# Why Don't Cowboys use in Helmets?!!



## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Cuz it gets hot and cuz they need more shade on their noggins?


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## ChitChatChet (Sep 9, 2013)

Tradition LOL


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## Roman (Jun 13, 2014)

Cause they look cooool in Stetsons. :razz:


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

Because a cowboy hat is more than a hat.

I describe mine as my "personal weather diversion device." When I am out for 10 or more hours a day my hat serves to keep my head warm in the morning when it is often 40 or 50 some degrees even in the summer. By tipping my head, my hat breaks the wind and keeps my face from becoming wind burnt or frostbitten. When the sun is out it protects me from sunburn. It also sheds rain. And if it's snowing, the snow will build up on my felt hat and add more insulation, keeping me warmer.

If it is really windy, and I tip my head so the brim of my hat stops the wind, it is easier to draw medicine into syringes without the wind whipping dirt into my eyes.

Then, also, hats tell a bit about the wearer. Different styles will tell us who does what and how.


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

Because we're hard-headed! ;-)


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## loveduffy (Dec 22, 2011)

kids should wear helmets adults can do what they wont and live with the out come


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

And out in the desert with a canteen, you can water your horse with it.


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## Cordillera Cowboy (Jun 6, 2014)

boots said:


> Because a cowboy hat is more than a hat.
> 
> I describe mine as my "personal weather diversion device." When I am out for 10 or more hours a day my hat serves to keep my head warm in the morning when it is often 40 or 50 some degrees even in the summer. By tipping my head, my hat breaks the wind and keeps my face from becoming wind burnt or frostbitten. When the sun is out it protects me from sunburn. It also sheds rain. And if it's snowing, the snow will build up on my felt hat and add more insulation, keeping me warmer.
> 
> ...


 In a simpler and less technical age, I used to call mine my portable shade tree. 

There are a couple of us here in horse forum for whom the risk of skin cancer outweighs the chance of getting tossed on our noggin. 

I was about to argue that the style thing isn't as valid as it used to be. Then I realized that, if someone knew what they were looking at, they might be able to peg me. I wear a Filipino farmers hat. The local folks wear them as is from the market, round and unblocked. They acquire character with use. I soak them in water and block it in whatever style tickles my fancy at the time. They only last about a year, but cost me less than a dollar in the market.


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## Cordillera Cowboy (Jun 6, 2014)

whisperbaby22 said:


> And out in the desert with a canteen, you can water your horse with it.


You don't have to be in the desert. I was stationed with a cavalry unit at Fort Hood, in Central Texas. Somehow I drew the only horse that wouldn't drink from a natural water source. Our uniform included a Stetson, and I used it to water that horse several times.


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## Textan49 (Feb 13, 2015)

Since I some times call myself an old cowboy, I would say it's because we don't want to !


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## CA VA shooter (Feb 4, 2015)

Textan49 explained it best, but I will add it has to do with function, comfort, tradition, heritage, culture.....etc. I gave up on explaining this to people a long time ago. 

We don't wear them out of personal choice and just leave it at that.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

FWIW, my first cowboy hat was bought decades before I started riding horses. I got a temporary job with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, more decades ago than I care to recall. I was doing plant surveys in central Utah as a way of determining trends needed for range management.

Got home Friday night after a week in the field. My ears and neck were badly sunburned. Blisters on the ears. On Saturday morning, when I went to a store in Smithfield Utah and bought a good Stetson for $19.99, the store clerk smiled.

A few weeks later, the movie Urban Cowboy came out. By the end of the summer, my $20 Stetson was running close to $100. That made ME smile!

For riding horses, I use a helmet. But I'm not a cowboy, and I don't pretend otherwise. I ride when I feel like it and for as long as I feel like it. At 57, I get checked twice a year by a dermatologist because I've had moles packed with precancerous cells cut off of me, and twice a year checks are vastly cheaper than skin cancer would be. 

If the new horse I've got continues to be as level-headed as he has been so far, I may switch to a cowboy hat...for the same reason I wear long sleeve shirts in the heat of summer. That big yellow thing in the sky can be a deadly opponent too!


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Tradition was born from necessity.
Cowboy hats are traditional and serve a purpose like boots and others stated. I don't wear one all year around, when the weather gets extremely cold I choose to wear a scotch wool cap with ear flaps and slather my face with sunscreen and Vasaline if the wind chill is bad to keep from getting wind burnt. Otherwise I wear a felt hat that helps keep your head warm and still provides sun protection for face, neck and ears.
The summers I wear a straw and used to wear the heavy palm leafs but got away from them and got one of the poly/shatung straws with the vents in the top and a 5"brim. It's heaven, plenty of shade and air conditioning for my pea brain, especially if you strike a trot and get the air flowing through it!


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## Cordillera Cowboy (Jun 6, 2014)

Some of us got to discussing helmets on another thread. I was reminded of one of the few times I ever got konked on the head (horse related anyway). I came off of a bareback bronc upside down, and got clocked right below and behind my right ear. No idea if it was hoof or hock that got me. But, I don't think any helmet really covers that area. I do have a scar and a knot on my forehead that probably wouldn't be there if kids back then wore helmets.


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

When I was 2 or 3, I fell off the fireplace mantel and onto the hearth. I cracked the brick.

When I was a teen-ager in gymnastics, I fell off all the apparatus (including the floor mat!) multiple times with minimal damage to myself.

When I first started riding at age 9 or so, safety wasn't the big political thing it is now. Our parents didn't think we needed to be bubble-wrapped to reach adult hood. In all my years of riding, I've only had three incidents that involved a horse, the ground, and my head. The first, when I was 16 or 17 involved a horse flipping over backward with me. I don't remember my head hitting the ground although somehow my chin got scraped (we won't talk about my entire torso and one leg turning lovely shades of purple, blue, red and green). The second time, in my 20s, a horse popped her head up and gave me a bloody nose. The third time, about 4 months ago, I wasn't riding and got kicked in the chin. 

