Happy New Year!
New Year's resolutions are fun to make. For many years I stopped making them. With Scrooge-like pessimism and cynicism I said, "Why bother -- how silly -- no one keeps resolutions." But the fun in making resolutions is in feeling the sense of possibility. It's approaching the New Year with a fresh, clean slate. Being determined to be a type of person or achieve a goal of your heart's desire. Sure most resolutions don't last for the whole year. But even if your resolution only lasts for a month, a week, a day, or an hour -that is one step in the direction you want to go. And every journey begins with a single step.
My resolution this year is to wear my helmet - every ride, every time. I invite you to share this resolution with me. I think it is the best New Year's resolution - because it could save your life.
For liability and insurance reasons, I require all my students to wear helmets. I also require it because I care about my student's well being. I think it is unprofessional and irresponsible of any instructor to allow their students to ride without one. For myself...I ride with a helmet 90% of the time. But 90% of the time isn't good enough.
I realize the bottom line reason I don't wear a helmet every time I ride is because I grew up not wearing one. I rode western when I was growing up, and we never even thought about wearing helmets. We didn't think about wearing seatbelts either. When helmets are introduced with riding from the very first ride there is little resistance to wearing one all the time. But old habits are hard to break, and easy to fall back on.
I have very good excuses for not riding with a helmet. I will sometimes hop on a student's horse for a very short time to demonstrate something during a lesson. Sometimes I am squeezing in a quick ride between meetings or appointments where helmet hair is simply unacceptable. I know that riding with a helmet is perceived by some as a lack of confidence in my riding abilities, and at times I feel uncomfortable wearing one in very safe situations on well trained horses. Living in South East USA, sometimes it's just too hot.
So what's wrong with all of these good excuses? Why is wearing a helmet such a big deal? Because a helmet protects your brain. Broken bones and muscles and tissue can repair themselves. The brain can not. You can live without legs and arms. You can't live without a brain. The other bone that can not always heal is the spinal cord, which is why protective vests are also being required for some riding disciplines. The big deal is that accidents happen. They happen every day. They are never planed, and they don't just happen with young horses or when learning new skills.
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