A bit of an understatement, that. He was rendered quadriplegic and for a long time couldn’t even breathe on his own without a respirator. He died just 9 years later; the suspected cause was a bad reaction to an antibiotic given for a septic pressure sore, but:
A) the sore was because of his immobility, and
B) I wonder how much better he would have tolerated the antibiotic if his health hadn’t been compromised by being literally immobilized for nine years.
This thread is indeed the first place I’ve ever heard of helmets associated with riding horses. Same goes for “crash vest”—I’ve at least heard of helmets as in motorcycle riding or football playing but what the hell is a crash vest? I grew up in small town Texas and attended Texas Tech where it was possible to get a scholarship for competitive rodeo performing. I knew many guys who rode bucking horses and bulls—none of them would have worn a helmet if one had been available. We were all much dumber back then I suppose.
So, I haven’t ridden since this thread started. The horses are my gf’s hobby. She rides a couple of times each week, I join her a time or two each year. I honestly never saw riding as life threatening. If getting/wearing protective gear is a necessity I’d rather skip it.
What he said ↑↑↑ about things which are not a must with me.
I have stopped doing things except driving which have mandatory safety gear use.
Here’s a sample, if anyone’s interested…
Jockey safety gear: http://www.raceridertack.com/
Helmets for western riders campaign: http://www.helmettough.com/
Helmets: http://www.doversaddlery.com/Category.aspx?c=1201&pgsize=all&pgnum=1
Protective vests: Protective Vests | Dover Saddlery
Come to think of it, I’ve seen kayakers wearing helmets, yet I never have nor would. I also kayak solo, which some feel is a really awful thing.
Well, everyone has their own levels of danger/safety. I know riders (horse, of course) that won’t ride alone, but if I did that I’d never ride because I keep my horses at home and ride usually in the middle of the day when my husband is gone. And shit happens, even to the best prepared.
I try and mitigate the danger a bit by always wearing a helmet, and using the RoadID app & armband in case I come off. I may still get hurt, but hopefully I’ll be found more quickly and the injuries will be lessened.
I’d argue the rider’s bad decision was getting on the horse – at least getting on one without a helmet.
Did they include injuries sustained during rodeo performances in the numbers .
I’ve worked for 5 different ranches as a cowhand . Three of the ranches I averaged 12 to 14 hours ,6 days a week in the saddle . I did this for 15 years . I never sustained an injury that was horse related, that wasn’t caused by human stupidity . Most times the human lived in town and their horse spent it’s life in a round pipe pen with daily exercise done by hitching it to a walker and a weekly stroll on a ditch bank… Toss those two into the mix and someone will get injured. None of my injuries were ever serious enough for medical attention to be needed , but they were painful enough to teach me to be long gone from the headquarters before any town dwellers showed up with their animal .
One of the ranchers has been horse back since he could sit up , it could be said that he was almost born on a horse , his mom was helping move cows and had to quit work to get to hospital. She was back in the saddle a week later with her baby strapped to her . As soon as the kid could sit up on his own, he was put on a horse and followed mom around . The guy has been seriously injured once and that was while chasing cows on a 4 wheeler . He spent a month in hospital, had to have metal rods in both legs and was house bound for months .
The secret to staying safe while working with horses is to keep an eye on the ears of the one you are riding , those ears will tell you in what direction any threat is in and what your horse has decided to do about the threat . A threat could be anything from another horse trying pass or a rattle snake under a bush, to a wild cow on the hook headed your way .
It’s a vest that goes around your upper body and provides protection against being hurled into a fence off a horse or being stepped on by the horse in a misadventure. Most are made of panels of foam inside a tough fabric, but they have some that inflate like an airbag when the rider experiences an involuntary dismount. Crash vests are required in eventing and most people who value life wear one when going fast or jumping on a horse. I’ve never worn an inflatable one, but when you wear a regular one you just kind of bounce when you hit the fence or the ground and walk away without a bruise.
Here are some videos of an inflatable crash vest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPlzdY4xH-I
My BFF’s husband was a hunting guide. All of his clients wore helmets by his order, some of the helmets looked like cowboy hats and the other ones were those cute velvet covered ones.
Riding helmets aren’t nearly as obnoxious as a full face motorcycle helmet and probably do their job very well.
For the record, I’ve only been on horses a handful of times. I’m scared of them. I don’t know what they are thinking or what they are going to do.
Its one thing to be on a motorcycle in traffic with unpredictable drivers all around. You know what your motorcycle is going to do. Its a totally different thing to be on an unpredictable animal with unpredictable wildlife all around.
Assuming the data are sound, I’d question whether the two activities are comparable at all, especially considering the idea of hours - most people don’t commute by horse or travel cross country mounted. Horses and motorcycles are used in fundamentally different ways. (For example unless you’re a carriage driver usually you don’t spend many hours using horses in traffic.)