Obviously, a helmet wouldn't have helped with the second or third, and I suspect I still would have scraped my chin and had bruises everywhere else had I been wearing a helmet the first time.

Like I said in an earlier post: I'm hard headed.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

bsms said:


> Cuz it gets hot and cuz they need more shade on their noggins?


As an English rider who often rides outside I'm just as prone to sun as any cowboy  I still choose to wear a helmet. 

I think the main reason is tradition. If someone rides at a western barn and no one else is wearing a helmet they may feel foolish wearing a helmet. Most English riders do because either everyone else around them is wearing one, or sometimes because a predominantly English trainer or barn requires them. 

Personally, I think people should wear them regardless of what discipline they ride. I think it's unfortunate that people will be mocked in some disciplines for wearing a helmet. That said, I do think it should be a personal choice for people of age (I do understand insurance reasons requiring helmets and age restrictions on not wearing helmets). Cowboys (or any western rider) are not immune to head injuries any more than English riders are.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

DuckDodgers said:


> As an English rider who often rides outside I'm just as prone to sun as any cowboy  I still choose to wear a helmet.


Just riding outside, and working outside are very different.

As a polo player who plays 6 chukkers on the grass in temps of 90 and above and also ranches, I have found this to be true. I wear a helmet playing polo, my hat is functional when ranching.

That said, anyone who doesn't wear a helmet because of peer pressure (that's what you described sounds like to me), is taking a risk for a silly reason. And, conversely, being intolerant of the need for some to wear hats is also short-sighted.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

DuckDodgers said:


> As an English rider who often rides outside I'm just as prone to sun as any cowboy  I still choose to wear a helmet.
> 
> I think the main reason is tradition. If someone rides at a western barn and no one else is wearing a helmet they may feel foolish wearing a helmet...


Disagree.

I'm not a cowboy. When I look outside and don't like what I see, I don't ride. When I get hot riding, I stop. I'm a recreational rider. I normally use a helmet.

When it is going to be 105 deg out, a cowboy doesn't get to say, "Looks like a good day to do stuff inside". Same for when it is 20 below. And if you have 14 hours of work to do, you have 14 hours of work to do. Cowboys don't get to turn around and go home because they are hot, cold, wet or tired of wind.

It wasn't tradition that got me started in cowboy hats. It was working in central Utah. In some places, we crawled under the trucks to eat lunch - for the shade! Most of the time, when we left the truck, we left it. We weren't going to be back until the end of the day. That is why I got blisters. I was working, not 'recreating'! I had no interest in any 'tradition'. There was no one who was going to see me - we worked in teams of two and rarely saw anyone else during the course of the day. It had nothing to do with looks. It was survival.

I don't wear long sleeves when riding because of tradition. I do it for protection from the sun. Not too many people see me when I ride, so I have no need to care about looks. I use a helmet because there are lots of rocks and I've spent the last 7 years riding a temperamental horse who wasn't too savvy about rocks or cactus.

But here is another truth: Most cowboys don't spend a huge amount of time worrying about falling off. As a general rule, cowboys don't jump fences. They use gates. My rancher friend in Utah has a ranch started by his grandfather. He is now 60 himself. No one in his family has ever had a head injury from falling off a horse..at least, not more serious than a bump. They've trained their horses, ridden uncounted thousands of hours in places like this (near where I worked for the DWR decades ago):










and never had a significant head injury - in 4 generations.

Frankly, for all my faults as a rider, I've 'fallen off' twice in 7 years. Once, Mia bolted. Got her stopped. Was worried she would bolt again across some rocks, so I tried to dismount. Got halfway thru the dismount and she exploded. I wasn't wearing a helmet. Hurt my back, not my head. The other time, she spun 1.5 tight circles in a spook and my too-wide saddle slipped to her side. I got her stopped, and realized I was on her back but the saddle was not. Things didn't look like they were going to improve, and I didn't think Mia would stay still for a dismount, so I jumped and rolled clear.

Those are my two falls in 7 years. When I hear a teen (typically) say they've fallen 30 or 40 times, I don't say anything...but I think, "_You don't learn too good, do ya!_ _You'd do better to use what is supposed to be INSIDE your head than to put on something OUTSIDE your head!_" 

As a recreational rider, I wear a helmet because it doesn't 'cost me' anything - it works OK for the 1-2 hours of a ride in nice weather. I also figure if my horse goes down, I'm likely to go down with him...and I ride on pavement frequently. For me, a helmet is fine.

But if I needed to ride for 12 hours today, I'd wear a cowboy hat. Not for looks. For protection from my main danger, which probably would not be falling. Predicted high today is 108. My ride today will be done by 9:30 am. If I were a cowboy, it might end at 8 pm. Huge difference!


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## BigNickMontana (Aug 5, 2013)

Pretty simple, helmets are made of one form of plastic or another and then lined with foam padding, it is like wearing a beer cooler on your head. 

When it gets hot out, you're getting really hot when you wear it for hours at a time. 

I used to ride dirt bikes a lot, and I can tell you riding in the summer in the sun its really easy to get heat stroked fast no matter how much water you drink. 

Helmets are fine if you are jumping or showing where you are going to wear it for 5-8 minutes at a time, but when you start talking about spending hours outdoors, helmets start to get stupid because the extra insulation on your head is going to make you heat up really fast.


