Helmets: helping or hindering?

When I was growing up, my parents forced and reinforced the helmet rule whenever I wanted to ride my bike, go roller blading, or do anything that involved wheels and a potential for a complete lack of control.  More than once, those silly looking things that always made my silhouette look like Toad from Mario Kart racing, ended up saving me from serious head trauma.  More recently, this has included my riding helmet.

There was one incident where, if I had not been wearing my helmet, I might be a vegetable today.  I was thrown off a horse running uphill at full speed and landed straight on my head.  Everything went black and I could swear my head drug through the dirt while my feet were still up in the air for about five feet.  I know with certainty that if I had not been wearing my helmet, I could have easily obtained a serious concussion or even worse.  This accident occurred when I was working out in California as a wrangler.  A few of us wranglers took some of the more fresh horses out for a “trail ride.”  This trail ride quickly became a full-on-gallop-hauling-balls-ride.  Of course we were riding western and in most cases, western riders stereotypically choose not to wear helmets.  I was the only one who ever wore a helmet while working there.  All I can say is, thank goodness for that goofy looking helmet.  I’d much rather look like Toad than be in a coma.

Perhaps some of my reluctance to go without my helmet came from my humility and knowledge that I was not yet at a riding level where I knew I could go without a helmet and feel safe.  But then again, after reading the article “Helmetless Riding Costs Everyone” by Pamela Roberts in the August 2009 issue of Practical Horseman, I was very shocked to learn that “equestrians are more likely to experience a traumatic brain injury…than a football player.”  In fact, us horse-riding fools have acquired the highest percentage of traumatic brain injuries in proportion to any of other sport: 11.7%.  “An equestrian has a higher probability per riding hour than a motorcyclist of experiencing TBI.”  In actuality, these statistics make perfect sense…stupid sense but very easy to identify.

When I first began riding, I was riding at a predominately western barn and thus, few people wore helmets.  However, being a student, it was required that I wore a helmet and from all those years of “you have to wear your helmet if you want to go play,” I wore my helmet even outside of the lesson arena.  I never really felt at home at that barn.  I made a few friends but none that have stuck with me.  One of the main draws to English for me was the welcomed attitude towards wearing a helmet when riding at even a walk.  I didn’t enjoy being teased for my caution and my motto of “better safe than sorry” when it came to riding.  I am fully aware of the risks I take whenever I swing up into the saddle but it is an addiction and like any addiction, people have created tools to make the addiction less dangerous.  For example, wearing a helmet when riding a motorcycle, bicycle, skateboard, roller blades, and one could even make a comparison to smoking filtered cigarettes versus non-filtered cigarettes…all these precautions have been made available to aficionados of the above listed activities to provide some safety.

The way I see it, with any of these activities, it is the participant’s choice to take the safer route.  However, with riding horses, you have the added component of two brains and bodies trying to work together, or sometimes against each other!  It is on the occasion when the rider and horse start to ride against each other that helmets become essential.  At the novice level, many riders are unaware that they are even working against their horse; they are usually along for the ride and, as I have said in previous pieces, just learning how to work their bodies while riding.  As the rider improves and achieves more professional levels, wearing a helmet whenever they ride becomes more of a choice because they have the ability to make decisions regarding their horse’s body as well as their own body.

I know many English riders who, outside of the show ring, prefer to go helmetless.  Usually, these riders are very, very good and have spent many years creating a solid relationship with their horse.  After owning my horse almost for five years, I am just now feeling comfortable enough to ride him without wearing my helmet but only if I know he knows that I am not expecting him to truly work.  Ironically, this situation is often when I decide to ride bareback, using only my lead rope and halter to steer.  One of the most freeing, confidence building rides I have ever had with Edge was an impromptu ride between school in the morning and work in the evening.  I was wearing my nice DKNY jeans, a very nice black T-shirt and flip flops.  After lunging him for a few minutes to see what his temperament was looking like, I decided to hop on bareback and kick off my flip flops.  Nothing as freeing as feeling your horse’s coat on your heels and ankles, with your hair blowing in the wind and bouncing back and forth on your back with every stride as you canter around and around the arena with only the lead rope around his neck, tied to the halter to guide his neck and lead his head.

