My daughter's head hit a jump standard by LaurenMy daughter had been riding about three years and had become very skilled -- she was frequently asked to be a catch rider for greenies around our barn. One day she was riding a horse we had been leasing but had been having trouble with -- this mare kept "rooting" down to try to pull the reins away. (We later found out the horse had severe arthritis, so she was probably just hurting, but the behavior was still dangerous. )
On this occasion, the mare rooted went very low and then bucked and McKenna came flying off and hit her head on a jump standard. The helmet shell actually separated from the styrofoam insides and she was laying on the ground wearing just the styrofoam. We took her to the emergency room and she was pronounced absolutely fine by the docs there. Everyone said Thank God she always wears a helmet.
My husband, who rides infrequently and is not very experienced, used to not want to wear a helmet when we went on rental horse trail rides because the other guys don't usually wear one. We always used to pack helmets for the girls and me, but he wouldn't wear one. After seeing McKenna's experience, he has quietly become an advocate and now always wears one. I even heard him teilling some other guy that it was stupid not to wear one! I'm so glad he has changed his mind I haven't even mentioned that he used to be one of the stupid ones too!
Oh, and we terminated the lease and bought a new horse too!