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## CA VA shooter (Feb 4, 2015)

DuckDodgers said:


> As an English rider who often rides outside I'm just as prone to sun as any cowboy  I still choose to wear a helmet.
> 
> I think the main reason is tradition. If someone rides at a western barn and no one else is wearing a helmet they may feel foolish wearing a helmet. Most English riders do because either everyone else around them is wearing one, or sometimes because a predominantly English trainer or barn requires them.
> 
> Personally, I think people should wear them regardless of what discipline they ride. I think it's unfortunate that people will be mocked in some disciplines for wearing a helmet. That said, I do think it should be a personal choice for people of age (I do understand insurance reasons requiring helmets and age restrictions on not wearing helmets). Cowboys (or any western rider) are not immune to head injuries any more than English riders are.


For me and just about everyone I know it is not about being embarrassed. I really don't know a cowboy that gets embarrassed easy, I personally don't care what anyone thinks. It is a personal choice. I rode a few horses for an English barn as they wanted some to try out new horses to make sure they were "kid safe" for lesson. First off I am not an English rider and they wanted me to ride in an English saddle and over jumps...so I wore the helmet. I have been riding and competing all my life and never felt the need for a helmet, but I was on a horse I don't know in a tiny little flat saddle I have never ridden in and jumping stuff. Yes I wore the helmet. Returning to the western saddle...helmet was kicked to the curb.

I have never heard anyone at a competition mock a western rider for wearing a helmet and I think it sad that this must occur where you are. If someone feels more confident wearing a helmet when they ride then kudos to them. My only issue with any of this is when someone tries to lecture me about wearing a helmet. To each their own.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

BigNickMontana said:


> Helmets are fine if you are jumping or showing where you are going to wear it for 5-8 minutes at a time, but when you start talking about spending hours outdoors, *helmets start to get stupid* because the extra insulation on your head is going to make you heat up really fast.


I disagree. 

I've worn my helmet MANY times for 8+ hours in a day, whether we were moving cattle or at a show. Never had a problem with it "heating up my head". 

My helmet is actually lighter than my cowboy hat, and my helmet has vents for air flow whereas my cowboy hat does not. 

Helmets are certainly not stupid. 



CA VA shooter said:


> I have never heard anyone at a competition mock a western rider for wearing a helmet and I think it sad that this must occur where you are.


I've been wearing a helmet since I was about 4 or 5 and I am now 29. I can recall (quite vividly) four instances where someone made a rude comment about my helmet. So it doesn't happen a lot, but it does happen. 

I felt sad that those people were THAT insecure that they tried to belittle me with my helmet. The most recent incident was a few years ago, and it was a boy who was about 12-years-old ... making a derogatory comment toward an adult. I wanted to smack the boy's parents.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

My helmet feels hotter to me than my hats. Way hotter than a straw cowboy hat. You couldn't pay me to wear it for 8 hours straight in southern Arizona. Or central Utah in the summer.

I've known plenty of folks who have worn cowboy hats for protection from the sun. I've never met anyone who picked a helmet for protection from the sun, or cold, or rain. The sweat running down my face after a 45 minute ride today didn't feel like what happens if I go JOGGING for the same time in a boonie cap, either. Of course, I've never chosen a wool cowboy hat to jog in, either...but a straw one might be worth trying.


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## Cordillera Cowboy (Jun 6, 2014)

CA VA shooter said:


> ........I have never heard anyone at a competition mock a western rider for wearing a helmet and I think it sad that this must occur where you are. If someone feels more confident wearing a helmet when they ride then kudos to them. My only issue with any of this is when someone tries to lecture me about wearing a helmet. To each their own.


 A bit off topic, but to add a bit of humor...
Long ago, I was competing in 4-H western pleasure at the state fair. Of course, we spent time on the Midway enjoying the rides and such. There was a clown in a dunking booth who shouted insults to the folks throwing the balls at his target. I was in my boots, jeans and cowboy hat. 

I've never been any good at throwing any kind of ball, but I took a shot at dunking this clown. While I was throwing, he shouted "Hey cowboy! How did you find a 10 gallon hat to fit your 20 gallon head?" I thought it was pretty funny, but I couldn't let it stand. 

I went to get my little brother. He didn't give a hoot about horses, but he was an all star little league pitcher. I blew my allowance buying baseballs for him to dunk that clown with.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

DuckDodgers said:


> Cowboys (or any western rider) are not immune to head injuries any more than English riders are.


 I am going to throw something out here for others to ponder. I am going to disagree with the above statement. But first I want to make it clear I am not pitching cowboys as better riders than everyone else or that they are tougher, also not picking on anyone that wears a helmet-it is a personal decision.

How many times have you been somewhere (show, rodeo, barrel race, group ride, etc.) and a horse takes off bucking and everyone stops and watches? 
The rider is bucked down finally then everyone rushes over to help.
How many people know how to ride in and help a rider to get the horse lined out and reduce the chances of the rider getting bucked down, possibly hung up and drug?

How many people these days know how to position their horse in front of another horse that might be a little snuffy while the rider gets on as to help ensure he gets on safely and to ride with them to keep them out of a wreck?

Times have changed, horses are mainly recreational. Things that were taught to help people stay safe and were common etiquette are taught no longer except if you ride with a good cowboy crew.
In all my years of riding I have some wrecks, some avoidable, some not. My most recent wreck last winter was a doozy and I was hauled to the hospital. My first thought wasn't, "I should of been wearing a helmet", it was, "I should of handled that situation better". I still don't remember exactly what happened and I was by myself but from what I do remember, I could of avoided it.

Just my thoughts.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

"Cowboys (or any western rider) are not immune to head injuries any more than English riders are."

IMMUNE? No. But less likely? Yes.

25 years ago, a study done in 3 day eventing showed (IIRC) 88% of head injuries occurred in jumping, 1% in dressage and 11% in accidents while the person was on the ground. In truth, I've hit the ground more often while starting with my feet on the ground than I have when I was in the saddle.