The main reason I am so comfortable riding like this is because I know Edge does not perceive this as “work.”  The other times I have ridden him bareback with an actual bridal he automatically goes into work-mode, as if he were under saddle.  If anyone has ever ridden bareback at a pace that makes it hard to balance then you know what I am speaking of!  It is frighteningly easy to lose your balance between any transitions.  If your horse is anything like Edge, he/she will put on the breaks as soon as they feel you start to lose your seat.  Thoughtful but not so helpful in the inertia department.  So….here is my take on helmets: unless you have a solid, comfortable bond with your horse under many, or even all circumstances (working, playing, showing, etc), I suggest wearing a helmet.

I absolutely love that in any English show ring, helmets are a requirement.  The only exception to this rule is Dressage.  Comparatively, Dressage is less dangerous than other disciplines such as Show Jumping, Hunters, Three Day Eventing, Endurance riding, Steeple Chasing, Polo, Racing, etc.  That is not to say that Dressage does not have its dangers.  The main difference is that Dressage is ridden strictly on the flat and focuses on complete and total control and balance of both horse and rider.  In any of the other sports listed, there is an extreme danger and potential for a complete lack of control which could lead to an accident.

There is a twist to this situation though.  I have ruminated over it for the past few days.  Does not wearing a helmet give the rider a false sense of confidence?  Some evidence would suggest that this thought is indeed true.  Also stated in “Helmetless Riding Costs Everyone” is that after “[t]en years of trauma data collected from Foothills Medical Center in Calgary, Canada, [it was] revealed [that] most equestrians seriously injured or killed were far more likely to be veteran riders than rookie.”  However, not wearing a helmet and having a successful ride is so freeing and such an adrenaline rush that it can become the preferable choice and even help boost the rider’s confidence.  It seems to be a Catch 22.  Should you push the limits and push the growth of trust between you and your horse or should you always play it safe?

Again, it all comes down to choice.  Personally, if I am going to be doing any riding that resembles actual work (i.e. collection, impulsion, jumping, anything that requires a lot attention from the horse), I am, without a doubt going to wear a helmet.  I don’t care if it is 95 degrees outside, I’m still wearing my helmet.  Just like I always wear my sunscreen and my lightweight, long sleeve, UV protectant  shirt (another habit thing drilled into me by my mom).  Both of these safety precautions may come across as overly diligent, however, after reading the shocking statistics in the article, I am going to be more aware of when wearing my helmet is a necessity.  I hope that perhaps this piece can help other helmet-shy riders find some peace in the idea of wearing a helmet even if it does make you look like Toad.

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Companion animal versus Livestock Designation

When comparing companion animals to livestock, most people can distinguish a clear difference between the two categories.  Companion animals are the animals that we as owners dote all our attentions on.  We buy them toys, fancy foods, beds, little jackets for the winter, etc.  Livestock are animals that are generally seen as those that carry many of our physical burdens and provide us with food.  When it comes to horses, many owners today fall under the category of pet owners.  We buy them toys such as Jolly Balls or Hanging Horse Treats, we buy the most expensive supplements and feed, the best quality grass and/or alfalfa, we spend loads of money on good quality bedding, and many of us easily spend $100-$200 (and sometimes even more) on winter blankets.  So why then do horses fall under the category of livestock instead of companion animal?  We no longer need them to carry our burdens across acres of land and we in the United States do not eat them.  Some horse people feel that if horses were designated as companion animals, many would be saved from slaughter.

Horse slaughter is a topic amongst the horse community that is about as touchy and hot as abortion is amongst the normal population.  The more uninformed horse people feel that slaughter is completely unnecessary and savage.  However, according the AAEP (American Association of Equine Practioners), “Changing the legal definition of horses to companion animals under state law could adversely affect horse owners and breeders and not necessarily better protect horses.”  Because the USDA currently recognizes the horse as livestock, the government is better able to regulate the horse industry, the welfare and the overall treatment of horses.

