# Dave Rabe Accident - wear a helmet!



## jillybean19

Just in case any of you were unaware, last mont Dave Rabe, a legend in the endurance world, one of the top lifetime mileage earners, and a personal inspiration of mine, had a major accident at an endurance ride. You can't miss Dave - he's always wearing his cuttoff shorts, tank top (if he's not shirtless!), and ball cap - never a helmet. As he was getting on his horse, it started bucking and Dave ended on the business end a traumatic brain injury. It was a very scary few days in the endurance world as we awaited news of his condition. After hospitalization and many tests, he is now going through rehab and recovering. You can read more about Dave and get updates on his condition here: Dave Rabe « XP Rides

Dave has over 60,000 miles and more experience with horses than most of us could ever hope to achieve in a lifetime. However, accidents happen - and Dave is only one of many experienced endurance riders that I know that have received major injuries that could have been prevented had they been wearing a helmet. You never know what could happen at any time, no matter what you're doing or how many times you've done it before. Plus, particularly concerning endurance, there is a lot of chaos and unfamiliar circumstances for both riders and horses, and you are usually a long way from the help you'd need if anything did happen. Please, if you think you don't want to wear a helmet, think twice about that choice. 

On a side note, many riders I know are member of the Life Flight network, in case they do ever need urgent care. Something else to consider as an endurance rider.


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## Celeste

Wow. I hope he recovers fully. That is tough. 

Most head injuries can be avoided with proper helmet use. I rode without one for years but I started wearing one after a friend of mine took a spill, hit her head, and was in the hospital for a month in a coma. Interesting thing -- she recovered for the most part, but will not wear a helmet.


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## jillybean19

I never used to wear a helmet, but made myself wear one every time I rode when I got my horses last year. Now, I feel uncomfortable without it. In fact, I had my first lesson yesterday (that was interesting as I'm far from basic!) and had set my helmet down, then got caught up in the lesson and got on without it! About ten minutes into the lesson, I actually stopped it and asked my instructor to go get my helmet. Her horse was a sweetheart, but I'm not taking any more risks than I have to. I have added responsibility now because I have a husband who counts on me coming home safe and sound.


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## prairiewindlady

Helmets are great but don't be deceived and think that just because you wear one that you will never get hurt. They do not prevent neck or spinal injuries. Just sayin'.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Saranda

I hate helmets, but I've seen what a fall without one can do to ones' head, so yesterday I bought myself a good looking and comfortable helmet, and will try to remember using it, although my horse is very "safe" - accidents just do happen and I want to be at least partially prepared, not just to rely on my luck. 

Keeping fingers crossed for Daves' fast recovery.


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## faye

prairiewindlady said:


> Helmets are great but don't be deceived and think that just because you wear one that you will never get hurt. They do not prevent neck or spinal injuries. Just sayin'.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Totaly irrelevent, they dont prevent broken wrists or clavicals either. They are there to protect your head and your head only. You only get one brain and it isnt exactly an organ that you can transplant.


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## Dame Nuit

Saranda said:


> although my horse is very "safe" - accidents just do happen and I want to be at least partially prepared, not just to rely on my luck.


I too have safe horses, but I never ride without my helmet. 
Accidents don't take appointments. 
I'm just used to wear it. (and it keeps my long hairs out of my face! :lol


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## WickedNag

And we have the start of another helmet debate


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## Clava

WickedNag said:


> And we have the start of another helmet debate


What is wrong with that? if it persuades one person to wear one that could save their lives one day then maybe that is a good thing.

I had my head trodden on when young, it broke the hat in half (they were not as good as they are now), I hate to think what would have happened it I had not had one on! I always wear a riding hat. 

Hope Dave Rabe recovers well.


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## NBEventer

WickedNag said:


> And we have the start of another helmet debate


Haha thats what I was thinking... I subbed before there was a reply lol.

I used to only wear a helmet once and awhile. If I was riding western I never wore one, if I was doing a flat school I wouldn't wear one and sometimes if I was just playing around bareback in the field I wouldn't wear one.

One day I was working with a green horse and he bucked me off and kicked me in the head. If I didn't have my helmet on I would have been dead. My helmet pretty much shattered like a piece of glass. 

I had another fall where my horse decided I should jump for her and I went over her head, over the jump and on my head. Again thank goodness for my helmet. It was cracked.

There was also a fall off an old faithful school master who never spooked. Ice slid off the arena roof and crashed down and he went one way, I went the other not even expecting it. I hit the arena wall. 

I wear a helmet pretty much all the time now, I do have times where I forget it and usually will dismount to go grab it but sometimes I don't. I know the risks of not wearing one. I never ride without a helmet on my mare now though as she tends to be unpredictable. 

A lot of places require you wear a helmet at all times, and my facility will be the same way when I get it started. Most places its for insurance reasons.