That doesn't mean my horse could not have lost his footing this morning and taken a spill on the pavement, taking me with him. It also doesn't mean a scared horse will never knock me off my feet and bust my head against a railroad tie or a metal pole. It happens. I don't wear a helmet in the corral. I do wear one when riding, but I stopped today after 45 minutes or so. I also went jogging today when it was 105, and I'm glad I had cotton on my head instead of styrofoam and plastic!

Real cowboys don't pick the weather they ride in. They don't get to quit when uncomfortable. If a cowboy WANTED to wear a helmet, I wouldn't blink an eye. His choice. But a cowboy hat is not an irrational choice made as a fashion statement. It may be exactly that for someone riding at a "western barn", but not for a cowboy!


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

As for the above stats, it's very well worth noting that not all English riders jump ever. The last time I went over a jump was two years ago or so. I almost exclusively ride on the flat, and all of my falls have been on the flat. I've ridden with lots of people that do jump and, perhaps by sheer coincidence, I've only witnessed maybe one fall happen while jumping outside of a show where riders are often required to wear a helmet anyway. 

It is worth noting that I was perhaps inaccurate in my initial post. I do still completely stand by everything I initially said, but perhaps wrongly applies the statement to western riders across the board. No need to jump on my case and point out that there are major differences between a real cowboy and the average western rider. I am well aware of that fact, but for some reason didn't correctly explain myself in the post  my bad there. For a pleasure western rider or the average show rider (note I'm not specifically targeting western pleasure people, simply pleasure riders that choose to ride western) there is almost no practical advantage to wearing a shade hat that I wouldn't also have as an English rider. If we're out working our horses in the same weather and same intensity then the heat and sun are going to impact both of us the same. I don't think I ever said that a cowboy hat was merely a fashion statement, nor do I have a problem with people wearing one. Most of the western riders that I am around choose not to wear one unless showing, and that's their business. Yes, true Cowboys wearing a hat for protection does have its practical reasons, but I do feel that more people in the western would would wear helmets were it not for the tradition of going hatless or wearing a cowboy hat. I know a number of people who ride mostly English, but occasionally put on a western saddle. Most of them will skip the helmet when "riding western". Their business, but it does seem like a foolish reason to me. 

Sorry for not being entirely clear and not really sticking to the really designated question 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

All joking aside, I think a large part of it is how you learn to ride and how you grow into riding. As a kid, helmets were for things like the roller derby or maybe dirt bikes. We rode bareback, barefoot, in shorts, and hatless (in Arizona). We were on horseback from sunrise to just before sunset (that streetlights/dusk rule). I don't belittle people for choosing to wear helmets. If that is their comfort zone, then great. I, personally, don't like hats much at all. I'll wear a straw hat for shade, or maybe a baseball cap. I'll wear a felt hat for warmth or protection from weather, but mostly, no hat.

I still handle my horse wearing shorts and barefoot, although riding I need a saddle (can't mount bareback anymore), jeans and at a minimum, my sneakers. I have cowboy boots, and will wear them when it's cooler, and fur lined combat boots for riding in winter. I don't dress a certain way because I consider myself "cowboy," although I did grow up in the western disciplines. I dress for comfort.

Hats or helmets or bare is like so many other things in life: a personal choice. I grew up in a time where we had more freedom to make those choices. I'll make mine day by day and minute by minute, and I'll live with the consequences.


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## CA VA shooter (Feb 4, 2015)

I've been wearing a helmet since I was about 4 or 5 and I am now 29. I can recall (quite vividly) four instances where someone made a rude comment about my helmet. So it doesn't happen a lot, but it does happen. 

I felt sad that those people were THAT insecure that they tried to belittle me with my helmet. The most recent incident was a few years ago, and it was a boy who was about 12-years-old ... making a derogatory comment toward an adult. I wanted to smack the boy's parents.[/QUOTE]


It is sad that people feel the need to mock others for a personal choice on safety equipment. Many of my friends didn't start riding until later in life and are not comfortable riding without a helmet. If you don't have confidence when riding that is just a bad situation to me. I would rather have some ride with confidence and wear a helmet than be self conscious and be nervous and feeding the horse bad body vibes the whole time. 

My son doesn't wear a helmet when he rides (he also isn't doing anything more than a walk with old Eeyore out back under supervision) but if I ever caught him talking to anyone the way that kid talked to you he wouldn't be able to sit normal for a week from the spanking he would get. Someone should smack that boys parents. It is so disheartening that people are so judgmental!!

Beau, I don't judge people by their preferences on helmets, I judge them on how they treat other people and their horses. I surely am not judging you as I am sure you could teach me a thing or two about barrel racing. I actually read your posts for tips as I am toying with the idea of giving my shooting horse another hobby.


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## BigNickMontana (Aug 5, 2013)

beau159 said:


> I disagree.
> 
> I've worn my helmet MANY times for 8+ hours in a day, whether we were moving cattle or at a show. Never had a problem with it "heating up my head".
> 
> ...


Boy you took that rather personally.


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

Da Brim :: Products :: Equestrian :: Endurance


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## Cordillera Cowboy (Jun 6, 2014)

SueNH said:


> Da Brim :: Products :: Equestrian :: Endurance


LOL. Sue, you just countered my argument about lack of ear and neck protection before I are it. I love this place!


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

I haven't tried Da Brim, although I've heard good things about it. I doubt it will catch on with most cowboys, however. Why? Because the helmet itself is still hotter, and most cowboys don't spend a lot of time worrying about falling off.

I didn't wear my helmet when I went jogging yesterday afternoon in 105 heat. I wore a ball cap instead. I suppose I could fall down and hit my head against a rock while jogging. I have, after all, tripped on rocks before. But my $5 ball cap is lighter, cooler, still shades my face and - when you get down to it - I just don't worry about falling down when I go jogging.

