Why is a “Riding Helmet” bad?

I am sure there are many of you out there that think a helmet is needed when riding a horse and some even think it should be mandatory.  Like many things in the horse world, opinions vary.  So if a helmet protects someone’s head and makes them safer, how can it be bad?  There is a condition out there known as the “Superman Syndrome”.  The condition is when someone perceives no danger can come to them, they are safe, protected and can’t get hurt.  This syndrome is common in many high risk professions such as Police Officers, Firefighters, Military personnel, Race Car drivers and others.

With advances in technology and safety equipment, people have a tendency to think they cannot get hurt when doing dangerous activities.  With this mindset it causes people to take more risks and they will do things they would never do if they felt they could get seriously hurt.  Riders and horse owners will neglect improving their skills or advancing their knowledge of the horse, since they can take a shortcut, use a cheat, get lots of free advice and of course, they wear a helmet that keeps them safe.

I see lots of people that ride horses that they should not ride, but they wear a helmet.  I see riders push their horse when scared, but they wear a helmet.  I see harsh and painful bits being used by people with hard hands, but they wear a helmet.  I see horses confused, scared and in pain, but their rider wears a helmet.  I see horses begging and screaming for their rider to stop pulling on their mouth and head.  I see riders carrying on conversations and ignoring all the warning signs that their horse is about to blow, but they wear a helmet.  To me it is pointless and makes a dangerous situation more dangerous.

Thousands of people a year get hurt in horse related accidents.  Most, if not all, could be prevented with better horse skills, more informed and educated riders, but the majority of people hurt by horses, were wearing a helmet.  A helmet will not protect you from a broken arm, broken back or broken ribs.  It will not prevent a neck or spinal injury.  It will not prevent you from being thrown or from being dragged if you foot gets caught in a stirrup.  A helmet will not prevent you from getting kicked in head, stepped on, run over or severely bitten by a horse.  A horse reacts the same way whether or not his rider is wearing a helmet.

A helmet may give people the perception that they are safe.  A big thing a helmet does is it makes the horse pay.  The horse suffers from people who will not learn about the horse since they can wear a helmet and then make the horse listen with bigger bits, more force and since they think they are safe with their helmet, the horse pays.  If people invested time to study the horse, if they would try and improve their horse skills and learn the way of the horse, they would be 100 times safer with no helmet.

It amazes me when people won’t ride a horse without a helmet, yet they will get on a horse that does not have good brakes, won’t steer, will spook and run, is nervous and insecure and then feel safe because they have a helmet on.  Most people wear seatbelts in car.  Seatbelts have saved countless lives and minimized injuries for years.  But just because you wear a seatbelt, would you drive a car with no brakes, bad steering, bald tires, broken windshield and broken steering wheel?  I would hope not.  And if you did, you would still be safer in that car than you would be on a lot of horses.  At least the car will not spook, the car does not have a mind with instincts to run and survive.  The car will not chase other cars or run from other cars.  The car will not react to pain or fear.  The car will not panic and think it could die when scared.  A car will not buck and try to throw you out.

So let’s compare, the car has no emotions, no fear, no reactions and you have complete control over the accelerator, which direction you go and you can turn the engine off with a turn of a key.  The horse has strong emotions, lots of fear, reacts to survive and you have little control over the accelerator, limited control of direction and you cannot turn the horse off.  Ummmmm?  Which one do you think you are safer driving?  Which one do you think you have more control over? 

I bet a lot of people would not drive the car I described with a seatbelt, helmet and a protective suit, yet they have no problem getting on an untrained horse since they have a helmet on.

People should actually think about what a helmet really does.  Can a helmet really make you safe?  I hope riders will realize that by working on your horse skills and understanding the horse better can make you much safer than the best helmet you wear.  If you improve yourself, your horse will get better.  By doing this the real winner in this is the horse.  The horse gets a rider and owner that understands him better, the horse gets a better deal and the horse knows his rider grows in confidence so he grows and they both become better partners.

So wearing a helmet may help you if you get thrown or fall off, but understanding your horse, understanding their instinctive fear reactions and working on becoming a better horse person will help keep you from getting thrown.  Help yourself and your horse become safer through understanding and knowledge of the horse.

So it is OK to wear a helmet, but don’t expect it to make your horse better, that is up to you.