However if I am out riding with friends and they don't wear one I will make a joking like comment then leave it. I can't force them to wear one and its their right and their choice to not wear one.


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## Celeste

Dave Rabe is obviously a much more talented rider than I am and he got hurt. I shouldn't expect to be better than him.

One of these helmet debates on this forum no doubt caused me to start wearing a helmet.


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## jillybean19

Personally, I don't think this thread has to become a debate - more like noggin awareness  once you've read these cautionary tales, you can take it our leave it. In the end, these only work one way: helmet cannot force others to wear helmets, but can caution them and maybe save a life or two. Going the other direction, I highly doubt a non-helmet wearer will ever convince anyone to stop wearing their helmet!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## bsms

I wear a helmet. However, I know a lot of western riders who have gone a lifetime without injuring their noggins. You can be killed by a horse most any time, but we accept the risk in exchange for the fun. I'll let others decide if they enjoy riding helmetless enough to accept whatever increased risk there is.


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## jillybean19

prairiewindlady said:


> Helmets are great but don't be deceived and think that just because you wear one that you will never get hurt. They do not prevent neck or spinal injuries. Just sayin'.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


You are correct, they do not prevent all injuries. However, I believe I've read somewhere that most serious horse-related injuries usually involve the head, and most could have been prevented with a helmet. Plus, the brain is hands down the most important organ to support and the one most likely to lead to death or major life alteration if injured.

Moreover, helmets don't just prevent head injuries. That little extra bulk behind your head can also protect your neck and spine in some instances. For example, I've had minor falls where I hit the ground on my butt/back, and my head snapped back to the ground. Because I was wearing my helmet, I managed to avoid whiplash as well as dirty hair lol.

In another, less humorous, case, a woman I know fell off on a ride and had the same thing happen, but had her neck snapped back, the vertebrae would have hit a sharp rock and she would likely have been paralyzed from the neck down. I realize that was likely a rare case as far as that exact thing happening, but it does support the fact that helmets can reduce/eliminate the movement and impact of the neck in many cases.


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## Maple

faye said:


> You only get one brain and it isnt exactly an organ that you can transplant.


But I do look forward to the day you can... I have a shortlist of people desperately in need of one.


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## Dustbunny

A helmet...cheap insurance!
Same with Life Flight, actually.


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## WSArabians

I never ride with a helmet. Probably won't start.
I hope he makes a full recovery though.


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## tinyliny

I just find it odd that people find helmets such a distasteful bother. I don't even notice mine, any more than wearing a baseball cap. I like it. It has the same comforting feel as putting on my half chaps or cowboy boots. It's that "suiting up" feeling that makes me feel like I am participating in a real sport.


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## Maple

tinyliny said:


> I just find it odd that people find helmets such a distasteful bother. I don't even notice mine, any more than wearing a baseball cap. I like it. It has the same comforting feel as putting on my half chaps or cowboy boots. It's that "suiting up" feeling that makes me feel like I am participating in a real sport.


I agree, I can't remember the last time I rode without one. To me it's just part of it. I actually feel really strange without one.


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## noddy

I never had a helmet when I was a kid, because I couldn't afford one. I was pretty **** lucky that, despite falling off a lot, I never got seriously injured.

When I got back into riding, you know what I did? First thing I did was go buy a helmet. Okay, so it's not a million-vent million-dollar helment, but it's comfortable (it took us ages to find the right size and fit in the store). Yeah, in the summer it gets horrible and sticky, but so what? I've fallen off a horse recently where my head was about three inches from being skewered on a jump stand. If I hadn't been wearing a helmet and collided into that stand, I wouldn't be here (though, honestly, if I had hit the stand and been wearing a helmet I still would have had a major injury).

And my solution for the summer stickies? Shave your hair off. I had hair down to my *** that I loved, and I did it. Got lots of people involved and donated to a cancer thing too. But quite honestly, if you have the money to afford a more expensive helmet than mine with extra vents and crap, you shouldn't be having a big summer stickies problem. I had to compromise with mine because the only good fit and size we could get in the store was a Dublin Onyx. Also, get black helmets. White ones go yellow quickly, and even in a hot climate the colour doesn't make much difference with heat attraction.

I've also trekked a lot, and I never once refused a helmet. Once I had to wear none because they didn't have a helmet that fit me properly (and wearing a bad fitting helmet is worse than wearing none because it can impair your sight by falling down or simply give you a headache and cause a lack of concentration). But I'll never not wear a helmet purely by choice, and I'm just shocked it's taking big falls to make people to realise they should be wearing them. I've stopped my younger relatives from watching competitions before (mainly Dressage, I don't bloody care if a Tophat is traditional, it ain't gonna protect your skull if that pumped up stallion of yours decides to use your head as a starting block) where the riders aren't wearing helmets. I don't want them to have bad role models and think they can get away with not wearing a helmet (which they don't when they come to my place to ride).