I think that is what a lot of folks don't appreciate. They figure "It could happen, therefor, wear protection". But if your family has gone 4 generations of ranching without any serious head injuries, and if the herders you've hired have never suffered a serious head injury in decades of work...why would you bother?

Perceived risk. A lot of English riders perceive the risk to be higher than many western riders perceive it, and thus are willing to take steps and give up comfort to minimize what they consider to be a significant risk. I wear one because I perceive a risk: I ride often (daily) on pavement and I'm pretty sure if my horse goes down, I'll go down with him. If I limit my riding to an arena, I don't feel much risk...but I wear a helmet most of the time out of habit.

A guy in our church gave up riding this year. Sold his last 3 horses. He's 85. When I mentioned helmets, his comment was, "Why?" He wasn't trying to show off or be insulting. He was just puzzled why someone would want to wear a helmet when riding a horse. Perception of risk.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

BigNickMontana said:


> Helmets are fine if you are jumping or showing where you are going to wear it for 5-8 minutes at a time, but when you start talking about spending hours outdoors, helmets start to get stupid because the extra insulation on your head is going to make you heat up really fast.


I guess the fact I can wear a helmet for many hours (think my longest ride time so far has been 18 hours and in 90+F heat and humidity during the daylight portion) is a testament to my thick head, as I had no issues with heat exhaustion or heat stroke.. or maybe I don't have enough brains for them to overheat. :wink:

There are lots of lightweight, well-vented helmets available if you chose to use them. But that, for me, is the bottom line: personal choice. 





BigNickMontana said:


> I used to ride dirt bikes a lot, and I can tell you riding in the summer in the sun its really easy to get heat stroked fast no matter how much water you drink.


You may want to look into electrolyte supplementation if you are having issues with heat stroke regularly. Water alone isn't enough and its a shame to have to stop an activity you enjoy because you are falling over! However, the helmet itself isn't what is causing the heatstroke.


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## Incitatus32 (Jan 5, 2013)

As a midwestern cowboy I'll throw my 2 cents in. 

I grew up only occasionally wearing a helmet. I still to this day only wear a helmet if I've got a "gut feeling". Such as the horse is green or going to be a pill. For me it's just something in my head that says: "Wear a helmet". Much like that little voice that tells you when something's off about your horse. 

When working on farms however I don't wear one. Why? Because they're uncomfortable, hot, sweaty and quite simply they get in the way. I have my cowboy hat and I'm perfectly fine with that. I've taken my share of falls and all of them resulted in parts of my body being beat up OTHER than my head. It made me realize that we aren't ever "protected". 

I'm going off of what CowChick posted which I find really accurate. It's how we handle the situation both as bystanders and riders that either saves or kills us. I was at a 4-H show with a student a few weeks ago. One kid who was showing had a horse who basically exploded in the ring, bucking, kicking, rearing and the announcer pulled everyone to the center. The kid stuck on that horse (who is doing laps around the ring at crazy speeds and bucks) when two of the show kids who come from neighboring farms had just about enough of it. These kids DO know how to position a horse or cow to get it to stop, they know how to handle themselves and their animals and they're very good at it. They rode up, got the horse stopped and caught and found that the kid had gotten her hand stuck inbetween the horn and pommel. I'm fairly sure had she been shaken free she would've either been caught up and drug or been down a hand. 

I think that helmets are a godsend. Yes they do have a purpose, yes children should wear them, no I'm not going to condemn someone for their own choices as an adult. I don't find wearing or not wearing a helmet stupid or risky, I think it's a personal choice and should be respected as such. 

What I do believe through watching the changing times is that we equate safety and prevention with helmets instead of teaching people how to handle situations. I had a new student come in to learn my discipline and I asked her: "How do you stay safe on a horse?" 

To which she responded: "You wear a helmet." I went on to tell her that you, "Think six steps ahead and always have an escape route." 

The kids in my above story had an education similar to mine. You were taught how to stop and steer cows and horses, how to get someone untangled and safely away and how to handle a 'worst case' scenario. They weren't taught that 'helmets' keep them safe, they were taught to think fast, react faster and read the situation. 

Now I'm not saying, "Don't wear a helmet, cause then your a wuss." what I'm saying is that in addition to taking precautions with helmets we need to teach people HOW to react and HOW to fall. 

*This holds true for ANY discipline, not just western ;-)


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

phantomhorse13 said:


> There are lots of lightweight, well-vented helmets available if you chose to use them. But that, for me, is the bottom line: personal choice.


That is the bottom line; with a few exceptions, wearing a helmet is a personal choice. Whether others like it or not, whether both sides berate each other or think badly of the other for their choice does not affect the fact that whether to wear a helmet or not is a personal choice.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

BigNickMontana said:


> Boy you took that rather personally.


What?

If you don't want to wear a helmet because you feel it makes your head hot, then don't. 

But not everyone shares your opinion. I was stating mine. My helmet doesn't make my head hot. I'd choose my helmet over a cowboy hat on a hot day (or any day, for that matter).


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## BigNickMontana (Aug 5, 2013)

phantomhorse13 said:


> You may want to look into electrolyte supplementation if you are having issues with heat stroke regularly. Water alone isn't enough and its a shame to have to stop an activity you enjoy because you are falling over! However, the helmet itself isn't what is causing the heatstroke.


A lot of it for me is Genetics, I am horribly German, I can run around in 40° weather in a tee shirt and be fine, even shorts at times. My whole family is that way. 

When I used to ride my motorcycles in the hills id always bring a couple of gallons of Gatorade with me and usually by the end of the day I was breaking out the iodine tabs to refill em in the creek and at times I could kill those coming back down.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

I love this: "_I asked her: "How do you stay safe on a horse?" 

