Jessica, I know that you are very pro-helmet, and I applaud your stand on this issue. I'm a nurse who has spent eleven years working in Critical Care, and I know all about what happens to riders who don't wear helmets and incur preventable head injuries. For me, helmets are like seatbelts. Wearing them doesn't mean that I think I'm a bad rider or driver, it just means that I'm smart enough to take advantage of easy preventive measures in case of accidents. Anyway, I'm telling you all this to lead up to my question, which is about the helmet safety video "Every Time Every Ride". I lurk on an internet newsgroup called rec.equestrian. I know you know about this because sometimes you post there, but I don't think you've been there lately.
Anyway, somebody recently started up another helmet thread, and we have all kinds of people making stupid arguments like "wearing a helmet means you won't ride carefully" and "only bad riders need helmets", "you can still get hurt when you wear a helmet so why wear one", "if you're a good rider in control, you'll never have an accident" and so on. It makes me furious when people tell these harmful lies -- I deal with the realities of head injuries EVERY DAY!!! But here's my question, finally. One person recommended the helmet safety video, and someone else said that it was propaganda because it was produced by the helmet manufacturers. Is this true? I've seen the video and was very impressed with it, and I think I'm in a position to know about head injuries and riding. But I wasn't aware that the helmet manufacturers made this video! I hope you can clear this up for me. I'll be very interested to know what you say about this! Oh, and I've never had the chance to ride in one of your clinics, although I hope to someday, but I've heard that all the riders wear helmets during their lessons. Do you have any trouble getting cowboys or dressage riders to wear them?
Yours in helmet-wearing safety, Susan
The "Every Time... Every Ride..." video was NOT thought of or made by the helmet manufacturers. I know the woman whose idea it was -- Jean Gulden -- and this video was a true labour of love for her. She did an incredible amount of work getting funding for it and getting it put together, and all for the right reasons. There is information IN the video about helmets (duh), and about the types of testing that helmets undergo at the American Society for Testing and Materials and the Safety Equipment Institute (in case you ever wondered what ASTM and SEI stand for, as in "an ASTM/SEI approved helmet"). But that's the purpose of the video: to educate riders and their families so that they understand how head injuries happen to riders, what KIND of head injuries happen to riders, and how helmets function to avoid the brain damage, paralysis, and death that are likely to result from unprotected falls.
Jean DID have an agenda: to improve the safety of riders, including her own children. I can't fault her for that, and neither should anyone else. The United States Pony Clubs, Inc., and the American Medical Equestrian Association have both tracked riding injuries for quite some time, and the evidence is entirely clear: approved equestrian safety helmets DO help protect brains, and riders who value their brains should wear them. ;-)
As for your question about my clinics, YES I do require that riders wear helmets. And no, I haven't had any trouble getting compliance from anyone, whether they're jumping or doing dressage or driving, whether they're reiners or FEI dressage riders: it's my rule and it's not arguable. If anyone has decided NOT to ride with me because of this rule, I don't know about it. ;-)
If you ride with me, you'll wear a helmet during your lesson, and it will be a proper protective equestrian helmet, properly fastened. You may have to borrow it from a friend -- you may never wear one at any other time -- I can't do anything about that! But I CAN and WILL guarantee that no rider is going to get a preventable head injury on MY watch.
Not that you'd need any persuading, Susan -- as you say, you're in a job where you can see the results of riders taking unnecessary risks. ` Thanks for writing.
Jessica
Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE is a free, subscriber-supported electronic Q&A email newsletter which deals with all aspects of horses, their management, riding, and training. For more information, please visit www.horse-sense.org
Please visit Jessica Jahiel: Holistic Horsemanship® [www.jessicajahiel.com] for more information on Jessica Jahiel's clinics, video lessons, phone consultations, books, articles, columns, and expert witness and litigation consultant services.