Strap It All On: Protecting Your Head Requires More Than a Helmet (But That's a Start)

The Jurga Report - Full Article

Monday January 10 2011

News of a meeting held over the weekend to discuss the wisdom of wearing helmets while riding was a memory trigger for me. No, not of my many and often creative or spectacular falls from horses (with and without helmets), not even of that time I had amnesia.

It goes back to pre-WEG days last summer, when I meant to write about the Australian endurance team and the glaring absence of that country's leading rider, Meg Wade. Not only was Meg not in the saddle for her country in September at the Kentucky Horse Park--she wasn't in the saddle at all.

At the 2009 Quilty ride (Australia's premier endurance event), Meg Wade was found in a crumpled heap on the trail a short distance from a checkpoint she'd just cleared. That was the defining lifetime moment for one of the most competitive and consistent equestrians in the world.

Meg did fall, and did have serious brain injuries. But, she was wearing a $900 titanium approved safety helmet--the same helmet that was approved for use by the Australian teams...

Read more here:
http://horsehealth.blogs.equisearch.com/2011/01/strap-it-all-on-protecting-your-head.html