To which she responded: "You wear a helmet." I went on to tell her that you, "Think six steps ahead and always have an escape route._" (underlining mine)

Not that having a helmet is bad. Thinking it makes you safe is bad, even though having a helmet can be good.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

bsms and Incitatus are articulate and brought the point across I was trying to make much better than I am capable of expressing.
Again, not trying to say that cowboys are tougher/better, people should go riding in to "save the day" if they don't know how or that if people knew these skills a helmet would never be needed. It was some thoughts that had crossed my mind reading this thread and a recent accident, my own and a friend who had to be life flighted due to a wreck and if not for some fast thinkers it could of been worse.

I would never make fun of anyone for wearing a helmet, if someone wears one it doesn't affect me. And Duck, my post wasn't directed at you personally even though I quoted one of your sentences and used "you", "you" as the reader, not "you" Duck. LOL, hope that makes sense.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

COWCHICK77 said:


> bsms and Incitatus are articulate and brought the point across I was trying to make much better than I am capable of expressing.
> Again, not trying to say that cowboys are tougher/better, people should go riding in to "save the day" if they don't know how or that if people knew these skills a helmet would never be needed. It was some thoughts that had crossed my mind reading this thread and a recent accident, my own and a friend who had to be life flighted due to a wreck and if not for some fast thinkers it could of been worse.
> 
> I would never make fun of anyone for wearing a helmet, if someone wears one it doesn't affect me. And Duck, my post wasn't directed at you personally even though I quoted one of your sentences and used "you", "you" as the reader, not "you" Duck. LOL, hope that makes sense.


I don't recall exactly what you said or what I had said, but that is often the problem online... The "collective you" vs one specific you! 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

BigNickMontana said:


> Boy you took that rather personally.


I reread a couple of times and fail to see how any of that was "taking things rather personally". Simply expressing an opinion that differed from a number of posts!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BigNickMontana (Aug 5, 2013)

bsms said:


> I love this: "_I asked her: "How do you stay safe on a horse?"
> 
> To which she responded: "You wear a helmet." I went on to tell her that you, "Think six steps ahead and always have an escape route._" (underlining mine)
> 
> Not that having a helmet is bad. Thinking it makes you safe is bad, even though having a helmet can be good.


Here I thought the answer was to drink too much caffene, show up all stressed out, make lots of loud noises and sudden rapid movements (Especially in edge of their blind spot, horses seem to love that), be unsure of yourself, flinch at everything the horse does and to raise your voice suddenly and be sure you have a really loud annoying ringer on your cell phone that you absolutely should not put down for anything once you saddle up. 

In fact I'm sure what is going on on that phone is much more important than what is going on with the horse so you should just pay attention to it and while you are doing so feel free to randomly rock back and forth in the saddle and don't worry about where you put your feet, it will all sort its self out. 

I mean really if you do all of this you will be way too distracted to get into trouble right? inkunicorn:


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## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

What happened to the title of this thread?


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## crazeepony (Dec 8, 2013)

I guess as a Respiratory Therapist- I don't EVER want to be on a ventilator long term!!!


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

crazeepony said:


> I guess as a Respiratory Therapist- I don't EVER want to be on a ventilator long term!!!


Which is why I'm a DNR/DNI, and have been for decades.  There are many things worse than death, IMO.

Also don't want to get whittled down to nothing because of skin cancer.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

crazeepony said:


> I guess as a Respiratory Therapist- I don't EVER want to be on a ventilator long term!!!


Neither does anyone else, which would be an argument for not indulging in high risk behavior like jumping horses over fences. Even with a helmet, that is statistically more dangerous than riding the flats without a helmet.

In my case, it would have been an argument for getting rid of my spooky mare as soon as I realized what she was like, instead of keeping her for years and riding her in the desert with its rocks and cactus.

It is a good argument for not riding motorcycles, something my BIL does daily but that I consider too dangerous. He, OTOH, won't get on a horse. In particular, Arabians. One bolted with him a few years back. I love Arabians, but the only motorcycles I'll ride are dirt bikes.

For much of my life, it would have been a good argument for not strapping into an ejection seat. After all, they don't equip aircraft with ejection seats unless they are thinking something might go wrong. It might have been a reasonable argument for me to not volunteer to go to Afghanistan in 2007, when I was way too old to have any business in a combat zone.

We all take risks that others might not choose to take - be they horses, motorcycles, or planes that give one the option of departing in mid-flight (although I never did, BTW). And in talking to old cowboys, I've heard of plenty of injuries, but no one has told me of the people they knew who would have lived if they had only been wearing a helmet...


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

I'm always alone when I ride and there is no reliable cell phone service here. I usually start with a helmet on my head but I can't stand the heat and it winds up hanging on the saddle. I can't imagine keeping one on in the southern states. Just the thought makes me cringe. I rarely wear a hat in January and February here, it's got to be subzero with the wind blowing.

I did manage to keep the helmet on for the whole ride yesterday but it was 72 degrees and windy and I only went out for a couple hours. 

When I was a kid English style helmets were just bits of velvet covered plastic. They weren't going to prevent much. The heavier foam lined helmets were just coming out, only for schooling and hotter than Hades.

Cowboy hats you just don't see here except for the show ring. If somebody is wearing one it immediately puts you on character alert. Not necessarily a bad character, could just be a colorful one. The area is heavily wooded. Harder to get into the sun.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

SueNH said:


> could just be a colorful one.


lol. My hat (and boots) have diffused a couple situations for me. I've done work in rough areas of the east. I dress how I dress and on a few occasions have had shady folks approach me, but when they find out where I'm from, what I do here, and what I'm doing there, we end up talking about cowboying (are there really cowboys?) rather than me digging for my wallet.