If the horse were to lose its legal designation of livestock, the few slaughter facilities left in the United States would no longer be held accountable for the humane slaughter of unwanted horses.  There are thousands of unwanted horses in the U.S.  They are generally the result of uneducated backyard breeders, poor regulation of wild horse packs, and various other issues resulting from uninformed, overzealous people.  Currently, because the USDA recognizes the horse as livestock, the government is able to uphold strict federal inspections of slaughter facilities in the U.S. and the Safe Commercial Transport of Equine to Slaughter Act.  Another very positive side effect of the horse being designated as livestock is that the equine industry is able to qualify for grants to support research in equine disease, reproduction, and other aspects of the industry.  A little known fact among the non-horse community is that most of the very advanced reproductive technology used with humans today was originally used on horses.  For example, embryo transfers, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, and other methods.  Much of the money obtained to do such beneficial research has been awarded through grants.

The very unfortunate truth about horse slaughter today is that is it absolutely necessary.  The even more unfortunate truth about it is that because there are so few slaughter facilities in the United States, unwanted horses are packed into trailers headed to either Canada or Mexico with little regard to their safety during transport.  Neither Mexico nor Canada hold any regulations for humane horse slaughter.  I have heard horror stories of the slaughter simply involving slitting the horses’ throats and allowing them to bleed out or attempting to break the horses’ necks.  The humane way to slaughter a horse is to render them unconscious with a captive bolt gun which simply makes the horse brain-dead so they feel no pain when the actual slaughtering process occurs.  This is the same technique used for cattle.  A metal rod is shot straight into the brain.

Another aspect of horse slaughter that upsets many uneducated people is the human consumption of horse meat.  The meat is mainly consumed in Europe.  Horse meat is very lean and protein rich…perfect for people in third world countries.  I don’t think I myself could ever eat horse meat because my love and connection to these wonderful creatures is so deep that it would be like eating a family member!  Count me out….no reservations for the Donner party here.   To make such a simple statement as “ship off the meat to the poor starving kids in China and Africa” sounds so idealistic and overly easy. However, when one considers the over-population issues that are ravaging the world and its billions of residents (an average of 75,000 who starve to death every day), one day, it may not sound so idealistic.  It is a simple and freighting fact that the world population is growing daily and the ability of the agricultural community to supply food to the general populous is not keeping up.  The particular lecture that I am drawing all this information from downright scared me.  In my notes it states “famers must produce as many calories in the next 40 years as in the entirety of humanity to feed the world.”

The land used to produce this food is quickly disappearing; being turned into housing developments, business centers or shopping malls.  Most of us U.S. citizens do not feel the effects of this growing problem but it is something that truly shocks me.  I have faith in our scientific community to put all their combined eight plus years of schooling and training together and figure out some solution but I feel as though this situation should never have happened.  I’m getting off topic!  My final word on over-population:  sex education, birth control and education in general!  Of course, all easier said than done but I will leave that for another day.

The main point I am trying get across in this piece is that while horse people with idealistic, negative views on slaughter and the livestock-designation may have good intentions to save the thousands of unwanted horses, these opinions and views come from a lack of education and an abundance of passion.  As the former Supreme Court Justice Louise D. Brandeis said, “[t]he greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.”  If backyard breeders had more education and purpose with their breeding, the issue of unwanted horses would not be so rampant.  There would also be a need to better regulate the packs of wild horses that still roam many parts of the United States.

If I don’t sound like a broken record by now, well here it comes…education is the key.  Re-opening slaughter facilities in the U.S. is essential for the humane treatment and slaughter of unwanted horses.  All these major issues stem from human faults.  Once upon a time, there were slaughter facilities that also had a training facility on the property.  Trainers would try to find possible horses that could be saved from slaughter and go on to live successful lives.  Unfortunately, more often than not, the trainers would find career-ending conformational deformities or mental issues so beyond repair, that these barns full of hope were slowly closing down.  My own beloved home-away-from-home, Lynchland has saved many a horse from slaughter and they have become some of the most loved and talented horses on the property. The owner of the barn, Jackie is very educated in the ways of equus and is able to find horses that have potential.  She never gets herself into any situation with a horse that she knows she cannot handle.  To reverse Louise D. Brandeis’ quotation, the greatest hope for the horse lays within the people of zeal, well-meaning and educated, and with understanding.

To see some of our rescue horses, feel free to check the Lynchland website: http://www.lynchlandstables.com/

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