helmet saves ER nurse by karenMy boyfriend,58, and I, 53, were out for a ride in the mountains on a beautiful day. He was riding my old gelding, the solid as a rock kind, a horse that has been used for therapeutic riding, for kids, etc. He had ridden this horse often and had ridden him in an intensive riding clinic, too. We had just stopped and my boyfriend had gotten off to close a gate. As he started to mount, his horse took a step. The rider was thrown off balance, the horse took a jump and I helplessly watched as rider fell, hitting shoulder, back and head on hard, rocky ground. I got him to the doctor, and Xrays showed multiple rib fractures. He had massive bruising and, of course, was very sore for weeks. His helmet was a new Troxel and had several large cracks in it. He had no head injury and believes this would likely have been a severe head injury, if not fatal, without the helmet. Please wear your helmet. It takes only a fraction of a second for an accident to happen. A helmet can save your life.