One of my daughters was on a mission trip in a bad area of a big metro area. The small group she was in got held up. Then one of the would be robbers noticed my daughters boots. "Hey, check this one out!" Her chicken companions fled and left her to talk "cowboying" with the thugs. They walked her to a safe spot and she got hugs from them. (They also told her to pick better friends. And I had to agree. lol )


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## Rawhide (Nov 11, 2011)

IMO the choise should be a personal decision between rider , rider's parents and or guardian (s) . Then comes the stable / private land owner rules factor . Which should be respected .
Its something like chooseing to ride a motorcycle , bull riding with or without a helmet . 
One thing I believe local or federal government should stay the HECK out of the decision (helmet law) . You all know what comes next , a license to ride a horse , cut your lawn with a lawn tractor , and the final law or tax burden , charging or taxing people to breath the air !!! :runninghorse2:
Wake up America !!! 
2 CHRONICLES 7 : 14







(KJV)


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

No helmet law in New Hampshire. However as LE I covered enough accidents where I'd wear one every time. Seat belts too. They aren't mandatory here either.

You'd break your neck in cowboy boots here 9 months out of the year, any leather soled shoe. If it isn't ice, it's mud.

I live in a college town. You can usually spot the girls from the south and west by their clothing and footwear the first month of school. They quickly give it up.

Live, Freeze or Die.

My husband wears an old Akubra. Like I said, character alert.


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## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

I would not fit the definition of a cowboy and likely will never acquire the skills to fit that definition.

I do however help round up cattle in very rugged and rocky high desert mountains on a fairly frequent and regular basis.

And I do wear a helmet. It is vented and is fitted with a Da Brim.

I also wear western boots to help regain my stirrups if lost but the soles are not leather. Wore a pair with leather soles once and almost broke my neck climbing around on pipe corrals. Not much friction on that leather for certain.

This is not me, just a picture from the Da Brim site. Never see me riding around here with bare arms no matter how hot. My helmet is a lot more ventilated. I've used it through heavy brush where I've had to have my face down at mane level and it's no more of a problem than the felt hat I did wear.










Oh BTW, the Akubra looks very much like the felt hat I did wear and still do going to town. But I thought it was fashionable??


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

Not fashionable here.

It's the lumbersexual look the college boys all strive for. The locals come by the look naturally.

If I were to suddenly find myself in the southwest I'd drag my old stetson out of the bottom of the closet but here a fire engine red cowboy hat would stand out like a sore thumb and serves no purpose.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

OK...I now know I'll buy a LOT of sunscreen before buying "Da Brim". Lots of sunscreen, or lots of something stronger than beer. Or take up riding at night. Moonless nights: 








​ 
I feel like I ought to break into a rousing rendition of "The Golden Helmet of Mambrino":







But he'll find it is not gold 
And will not make him bold and brave... 
Well, at least he'll find it useful 
If he ever needs a shave! ​ 
And when I object based on fashion, it has to be pretty bad. A guy like me doesn't have much room to talk...if any:








​ 
BTW - none of my riding boots have leather soles. Leather soles are on my Go To Church Boots. Riding boots tend to be Red Wing.

As for the lumbersexual look...words fail me. And words don't fail me often.








​ 
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

I think Hondo looks pretty good!


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## BigNickMontana (Aug 5, 2013)

Lumbersexual? I prefer the "Operator" look.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

Lumbersexual. 




Oh my.


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## DreaMy (Jul 1, 2014)

Anyone else wear leather soled boots or am I in the minority? I switched over with my last pair of boots and I really like them so far although by now they are so scuffed on the bottom I think I'd have a hard time sliding. (It doesn't snow here)


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## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

Tell ya what bs, when you have as big of a chunk of your lower lip cut out that it required plastic surgery you WILL be wearing a Da Brim! :cowboy:

whisper, that's not me but others have said I look strikingly handsome in mine.

I think bs looks like a mountain bike rider. I doubt I would even be allowed to ride on the ranch with a plain helmet. :eek_color:

Edit: BTW, I don't think I would want to post with my own picture in that close proximity to the uh, you know, THAT look! 

Edit again: Perhaps an umbrella would suit your fashion taste in the hot hot yes today tomorrow for the foreseeable future Arizona sun.

Again even: Do a 7 hour ride in the hot part of the day. You WILL relent!


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## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

Oh shoot. It's been over 10 minutes. O'well, here it is any how.

Staying cool in the Arizona hot hot sun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3YdR_0RTmeE


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Hondo said:


> Staying cool in the Arizona hot hot sun.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3YdR_0RTmeE


That is quite the statement to wear (or not wear :eek_color with your Da Brim!!

Guess it may keep you in the saddle as well, at least until the top layer of skin peels off. :dance-smiley05:


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## Textan49 (Feb 13, 2015)

Incitatus32 said:


> I've taken my share of falls and all of them resulted in parts of my body being beat up OTHER than my head. It made me realize that we aren't ever "protected".
> 
> 
> What I do believe through watching the changing times is that we equate safety and prevention with helmets instead of teaching people how to handle situations. I had a new student come in to learn my discipline and I asked her: "How do you stay safe on a horse?"
> ...


There are rare situations where I will wear a helmet but I find them uncomfortable and usually wear a baseball cap. None of my injuries ever involved my head where I would have been spared if I had been wearing a helmet. I don't come off a horse very often and when I do I am good at landing on my feet or all fours. So, if I was working out in all kinds of weather a cowboy hat would be much more practical because sunburn or rain and sleet down my neck would be a definite reality and head injury only a possibility. My personal choice. I think we all have to make our own choices on what risks we are willing to take or not take. As for what others think . . . .That falls in the category of "judging others" and people need to think about that and keep their mouths shut. Just MHO


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## Goldilocks (Jan 30, 2015)

Honestly, a good fitting cowboy hat will protect the head in the event of a fall. Not as much as a helmet but it will still protect it. I wouldn't expect to see someone hack or jump or school in one but on a soft grass trail then why not.