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## Celeste

Noddy, I don't think that a middle aged lady like myself would look good sporting the bald look.


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## noddy

Lots of people say they don't want short hair or they won't suit it, but in the end it's only hair. It grows back. Are you at a beauty pageant or a stable? But whatever, it's only one solution, I'm not going to sit on you and shave your head just to make you wear a helmet.

I've got long hair again now, because my job has a dress code and I pretty much got sick of the filthy looks, but in the summer I kinda miss it being so short, and I'll never go back to having super long hair.

Yeah, another thing. I wasn't actually bald. I used a size 4 clipper which is about 1cm long, and then kept it short. My hair currently, sitting just below my shoulders, is a year's growth with good quality products and not a split end in sight. Hair grows pretty **** fast if you take good care of it.


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## gottatrot

I don't always love my helmet, but I love riding. I've heard so many times from riders with traumatic brain injuries that they wish they'd put up with the discomfort of a helmet instead of having to deal now with the discomfort of struggling every day with weakness and imbalances. Many fiercely independent riders can now only ride with a helper, and only at a walk.


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## faye

the better alternative to noddys shaving your hair off is to put it in a simple bun at the base of your neck!


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## NBEventer

faye said:


> the better alternative to noddys shaving your hair off is to put it in a simple bun at the base of your neck!


This, and if its too short for a bun you can just use a hair net to tuck it back under your helmet behind your ears. 

Seriously though I don't feel any difference when I wear a well vented helmet or no helmet. So the 2 seconds it takes me to toss my helmet on is worth it. I have a family that depends on me. Its like wearing a seatbelt imo.


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## phantomhorse13

I think every adult has the right to choose for themselves if they want a helmet or not. 

Personally, I always ride in a helmet. I have had plenty of scary experiences myself, but if that wasn't enough convincing, I once witnessed a woman who broke her helmet cleanly in half after her horse tripped at a walk and sent her flying into the arena wall head-first. The horse was as bomb-proof as they come and hadn't spooked or anything else, he just took a bad step and went down on his knees. 

Noddy, you talked about having problems with your head getting hot. Have you every tried wetting your helmet/hair? Out on trail during the summer, it's not unusual to see me sponging Dream and then sponging my head or dunking my head outright into the water. Wet hair, while dribbley, is very cooling!


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## noddy

I'm not telling people to all go shave their hair off, I'm just saying that's what I did. Tying your hair up isn't really going to stop your head getting hot under a helmet, when your hair is insanely thick like mine. You might have less hair on your neck, but all the hair is still on your head, between helmet and skin, and being a horrible, sweat catching, insulating wad of gross. I tried everything I could think of before actually shaving it off, but I never regretted doing it.

With the water, I was told that water can damage helmets, but I used to do that a bit. Works for the first half hour, then you spend the next three hours with gross, damp, warm hair and an even stickier helmet than what sweat alone causes. Hell, when I was a kid I'd ride out to get the cows in and have a dunk in the trough before following them back. Didn't have a helmet then though. XD


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## phantomhorse13

noddy said:


> I was told that water can damage helmets, but I used to do that a bit. Works for the first half hour, then you spend the next three hours with gross, damp, warm hair and an even stickier helmet.


Maybe a show helmet would not like the water, but my trail helmets have never had an issue with damage. And I certainly am repeatedly wetting my head when it's that hot (every chance I have to cool my horse, I am cooling myself too.


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## Celeste

My helmet does ok with water as well.

Shaving my head would not only be bad for my work life, it would be bad for my social life. My daughter, age 24, shaved hers last summer all except a little mohawk on top. She thought it was lovely. It was only after it grew back that she actually acquired gainful employment.


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## gunslinger

Oh great, another helmet thread....who would have thought?


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## jillybean19

This one hits a little closer to to home in the endurance worlds and is being discussed as such. Out of respect for Dave, I would appreciate if we could keep this positive and share our ideas about helmets rather than fall into a debate. So far everyone has been great, and I do appreciate the hair discussion and have been following it closely, especially since I'm current growing mine out lol. The "oh great" or "another one?" attitude really isn't necessary. To each his own, especially since I would be pleasantly surprised if Dave did start wearing a helmet, but I believe the discussion is an important one. If you have anything to contribute, then don't.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jillybean19

*Dave Rabe Update*

Guess who's joining the helmet-wearing club! Check out Dave's picture in this update he wrote. He's riding his "horse" White Cloud (an exercise bike named after the horse that was involved in his accident) wearing his usual shorts and tank top along with EasyBoots and *gasp* a helmet! Good to see he's feeling better 

For those who were wondering about what actually happened, Dave also explains that and why it happened in this post. Definitely worth a read 

Dave Rabe « XP Rides


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