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## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

I have a thread recently which is the main motivation for using a helmet.http://www.horseforum.com/horse-training/something-moves-startle-shy-spin-bolt-581322/ 

The third time I came off Hondo I was wearing the helmet. I had a headache for about three days.

I have been unconscious in an approved motorcycle helmet on three occasions and I know what a minor concussion feels like.

So until I get Hondo stabilized, I'll be wearing a helmet no matter the occasion.

As it is, I ride mostly solo on trails that nobody but me rides so I have no worries about fashion because Hondo and my dog Meka just do not really care.

When rounding up cattle the main person I ride with has a specially made copy of Tom Mix's hat. No fashion worries there either.

Helmets on horses definitely are not cool at all but cooler than concussions.

And oh yeah Godilocks, I agree. But in the high mountain desert where I ride there's a blade of grass here and there strewn with basketball to baseball sized rocks. Ouch! I also weal spine protection when riding alone but it can get hung up chasing cows through the heavy brush.


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

DreaMy said:


> Anyone else wear leather soled boots or am I in the minority?


All my cowboy boots are leather-soled. I worry more about getting hung in a stirrup than losing one!

And, if that's how the guys are riding in Arizona nowadays (Hondo's video), I think I want to retire there. Might be too old to rodeo now, but I can still enjoy the scenery!


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## Poppygirl (Apr 29, 2012)

This will give some of you a laugh and others not - anyway when I first decided to get my horse (at age 50) I didn't know a thing. I read what I needed, got my horse, saddle and then read I need a helmet so got one. I started western lessons and never wore my helmet (actually forgot about it). Several months later I was riding with some English riders in the mountain, one asked if I had a helmet - in preparation I pulled out my helmet and it said "English" on it. I asked the (western) ranch hand "Dennis - if I have a western saddle and chaps, but an English helmet will I look stupid? You know you have to match and since I knew nothing didn't want my new English friends to laugh because I was mis matched. He replied "if you wear a helmet you will look stupid". I know the safety of a helmet, I tried it but I love my western hat.


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## jamesqf (Oct 5, 2009)

Interesting thread, but I seem to work just the opposite of a lot of people here. Used to wear a hat for sun protection, but it was hot. Helmet seems a lot cooler.

That's not the main reason I no longer wear a (cowboy style) hat, though. The problem is that none of the stores hereabouts will sell me the secret Cowboy Hat Glue that keeps your hat on, no matter what. Sure, I could live with having to stop and get off to pick the durn thing up every now and then. But when it falls over your face when you're cantering down a track through the trees...


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## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

For me a brim is necessary for more than the sun. I ride some with my face down near Hondo's mane through thick brush following cattle at times and the brim keeps the cat's claw from ripping my face and ears off.

Helmet is cooler than the felt hat. I wear a helmet with Da Brim which bsms will someday come to adore. Da Brim has held up well plowing through a lot of brush so far.

As far as a felt hat coming off, they do make a front and/or strap for holding it on. Buy a Stetson that fits, it won't come off.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

I am returning to riding after an extremely long hiatus, I have a totally green horse and rarely anyone to ride with. Working up to making a trail horse out of her. I have a western headstall, english laced reins, dressage/trail saddle, endurance nylon stirrups, I wear those pull-up stretch breeches, paddock boots, and a helmet with a da brim on it. Which is about as cool as my cheap felt and also about as comfy. It also doesn't come off in a wind. In other words, I don't make any choices based on matchiness nor tradition but on what I believe to be the best item for the job. Breeches, for example -- nothing I though I would be caught dead wearing but they give me a stickier seat and I need that. 

If I had a solid, easy-going trail horse I might not wear a helmet. Risk assessment.

Helmets, I think, are a really good idea for bronc riding, jumping, green horses, and children. Otherwise I think they are more optional. 

There is a very strong element of aesthetics in the riding world. The beautifully turned out dressage or hunt seat rider, the proud vaquero tradition, etc. I love that stuff. But not enough to embrace it when I don't actually jump, rope, or do pirouettes. I would feel like a poser, because that's what I would be. 

My helmet is because my inexperienced horse might come out from under me at any time, and I want to swing the odds more in my favor. Along with that thinking ahead thing.


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

When I first started riding about 55 yrs ago, I never wore a helmet and rode many, many miles on a lot of different horses, some of them not so co-operative and I often rode alone, gone for hours out on trails where no one knew exactly where I was.
I showed Quarter Horses and wore a western hat, I had to have it tied down sometimes to keep it on because I hated the idea of loosing my hat in a class of 25 and maybe having it trampled.
When I went on a cattle drive one year in Wyoming my hat would always blow off as it was very windy there so I just wore a baseball cap.
What convinced me to wear a helmet ALL the time was one day I went to a friend's to ride, it was winter and the ground was frozen, I took my helmet and thought why do I bring it, this is a quiet horse but wore it anyway. I have no memory of what happened but apparently the horse stumbled badly almost fell, recovered and then went right down. The back of my helmet was damaged and there was a four inch circle right out of the back of the helmet. My next coherent thought was, I was sitting in the barn, horse in his stall and I'm wondering what happened. I believe that if I hadn't been wearing that helmet I would be either dead or a vegetable.
I wear the helmet all the time now, in the coldest weather 0 degrees F and it keeps my head warm, in the hottest weather 90 degrees F and it cooler than a hat because of the air vents. It has a brim to shade my face.
I am thinking of getting back into showing in some western classes and I wonder how I will manage the helmet/hat thing.


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## BiologyBrain (Jul 9, 2015)

Here's a helmet brim for those who favor ball caps for sun-shade. EquiVisor | Jeffers Pet


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